A new dimension in retrograde flow: centripetal movement of engulfed particles

Centripetal motion of surface-adherent particles is a classic experimental system for studying surface dynamics on a eukaryotic cell. To investigate bead migration over the entire cell surface, we have developed an experimental assay using multinuclear giant fibroblasts, which provide expanded length scales and an unambiguous frame of reference. Beads coated by adhesion ligands concanavalin A or fibronectin are placed in specific locations on the cell using optical tweezers, and their subsequent motion is tracked over time. The adhesion, as well as velocity and directionality of their movement, expose distinct regions of the cytoplasm and membrane. Beads placed on the peripheral lamella initiate centripetal motion, whereas beads placed on the central part of the cell attach to a stationary cortex and do not move. Careful examination by complementary three-dimensional methods shows that the motion of a bead placed on the cell periphery takes place after engulfment into the cytoplasm, whereas stationary beads, placed near the cell center, are not engulfed. These results demonstrate that centripetal motion of adhering particles may occur inside as well as outside the cell. Inhibition of actomyosin activity is used to explore requirements for engulfment and aspects of the bead movement. Centripetal movement of adherent particles seems to depend on mechanisms distinct from those driving overall cell contractility.

Expression of the amiloride-blockable Na+ channel by RNA from control versus aldosterone-stimulated tissue

The amiloride-blockable Na+ channel was expressed in Xenopus oocytes injected with total RNA isolated from the toad urinary bladder. This system was used to investigate mechanisms that mediate the natriferic action of aldosterone. Incubation of the epithelium with aldosterone for 3 h doubled its channel activity but did not increase the ability of isolated RNA to express functional channels in oocytes. A 20-h incubation with the hormone produced an additional increase of Na+ transport across the intact epithelium and also augmented the channel activity expressed in oocytes by nearly 10-fold. The data are in agreement with our model that aldosterone enhances the apical Na+ permeability of tight epithelia by a short term activation of pre-existing channels, followed by chronic induction of new channel protein. Blocking methyl transfer reactions, previously shown to inhibit the natriferic action of aldosterone in tight epithelia, did not alter the basal or aldosterone-induced response in oocytes.

NaCl-dependent expression of amiloride-blockable Na+ channel in Xenopus oocytes

RNA was isolated from chicken lower intestine (both colon and coprodeum) and injected into Xenopus oocytes. 22Na+ fluxes measured after 1-4 days demonstrated the induction of an amiloride-blockable pathway. The Na+ transporter expressed by the exogenous RNA had a high affinity to amiloride (inhibitory constant less than 0.1 microM), but was insensitive to ethylisopropyl amiloride, i.e., it is likely to be the apical Na+ channel. Functional channels were readily expressed in oocytes injected with RNA derived from chickens fed a low-NaCl diet. On the other hand, no channel activity was detected in oocytes injected with RNA isolated from chickens fed a high-NaCl diet. Thus the previously reported regulation of transport by the dietary NaCl intake involves modulations in the level of mRNA that codes either for the Na+ channel or a posttranscriptional regulator of the channel.

Guanosine nucleotide-dependent activation of the amiloride-blockable Na+ channel

Effects of guanosine nucleotides on the epithelial Na+ channel were studied in apical membrane vesicles derived from the toad bladder epithelium. Trapping 10 microM guanosine-5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) in vesicles evoked two- to fourfold increase in the amiloride-sensitive (Na+ channel-mediated) 22Na+ uptake. The nucleotide had no significant effect on the amiloride-insensitive 22Na+ uptake or the valinomycin-mediated 86Rb+ uptake in the same membranes. The stimulatory action of GTP gamma S was mimicked by 5'-guanylylimidiodiphosphate (GppNHp) and could at least partly be reversed by guanosine-5'-O-(thiodiphosphate) (GDP beta S) (10-fold excess). GTP itself and adenosine-5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) (ATP gamma S) had no sustained effect on Na+ transport in vesicles. Thus it appears that the epithelial Na+ channel is directly or indirectly regulated by the occupancy of a guanosine-specific site, probably the alpha subunit of a G protein. The possibility that GTP gamma S acts indirectly by activating a membrane-bound, GTP-dependent enzyme the product of which modulates the channel conductance was assessed by measuring 22Na+ fluxes in membrane vesicles prepared to contain products of such enzymes. None of the reagents tested [adenosine 3',5' cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), guanosine 3',5' cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), and diacylglycerol (DAG)] increased the tracer flux in vesicles or altered its response to GTP gamma S.

Sodium-dependent inhibition of the epithelial sodium channel by an arginyl-specific reagent

Effects of the arginyl- and lysyl-specific reagent phenylglyoxal (PGO) on the epithelial Na+ channel were evaluated by measuring the amiloride-blockable 22Na+ fluxes in membrane vesicles derived from the toad bladder epithelium. Incubating whole cells or isolated membranes with PGO readily and irreversibly blocked the channel-mediated tracer flux. Na+ ions present during the interaction of membranes with PGO could protect channels from inactivation by PGO. This effect required the presence of Na+ at the luminal side of the membrane and was characterized by an IC50 of 79 mM Na+. Amiloride, too, could desensitize channels to PGO, but its effect was significant only when whole cells were interacted with the protein-modifying reagent. The data are compatible with a model in which the conductive path of the channel contains a functional arginine, possibly forming a salt bridge with a carboxylic group, which is involved in Na+ translocation and amiloride binding. It was also shown that the augmentation of transport induced by incubating whole cells in Ca2+-free solution (Garty, H., and Asher, C. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 8330-8335) involves the activation or recruitment of channels that are not vulnerable to PGO prior to incubation.

Direct inhibition of epithelial Na+ channels by a pH-dependent interaction with calcium, and by other divalent ions

Direct inhibitory effects of Ca2+ and other ions on the epithelial Na+ channels were investigated by measuring the amiloride-blockable 22Na+ fluxes in toad bladder vesicles containing defined amounts of mono- and divalent ions. In agreement with a previous report (H.S. Chase, Jr., and Q. Al-Awqati, J. Gen. Physiol. 81:643-666, 1983) we found that the presence of micromolar concentrations of Ca2+ in the internal (cytoplasmic) compartment of the vesicles substantially lowered the channel-mediated fluxes. This inhibition, however, was incomplete and at least 30% of the amiloride-sensitive 22Na+ uptake could not be blocked by Ca2+ (up to 1 mM). Inhibition of channels could also be induced by millimolar concentrations of Ba2+, Sr2+, or VO2+, but not by Mg2+. The Ca2+ inhibition constant was a strong function of pH, and varied from 0.04 microM at pH 7.8 to greater than 10 microM at pH 7.0. Strong pH effects were also demonstrated by measuring the pH dependence of 22Na+ uptake in vesicles that contained 0.5 microM Ca2+. This Ca2+ activity produced a maximal inhibition of 22Na+ uptake at pH greater than or equal to 7.4 but had no effect at pH less than or equal to 7.0. The tracer fluxes measured in the absence of Ca2+ were pH independent over this range. The data is compatible with the model that Ca2+ blocks channels by binding to a site composed of several deprotonated groups. The protonation of any one of these groups prevents Ca2+ from binding to this site but does not by itself inhibit transport. The fact that the apical Na+ conductance in vesicles, can effectively be modulated by minor variations of the internal pH near the physiological value, raises the possibility that channels are being regulated by pH changes which alter their apparent affinity to cytoplasmic Ca2+, rather than, or in addition to changes in the cytoplasmic level of free Ca2+.