Oxygen causes fetal pulmonary vasodilation through activation of a calcium-dependent potassium channel.

At birth, pulmonary vasodilation occurs as air-breathing life begins. The mechanism of O2-induced pulmonary vasodilation is unknown. We proposed that O2 causes fetal pulmonary vasodilation through activation of a calcium-dependent potassium channel (KCa) via a cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinase. We tested this hypothesis in hemodynamic studies in acutely prepared fetal lambs and in patch-clamp studies on resistance fetal pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Fetal O2 tension (PaO2) was increased by ventilating the ewe with 100% O2, causing fetal total pulmonary resistance to decrease from 1.18 +/- 0.14 to 0.41 +/- 0.03 mmHg per ml per min. Tetraethylammonium and iberiotoxin, preferential KCa-channel inhibitors, attenuated O2-induced fetal pulmonary vasodilation, while glibenclamide, an ATP-sensitive K+-channel antagonist, had no effect. Treatment with either a guanylate cyclase antagonist (LY83583) or cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinase inhibitors (H-89 and KT 5823) significantly attenuated O2-induced fetal pulmonary vasodilation. Under hypoxic conditions (PaO2 = 25 mmHg), whole-cell K+-channel currents (Ik) were small and were inhibited by 1 mM tetraethylammonium or 100 nM charybdotoxin (CTX; a specific KCa-channel blocker). Normoxia (PaO2 = 120 mmHg) increased Ik by more than 300%, and this was reversed by 100 nM CTX. Nitric oxide also increased Ik. Resting membrane potential was -37.2 +/- 1.9 mV and cells depolarized on exposure to CTX, while hyperpolarizing in normoxia. We conclude that O2 causes fetal pulmonary vasodilation by stimulating a cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinase, resulting in KCa-channel activation, membrane hyperpolarization, and vasodilation.

Hypoxia enhances stimulus-dependent induction of E-selectin on aortic endothelial cells.

In many diseases, tissue hypoxia occurs in conjunction with other inflammatory processes. Since previous studies have demonstrated a role for leukocytes in ischemia/reperfusion injury, we hypothesized that endothelial hypoxia may "superinduce" expression of an important leukocyte adhesion molecule, E-selectin (ELAM-1, CD62E). Bovine aortic endothelial monolayers were exposed to hypoxia in the presence or absence of tumor-necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cell surface E-selectin was quantitated by whole cell ELISA or by immunoprecipitation using polyclonal anti-E-selectin sera. Endothelial mRNA levels were assessed using ribonuclease protection assays. Hypoxia alone did not induce endothelial E-selectin expression. However, enhanced induction of E-selectin was observed with the combination of hypoxia and TNF-alpha (270% increase over normoxia and TNF-alpha) or hypoxia and LPS (190% increase over normoxia and LPS). These studies revealed that a mechanism for such enhancement may be hypoxia-elicited decrements in endothelial intracellular levels of cAMP (<50% compared with normoxia). Addition of forskolin and isobutyl-methyl-xanthine during hypoxia resulted in reversal of cAMP decreases and a loss of enhanced E-selectin surface expression with the combination of TNF-alpha and hypoxia. We conclude that endothelial hypoxia may provide a novel signal for superinduction of E-selectin during states of inflammation.

Two Arabidopsis cyclin promoters mediate distinctive transcriptional oscillation in synchronized tobacco BY-2 cells.

Cyclins are cell cycle regulators whose proteins oscillate dramatically during the cell cycle. Cyclin steady-state mRNA levels also fluctuate, and there are indications that both their rate of transcription and mRNA stability are under cell cycle control. Here, we demonstrate the transcriptional regulation of higher eukaryote cyclins throughout the whole cell cycle with a high temporal resolution. The promoters of two Arabidopsis cyclins, cyc3aAt and cyc1At, mediated transcriptional oscillation of the beta-glucuronidase (gus) reporter gene in stably transformed tobacco BY-2 cell lines. The rate of transcription driven by the cyc3aAt promoter was very low during G1, slowly increased during the S phase, peaked at the G2 phase and G2-to-M transition, and was down-regulated before early metaphase. In contrast, the rate of the cyc1At-related transcription increased upon exit of the S phase, peaked at the G2-to-M transition and during mitosis, and decreased upon exit from the M phase. This study indicates that transcription mechanisms that seem to be conserved among species play a significant role in regulating the mRNA abundance of the plant cyclins. Furthermore, the transcription patterns of cyc3aAt and cyc1At were coherent with their slightly higher sequence similarity to the A and B groups of animal cyclins, respectively, suggesting that they may fulfill comparable roles during the cell cycle.

Spatial localization of calcium channels in giant fiber lobe neurons of the squid (Loligo opalescens).

Whole-cell voltage clamp was used to investigate the properties and spatial distribution of fast-deactivating (FD) Ca channels in squid giant fiber lobe (GFL) neurons. Squid FD Ca channels are reversibly blocked by the spider toxin omega-Agatoxin IVA with an IC50 of 240-420 nM with no effect on the kinetics of Ca channel gating. Channels with very similar properties are expressed in both somatic and axonal domains of cultured GFL neurons, but FD Ca channel conductance density is higher in axonal bulbs than in cell bodies at all times in culture. Channels presumably synthesized during culture are preferentially expressed in the growing bulbs, but bulbar Ca conductance density remains constant while Na conductance density increases, suggesting that processes determining the densities of Ca and Na channels in this extrasomatic domain are largely independent. These observations suggest that growing axonal bulbs in cultured GFL neurons are not composed entirely of "axonal" membranes because FD Ca channels are absent from the giant axon in situ but, rather, suggest a potential role for FD Ca channels in mediating neurotransmitter release at the motor terminals of the giant axon.

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide inhibition of a swelling-activated cation channel in osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cells.

By patch-clamp analysis, we have shown that chronic, intermittent mechanical strain (CMS) increases the activity of stretch-activated cation channels of osteoblast-like UMR-106.01 cells. CMS also produces a swelling-activated whole-cell conductance (Gm) regulated by varying strain levels. We questioned whether the swelling-activated conductance was produced by stretch-activated cation channel activity. We have identified a gene involved in the increase in conductance by using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) derived from the alpha 1-subunit genes of calcium channels found in UMR-106.01 cells (alpha1S, alpha1C, and alpha1D). We demonstrate that alpha 1C antisense ODNs abolish the increase in Gm in response to hypotonic swelling following CMS. Antisense ODNs to alpha1S and alpha1D, sense ODNs to alpha1C, and sham permeabilization had no effect on the conductance increase. In addition, during cell-attached patch-clamp studies, antisense ODNs to alpha1c completely blocked the swelling-activated and stretch-activated nonselective cation channel response to strain. Antisense ODNs to alpha1S treatment produced no effect on either swelling-activated or stretch-activated cation channel activity. There were differences in the stretch-activated and swelling-activated cation channel activity, but whether they represent different channels could not be determined from our data. Our data indicate that the alpha1C gene product is involved in the Gm and the activation of the swelling-activated cation channels induced by CMS. The possibility that swelling-activated cation channel genes are members of the calcium channel superfamily exists, but if alpha1c is not the swelling-activated cation channel itself, then its expression is required for induction of swelling-activated cation channel activity by CMS.

Ca(2+)-independent reduction of N-methyl-D-aspartate channel activity by protein tyrosine phosphatase.

Regulation of ion channel function by intracellular processes is fundamental for controlling synaptic signaling and integration in the nervous system. Currents mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors decline during whole-cell recordings and this may be prevented by ATP. We show here that phosphorylation is necessary to maintain NMDA currents and that the decline is not dependent upon Ca2+. A protein tyrosine phosphatase or a peptide inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase applied intracellularly caused a decrease in NMDA currents even when ATP was included. On the other hand, pretreating the neurons with a membrane-permeant tyrosine kinase inhibitor occluded the decline in NMDA currents when ATP was omitted. In inside-out patches, applying a protein tyrosine phosphatase to the cytoplasmic face of the patch caused a decrease in probability of opening of NMDA channels. Conversely, open probability was increased by a protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor. These results indicate that NMDA channel activity is reduced by a protein tyrosine phosphatase associated with the channel complex.

Archaeal-eubacterial mergers in the origin of Eukarya: phylogenetic classification of life.

A symbiosis-based phylogeny leads to a consistent, useful classification system for all life. "Kingdoms" and "Domains" are replaced by biological names for the most inclusive taxa: Prokarya (bacteria) and Eukarya (symbiosis-derived nucleated organisms). The earliest Eukarya, anaerobic mastigotes, hypothetically originated from permanent whole-cell fusion between members of Archaea (e.g., Thermoplasma-like organisms) and of Eubacteria (e.g., Spirochaeta-like organisms). Molecular biology, life-history, and fossil record evidence support the reunification of bacteria as Prokarya while subdividing Eukarya into uniquely defined subtaxa: Protoctista, Animalia, Fungi, and Plantae.

Adenosine activates ATP-sensitive potassium channels in arterial myocytes via A2 receptors and cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

The mechanism by which the endogenous vasodilator adenosine causes ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in arterial smooth muscle to open was investigated by the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Adenosine induced voltage-independent, potassium-selective currents, which were inhibited by glibenclamide, a blocker of KATP currents. Glibenclamide-sensitive currents were also activated by the selective adenosine A2-receptor agonist 2-p-(2-carboxethyl)-phenethylamino-5'-N- ethylcarboxamidoadenosine hydrochloride (CGS-21680), whereas 2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA), a selective adenosine A1-receptor agonist, failed to induce potassium currents. Glibenclamide-sensitive currents induced by adenosine and CGS-21680 were largely reduced by blockers of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (Rp-cAMP[S], H-89, protein kinase A inhibitor peptide). Therefore, we conclude that adenosine can activate KATP currents in arterial smooth muscle through the following pathway: (i) Adenosine stimulates A2 receptors, which activates adenylyl cyclase; (ii) the resulting increase intracellular cAMP stimulates protein kinase A, which, probably through a phosphorylation step, opens KATP channels.

Blocking effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on Na+ channels of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.

Recent evidence indicates that polyunsaturated long-chain fatty acids (PUFAs) prevent lethal ischemia-induced cardiac arrhythmias in animals and probably in humans. To increase understanding of the mechanism(s) of this phenomenon, the effects of PUFAs on Na+ currents were assessed by the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Extracellular application of the free 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) produced a concentration-dependent suppression of ventricular, voltage-activated Na+ currents (INa). After cardiac myocytes were treated with 5 or 10 microM EPA, the peak INa (elicited by a single-step voltage change with pulses from -80 to -30 mV) was decreased by 51% +/- 8% (P < 0.01; n = 10) and 64% +/- 5% (P < 0.001; n = 21), respectively, within 2 min. Likewise, the same concentrations of 4,7,10,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid produced the same inhibition of INa. By contrast, 5 and 10 microM arachidonic acid (AA) caused less inhibition of INa, but both n - 6 and n - 3 PUFAs inhibited INa significantly. A monounsaturated fatty acid and a saturated fatty acid did not. After washing out EPA, INa returned to the control level. Raising the concentration of EPA to 40 microM completely blocked INa. The IC50 of EPA was 4.8 microM. The inhibition of this Na+ channel was found to be dose and time, but not use dependent. Also, the EPA-induced inhibition of INa was voltage dependent, since 10 microM EPA produced 83% +/- 7% and 29% +/- 5% inhibition of INa elicited by pulses from -80 to -30 mV and from -150 to -30 mV, respectively, in single-step voltage changes. A concentration of 10 microM EPA shifted the steady-state inactivation curve of INa by -19 +/- 3 mV (n = 7; P < 0.01). These effects of PUFAs on INa may be important for their antiarrhythmic effect in vivo.

Increased expression and activity of sodium channels in alveolar type II cells of hyperoxic rats.

We investigated the cellular and molecular events associated with the increase in sodium transport across the alveolar epithelium of rats exposed to hyperoxia (85% O2 for 7 days followed by 100% O2 for 4 days). Alveolar type II (ATII) cell RNA was isolated and probed with a cDNA for one of the rat colonic epithelial sodium channel subunits (alpha rENaC). The alpha rENaC mRNA (3.7-kb transcript) increased 3-fold in ATII cell RNA isolated from rats exposed to 85% O2 for 7 days and 6-fold after 4 days of subsequent exposure to 100% O2. In situ hybridization revealed increased expression of alpha rENaC mRNA transcripts in both airway and alveolar epithelial cells of hyperoxic rats. When immunostained with a polyclonal antibody to kidney sodium channel protein, ATII cells from hyperoxic rats exhibited a significant increase in the amount of immunogenic protein present in both the plasma membrane and the cytoplasm. When patched in the whole-cell mode, ATII cells from hyperoxic rats exhibited amiloride and 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)-2',4'-amiloride (EIPA)-sensitive currents that were 100% higher compared with those obtained from air-breathing rats. Single-channel sodium currents (mean conductance of 25 pS) were seen in ATII cells patched in both the inside-out and cell-attached modes. The number and open probability of these channels increased significantly during exposure to hyperoxia. Exposure to sublethal hyperoxia up-regulated both alpha rENaC mRNA and the functional expression of sodium channels in ATII cells.

Hypertonicity activates nonselective cation channels in mouse cortical collecting duct cells.

We investigated the effect of cell shrinkage on whole-cell currents of M-1 mouse cortical collecting duct cells. Addition of 100 mM sucrose to an isotonic NaCl bath solution induced cell shrinkage and increased whole-cell currents within 5-10 min by approximately 12-fold. The effect was reversible upon return to isotonic solution and could also be elicited by adding 100 mM urea or 50 mM NaCl. Replacement of bath Na+ by K+, Cs+, Li+, or Rb+ did not significantly affect the stimulated inward current, but replacement by N-methyl-D-glucamine reduced it by 88.1 +/- 1.3% (n = 34); this demonstrates that hypertonicity activates a nonselective alkali cation conductance. The activation was independent of extra- and intracellular Ca2+, but 1 or 10 mM ATP in the pipette suppressed it in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating that intracellular ATP levels may modulate the degree of channel activation. Flufenamic acid (0.1 mM) and gadolinium (0.1 mM) inhibited the stimulated current by 68.7 +/- 5.9% (n = 9) and 32.4 +/- 11.7% (n = 6), respectively, whereas 0.1 mM amiloride had no significant effect. During the early phase of hypertonic stimulation single-channel transitions could be detected in whole-cell current recordings, and a gradual activation of 30 and more individual channels with a single-channel conductance of 26.7 +/- 0.4 pS (n = 29) could be resolved. Thus, we identified the nonselective cation channel underlying the shrinkage-induced whole-cell conductance that may play a role in volume regulation.

Depletion-activated calcium current is inhibited by protein kinase in RBL-2H3 cells.

Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings and single-cell Ca2+ measurements were used to study the control of Ca2+ entry through the Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ influx pathway (ICRAC) in rat basophilic leukemia cells. When intracellular inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-sensitive stores were depleted by dialyzing cells with high concentrations of InsP3, ICRAC inactivated only slightly in the absence of ATP. Inclusion of ATP accelerated inactivation 2-fold. The inactivation was increased further by the ATP analogue adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate, which is readily used by protein kinases, but not by 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate, another ATP analogue that is not used by kinases. Neither cyclic nucleotides nor inhibition of calmodulin or tyrosine kinase prevented the inactivation. Staurosporine and bisindolylmaleimide, protein kinase C inhibitors, reduced inactivation of ICRAC, whereas phorbol ester accelerated inactivation of the current. These results demonstrate that a protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation, probably through protein kinase C, inactivates ICRAC. Activation of the adenosine receptor (A3 type) in RBL cells did not evoke much Ca2+ influx or systematic activation of ICRAC. After protein kinase C was blocked, however, large ICRAC was observed in all cells and this was accompanied by large Ca2+ influx. The ability of a receptor to evoke Ca2+ entry is determined, at least in part, by protein kinase C. Antigen stimulation, which triggers secretion through a process that requires Ca2+ influx, activated ICRAC. The regulation of ICRAC by protein kinase will therefore have important consequences on cell functioning.

Two cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator mutations have different effects on both pulmonary phenotype and regulation of outwardly rectified chloride currents.

Cystic fibrosis (CF), a disorder of electrolyte transport manifest in the lungs, pancreas, sweat duct, and vas deferens, is caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The CFTR protein has been shown to function as a cAMP-activated chloride channel and also regulates a separate protein, the outwardly rectifying chloride channel (ORCC). To determine the consequence of disease-producing mutations upon these functions, mutant CFTR was transiently expressed in Xenopus oocytes and in human airway epithelial cells lacking functional CFTR. Both G551D, a mutation that causes severe lung disease, and A455E, a mutation associated with mild lung disease, altered but did not abolish CFTR's function as a chloride channel in Xenopus oocytes. Airway epithelial cells transfected with CFTR bearing either A455E or G551D had levels of chloride conductance significantly greater than those of mock-transfected and lower than those of wild-type CFTR-transfected cells, as measured by chloride efflux. A combination of channel blockers and analysis of current-voltage relationships were used to dissect the contribution of CFTR and the ORCC to whole cell currents of transfected cells. While CFTR bearing either mutation could function as a chloride channel, only CFTR bearing A455E retained the function of regulating the ORCC. These results indicate that CF mutations can affect CFTR functions differently and suggest that severity of pulmonary disease may be more closely associated with the regulatory rather than chloride channel function of CFTR.

Presynaptic modulation of cortical synaptic activity by calcineurin.

Synaptic plasticity is modulated by Ca(2+)-induced alterations in the balance between phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. Recent evidence suggests that calcineurin, the Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent phosphatase (2B), modulates the activity of postsynaptic glutamate receptors. However, in rat cortex, calcineurin is enriched mainly in presynaptic, not postsynaptic, fractions. To determine if calcineurin modulates glutamatergic neurotransmission through a presynaptic mechanism, we used whole-cell patch clamp experiments to test effects of two specific calcineurin inhibitors, cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506, on synaptic activity in fetal rat cortical neurons. The rate of spontaneous action-potential firing was markedly increased by either CsA or FK506 but was unaffected by rapamycin, a structural analog of FK506 which has no effect on calcineurin. In voltage-clamp experiments, CsA increased the rate but not the amplitude of glutamate receptor-mediated, excitatory postsynaptic currents, suggesting an increased rate of glutamate release. CsA had no effect on the amplitude of currents evoked by brief bath application of selective glutamate receptor agonists, providing further evidence for a pre- rather than postsynaptic site of action. In conclusion, these data indicate that calcineurin modulates glutamatergic neurotransmission in rat cortical neurons through a presynaptic mechanism.

Structural conservation of ion conduction pathways in K channels and glutamate receptors.

Single channel recordings demonstrate that ion channels switch stochastically between an open and a closed pore conformation. In search of a structural explanation for this universal open/close behavior, we have uncovered a striking degree of amino acid homology across the pore-forming regions of voltage-gated K channels and glutamate receptors. This suggested that the pores of these otherwise unrelated classes of channels could be structurally conserved. Strong experimental evidence supports a hairpin structure for the pore-forming region of K channels. Consequently, we hypothesized the existence of a similar structure for the pore of glutamate receptors. In ligand-gated channels, the pore is formed by M2, the second of four putative transmembrane segments. A hairpin structure for M2 would affect the subsequent membrane topology, inverting the proposed orientation of the next segments, M3. We have tested this idea for the NR1 subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. Mutations that affected the glycosylation pattern of the NR1 subunit localize both extremes of the M3-M4 linker to the extracellular space. Whole cell currents and apparent agonist affinities were not affected by these mutations. Therefore it can be assumed that they represent the native transmembrane topology. The extracellular assignment of the M3-M4 linker challenged the current topology model by inverting M3. Taken together, the amino acid homology and the new topology suggest that the pore-forming M2 segment of glutamate receptors does not transverse the membrane but, rather, forms a hairpin structure, similar to that found in K channels.