Calcium-activated potassium channels and fluid secretion by exocrine glands

1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (1) ◽  
pp. G1-G13 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. H. Petersen

Fluid secretion by exocrine glands is regulated by neurotransmitters and hormones. The secretagogues act on the acinar cells by switching on two types of conductance pathways: K+-selective channels in the basolateral membrane and Cl(-)-selective channels localized to the luminal membrane. The K+ channels have been quantitatively characterized in patch-clamp single-channel and whole-cell current-recording studies. Opening of the K+ channels is determined by the membrane potential (depolarization enhances the probability of channel opening), and the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) (a rise in [Ca2+]i increases the open-state probability). The Cl- channels are also controlled by internal Ca2+ in such a way that an elevation of [Ca2+]i favors opening. Secretagogues evoking an increase in [Ca2+]i activate both sets of channels causing a substantial loss of cellular KCl. KCl is taken up via a Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransport mechanism in the basolateral membrane and the Na+ uptake activates the Na+-K+ pump. In the steady-state stimulated situation the three basolateral transport proteins, the K+ channels, the Na+-K+ pump, and the Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter operate together as an electrogenic Cl- pump. Cl- exits into the lumen via the Ca2+-activated Cl- channels and Na+ follows through the paracellular shunt pathway. When stimulation of the acinar cells ceases the K+ and Cl- conductance pathways close and the Na+-K+ pump together with the Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter operate as a KCl pump, restoring the intracellular KCl lost initially after start of stimulation and secretion stops.

1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (6) ◽  
pp. G823-G837 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Nauntofte

The primary secretion from exocrine gland cells is a fluid rich in Na+ and Cl- with a plasmalike ionic composition. Activation of specific receptors on the plasma membrane by hormones and neurotransmitters, which leads to activation of the phosphoinositol metabolism, results in release of Ca2+ from internal Ca2+ stores. Intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) then rises simultaneously at both the basolateral and luminal parts of the acinar cell, reaching maximum values within 1 s after stimulation. In parotid acinar cells, increased [Ca2+]i activates the opening of maxi K+ channels located on the basolateral membrane and Cl- channels presumably located on the luminal membrane, resulting in rapid loss of K+ and Cl- and water and cell shrinkage. Extracellular electroneutrality is maintained by a paracellular Na+ flux into the lumen. Because of the simultaneous activation of K+ and Cl- channels, secretion occurs at a virtually constant membrane potential of about -60 mV. After maximal muscarinic cholinergic stimulation, loss of K+, Cl-, and water results in an approximate 25% reduction in cell volume within 10-15 s after receptor activation. Concomitant with loss of Cl-, there is a loss of HCO3- from the cell, causing a decrease in intracellular pH of 0.1 pH units because of the carbonic anhydrase-mediated conversion of CO2 into H+ and HCO3-. H+ generated from the metabolism and HCO3- production is compensated for by extrusion of H+ by a Na(+)-H+ exchange mechanism, which is responsible for approximately 75% of net Na+ gain that occurs after stimulation. Increased [Na+]i activates the Na(+)-K+ pump, which in turn extrudes Na+ from the cells. In both the unstimulated and stimulated states, cellular production of HCO3- can drive a net uptake of Cl- via the Cl(-)-HCO3- exchange mechanism operating in parallel with the Na(+)-H+ exchanger. The operation of the Cl(-)-HCO3- exchanger is, together with a Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport system, essential for maintainance of a high [Cl-]i both in the unstimulated state and during Cl- reuptake.


Physiology ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-95
Author(s):  
OH Peterson

Fluid secretion from exocrine glands can be switched on and off with great precision. Recent patch-clamp recordings of single-channel currents in acinar cells reveals that neurotransmitters and hormones control the opening of K+ channels. However, fluid secretion is due to transport of Na+ and Cl-, and movement of these ions occurs only when K+ can be transported simultaneously. Thus, by controlling K+ channels, neurotransmitters or hormones regulate Na+ and Cl-secretion.


2004 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Sugita ◽  
Chikara Hirono ◽  
Yoshiki Shiba

Elevations of cytoplasmic free calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) evoked by cholinergic agonists stimulate isotonic fluid secretion in salivary acinar cells. This process is driven by the apical exit of Cl− through Ca2+-activated Cl− channels, while Cl− enters the cytoplasm against its electrochemical gradient via a loop diuretic-sensitive Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC) and/or parallel operations of Cl−-HCO3− and Na+-H+ exchangers, located in the basolateral membrane. To characterize the contributions of those activities to net Cl− secretion, we analyzed carbachol (CCh)-activated Cl− currents in submandibular acinar cells using the “gramicidin-perforated patch recording configuration.” Since the linear polypeptide antibiotic gramicidin creates monovalent cation-selective pores, CCh-activated Cl− currents in the gramicidin-perforated patch recording were carried by Cl− efflux via Cl− channels, dependent upon Cl− entry through Cl− transporters expressed in the acinar cells. CCh-evoked oscillatory Cl− currents were associated with oscillations of membrane potential. Bumetanide, a loop diuretic, decreased the CCh-activated Cl− currents and hyperpolarized the membrane potential. In contrast, neither methazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, nor elimination of external HCO3− had significant effects, suggesting that the cotransporter rather than parallel operations of Cl−-HCO3− and Na+-H+ exchangers is the primary Cl− uptake pathway. Pharmacological manipulation of the activities of the Ca2+-activated Cl− channel and the NKCC revealed that the NKCC plays a substantial role in determining the amplitude of oscillatory Cl− currents, while adjusting to the rate imposed by the Ca2+-activated Cl− channel, in the gramicidin-perforated patch configuration. By concerting with and being controlled by the cation steps, the oscillatory form of secretory Cl− movements may effectively provide a driving force for fluid secretion in intact acinar cells.


2012 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janos Almassy ◽  
Jong Hak Won ◽  
Ted B. Begenisich ◽  
David I. Yule

Ca2+ activation of Cl and K channels is a key event underlying stimulated fluid secretion from parotid salivary glands. Cl channels are exclusively present on the apical plasma membrane (PM), whereas the localization of K channels has not been established. Mathematical models have suggested that localization of some K channels to the apical PM is optimum for fluid secretion. A combination of whole cell electrophysiology and temporally resolved digital imaging with local manipulation of intracellular [Ca2+] was used to investigate if Ca2+-activated K channels are present in the apical PM of parotid acinar cells. Initial experiments established Ca2+-buffering conditions that produced brief, localized increases in [Ca2+] after focal laser photolysis of caged Ca2+. Conditions were used to isolate K+ and Cl− conductances. Photolysis at the apical PM resulted in a robust increase in K+ and Cl− currents. A localized reduction in [Ca2+] at the apical PM after photolysis of Diazo-2, a caged Ca2+ chelator, resulted in a decrease in both K+ and Cl− currents. The K+ currents evoked by apical photolysis were partially blocked by both paxilline and TRAM-34, specific blockers of large-conductance “maxi-K” (BK) and intermediate K (IK), respectively, and almost abolished by incubation with both antagonists. Apical TRAM-34–sensitive K+ currents were also observed in BK-null parotid acini. In contrast, when the [Ca2+] was increased at the basal or lateral PM, no increase in either K+ or Cl− currents was evoked. These data provide strong evidence that K and Cl channels are similarly distributed in the apical PM. Furthermore, both IK and BK channels are present in this domain, and the density of these channels appears higher in the apical versus basolateral PM. Collectively, this study provides support for a model in which fluid secretion is optimized after expression of K channels specifically in the apical PM.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (5) ◽  
pp. C1385-C1398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clint Perry ◽  
David O. Quissell ◽  
Mary E. Reyland ◽  
Irina I. Grichtchenko

Cholinergic agonists are major stimuli for fluid secretion in parotid acinar cells. Saliva bicarbonate is essential for maintaining oral health. Electrogenic and electroneutral Na+-HCO3− cotransporters (NBCe1 and NBCn1) are abundant in parotid glands. We previously reported that angiotensin regulates NBCe1 by endocytosis in Xenopus oocytes. Here, we studied cholinergic regulation of NBCe1 and NBCn1 membrane trafficking by confocal fluorescent microscopy and surface biotinylation in parotid epithelial cells. NBCe1 and NBCn1 colocalized with E-cadherin monoclonal antibody at the basolateral membrane (BLM) in polarized ParC5 cells. Inhibition of constitutive recycling with the carboxylic ionophore monensin or the calmodulin antagonist W-13 caused NBCe1 to accumulate in early endosomes with a parallel loss from the BLM, suggesting that NBCe1 is constitutively endocytosed. Carbachol and PMA likewise caused redistribution of NBCe1 from BLM to early endosomes. The PKC inhibitor, GF-109203X, blocked this redistribution, indicating a role for PKC. In contrast, BLM NBCn1 was not downregulated in parotid acinar cells treated with constitutive recycling inhibitors, cholinergic stimulators, or PMA. We likewise demonstrate striking differences in regulation of membrane trafficking of NBCe1 vs. NBCn1 in resting and stimulated cells. We speculate that endocytosis of NBCe1, which coincides with the transition to a steady-state phase of stimulated fluid secretion, could be a part of acinar cell adjustment to a continuous secretory response. Stable association of NBCn1 at the membrane may facilitate constitutive uptake of HCO3− across the BLM, thus supporting HCO3− luminal secretion and/or maintaining acid-base homeostasis in stimulated cells.


1987 ◽  
Vol 253 (3) ◽  
pp. F476-F487 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sackin ◽  
L. G. Palmer

Potassium (K+) channels in the basolateral membrane of unperfused Necturus proximal tubules were studied in both cell-attached and excised patches, after removal of the tubule basement membrane by manual dissection without collagenase. Two different K+ channels were identified on the basis of their kinetics: a short open-time K+ channel, with a mean open time less than 1 ms, and a long open-time K+ channel with a mean open time greater than 20 ms. The short open-time channel occurred more frequently than the longer channel, especially in excised patches. For inside-out excised patches with Cl- replaced by gluconate, the current-voltage relation of the short open-time K+ channel was linear over +/- 60 mV, with a K+-Na+ selectivity of 12 +/- 2 (n = 12), as calculated from the reversal potential with oppositely directed Na+ and K+ gradients. With K-Ringer in the patch pipette and Na-Ringer in the bath, the conductance of the short open-time channel was 47 +/- 2 pS (n = 15) for cell-attached patches, 26 +/- 2 pS (n = 15) for patches excised (inside out) into Na-Ringer, and 36 +/- 6 pS (n = 3) for excised patches with K-Ringer on both sides. These different conductances can be partially explained by a dependence of single-channel conductance on the K+ concentration on the interior side of the membrane. In experiments with a constant K+ gradient across excised patches, large changes in Na+ at the interior side of the membrane produced no change in single-channel conductance, arguing against a direct block of the K+ channel by Na+. Finally, the activity of the short open-time channel was voltage gated, where the mean number of open channels decreased as a linear function of basolateral membrane depolarization for potentials between -60 and 0 mV. Depolarization from -60 to -40 mV decreased the mean number of open K+ channels by 28 +/- 8% (n = 6).


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (1) ◽  
pp. C72-C78 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sunose ◽  
K. Ikeda ◽  
Y. Saito ◽  
A. Nishiyama ◽  
T. Takasaka

Single-channel currents of the luminal membrane of marginal cells dissected from the guinea pig cochlea were investigated using the patch-clamp technique. Nonselective cation channels having a linear conductance of 27 pS were activated by depolarization, cytoplasmic Ca2+, and cytoplasmic acidification. Cytoplasmic ATP inactivated the channel. A mixture of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and forskolin activated a small-conductance Cl channel in the cell-attached mode. On excision in the inside-out mode, the Cl channel was inactivated, but it was reactivated by a cytoplasmic catalytic subunit of protein kinase A with ATP. This Cl channel had a linear conductance of 12 pS, and its activity was little affected by voltage. The sequence of permeation by anions was Br- > Cl > I-. The Cl channel blocker diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (3 mM) completely blocked the channel, but 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid (50 microM) blocked it only partially. The above-mentioned characteristics are similar to those of the well-demonstrated Cl- channel, cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (4) ◽  
pp. G570-G577
Author(s):  
T. Ishikawa ◽  
T. Kanno

Efflux and influx of K+ across the basolateral membrane of acinar cells were continuously computed from the change in K+ concentration in the perfusate collected from the portal vein of the isolated perfused rat pancreas. Continuous stimulation with different concentrations of COOH-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin (CCK-8) caused characteristic patterns of K+ flux and fluid secretion as follows: 1) stimulation with 10 pM CCK-8 induced a gradual and small increase in K+ influx and sustained fluid secretion; 2) stimulation with 100 pM CCK-8 caused an initial transient K+ efflux followed by a secondary slow K+ influx and sustained fluid secretion; 3) stimulation with 1 nM CCK-8 also induced an initial transient K+ efflux followed by a secondary slow K+ influx, whereas there was only a slight transient increase in fluid secretion. Ouabain abolished the CCK-8-induced K+ influx, but furosemide had little, if any, effect on the CCK-8-induced K+ flux and fluid secretion. Complete replacement of Cl- with equimolar NO3- had little effect on the CCK-8-induced K+ influx. These results suggest that CCK-8 activates not only passive K+ transport but also an ouabain sensitive Na(+)-K+ pump and that the furosemide-sensitive Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- symport may not play a significant role in CCK-8-induced K+ transport.


2005 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Chapman ◽  
Antonius M.J. VanDongen

Voltage-gated K channels assemble from four identical subunits symmetrically arranged around a central permeation pathway. Each subunit harbors a voltage-sensing domain. The sigmoidal nature of the activation kinetics suggests that multiple sensors need to undergo a conformational change before the channel can open. Following activation, individual K channels alternate stochastically between two main permeation states, open and closed. This binary character of single channel behavior suggests the presence of a structure in the permeation pathway that can exist in only two conformations. However, single channel analysis of drk1 (Kv2.1) K channels demonstrated the existence of four additional, intermediate conductance levels. These short-lived subconductance levels are visited when the channel gate moves between the closed and fully open state. We have proposed that these sublevels arise from transient heteromeric pore conformations, in which some, but not all, subunits are in the “open” state. A minimal model based on this hypothesis relates specific subconductance states with the number of activated subunits (Chapman et al., 1997). To stringently test this hypothesis, we constructed a tandem dimer that links two K channel subunits with different activation thresholds. Activation of this dimer by strong depolarizations resulted in the characteristic binary open–close behavior. However, depolarizations to membrane potentials in between the activation thresholds of the two parents elicited highly unusual single channel gating, displaying frequent visits to two subconductance levels. The voltage dependence and kinetics of the small and large sublevels associate them with the activation of one and two subunits, respectively. The data therefore support the hypothesis that subconductance levels result from heteromeric pore conformations. In this model, both sensor movement and channel opening have a subunit basis and these processes are allosterically coupled.


2008 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Lee ◽  
Janice M. Harlow ◽  
Maria P. Limberis ◽  
James M. Wilson ◽  
J. Kevin Foskett

Airway submucosal glands contribute to airway surface liquid (ASL) composition and volume, both important for lung mucociliary clearance. Serous acini generate most of the fluid secreted by glands, but the molecular mechanisms remain poorly characterized. We previously described cholinergic-regulated fluid secretion driven by Ca2+-activated Cl− secretion in primary murine serous acinar cells revealed by simultaneous differential interference contrast (DIC) and fluorescence microscopy. Here, we evaluated whether Ca2+-activated Cl− secretion was accompanied by secretion of HCO3−, possibly a critical ASL component, by simultaneous measurements of intracellular pH (pHi) and cell volume. Resting pHi was 7.17 ± 0.01 in physiological medium (5% CO2–25 mM HCO3−). During carbachol (CCh) stimulation, pHi fell transiently by 0.08 ± 0.01 U concomitantly with a fall in Cl− content revealed by cell shrinkage, reflecting Cl− secretion. A subsequent alkalinization elevated pHi to above resting levels until agonist removal, whereupon it returned to prestimulation values. In nominally CO2–HCO3−-free media, the CCh-induced acidification was reduced, whereas the alkalinization remained intact. Elimination of driving forces for conductive HCO3− efflux by ion substitution or exposure to the Cl− channel inhibitor niflumic acid (100 μM) strongly inhibited agonist-induced acidification by >80% and >70%, respectively. The Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) inhibitor dimethylamiloride (DMA) increased the magnitude (greater than twofold) and duration of the CCh-induced acidification. Gene expression profiling suggested that serous cells express NHE isoforms 1–4 and 6–9, but pharmacological sensitivities demonstrated that alkalinization observed during both CCh stimulation and pHi recovery from agonist-induced acidification was primarily due to NHE1, localized to the basolateral membrane. These results suggest that serous acinar cells secrete HCO3− during Ca2+-evoked fluid secretion by a mechanism that involves the apical membrane secretory Cl− channel, with HCO3− secretion sustained by activation of NHE1 in the basolateral membrane. In addition, other Na+-dependent pHi regulatory mechanisms exist, as evidenced by stronger inhibition of alkalinization in Na+-free media.


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