Vasopressin Neurons Respond to Hyperosmotic Stimulation with Regulatory Volume Increase and Secretory Volume Decrease by Activating Ion Transporters and Ca2+ Channels

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Arginine vasopressin (AVP) neurons play an important role for sensing a change in the plasma osmolarity and thereby responding with regulated AVP secretion in order to maintain the body fluid homeostasis. The osmo-sensing processes in magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) including AVP and oxytocin (OXT) neurons of the hypothalamus were reported to be coupled to sustained osmotic shrinkage or swelling without exhibiting discernible cell volume regulation. Since increasing evidence has shown some important differences in properties between AVP and OXT neurons, osmotic volume responses are to be reexamined with distinguishing these cell types from each other. We previously reported that AVP neurons identified by transgenic expression of enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP) possess the ability of regulatory volume decrease (RVD) after hypoosmotic cell swelling. Thus, in the present study, we examined the ability of regulatory volume increase (RVI) after hyperosmotic cell shrinkage in AVP neurons. METHODS: Here, we used eGFP-identified AVP neurons acutely dissociated from AVP-eGFP transgenic rats. We performed single-cell size measurements, cytosolic RT-PCR analysis, AVP secretion measurements, and patch-clamp studies. RESULTS: The AVP neurons were found to respond to a hyperosmotic challenge with physiological cell shrinkage caused by massive secretion of AVP, called a secretory volume decrease (SVD), superimposed onto physical osmotic cell shrinkage, and also to exhibit the ability of RVI coping with osmotic and secretory cell shrinkage. Furthermore, our pharmacological and molecular examinations indicated that AVP secretion and its associated SVD event are triggered by activation of T-type Ca2+ channels, and the RVI event is attained by parallel operation of Na+/H+ exchanger and Cl-/HCO3- anion exchanger. CONCLUSION: Thus, it is concluded that AVP neurons respond to hyperosmotic stimulation with the regulatory volume increase and the secretory volume increase by activating ion transporters and Ca2+ channels, respectively.