Participation of the 39-kDa glycoprotein (gp39) of the vitelline envelope of Bufo arenarum eggs in sperm–egg interaction

SummaryThe acquisition of egg fertilizability in Bufo arenarum takes place during the oviductal transit and during this process the extracellular coelomic envelope (CE) of the eggs is converted into the vitelline envelope (VE). It has been stated that one of the necessary events leading to a fertilizable state is the proteolytic cleavage of CE glycoproteins in the oviductal pars recta by oviductin, a serine protease. Consequently, there is a marked increase in the relative quantity of glycoproteins with 39 (gp39) and 42 kDa (gp42) in the VE. In the present study, sperm–VE binding assays using heat-solubilized biotin-conjugated VE glycoproteins revealed that both gp39 and gp42 have sperm binding capacity. According to this result, our study was focused on gp39, a glycoprotein that we have previously reported as a homologue of mammalian ZPC. For this purpose, rabbit polyclonal antibodies against gp39 were generated at our laboratory. The specificity of the antibodies was confirmed with western blot of VE glycoproteins separated on SDS-PAGE. Immunohistochemical and immunoelectron studies showed gp39 distributed throughout the width of the VE. In addition, immunofluorescence assays probed that gp39 bound to the sperm head. Finally, as an approach to elucidate the possible involvement of gp39 in fertilization, inhibition assays showed that pretreatment of eggs with antibodies against gp39 generated a significant decrease in the fertilization rate. Therefore, our findings suggest that gp39, which is modified by oviductal action, participates as a VE glycoprotein ligand for sperm in Bufo arenarum fertilization.

Transepithelial transport and metabolism of glycine in S1, S2, and S3 cell types of the rabbit proximal tubule

In the first of two sets of experiments, the lumen-to-cell and cell-to-bath transport rates for glycine were measured in the isolated-perfused medullary pars recta (S3 cells) of the rabbit proximal tubule at multiple luminal glycine concentrations (0–2.0 mM). The lumen-to-cell transport of glycine was saturated, which permitted the calculation of the transport maximum of disappearance rate of glycine from the lumen (pmol · min−1 · mm tubular length−1), K m (mM), and paracellular leak (pmol · min−1 · mm tubular length−1 · mM−1) values for this transport mechanism; these values were 4.3, 0.3, and 0.03, respectively. The cell-to-bath transport did not saturate but showed a linear relationship to cellular glycine concentration, 0.58 pmol · min−1 · mm tubular length−1 · mM−1. The second set of experiments characterized the transport rate, cellular accumulation, and metabolic rate of lumen-to-cell transported [3H]glycine in all segments (cell types) of the proximal tubule, pars convoluta (S1 cells), cortical pars recta (S2 cells), and medullary pars recta (S3 cells). These proximal tubular segments were isolated and perfused at a single glycine concentration of 11.2 μM. From the results of this study and previous work (Barfuss DW and Schafer JA. Am J Physiol 236: F149–F162, 1979), we conclude that the axial heterogeneity for glycine lumen-to-cell and cell-to-bath transport capacity extends to the medullary pars recta (S3 cells; S1 > S2 < S3 for lumen-to-cell transport and S1 > S2 > S3 for cell-to-bath transport). Also, we conclude that lumen-to-cell transported glycine can be metabolized and its metabolic rate displays axial heterogeneity (S1 > S2 > S3). The physiological significances of these transport and metabolic characteristics of the S3 cell type permits the medullary pars recta to effectively recover glycine from very low luminal glycine concentrations and makes glycine available for protective and maintenance metabolism of the medullary pars recta.

Localization of diuretic effects along the loop of Henle: an in vivo microperfusion study in rats

In order to clarify the effects on sodium reabsorption in the loop of Henle of methazolamide (a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor), chlorothiazide and the loop diuretics frusemide and bumetanide, superficial loops were perfused in vivo in anaesthetized rats and the individual diuretics were included in the perfusate. Differentiation between effects in the pars recta and in the thick ascending limb of Henle (TALH) was achieved by comparing responses to the diuretics when using a standard perfusate, designed to mimic native late proximal tubular fluid, and a low-sodium perfusate, designed to block net sodium reabsorption in the pars recta. With the standard perfusate, methazolamide caused decreases in sodium reabsorption (JNa) and water reabsorption (JV); with the low-sodium perfusate, a modest effect on JNa persisted, suggesting that carbonic anhydrase inhibition reduces sodium reabsorption in both the pars recta and the TALH. The effects of chlorothiazide were very similar to those of methazolamide with both the standard and low-sodium perfusates, suggesting that chlorothiazide also inhibits sodium reabsorption in the pars recta and TALH, perhaps through inhibition of carbonic anhydrase. With the standard perfusate, both frusemide and bumetanide produced the expected large decreases in JNa, but JV was also lowered. With the low-sodium perfusate, the inhibitory effects of the loop diuretics, particularly those of frusemide, were substantially reduced, while net potassium secretion was found. These observations indicate that a significant component of the effect of frusemide (and possibly of bumetanide) on overall sodium reabsorption is located in the pars recta, and that loop diuretics induce potassium secretion in the TALH.