Effects of extracellular nucleotides and their hydrolysis products on regulatory volume decrease of trout hepatocytes.

In trout hepatocytes, hypotonic swelling is followed by a compensatory shrinkage called regulatory volume decrease (RVD). It has been postulated that extracellular ATP and other nucleotides may interact with type 2 receptors (P(2)) to modulate this response. In addition, specific ectoenzymes hydrolyze ATP sequentially down to adenosine, which may bind to type 1 receptors (P(1)) and also influence RVD. Accordingly, in this study, we assessed the role of extracellular nucleoside 5'-tri- and diphosphates and of adenosine on RVD of trout hepatocytes. The extent of RVD after 40 min of maximum swelling was denoted as RVD(40), whereas the initial rate of RVD was called v(RVD). In the presence of hypotonic medium (60% of isotonic), hepatocytes swelled 1.6 times followed by v(RVD) of 1.7 min(-1) and RVD(40) of 60.2%. ATP, UTP, UDP, or ATPgammaS (P(2) agonists; 5 microM) increased v(RVD) 1.5-2 times, whereas no changes were observed in the values of RVD(40). Addition of 100 microM suramin or cibacron blue (P(2) antagonists) to the hypotonic medium produced no effect on v(RVD) but a 53-58% inhibition of RVD(40). Incubation of hepatocytes in the presence of either 5 microM [gamma-(32)P]ATP or [alpha-(32)P]ATP induced the extracellular release of [gamma-(32)P]P(i) (0.21 nmol.10(-6) cells(-1).min(-1)) and [alpha-(32)P]P(i) ( approximately 8 x 10(-3) nmol.10(-6) cells(-1).min(-1)), suggesting the presence of ectoenzymes capable of fully dephosphorylating ATP. Concerning the effect of P(1) activation on RVD, 5 microM adenosine, both in the presence and absence of 100 microM S-(4-nitrobenzil)-6-tioinosine (a blocker of adenosine uptake), decreased RVD(40) by 37-44%, whereas 8-phenyl theophylline, a P(1) antagonist, increased RVD(40) by 15%. Overall, results indicate that ATP, UTP, and UDP, acting via P(2), are important factors promoting RVD of trout hepatocytes, whereas adenosine binding to P(1) inhibits this process.

Are the states that occlude rubidium obligatory intermediates of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase reaction?

In the Albers-Post model, occlusion of K(+) in the E(2) conformer of the enzyme (E) is an obligatory step of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase reaction. If this were so the ratio (Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity)/(concentration of occluded species) should be equal to the rate constant for deocclusion. We tested this prediction in a partially purified Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase from pig kidney by means of rapid filtration to measure the occlusion using the K(+) congener Rb(+). Assuming that always two Rb(+) are occluded per enzyme, the steady-state levels of occluded forms and the kinetics of deocclusion were adequately described by the Albers-Post model over a very wide range of [ATP] and [Rb(+)]. The same happened with the kinetics of ATP hydrolysis. However, the value of the parameters that gave best fit differed from those for occlusion in such a way that the ratio (Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity)/(concentration of occluded species) became much larger than the rate constant for deocclusion when [Rb(+)] <10 mM. This points to the presence of an extra ATP hydrolysis that is not Na(+)-ATPase activity and that does not involve occlusion. A possible way of explaining this is to posit that the binding of a single Rb(+) increases ATP hydrolysis without occlusion.

An attachment for nondestructive, fast quenching of samples in rapid-mixing experiments.

The present paper describes a quenching-and-washing chamber (QWC) to be used with a rapid-mixing apparatus (RMA) for the study of processes in the millisecond time scale. The QWC enables fast, nondestructive quenching by cooling and dilution of reactants in particulate systems that can be trapped on a filter. The reaction mixture (e.g., at 25 degrees C) is injected from the RMA into the QWC where it is immediately mixed with a stream of ice-cold solution flowing at a rate of 15-40 ml s-1. Quenching requires that the process studied is slowed considerably by cooling to 0-2 degrees C and/or by removal of reactants by dilution. The equipment was characterized through a study of the tight binding (occlusion) of 86Rb+ to purified, membrane-bound Na+/K+-ATPase. Millipore filters of 0.22-0.80 microm pore size trapped close to 100% of the enzyme protein. Enzyme with occluded 86Rb+ was formed in the RMA under conditions where the rate constant for release of Rb+ at 25 degrees C is up to 25 s-1 and then injected into the QWC. The high off-rate constant is due to the presence of 2.5 mM ATP, which accelerates release of Rb+. The recovery of occluded 86Rb+ on the filter was at least 90%, indicating that both cooling of the reactants and dilution of ATP are fast enough to stop the reaction. The quenching time was 3-4 ms.