cAMP-activated chloride conductance in the colonic cell line, Caco-2.

In this study we investigated the properties of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-stimulated Cl- efflux in Caco-2 monolayers by measuring 125I efflux rates from preloaded cells and using patch-clamp electrophysiology. The addition of a cocktail containing 100 microM dibutyryl cAMP (DBcAMP), 10 microM forskolin, and 1 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine caused a significant (P less than 0.05) increase in the rate of 125I efflux. Dissipation of cell potential by adding valinomycin (4.5 microM) with 135 mM extracellular KCl reduced the cAMP-evoked 125I efflux. These results suggest that cAMP-stimulated anion efflux occurs through a conductive pore or channel. Whole cell currents evoked with DBcAMP or forskolin were anion selective, PCl greater than PI greater than Pgluconate, and exhibited a linear current-voltage (I-V) relationship. Currents evoked with depolarizing or hyperpolarizing voltage steps showed no evidence of time-dependent activation or inactivation. Single Cl- channels were stimulated in cell-attached patches after treatment with cAMP. Onset of channel activity occurred after 20-30s of cAMP treatment, and the response was long lasting. The I-V relationship for the channel activated in cell-attached patches by cAMP was best fit using two linear regressions. The slope conductance of the channel was 3.2 +/- 0.6 and 7.4 +/- 0.3 pS at hyperpolarizing and depolarizing potentials, respectively. Substitution of 140 mM NaCl with 70 mM NaCl in the patch pipette resulted in a positive shift in reversal potential, indicating that the channel is anion selective.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neonatal programming of ethylmorphine demethylase and corticosteroid 5 alpha-reductase by testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and estradiol. Effects of an anti-estrogen, an anti-androgen, and an inhibitor of estrogen synthetase.

The neonatal imprinting of ethylmorphine demethylase and corticosteroid 5 alpha-reductase was studied. Males, castrated at birth (day 1), were injected (sc) with testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, or estradiol on days 2, 4, and 6 and with testosterone (2 mg/rat/day) on days 50-59. Microsomes were prepared on day 60. All three steroids, at greater than or equal to 0.73 mumol/pup, increased the apparent Vmax and decreased the apparent Km of the demethylase to values that did not differ (p less than 0.05) from those of intact adult males. Analogously, all steroids, at greater than or equal to 0.73 mumol/pup, decreased the apparent Vmax of the reductase to intact male values; its apparent Km was increased to adult male values by both androgens (at greater than or equal to 0.37 mumol/pup) and by estradiol (at greater than or equal to 0.73 mumol/pup). Flutamide (1.45 mumol/pup) failed to alter these effects indicating that androgen receptors are not involved in the imprinting process. Nafoxidine (1.45 mumol/pup) blocked the effects of all three steroids, indicating that androgens and estrogens both imprint via the estrogen receptor. An inhibitor of androgen aromatase, 1,4,6-androstatriene-3, 17 dione, blocked the imprinting effects of testosterone, but not those of dihydrotestosterone. Thus, testosterone is oxidized to estradiol prior to imprinting, while dihydrotestosterone imprints as the parent compound. The latter may reflect a pharmacologic occupancy of the estrogen receptor by dihydrotestosterone.

Expression of the cystic fibrosis gene in non-epithelial invertebrate cells produces a regulated anion conductance.

The nature of involvement of the cystic fibrosis gene product (CFTR) in epithelial anion transport is not yet understood. We have expressed CFTR in Sf9 insect cells using the baculovirus expression vector system. Reactivity with antibodies against 12 different epitopes spanning the entire sequence suggested that the complete polypeptide chain was synthesized. Immunogold labeling showed localization to both cell-surface and intracellular membranes. Concomitant with CFTR expression, these cells exhibited a new cAMP-stimulated anion permeability. This conductance, monitored both by radioiodide efflux and patch clamping, strongly resembled that present in several CFTR-expressing human epithelial cells. These findings demonstrate that CFTR can function in heterologous nonepithelial cells and lend support to the possibility that CFTR may itself be a regulated anion channel.