Porous membranes for reconstitution of ion channels.

Functional biological synthetic composite (BSC) membranes were made using phospholipids, biological membrane proteins and permeable synthetic supports or membranes. Lipid bilayers were formed on porous polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) and poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) membranes and in 10-100 microm laser-drilled pores in a 96-well plastic plate as measured by increased resistance or decreased currents. Bilayers in 50 microm and smaller pores were stable for up to 4 h as measured by resistance changes or a current after gramicidin D reconstitution. Biological membrane transport reconstitution was then carried out. Using vesicles containing Kv1.5 K(+) channels, K(+) currents and decreased resistance were measured across bilayers in 50 microm pores in the plastic plate and PLLA membranes, respectively, which were inhibited by compound B, a Kv1.5 K(+) channel inhibitor. Functional reconstitution of Kv1.5 K(+) channels was successful. Incorporation of membrane proteins in functional form in stable permeable membrane-supported lipid bilayers is a simple technology to create BSC membranes that mimic biological function which is readily adaptable for high throughput screening.

The lysosomal H+ pump: 8-azido-ATP inhibition and the role of chloride in H+ transport.

Lysosomes (tritosomes) were purified from the livers of rats injected with Triton WR 1339. The lysosomes developed an Mg2+-ATP-dependent pH gradient as measured by Acridine orange accumulation. H+ transport was supported by chloride, but not sulfate, and was independent of the cation used. H+ transport and Mg2+-stimulated ATPase was inhibited by diethylstilbesterol (K0.5 = 2 microM). N-Ethylmaleimide inhibited H+ transport (K0.5 = 30 microM). At low concentrations of N-ethylmaleimide, ATP partially protected H+ transport from inhibition with N-ethylmaleimide. Photolysis with 8-azido-ATP inhibited H+ transport and Mg2+-stimulated ATPase activity. Under these same conditions, 8-azido-[alpha-32P]ATP reacted with a number of polypeptides of the intact lysosome and lysosomal membranes. Pump-dependent potentials were measured using the fluorescent potential-sensitive dye, DiSC3(5) (3,3'-dipropylthiocarbocyanine) and ATP-dependent potential generation was inhibited by diethylstilbesterol. Chloride, but not sulfate reduced the magnitude of the ATP-dependent membrane potential, as measured using merocyanine 540. The chloride conductance, independent of ATP, was of sufficient magnitude to generate a H+ gradient driven by external chloride in the presence of tetrachlorosalicylanilide. In Cl- free media, ATP-dependent H+ transport was restored to control levels by outwardly directed K+ gradients in the presence of valinomycin. The role of cell Cl- is to provide the necessary conductance for supporting lysosomal acidification by the electrogenic proton pump.

Gastric H+ secretion: histamine (cAMP-mediated) activation of protein phosphorylation.

Activation of H+ secretion by the gastric parietal cell involves major changes in morphology, metabolic activity and ion pathways of the secretory membrane. These changes are elicited by histamine binding to the H2 receptor, raising cAMP levels and presumably activating cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Concomitantly, the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, increases. Studies were performed to determine whether cAMP-mediated protein phosphorylation accompanies histamine activation of H+ secretion and to catalogue the major protein species serving as substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the parietal cell. 80% pure rabbit parietal cells, prepared by Nycodenz bouyant density centrifugation, were used. To investigate only cAMP-mediated effects, histamine-dependent changes in [Ca2+]i in these cells were abolished by depleting intracellular Ca2+ stores and performing experiments under Ca2+-free conditions. Acid secretion and steady-state levels of protein phosphorylation were then measured in unstimulated (cimetidine-treated) and histamine-stimulated cells. In intact parietal cells, concommitant with histamine stimulation of H+ secretion, increases in the level of protein phosphorylation were observed. Significantly changing phosphoproteins found in supernatant fractions showed apparent subunit sizes of approx. 148, 130, 47 and 43 kDa, and in microsomal fractions included those at approx. 130, 51 and 47 kDa. In parietal cell homogenates, using [gamma-32P]ATP, cAMP elicited significant phosphorylation of eight supernatant proteins and twelve microsomal proteins, which included the histamine-dependent phosphoproteins found in the intact parietal cell, except for the 51 kDa microsomal protein. As a working hypothesis, these proteins are involved in stimulus-secretion coupling in the parietal cell.

An immunoreactive 8-azido ATP-labeled protein common to the lysosomal and chromaffin granule membrane.

The H+-ATPases of eukaryotic cell organelles, including the rat liver lysosomal (tritosomal) H+-ATPase and the bovine chromaffin granule ATPase, exhibit similarities in function, substrate requirements, and inhibitor responses. We have explored the possibility that these pumps also exhibit immunological similarities, and that common determinants may be present on polypeptides important to function, such as ATP binding. Toward this end, antibodies were produced in rabbits against a highly purified, detergent-solubilized and fractionated chromaffin granule proton pump preparation. This antibody reacted with a 70-80 kDa protein of the lysosomal membrane on Western blots. We have previously shown that photolysis with 8-azido-ATP inhibits lysosomal N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive, vanadate-, ouabain- and oligomycin-insensitive ATP hydrolysis and H+ transport, with concomitant labeling of a 70-80 kDa membrane protein, amongst others. Here, we report that the photolysis with 8-azido-ATP also leads to inhibition of chromaffin granule H+ pump function and pump-related ATP hydrolysis, with concomitant N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive, ATP-protectable, 8-azido-[alpha-32P]ATP labeling. The anti-chromaffin granule antibody reacts with an approx. 70 kDa protein of the chromaffin granule and the lysosome. This raises the possibility that the 70 kDa 8-azido-ATP-reactive, immunologically similar proteins may play a similar role in pump function such as ATP binding and/or hydrolysis in these organelles.

Cytochalasin B binding to Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and its relationship to glucose carrier.

Cultured Ehrlich ascites tumor cells equilibrate D-glucose via a carrier mechanism with a Km and V of 14 mM and 3 mu mol/s per ml cells, respectively. Cytochalasin B competitively inhibits this carrier-mediated glycose transport with an inhibition constant (Ki) of approx. 5.10(-7) M. Cytochalasin E does not inhibit this carrier function. With cytochalasin B concentrations up to 1.10(-5) M, the range where the inhibition develops to practical completion, three discrete cytochalasin B binding sites, namely L, M and H, are distinguished. The cytochalasin B binding at L site shows a dissociation constant (Kd) of approx. 1.10(-6) M, represents about 30% of the total cytochalasin B binding of the cell (8.10(6) molecules/cell), is sensitively displaced by cytochalasin E but not by D-glucose, and is located in cytosol. The cytochalasin B binding to M site shows a Kd of 4--6.10(-7) M, represents approx. 60% of the total saturable binding (14.10(6) molecules/cell), is specifically displaced by D-glucose with a displacement constant of 15 mM, but not by L-glucose, and is insensitive to cytochalasin E. The sites are membrane-bound and extractable with Triton X-100 but not by EDTA in alkaline pH. The cytochalasin B binding at H site shows a Kd of 2--6.10(-8) M, represents less than 10% of the total sites (2.10(6) molecules/cell), is not affected by either glucose or cytochalasin E and is of non-cytosol origin. It is concluded that the cytochalasin B binding at M site is responsible for the glucose carrier inhibition by cytochalasin B and the Ehrlich ascites cell is unique among other animal cells in its high content of this site. Approx. 16-fold purification of this site has been achieved.

Functional expression of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator in yeast.

Recombinant human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) has been produced in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae expression system used previously to produce transport ATPases with high yields. The arrangement of the bases in the region immediately upstream from the ATG start codon of the CFTR is extremely important for high expression levels. The maximal CFTR expression level is about 5-10% of that in Sf9 insect cells as judged by comparison of immunoblots. Upon sucrose gradient centrifugation, the majority of the CFTR is found in a light vesicle fraction separated from the yeast plasma membrane in a heavier fraction. It thus appears that most of expressed CFTR is not directed to the plasma membrane in this system. CFTR expressed in yeast has the same mobility (ca. 140 kDa) as recombinant CFTR produced in Sf9 cells in a high resolution SDS-PAGE gel before and after N-glycosidase F treatment, suggesting that it is not glycosylated. The channel function of the expressed CFTR was measured by an isotope flux assay in isolated yeast membrane vesicles and single channel recording following reconstitution into planar lipid bilayers. In the isotope flux assay, protein kinase A (PKA) increased the rate of 125I- uptake by about 30% in membrane vesicles containing the CFTR, but not in control membranes. The single channel recordings showed that a PKA-activated small conductance anion channel (8 pS) with a linear I-V relationship was present in the CFTR membranes, but not in control membranes. These results show that the human CFTR has been expressed in functional form in yeast. With the reasonably high yield and the ability to grow massive quantities of yeast at low cost, this CFTR expression system may provide a valuable new source of starting material for purification of large quantities of the CFTR for biochemical studies.

Hypertonic cryohemolysis and the cytoskeletal system.

Hypertonic cryohemolysis is defined as the lysis of erythrocytes in a hypertonic environment when the temperature is lowered from above 15-18 degrees C below that temperature. This has been found to be a general phenomenon (that is, whether the solute is charged or not), to exhibit interesting temperature characteristics and to be preventable by agents such as valinomycin which tend to dissipate the concentration gradient across the cell membrane. As yet, no clear information is available to translate this phenomenon to the molecular level and to relate it to current structure/function concepts in the erythrocyte membrane. In this study, data are presented which would indicate on the basis of two entirely separate methodologies that the spectrin-actin cytoskeletal framework is involved in this phenomenon. The first of these methodologies is based on radiation-induced ablation of cryohemolysis and indicates that an intact macromolecular complex of an order of 16000 000 daltons is required for cryohemolysis with hypertonic NaCl. The second methodology is based on selective cross-linking of spectrin and actin in the agent diamide, which resulted in concentration-dependent suppression of cryohemolysis. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the erythrocyte from diamide-treated cells showed intense protein aggregation with loss of spectrin-actin and bands 4.1, 4.2. We conclude that the spectrin-actin cytoskeletal system possibly including its interaction with phospholipids is the key to the phenomenon of hypertonic cryohemolysis.

Distribution of insulin receptors in human erythrocyte membranes. Insulin binding to sealed right-side-out and inside-out human erythrocyte vesicles.

Analyses of insulin binding to human erythrocytes and to resealed right-side-out and inside-out erythrocyte membrane vesicles have revealed that high affinity insulin binding receptors are present on both sides of the erythrocyte membranes. Insulin binding to human erythrocytes was examined with the use of a binding assay designed to minimize the potential errors arising from the low binding capacity of this cell type and from non-specific binding in the assay. Scatchard analysis of equilibrium binding to the cells revealed a class of high affinity sites with a dissociation constant (Kd) of (1.5 +/- 0.5) X 10(-8) M and a maximum binding capacity of 50 +/- 5 sites per cell. Interestingly, both resealed right-side-out and inside-out membrane vesicles exhibited nearly identical specific sites for insulin binding. At the high affinity binding sites, for both right-side-out and inside-out vesicles, the dissociation constant (Kd) was (1.5 +/- 0.5) X 10(-8) M, and the maximum binding capacity was 17 +/- 3 sites per cell equivalent. These findings suggest that insulin receptors are present on both sides of the plasma membrane and are consistent with the participation of the erythrocyte insulin receptors in an endocytic/recycling pathway which mediates receptor-ligand internalization/externalization.

Molecular size of the Rh0(D) antigen of the human erythrocyte in situ by radiation inactivation.

Radiation inactivation was used to determine the molecular size of the RhO(D) antigen of isolated membranes and of the intact human erythrocyte. Isolated membranes were frozen and irradiated at -50 degrees C. After thawing, the bound 14C-anti-D was measured and the log residual Rh(D) antigen activity was plotted against the radiation dose. A mol. wt of 60,000 was calculated. Intact human erythrocytes frozen in the presence of cryoprotective reagents were also studied. Rh(D) antigen inactivation occurred as a single exponential function of radiation dose which also yielded a mol. wt of approx. 56,000 upon analysis by classical target theory.

Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of in vitro, adenovirus-mediated transfer of the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator cDNA.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common, fatal recessive disease caused by mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene manifested by abnormalities in the regulation of chloride ion (Cl-) secretion across the apical membrane of epithelial cells throughout the body. Adenovirus-mediated delivery of the normal CFTR cDNA and correction of the CF epithelial cell Cl- secretory phenotype suggests the feasibility of gene therapy for CF lung disease. Few studies, however, have focused on the evaluation of the safety of the adenovirus-mediated gene transfer approach. This study presents in vitro data on the efficacy and safety of adenovirus-mediated transfer of the human CFTR cDNA using Av1Cf2. Av1Cf2-mediated transfer of the human CFTR cDNA complemented the abnormal cAMP-regulated Cl- permeability of cells with the CF epithelial phenotype. Av1 vectors did not replicate infectious virus in HeLa cells infected in vitro, although trace vector DNA synthesis was observed at very high multiplicity of infection. Expression of the adenoviral late gene for the hexon capsid protein was observed at trace levels in Av1 vector-infected HeLa cells, but not in freshly isolated human bronchial epithelial cells, consistent with the pattern of DNA synthesis observed in these different target cells. Although, these observations support the efficacy and safety of use of Av1Cf2 for treatment of the fatal pulmonary component of CF.

[125I]azidosalicylyl melittin binding domains: evidence for a polypeptide receptor on the gastric (H+ + K+)ATPase.

We have previously shown that melittin, a bee venom peptide, potently inhibited the catalytic and transport functions of rabbit gastric (H+ + K+)ATPase. A radioactive photoaffinity analog of melittin, ([125I]azidosalicylyl melittin), labeled the (H+ + K+)ATPase. These results suggested that melittin exerted inhibitory effects through direct interaction with the (H+ + K+)ATPase. In this study we attempt to define the melittin-binding domain of the (H+ + K+)ATPase using conformation-dependent proteolytic fragmentation of [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin-labeled hog gastric (H+ + K+)ATPase. In the presence of KCl (E2 form) the 95,000-Da [125I]-azidosalicylyl melittin-labeled (H+ + K+)ATPase was cleaved by trypsin to a 40,000-Da NH2-terminal tryptic fragment and a 56,000-Da COOH-terminal fragment through cleavage at Arg 454 of the (H+ + K+)ATPase. The 40,000-Da fragment was labeled by [125I]-azidosalicylyl melittin. The 56,000-Da fragment was not labeled. When unmodified (H+ + K+)ATPase was trypsinized in the presence of KCl, and the fragments were then reacted with [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin, similar tryptic fragmentation results were obtained. In the absence of KCl (E1 form), the 56,000- and 40,000-Da fragments did not accumulate. Chymotryptic hydrolysis of [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin-labeled (H+ + K+)-ATPase was very slow in the presence of KCl (E2 form). In the absence of KCl (E1 form), chymotryptic hydrolysis was more rapid, with accumulation of a major 42,000-Da fragment which was radiolabeled. The melittin-binding region on the (H+ + K+)ATPase is N-terminal to Arg 454 of the (H+ + K+)ATPase. This region is known to contain the aspartyl phosphate residue (Asp 385), the site of phosphoenzyme formation on the (H+ + K+)ATPase. Melittin is also known to bind to calmodulin and other proteins. Another known calmodulin-binding peptide with a different sequence but similar structure, Trp-3, (Leu-Lys-Trp-Lys-Lys-Leu-Leu-Lys-Leu-Leu-Lys-Lys-Leu-Leu-Lys-Leu-Gly) also inhibited the (H+ + K+)ATPase and label incorporation by [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin. These Trp-3 results suggested that the (H+ + K+)ATPase contains a peptide-binding domain which is similar to the peptide-binding domains found on other melittin-binding proteins.

Regulation of gastric acid secretion via modulation of a chloride conductance.

When gastric microsomes were purified from resting and stimulated rabbit mucosae, they were found to be generally similar in (H+ + K+)-ATPase activity, peptide composition in single-dimension sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, and in size. In the stimulated vesicles, optimal proton transport activity was found at pH 7.4, 20-50 mM KCl, and 1 mM ATP-Mg. However, in the case of resting vesicles, the presence of valinomycin and an inward Cl-gradient was also necessary for Mg-ATP-dependent proton transport. Measurement of K+ and Cl-diffusion potentials using 3,3-dipropylthiadicarboxocyanine iodide as a potential sensitive dye showed that both resting and stimulated vesicles developed K+ gradient-dependent potentials in the presence of an impermeant anion, but that Cl- gradient-dependent potentials were observed only in the stimulated preparation. 86Rb+ self-exchange was found in both types of vesicles, but Cl- self-exchange was confined to vesicles derived from stimulated mucosae. Putative inhibitors of anion conductance such as furosemide and anthracene 9-carboxylic acid blocked proton transport, Cl- conductance, 36Cl- uptake, and Cl- exchange. The inhibition of proton transport was overcome by valinomycin. ATPase activity in the presence of nigericin, an H+:K+ exchanger, was unaffected by these inhibitors. K+ conductance, Rb+ uptake, and Rb+ exchange were insensitive to these inhibitors. Thus, activation of acid secretion by the stimulated parietal cell appears to involve at least the appearance of a discrete Cl- conductance in the pump-associated membrane.

Metalloporphyrin chloride ionophores: induction of increased anion permeability in lung epithelial cells.

5,10,15,20-Tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine manganese (III) chloride [TPPMn(III)] is a positively charged lipophilic anion carrier that is widely used as a Cl- sensor. TPPMn(III) increased anion permeability of cultured mouse lung epithelial (MLE) cells as measured by short-circuit current (ISC) to a level similar to that induced by forskolin analogues. Anion permeability was also studied in cultured human lung epithelial (A549) cells by measurement of the rates of change of fluorescence of the anion sensitive fluorescent dye, 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl)quinolinium (SPQ). In these studies, cells were incubated with SPQ in SO2-4- medium, washed free of extracellular SPQ, and then perfused with medium containing anions that are known to quench SPQ fluorescence. The effect of TPPMn(III) on anion transport was then determined either microscopically in single cell studies or using cell monolayers mounted in a front face fluorimeter. TPPMn(III) in the range from 1 to 100 micrograms/ml induced a dose-dependent increase in Br- transport. The half-maximal quenching effect was estimated to be approximate 5 micrograms/ml. TPPMn(III) increased the rates of fluorescence quench of anions by up to fourfold. TPPMn(III) was without effect on -Ca2+-i level in A549 cells as measured with fura 2-AM. This indicates that TPPMn(III) effects were not mediated through effects on Ca+2 -activated Cl- channels, or by compromise of energy metabolism or membrane integrity of the cells. This study suggests that TPPMn(III) and, by extension, other lipophilic Mn(III) or Co(III) derivatives wherein the selectivity of lipophilicity is altered, could increase the anion permeability of biological membranes, and suggests a new approach for treatment of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, where transport of Cl- is defective.

Interaction of polypeptides with the gastric (H+ + K+)ATPase: melittin, synthetic analogs, and a potential intracellular regulatory protein.

The 26 amino acid bee venom toxin, melittin, is an amphipathic helical polypeptide which inhibits the gastric (H+ + K+)ATPase. The site of interaction with the (H+ + K+)ATPase was shown to be the alpha subunit of the (H+ + K+)ATPase in studies using [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin, a radioactive photoaffinity analog of melittin. A synthetic amphipathic polypeptide (Trp3) containing tryptophan, which exhibits a structure similar to that of melittin, also inhibited the gastric (H+ + K+)ATPase, and prevented labeling by [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin. These findings suggested that melittin and the synthetic amphipathic helical polypeptide were bound to the same or overlapping site(s). In the present studies, novel tritiated photoaffinity analogs of Trp3 containing benzoylphenylalanine (in place of tryptophan) were used to photoaffinity label the (H+ + K+)ATPase. These studies help to establish that the (H+ + K+)ATPase contains a binding site for polypeptides which exhibit an amphipathic helical motif. The precise amino acid sequence of the polypeptide appears to be of secondary importance for interaction with the (H+ + K+)ATPase as long as the alpha helical motif is present. The benzoylphenylalanine containing polypeptides are ideal for mapping the binding site on the (H+ + K+)ATPase. Using an antibody which recognizes this amphipathic helical ('melittin-like') motif, we have demonstrated that the gastric parietal cell contains a 67 kDa 'melittin-like' protein. This protein was associated with the gastric parietal cell apical membrane in the stimulated (secreting) state, but not in the resting (non-secreting) state. The binding site for the gastric 'melittin-like' protein appears to overlap with the melittin binding site on the alpha subunit of the (H+ + K+)ATPase. The potential physiological significance of the melittin binding site and the overlapping binding site for this newly identified endogenous 'melittin-like' protein on the (H+ + K+)ATPase to regulated HCl secretion by the parietal cell is presently under investigation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cytoskeletal determinants of control of gastric acid secretion.

Isolated purified parietal cells from rabbit gastric mucosae were used to investigate the functions of phosphoproteins associated with regulation of acid secretion. These cells responded well to secretagogues, increasing their level of acid secretion by ca. four-fold. Stimulation of acid secretion was accompanied by a distinct morphological change, which involves the cytoskeletal system of the parietal cell, particularly the microfilaments, as evidenced by potent inhibition of secretion by cytochalasin E. Parietal cells contained several actin binding proteins, at least one of which (47 kD) had a similar molecular weight as a previously identified stimulus-related phosphoprotein. A single 130 kD parietal cell protein was immunoreactive with anti-vinculin monoclonal antibody, correlating with another previously identified stimulus-related phosphoprotein. The functional role of these proteins may be to link the microfilaments with the secretory membrane, an important step in the generation and/or maintenance of the stimulated state of acid secretion in the parietal cell.

Glycogen phosphorylase from Neurospora crassa: purification of a high-specific-activity, non-phosphorylated form.

A highly active glycogen phosphorylase was purified from Neurospora crassa by polyethylene glycol fractionation at pH 6.16 combined with standard techniques (chromatography and salt fractionation). The final preparation had a specific activity of 65 +/- 5 U/mg of protein (synthetic direction, pH 6.1, 30 degrees C) and was homogeneous by the criteria of gel electrophoresis, amino-terminal analysis, gel filtration, and double immunodiffusion in two dimensions. The enzyme had a native molecular weight of 180,000 +/- 10,000 (by calibrated gel filtration and gel electrophoresis) and a subunit molecular weight of 90,000 +/- 5,000 (by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). Each subunit contained one molecule of pyridoxal phosphate. No phosphoserine or phosphothreonine was detected by amino acid analysis optimized for phosphoamino acid detection. The enzyme isolated from cells grown on high-specific-activity 32Pi (as sole source of phosphorus) contained one atom of 32P per subunit. All the radioactivity was removed by procedures that removed pyridoxal phosphate. Thus, the enzyme could not be classified as an a type (phosphorylated, active in the absence of a cofactor) or as a b type (non-phosphorylated, inactive in the absence of a cofactor). The level of phosphorylase was markedly increased in mycelium taken from older cultures in which the carbon source (glucose or sucrose) had been depleted. The polyethylene glycol fractionation scheme applied at pH 7.5 to mycelial extracts of younger cultures (taken before depletion of the sugar) resulted in co-purification of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthetase.