We used the pH-sensitive fluorescent dye BCECF to study intracellular pH (pHi) regulation in primary cultures of rat astrocytes and C6 glioma cells. Both cell types contain three pH-regulating transporters: 1) alkalinizing Na+/H+ exchange; 2) alkalinizing Na+ + HCO3-/Cl- exchange; and 3) acidifying Cl-/HCO3- exchange. Na+/H+ exchange was most evident in the absence of CO2; recovery from acidification was Na+ dependent and amiloride sensitive. Exposure to CO2 caused a cell alkalinization that was inhibited by DIDS, dependent on external Na+, and inhibited 75% in the absence of Cl- (thus mediated by Na+ + HCO3-/Cl- exchange). When pHi was increased above the normal steady-state pHi, a DIDS-inhibitable and Na(+)-independent acidifying recovery was evident, indicating the presence of Cl-/HCO3- exchange. Astrocytes, but not C6 cells, contain a fourth pH-regulating transporter, Na(+)-HCO3- cotransport; in the presence of CO2, depolarization caused an alkalinization of 0.12 +/- 0.01 (n = 8) and increased the rate of CO2-induced alkalinization from 0.23 +/- 0.02 to 0.42 +/- 0.03 pH unit/min. Since C6 cells lack the Na(+)-HCO3- cotransporter, they are an inferior model of pHi regulation in glia. Our results differ from previous observations in glia in that: 1) Na+/H+ exchange was entirely inhibited by amiloride; 2) Na+ + HCO3-/Cl- exchange was present and largely responsible for CO2-induced alkalinization; 3) Cl-/HCO3- exchange was only active at pHi values above steady state; and 4) depolarization-induced alkalinization of astrocytes was seen only in the presence of CO2.

Rat C6 glioma cells chronically acclimated to hypertonic media accumulate large quantities of inositol. When returned to isotonic conditions, the cells swell and lose inositol slowly via a four- to fivefold increase in the rate of passive inositol efflux. The inositol efflux pathway is a Na(+)-independent transport mechanism with low affinity for inositol and is inhibited by quinidine, quinine, various anion transport blockers, and cis-unsaturated fatty acids. Ionomycin-induced elevation of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i) had no effect on basal or swelling-induced inositol efflux. Inositol efflux was not inhibited by chelation of Ca2+i with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)-ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid. In addition, Ca2+i measured with fura 2 did not change during cell swelling, indicating that increases in Ca2+i do not regulate inositol efflux. Exposure of C6 cells to 20 nM phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, 0.5 mM adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), or 50 microM forskolin had no effect on basal inositol efflux but stimulated swelling-induced inositol loss by 2.6-, 2.2-, and 3.4-fold, respectively. Exposure to the protein kinase inhibitors 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine or staurosporine or downregulation of protein kinase C (PKC) activity, however, had no inhibitory effect on inositol efflux, and cellular cAMP levels were not altered by cell swelling. Taken together, these results indicate that stimulation of PKC and protein kinase A modulates the activity of the efflux pathway but is not required for swelling-induced activation. Ketoconazole, cinnamyl-3,4-dihydroxy-alpha-cyanocinnamate, and gossypol, inhibitors of lipoxygenase enzymes, blocked both basal and swelling-induced inositol efflux, suggesting indirectly that lipoxygenase metabolites may be responsible for swelling-induced activation of the efflux mechanism. The characteristics of inositol efflux in C6 cells are similar to those described for volume regulatory sorbitol and taurine efflux in a number of cell types, suggesting the existence of a common transport mechanism.

Proton extrusion into an extracellular resorption compartment is an essential component of bone degradation by osteoclasts. Chronic metabolic acidosis is known to induce negative calcium balance and bone loss by stimulating osteoclastic bone resorption, but the underlying mechanism is not known. The present studies were undertaken to evaluate whether chronic acidosis affects proton extrusion mechanisms in osteoclasts cultured on glass coverslips. Acidosis, mimicked experimentally by maintaining the cells at extracellular pH 6.5, rapidly lowered intracellular pH to 6.8. However, after 2 hours, a proportion of cells demonstrated the capacity to restore intracellular pH to near normal levels. To define the mechanism responsible for this recovery, the activity of individual H ؉ transport pathways was analyzed. We found that chronic acid treatment for up to 6 h did not significantly affect the cellular buffering power or Na ؉ /H ؉ antiport activity. In contrast, chronic acidosis activated vacuolar H ؉ pumps in the osteoclasts. Although only ϳ5% of the control cells displayed proton pump activity, about 40% of cells kept at extracellular pH 6.5 for 4 -6 h were able to recover from the acute acid load by means of bafilomycin A 1 -sensitive proton extrusion. Conversely, the H ؉ -selective conductance recently described in the plasma membrane of osteoclasts was clearly inhibited in the cells exposed to chronic acidosis. Following acid treatment, the activation threshold of the H ؉ conductance was shifted to more positive potentials, and the current density was significantly reduced. Considered together, these results suggest that induction of plasmalemmal vacuolar type ATPase activity by chronic acidosis, generated either systemically due to metabolic disease or locally at sites of inflammation, is likely to stimulate osteoclastic bone resorption and thus to promote bone loss.Bone resorption is a multistep process involving migration of osteoclasts and/or osteoclast precursors to the bone surface, attachment to the bone matrix, and subsequent degradation of the underlying bone mineral by local acidification of the osteoclast-bone interface. When resorbing bone, osteoclasts display a specialized attachment zone, called the clear zone, which delimits a sealed compartment characterized by the presence of an extensive ruffled cell membrane (1). Demineralization of the bone matrix requires acidification of this extracellular compartment. Two lines of evidence suggest that the primary cellular mechanism responsible for this acidification is a vacuolar type H ϩ -ATPase (V-ATPase) 1 localized to the ruffled border of these cells. First, immunohistochemical studies demonstrated a marked accumulation of V-ATPases on the ruffled membrane of osteoclasts adherent to bone (2, 3). Second, the bone-resorbing capacity of osteoclasts is effectively inhibited by the specific V-ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A 1 (4, 5). Considered together, these observations indicate a central role for the plasmalemmal V-ATPase in osteoclastic bone resorptio...

Proteases, glycosidases, and impermeant biotin derivatives were used in combination with antibodies to analyze the subcellular distribution and transmembrane disposition of the Na+/H+exchanger NHE1. Both native human NHE1 in platelets and epitope-tagged rat NHE1 transfected into antiport-deficient cells were used for these studies. The results indicated that 1) the entire population of exchangers is present on the surface membrane of unstimulated platelets, ruling out regulation by recruitment of internal stores of NHE1; 2) the putative extracellular loops near the NH2 terminus are exposed to the medium and contain all the N- and O-linked carbohydrates; 3) by contrast, the putative extracellular loops between transmembrane domains 9–10 and 11–12 are not readily accessible from the outside and may be folded within the protein, perhaps contributing to an aqueous ion transport pathway; 4) the extreme COOH terminus of the protein was found to be inaccessible to extracellular proteases, antibodies, and other impermeant reagents, consistent with a cytosolic localization; and 5) detachment of ∼150 amino acids from the NH2-terminal end of the protein had little effect on the transport activity of NHE1.