We have developed a technique to measure the fluorescence of a pH-sensitive dye (2,7-biscarboxyethyl-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein) in single glomerular mesangial cells in culture. The intracellular fluorescence excitation ratio of the dye was calibrated using the nigericin-high-K+ approach. In the absence of CO2-HCO3-, mesangial cells that are acid loaded by an NH+4 prepulse exhibit a spontaneous intracellular pH (pHi) recovery that is blocked either by ethylisopropylamiloride (EIPA) or removal of external Na+. This pHi recovery most probably reflects the activity of a Na+-H+ exchanger. When the cells are switched from a N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)-buffered solution to one containing CO2-HCO3-, there is an abrupt acidification due to CO2 entry, which is followed by a spontaneous recovery of pHi to a steady-state value higher than that prevailing in HEPES. Both the rate of recovery and the higher steady-state pHi imply that the application of CO2-HCO3- introduces an increase in net acid extrusion from the cell. One third of total net acid extrusion in CO2-HCO3- is EIPA sensitive and most likely is mediated by the Na+-H+ exchanger. The remaining two thirds of acid extrusion could be caused by a decrease in the background acid-loading rate and/or the introduction of a new, HCO3- -dependent acid-extrusion mechanism. The HCO3- -induced alkalinization cannot be accounted for by a HCO3- -induced reduction in the acid-loading rate. The latter can be estimated by applying EIPA in the absence of HCO3- and observing the rate of pHi decline. We found that this acid-loading rate is only about one fifth as great as the total net acid extrusion rate in the presence of HCO3-. Indeed, two thirds of net acid extrusion in HCO3- is blocked by 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (SITS), an inhibitor of HCO3- -dependent transport. Furthermore, the effects of EIPA and SITS were additive. Thus, in the presence of CO2-HCO3-, a SITS-sensitive-HCO3- -dependent transporter is the dominant mechanism of acid extrusion. This mechanism also accounts for the increase in steady-state pHi on addition of CO2-HCO3-.
Growth factors raise intracellular pH (pHi) by stimulating Na+/H+ exchange in the absence of HCO3-. In mutant cells that lack the Na+/H+ exchange activity, this alkalinization does not occur, and the cells do not proliferate without artificial elevation of pHi. It has therefore been widely suggested that an early pHi increase is a necessary signal for mitogenesis. In the presence of HCO3- however, growth factors fail to raise pHi in A431 cells, renal mesangial cells and 3T3 fibroblasts. In mesangial cells, arginine vasopressin (AVP) raises pHi in the absence of HCO3-, but lowers it when HCO3- is present; growth is stimulated under both conditions. We report here that, in the presence of HCO3-, AVP stimulates two potent HCO3- transporters, as well as the Na+/H+ exchanger. These are the Na+-dependent and Na+-independent Cl-/HCO3- exchangers. Our results indicate that AVP causes acidification in the presence of HCO3- because, at the resting pHi, it stimulates Na+-independent Cl-/HCO3- exchange (which lowers pHi) more than it stimulates the sum of Na+/H+ exchange and Na+-dependent Cl-/HCO3- exchange (both of which raise pHi). The stimulation of three acid-base transporters by the growth factor AVP greatly enhances the ability of the cell to regulate pHi.
Mesangial cells undergo cell death both by apoptosis and necrosis during glomerular disease. Since nucleotides are released from injured and destroyed cells in the glomerulus, we examined whether extracellular ATP and its receptors may regulate cell death of cultured mesangial cells. Addition of extracellular ATP (300 μM to 5 mM) to cultured rat mesangial cells for 90 min caused a 5.8-fold increase in DNA fragmentation (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay) and a 4.2-fold increase in protein levels of the tumor suppressor p53, which is thought to regulate apoptosis. Apoptotic DNA fragmentation was confirmed by the diphenylamine assay and by staining with the DNA-specific fluorochrome Hoechst 33258. The necrotic markers, release of lactate dehydrogenase and uptake of trypan blue, were not positive before 3 h of ATP addition. The effects of ATP on DNA fragmentation and p53 expression were reproduced by the purinergic P2Z/P2X7 receptor agonist, 3′- O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl)-ATP, and inhibited by the P2Z/P2X7 receptor blocker, oxidized ATP. Transcripts encoding the P2Z/P2X7 receptor were expressed by cultured mesangial cells as determined by Northern blot analysis. P2Z/P2X7 receptor-associated pore formation in the plasma membrane was demonstrated by the Lucifer yellow assay. We conclude that activation of P2Z/P2X7 receptors by extracellular ATP causes apoptosis and necrosis of cultured mesangial cells. Activation of purinergic P2Z/P2X7 receptors may play a role in causing death of mesangial cells during glomerular disease.
Normal adult Sprague-Dawley rats received either a single or repetitive injection of the DNA precursor 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR). For autoradiography semi-thin sections were prepared 2 hr to 14 days after labeling. The majority of labeled cells noted in glomerular tufts were endothelial cells. Mesangial cells had a lower production rate. Podocytes revealed no evidence of proliferation. Bowman's capsule cells showed a higher labeling index than tuft cells at all times. Neither the urinary nor the vascular pole was found to be a proliferative zone for Bowman's capsule cells. The flash and repetitive labeling experiments demonstrated a constant rate of cell renewal of about 1% per day, resulting in a long life span for endothelial and mesangial cells as well as Bowman's capsule cells. These data provide a basis for cell kinetic studies in models of glomerular diseases.
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