Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells originate from the renal collecting duct and consist of different cell subtypes. We cloned two MDCK cell subtypes denominated as C7 and C11 with different morphology and different function. The two clones maintained their functional differences after cloning. C7 monolayers exhibit a high transepithelial resistance (Rte = 5648 +/- 206 omega.cm2, n = 20) and secrete K+ (delta K+ = 1.31 +/- 0.08 mmol/l, n = 10) into the apical medium. C11 monolayers display a low Rte (330 +/- 52 omega.cm2, n = 20) and secrete Cl- (delta Cl- = 16.9 +/- 1.8 mmol/l, n = 10) into the apical medium. Aldosterone (1 mumol/l) stimulates K+ secretion (delta K+ of 3.58 +/- 0.11 mmol/l, n = 7) in C7 cells and H+ secretion in C11 cells (delta pH = 0.060 +/- 0.007, n = 10). Aldosterone-induced stimulation of K+ secretion is inhibited by apical application of amiloride (1 mumol/l). cAMP stimulates H+ secretion in C11 cells (delta pH = -0.068 +/- 0.004, n = 10). Furthermore, C7 cells are peanut-lectin(PNA)-negative and exhibit an intracellular pH of 7.39 +/- 0.05 (n = 7), whereas C11 cells maintain intracellular pH at 7.16 +/- 0.05 (n = 8) and a major fraction of cells is PNA positive. We conclude that we have cloned two subtypes of MDCK cells which stably express different functional characteristics. The C7 subtype resembles principal cells (PC) of the renal collecting duct, whereas the C11 subtype resembles intercalated cells (ICC) of the renal collecting duct.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

No abstract

Receptor‐mediated endocytosis is an important mechanism for transport of macromolecules and regulation of cell‐surface receptor expression. In renal proximal tubules, receptor‐mediated endocytosis mediates the reabsorption of filtered albumin. Acidification of the endocytic compartments is essential because it interferes with ligand‐receptor dissociation, vesicle trafficking, fusion events and coat formation. Here we show that the activity of Na+‐H+ exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3) is important for proper receptor‐mediated endocytosis of albumin and endosomal pH homeostasis in a renal proximal tubular cell line (opossum kidney cells) which expresses NHE3 only. Depending on their inhibitory potency with respect to NHE3 and their lipophilicity, the NHE inhibitors EIPA, amiloride and HOE694 differentially reduced albumin endocytosis. The hydrophilic inhibitor HOE642 had no effect. Inhibition of NHE3 led to an alkalinization of early endosomes and to an acidification of the cytoplasm, indicating that Na+‐H+ exchange contributes to the acidification of the early endosomal compartment due to the existence of a sufficient Na+ gradient across the endosomal membrane. Exclusive acidification of the cytoplasm with propionic acid or by removal of Na+ induced a significantly smaller reduction in endocytosis than that induced by inhibition of Na+‐H+ exchange. Analysis of the inhibitory profiles indicates that in early endosomes and endocytic vesicles NHE3 is of major importance, whereas plasma membrane NHE3 plays a minor role. Thus, NHE3‐mediated acidification along the first part of the endocytic pathway plays an important role in receptor‐mediated endocytosis. Furthermore, the involvement of NHE3 offers new ways to explain the regulation of receptor‐mediated endocytosis.

There is increasing evidence for an additional acute, nongenomic action of the mineralocorticoid hormone aldosterone on renal epithelial cells, leading to a two-step model of mineralocorticoid action on electrolyte excretion. We investigated the acute effect of aldosterone on intracellular free Ca2+ and on intracellular pH in an aldosterone-sensitive Madin-Darby canine kidney cell clone. Within seconds of application of aldosterone, but not of the glucocorticoid hydrocortisone, there was a 3-fold sustained increase of intracellular Ca2+ at a half-maximal concentration of 10-10 mol/liter. Omission of extracellular Ca2+ prevented this hormone response. In the presence of extracellular Ca2+ aldosterone led to intracellular alkalinization. The Na+/H+ exchange inhibitor ethyl-isopropanol-amiloride (EIPA) prevented the aldosterone-induced alkalinization but not the aldosterone-induced increase of intracellular Ca2 . Omission of extracellular Ca2+ also prevented aldosteroneinduced alkalinization. Instead, aldosterone led to a Zn2+-dependent intracellular acidification in the presence of EIPA, indicative of an increase of plasma membrane proton conductance. Under control conditions, Zn2+ prevented the aldosterone-induced alkalinization completely. We conclude that aldosterone stimulated net-entry of Ca2+ from the extracellular compartment and a plasma membrane H+ conductance as prerequisites for the stimulation of plasma membrane Na+/H+ exchange which in turn modulates K+ channel activity. It is probable that the aldosterone-sensitive H+ conductance maintains Na+/H+ exchange activity by providing an acidic environment in the vicinity of the exchanger. Thus, genomic action of aldosterone determines cellular transport equipment, whereas the nongenomic action regulates transporter activity that requires responses within seconds or minutes, which explains the rapid effects on electrolyte excretion.The classical genomic mechanism of steroid hormone action involves binding to intracellular receptors, transcription, translation, and protein synthesis. Thus, the steroid hormoneinduced response following genomic activation should be preceded by a latent period in the range of hours. Yet it was shown as long as four decades ago that there is a rapid action of aldosterone, with a latency of -5 min, on renal electrolyte excretion (1). This and other findings (2) indicate that aldosterone is not only responsible for chronic but also for acute regulation of water and electrolyte balance. The underlying mechanisms leading to rapid changes in Na+ and K+ excretion are not completely understood.Aldosterone can induce a so-called early response by interfering with mechanisms of regulation of intracellular pH (3-5) and intracellular generation of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) (6) with a latency shorter than 1 h. These evidently nongenomic actions of aldosterone are thought to be mediated by a plasma membrane receptor with high affinity for aldosterone but low affinity for glucocorticoids (7). Furthermore, there is some evide...

In this study, we investigated the effects of endosomal alkalinization on kinetics of endocytotic uptake in intact proximal tubule-derived opossum kidney cells. We used fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled albumin and FITC-dextran as endocytotic substrates for receptor-mediated endocytosis and fluid-phase endocytosis, respectively. The pH in endosomes labeled with either FITC-albumin or FITC-dextran rose in the presence of the vacuolar-type ATPase inhibitor, bafilomycin A1, and in the presence of NH4Cl. Cytoplasmic pH, decreased in the presence of bafilomycin A1, but was not significantly different from control during prolonged exposure of the cells to NH4Cl. Endocytotic uptake of FITC-dextran was not affected by endosomal pH changes. Endocytotic uptake of FITC-albumin was reduced markedly by bafilomycin A1 (decrease of maximum transport rate and apparent affinity). Selective alkalinization of endosomes using NH4Cl (i.e., with the cytoplasmic pH not different from control) reduced FITC-albumin uptake in a similar way but to a lesser extent than did bafilomycin A1. Intracellular albumin degradation was impaired by bafilomycin A1 and NH4Cl. Prevention of endosome-lysosome fusion (lowering the temperature to 20 degrees C) abolished the effects of endosomal alkalinization. Furthermore, specific binding of albumin to the plasma membrane was reduced after incubation with bafilomycin A1, indicating an impairment of receptor recycling. These data show that endosomal pH is an important determinant for the kinetics of receptor-mediated endocytotic uptake of albumin in the proximal tubule but not for fluid-phase endocytosis. Endosomal alkalinization disturbs intracellular ligand handling and receptor trafficking, leading to a reduction of endocytotic capacity and affinity.