Cl- channels in CF: lack of activation by protein kinase C and cAMP-dependent protein kinase

Secretory chloride channels can be activated by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase in normal airway epithelial cells but not in cells from individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). In excised, inside-out patches of apical membrane of normal human airway cells and airway cells from three patients with CF, the chloride channels exhibited a characteristic outwardly rectifying current-voltage relation and depolarization-induced activation. Channels from normal tissues were activated by both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C. However, chloride channels from CF patients could not be activated by either kinase. Thus, gating of normal epithelial chloride channels is regulated by both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C, and regulation by both kinases is defective in CF.     

Regulation of chloride channels by protein kinase C in normal and cystic fibrosis airway epithelia

Apical membrane chloride channels control chloride secretion by airway epithelial cells. Defective regulation of these channels is a prominent characteristic of cystic fibrosis. In normal intact cells, activation of protein kinase C (PKC) by phorbol ester either stimulated or inhibited chloride secretion, depending on the physiological status of the cell. In cell-free membrane patches, PKC also had a dual effect: at a high calcium concentration, PKC inactivated chloride channels; at a low calcium concentration, PKC activated chloride channels. In cystic fibrosis cells, PKC-dependent channel inactivation was normal, but activation was defective. Thus it appears that PKC phosphorylates and regulates two different sites on the channel or on an associated membrane protein, one of which is defective in cystic fibrosis.     

Persistence of abnormal chloride conductance regulation in transformed cystic fibrosis epithelia

An airway epithelial cell line (CF/T43) was developed by infecting cultured airway epithelial cells from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with the pZIPneoSV(X)1/SV40T retrovirus and selecting for G418 resistance and ion transport properties. The distinctive chloride secretory phenotypes of the CF cell line CF/T43 and a normal cell line (NL/T4) were not perturbed by SV40T-induced cell transformation. Epithelial cell lines generated from CF cells with the SV40T gene can be used to test candidate CF genes and to evaluate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the CF phenotype.     

Cell cycle dependence of chloride permeability in normal and cystic fibrosis lymphocytes

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease characterized by abnormal regulation of epithelial cell chloride channels. Nonepithelial cells, including lymphocytes and fibroblasts, may exhibit a similar defect. Two independent techniques were used to assess the macroscopic chloride permeability (PCl) of freshly isolated B lymphocytes and of B and T lymphocyte cell lines. Values for PCl increased specifically during the G1 phase of the cell cycle and could be further enhanced by increasing intracellular adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) or calcium. In lymphocytes from CF patients, regulation of PCl during the cell cycle and by second messengers was absent. Characterization of the cell cycle-dependent expression of the chloride permeability defect in lymphocytes from CF patients increases the utility of these cells in the analysis of the functional consequences of mutations in the CF gene.     

Activation of apical chloride channels in the gastric oxyntic cell

Oxyntic cells that retain distinct morphological polarity between apical and basolateral membranes were isolated from the gastric mucosa of the amphibian Necturus. Patch-clamp techniques were applied to these cells to identify apical membrane ion channels associated with hydrochloric acid secretion. A single class of voltage-dependent, inwardly rectifying chloride channels was observed in the apical membranes of both resting and stimulated (acid-secreting) oxyntic cells. Stimulation of the cells with dibutyryladenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and isobutylmethylxanthine increased channel open probability and simultaneously increased apical membrane surface area. This chloride channel is probably responsible for electrogenic chloride secretion by the gastric mucosa and may also participate in the fluid- and enzyme-secretory functions of the oxyntic cell, analogous to the chloride channels found in the apical membranes of other exocrine cells.     

An apical-membrane chloride channel in human tracheal epithelium

The mechanism of chloride transport by airway epithelia has been of substantial interest because airway and sweat gland-duct epithelia are chloride-impermeable in cystic fibrosis. The decreased chloride permeability prevents normal secretion by the airway epithelium, thereby interfering with mucociliary clearance and contributing to the morbidity and mortality of the disease. Because chloride secretion depends on and is regulated by chloride conductance in the apical cell membrane, the patch-clamp technique was used to directly examine single-channel currents in primary cultures of human tracheal epithelium. The cells contained an anion-selective channel that was not strongly voltage-gated or regulated by calcium in cell-free patches. The channel was also blocked by analogs of carboxylic acid that decrease apical chloride conductance in intact epithelia. When attached to the cell, the channel was activated by isoproterenol, although the channel was also observed to open spontaneously. However, in some cases, the channel was only observed after the patch was excised from the cell. These results suggest that this channel is responsible for the apical chloride conductance in airway epithelia.     

A cAMP-regulated chloride channel in lymphocytes that is affected in cystic fibrosis

A defect in regulation of a chloride channel appears to be the molecular basis for cystic fibrosis (CF), a common lethal genetic disease. It is shown here that a chloride channel with kinetic and regulatory properties similar to those described for secretory epithelial cells is present in both T and B lymphocyte cell lines. The regulation of the channels by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase in transformed B cells from CF patients is defective. Thus, lymphocytes may be an accessible source of CF tissue for study of this defect, for cloning of the chloride channel complex, and for diagnosis of the disease.     

TMEM16A, a membrane protein associated with calcium-dependent chloride channel activity

Calcium-dependent chloride channels are required for normal electrolyte and fluid secretion, olfactory perception, and neuronal and smooth muscle excitability. The molecular identity of these membrane proteins is still unclear. Treatment of bronchial epithelial cells with interleukin-4 (IL-4) causes increased calcium-dependent chloride channel activity, presumably by regulating expression of the corresponding genes. We performed a global gene expression analysis to identify membrane proteins that are regulated by IL-4. Transfection of epithelial cells with specific small interfering RNA against each of these proteins shows that TMEM16A, a member of a family of putative plasma membrane proteins with unknown function, is associated with calcium-dependent chloride current, as measured with halide-sensitive fluorescent proteins, short-circuit current, and patch-clamp techniques. Our results indicate that TMEM16A is an intrinsic constituent of the calcium-dependent chloride channel. Identification of a previously unknown family of membrane proteins associated with chloride channel function will improve our understanding of chloride transport physiopathology and allow for the development of pharmacological tools useful for basic research and drug development.     

External calcium ions are required for potassium channel gating in squid neurons

The effects of calcium removal on the voltage-dependent potassium channels of isolated squid neurons were studied with whole cell patch-clamp techniques. When the calcium ion concentration was lowered from 10 to 0 millimolar (that is, no added calcium), potassium channel activity, identified from its characteristic time course, disappeared within a few seconds and there was a parallel increase in resting membrane conductance and in the holding current. The close temporal correlation of the changes in the three parameters suggests that potassium channels lose their ability to close in the absence of calcium and simultaneously lose their selectivity. If potassium channels were blocked by barium ion before calcium ion was removed, the increases in membrane conductance and holding current were delayed or prevented. Thus calcium is an essential cofactor in the gating of potassium channels in squid neurons.     

Glutamate receptor-like genes form Ca2+ channels in pollen tubes and are regulated by pistil D-serine

Elevations in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](cyt)) constitute a fundamental signal transduction mechanism in eukaryotic cells, but the molecular identity of Ca(2+) channels initiating this signal in plants is still under debate. Here, we show by pharmacology and loss-of-function mutants that in tobacco and Arabidopsis, glutamate receptor-like channels (GLRs) facilitate Ca(2+) influx across the plasma membrane, modulate apical [Ca(2+)](cyt) gradient, and consequently affect pollen tube growth and morphogenesis. Additionally, wild-type pollen tubes grown in pistils of knock-out mutants for serine-racemase (SR1) displayed growth defects consistent with a decrease in GLR activity. Our findings reveal a novel plant signaling mechanism between male gametophyte and pistil tissue similar to amino acid-mediated communication commonly observed in animal nervous systems.     

Cilia: activation coupled to mechanical stimulation by calcium influx

Ciliated epithelial cells in the oviduct of Necturus maculosus were stimulated mechanically by brief dimpling with a microstylus. This treatment produlced a transient depolarization of the membrane, and a transient increase in the frequency of ciliary beating. The increase in frequency of ciliary beating was related to the concentration of extracellular calcium ion, decreasing with reductiotn in calcium. Addition of lanthanum was followed by a decrease in spontaneous ciliary aictivity and a hyperpolarization of the membrane. In the presence of lanthanum, the transietnt depolarization in response to mechanical stimulation had a shorter timte course, and the concomitant increase in ciliary frequency was greatly reduced. It is concluded that calciuml ions enter the cell as a result of mechanical stimulationi of the membrane, and that calcium influx leads to an increase in the frequency of ciliary activity.     

Autonomic regulation of a chloride current in heart

In isolated heart cells, beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation induced a background current that was suppressed by simultaneous muscarinic receptor stimulation. Direct activation of adenylate cyclase with forskolin also elicited this current, suggesting regulation by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP). This current could be recorded when sodium, calcium, and potassium currents were eliminated by channel antagonists or by ion substitution. Alteration of the chloride equilibrium potential produced changes in the reversal potential expected for a chloride current. Activation of this chloride current modulated action potential duration and altered the resting membrane potential in a chloride gradient-dependent manner.     

IgG from patients with Lambert-Eaton syndrome blocks voltage-dependent calcium channels

Lambert-Eaton syndrome, an autoimmune disorder frequently associated with small-cell carcinoma of the lung, is characterized by impaired evoked release of acetylcholine from the motor nerve terminal. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies from patients with the syndrome, applied to bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, reduced the voltage-dependent calcium channel currents by about 40 percent. When calcium was administered directly into the cytoplasm, however, the IgG-treated cells exhibited normal exocytotic secretion, as assayed by membrane capacitance measurement. Measurement with the fluorescent calcium indicator fura-2 indicated that the IgG treatment reduced potassium-stimulated increase in free intracellular calcium concentration. The pathogenic IgG modified neither kinetics of calcium channel activation nor elementary channel activity, suggesting that a reduction in the number of functional calcium channels underlies the IgG-induced effect. Therefore, Lambert-Eaton syndrome IgG reacts with voltage-dependent calcium channels and blocks their function, a phenomenon that can account for the presynaptic impairment characteristic of this disorder.     

Calmodulin activation of calcium-dependent sodium channels in excised membrane patches of Paramecium

Calmodulin is a calcium-binding protein that participates in the transduction of calcium signals. The electric phenotypes of calmodulin mutants of Paramecium have suggested that the protein may regulate some calcium-dependent ion channels. Calcium-dependent sodium single channels in excised patches of the plasma membrane from Paramecium were identified, and their activity was shown to decrease after brief exposure to submicromolar concentrations of calcium. Channel activity was restored to these inactivated patches by adding calmodulin that was isolated from Paramecium to the cytoplasmic surface. This restoration of channel activity did not require adenosine triphosphate and therefore, probably resulted from direct binding of calmodulin, either to the sodium channel itself or to a channel regulator that was associated with the patch membrane.     

Turnover, membrane insertion, and degradation of sodium channels in rabbit urinary bladder

Noise analysis of rabbit bladder revealed two components: Lorentzian noise, arising from interaction of amiloride with the Na+ channel, and flicker noise (l/f, where f is frequency), as in other biological membranes. Hydrostatic pressure, which causes exchange between intracellular vesicular membrane and apical membrane, increases the number but not the single-channel current of the amiloride-sensitive channels. Flicker noise arises from degraded channels that have lost amiloride sensitivity and Na+ to K+ selectivity. The degraded channels were selectively removed by washing the mucosal surface. These results imply channel turnover by intracellular synthesis, transfer from vesicular to apical membrane, degradation, and elimination.     

The CRAC channel activator STIM1 binds and inhibits L-type voltage-gated calcium channels

Voltage- and store-operated calcium (Ca(2+)) channels are the major routes of Ca(2+) entry in mammalian cells, but little is known about how cells coordinate the activity of these channels to generate coherent calcium signals. We found that STIM1 (stromal interaction molecule 1), the main activator of store-operated Ca(2+) channels, directly suppresses depolarization-induced opening of the voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel Ca(V)1.2. STIM1 binds to the C terminus of Ca(V)1.2 through its Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) activation domain, acutely inhibits gating, and causes long-term internalization of the channel from the membrane. This establishes a previously unknown function for STIM1 and provides a molecular mechanism to explain the reciprocal regulation of these two channels in cells.     

Odor stimuli trigger influx of calcium into olfactory neurons of the channel catfish

Olfactory transduction is thought to be mediated by a G protein-coupled increase in intracellular adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) that triggers the opening of cAMP-gated cation channels and results in depolarization of the plasma membrane of olfactory neurons. In olfactory neurons isolated from the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, stimulation with olfactory stimuli (amino acids) elicits an influx of calcium that leads to a rapid increase in intracellular calcium. In addition, in a reconstitution assay a plasma membrane calcium channel has been identified that is gated by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), which could mediate this calcium influx. Together with previous studies indicating that stimulation with olfactory stimuli leads to stimulation of phosphoinositide turnover in olfactory cilia, these data suggest that an influx of calcium triggered by odor stimulation of phosphoinositide turnover may be an alternate or additional mechanism of olfactory transduction.     

Mechanism of membrane anchoring affects polarized expression of two proteins in MDCK cells

The signals that direct membrane proteins to the apical or basolateral plasma membrane domains of polarized epithelial cells are not known. Several of the class of proteins anchored in the membrane by glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) are expressed on the apical surface of such cells. However, it is not known whether the mechanism of membrane anchorage or the polypeptide sequence provides the sorting information. The conversion of the normally basolateral vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV G) to a GPI-anchored protein led to its apical expression. Conversely, replacement of the GPI anchor of placental alkaline phosphatase with the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of VSV G shifted its expression from the apical to the basolateral surface. Thus, the mechanism of membrane anchorage can determine the sorting of proteins to the apical or basolateral surface, and the GPI anchor itself may provide an apical transport signal.     

Voltage-sensitive calcium channels in normal and transformed 3T3 fibroblasts

Patch clamp recordings of whole-cell and single channel currents revealed the presence of two voltage-sensitive calcium channel types in the membrane of 3T3 fibroblasts. The two calcium channel types were identified by their unitary properties and pharmacological sensitivities. Both calcium channel types were present in all control 3T3 cells, but one type was selectively suppressed in 3T3 cells that had been transformed by activated c-H-ras, EJ-ras, v-fms, or polyoma middle T oncogenes. The presence of voltage-sensitive calcium channels in these nonexcitable cells and the control of their functional expression by transforming oncogenes raises questions about their role in the control of calcium-sensitive processes such as cell motility, cytoskeletal organization, and cell growth.