Thallium and the sodium pump in human red cells

1. Thallium (Tl) inhibits the ouabain-sensitive K influx in human red cells in high-Na medium. At 1 mM external K concentration [K(o)], the ouabain-sensitive K influx decreases steadily with increasing Tl concentration, up to 0.9 mM outside; at 0.17 mM-K(o), however, Tl stimulates the ouabain-sensitive K influx below 0.1 mM-Tl(o) and inhibits it at higher concentrations.2. In a K-free medium in which all except 5 mM-Na is replaced by choline, and into which red cells show zero control ouabain-sensitive Na efflux, Tl is able to support ouabain-sensitive Na efflux up to 2.1 m-mole/l. cells.hr following a sigmoid activation curve which is half-maximal between 0.03 and 0.05 mM-Tl(o) and that follows two-site kinetics up to 0.1 mM-Tl(o). Beyond 0.15 mM-Tl(o), the Tl-activated ouabain-sensitive Na efflux attained is inhibited slightly.3. When the ouabain-sensitive Na efflux is measured at 5 mM-Na(o) and 5 mM-K(o), increasing concentrations of Tl have little effect on it, 0.9 mM-Tl(o) inhibiting by some 14%; in similar conditions, the ouabain-sensitive K influx is inhibited by about 40%.4. The dependence of ouabain-sensitive K influx on external K concentration at 5 mM-Na(o), which follows a slightly sigmoid curve in the absence of Tl, changes to hyperbolic at 0.06 mM-Tl(o) at the same time that ouabain-sensitive K influx is inhibited. The fitted V(max) values for ouabain-sensitive K influx are the same in the presence and in the absence of 0.06 mM-Tl(o).5. In high-Na cells, loaded by nystatin treatment, the ouabain-sensitive K influx measured at 0.2 mM-Na(o) follows a hyperbolic curve between 0.05 and 0.4 mM-K(o), and is inhibited by Tl in a strictly competitive fashion.6. The effects of Tl on ouabain-sensitive Na efflux and ouabain-sensitive K influx are interpreted in terms of a high-affinity substitution for K at the external K sites of the Na pump and suggest that in human red cells Tl can be actively transported inwards in exchange for internal Na.7. Thallium can inhibit about 25% of the ouabain-insensitive Na efflux into 5 mM-Na(o) and part of this inhibition occurs with a high Tl-affinity; the ouabain-insensitive K influx is inhibited by Tl both in high-Na and in 5 mM-Na medium, but with a different concentration dependence than the ouabain-insensitive Na efflux.     

Ion movements in human red cells independent of the sodium pump

1. A study was made of the dependence on external Na of the movements of Na and K in human red cells. Special attention was given to ouabain-insensitive movements. The effect of internal Na on Na influx, and the influence of some sulphydryl inhibitors on ion movements and metabolism was also investigated.2. External Na stimulated ouabain-insensitive Na efflux and K influx. There was also a ouabain-insensitive component of Na influx that was raised on increasing the internal Na concentration. Exchange diffusion of Na appears to occur in the presence of ouabain and external K.3. Net transport of Na and K in the presence of ouabain was independent of external Na, as was also lactate production.4. Ethacrynic acid partially inhibited the Na pump; the Na-dependent components of Na efflux and K influx in the presence of ouabain were completely inhibited by ethacrynic acid. Both ouabain-sensitive and ouabain-insensitive adenosinetriphosphatase activities were inhibited by ethacrynic acid indicating a non-specific effect of this compound. Iodoacetamide decreased only the ouabain-insensitive ATPase activity.5. The results suggest that when the Na pump is blocked by ouabain, part of the residual ion movements can be attributed to exchange diffusion.     

Nucleotide requirements for sodium-sodium exchange catalysed by the sodium pump in human red cells

1. Resealed red cell ghosts containing a variety of nucleoside triphosphates, or a mixture of tri- and diphosphates, were allowed to lose (24)Na into a 10 mM-K medium or a K-free high-Na medium in the presence and absence of ouabain.2. Only ATP supported a ouabain-sensitive Na:K exchange in the 10 mM-K medium, or a ouabain-sensitive Na:Na exchange in the K-free medium.3. Because of ATPase and adenylate kinase activity, it is difficult to control the levels of ATP and ADP inside resealed red cell ghosts. Some control was achieved by incorporating into the ghosts an ATP regenerating system consisting of creatine phosphate and creatine kinase.4. Measurements of (24)Na efflux from ghosts prepared in this way showed that ADP is required for the ouabain-sensitive exchange of Na that occurs in K-free high-Na media, but not for the normal exchange of Na for K that occurs in K-containing media.5. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

Activities of the sodium pump in cat pyramidal tract cells investigated with intracellular injection of sodium ions

Summary Sodium ions were injected into cat pyramidal tract (PT) cells electrophoretically through an intracellular NaCl or Na glutamate-filled microelectrode. Following an injection there were decreases in the maximum rates of rise and fall of the spike potential and there was displacement of the inhibitory postsynaptic potential in a depolarizing direction. These changes recovered with an exponential time course, indicating concomitant changes in the internal sodium, potassium and chloride concentrations under the operation of the sodium pump in extruding excess sodium. From the exponential recovery curve, the rate constant of active sodium extrusion was estimated as about 60 hr^–1 in fast PT cells and about 90 hr^–1 in slow PT cells. It was suggested that the sodium pump was at least partly electrogenic, since the resting membrane was hyperpolarized by the sodium injection to the degree which depended on the amount of sodium-injecting current. Further support for this possibility was obtained by the experiment of high-frequency activation of PT cells, in which the sodium entry through the active membrane developed a slow post-tetanic hyperpolarization.     

The effects of cholesterol depletion on the sodium pump in human red cells

Sodium pump function has been studied in human erythrocytes depleted of membrane cholesterol by incubation with phosphatidylcholine liposomes. The cells were sodium loaded by incubation in alkaline sodium phosphate and sodium pump activity was assessed by measurements of ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake at 37 degrees C. Cholesterol depletion had a biphasic effect; depletion by 5-25% increased sodium pump activity by a mean of 16.1% (S.D. 3.2%), whereas depletion by 35-50% decreased sodium pump activity by a mean of 14.8% (S.D. 3.8%). Cholesterol depletion had no reproducible effect on the ouabain-insensitive uptake of Rb. These results support the hypothesis that there may be an optimum membrane cholesterol content for sodium pump function.     

Evidence for genetic control of glycine uptake in cultured cells, regulated by the amino acid concentration of the growth medium.

1. Cultured cells were grown in various concentrations of amino acids for periods up to 3 days and the characteristics of the glycine transport system measured under fixed experimental conditions. During this time, the effect of enucleation, using cytochalasin B, and the effects of protein synthesis inhibitors (cycloheximide and actinomycin D) were investigated. 2. Glycine influx is regulated by the prior growth concentration of similarly transported amino acids. 3. The modification in transport involves primarily a change in Vmax (but also a change in Km in HeLa cells) and is effected within 2-10 hr after media change. Increased transport activity is calculated to be sufficient to compensate for the reduction in extracellular amino acid concentration, so that nearly normal influx values from media are maintained. Regulation over the range of concentrations studied is shown to be very accurate. 4. The nucleus is essential for the regulatory mechanism to function. It seems probable that mRNA synthesis is required for acquisition of increased transport activity and mRNA translation required for maintenance of normal activity. 5. The controlling factor in the regulatory mechanism appears unlikely to be intracellular pool size. Other possible signals are discussed.     

Potassium: potassium exchange catalysed by the sodium pump in human red cells

1. When red cells were so depleted of Na that Na:K exchange had almost ceased, the ouabain-sensitive K efflux seen in K-containing media was accompanied by an almost equal ouabain-sensitive K influx.2. This suggests that the Na pump in these cells was carrying out a one-for-one K:K exchange across the erythrocyte membrane.3. 30-40% of the (42)K efflux from resealed ghosts was sensitive to ouabain when the ghosts contained 1 mM-ATP, 2 mM orthophosphate, 10 mM-K and less than 1 mM-Na, and the suspending medium contained 10 mM-K and 0-Na, choline being the predominant cation.4. In resealed ghosts, the rate of K:K exchange saturated as internal K was increased, and was half-maximal at about 10 mM-K.5. When internal ATP was maintained with a phosphocreatine:creatine phosphokinase regenerating system, K:K exchange saturated as internal ATP was increased, and was half-maximal at about 100 muM-ATP.6. The rate of K:K exchange did not depend on whether the ADP concentration was roughly the same as the ATP concentration or very much less, suggesting that ADP did not affect the rate of K:K exchange.7. GTP, ITP and UTP were unable to substitute for ATP in supporting K:K exchange. CTP was a poor substitute.8. There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that K:K exchange is accompanied by a ouabain-sensitive hydrolysis of ATP.9. Internal Na was a strong inhibitor of ouabain-sensitive K efflux from ghosts containing 9 mM-K. 4 mM-Na was sufficient to produce 90% inhibition.10. The rate of K:K exchange depended on the orthophosphate concentration inside the ghosts (confirming Glynn, Lew & Lüthi, 1970). The curve obtained suggested that the rate was half-maximal at about 1.7 mM orthophosphate.11. These experiments suggested that inhibition by internal K is an important factor affecting the Na efflux from intact red cells. Experiments measuring Na:K exchange as a function of internal Na in low-K ghosts supported this hypothesis.12. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

Intracellular sodium activity and the sodium pump in snail neurones

1. Recessed-tip Na(+)-sensitive micro-electrodes were used to measure [Na(+)](i) continuously in snail neurones for experiments lasting up to several hours. The average resting [Na(+)](i) in twenty-two cells was 3.6 mM.2. Inhibition of the Na pump by ouabain caused [Na(+)](i) to increase at an average rate of 0.54 m-mole/min. This corresponds to a passive influx of Na quantitatively similar to that observed in squid axons.3. Changing external K over the range 1-8 mM had little effect on [Na(+)](i), but K-free or 0.25 mM-K Ringer caused a rise in [Na(+)](i).4. Increasing membrane potential by up to 90 mV caused an increased influx of Na, but did not inhibit the pump.5. Reducing external Na caused a decrease in [Na(+)](i) but did not affect the pump rate at a given [Na(+)](i). The pump rate at low [Na(+)](i) was proportional to [Na(+)](i) minus a threshold value of about 1 mM.6. The Na pump appeared still to be electrogenic at subnormal rates of activity.7. It is concluded that, given sufficient external K, the rate of the Na pump depends principally on [Na(+)](i). Changes in external Na or membrane potential appear to affect the pump only indirectly, by changing the Na influx and thus [Na(+)](i).     

The sensitivity of the sodium pump to external sodium

1. When red cells are incubated in potassium-free solutions, ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux is nearly absent with 5 mM-Na externally, but increases as the external sodium concentration is reduced from 5 mM to zero. This increase suggests that the transport mechanism is very sensitive to small amounts of sodium at the outside surface of the cell membrane. Further evidence for such sensitivity has been obtained from the effects of external sodium on the relation between potassium influx and external potassium concentration.2. With 5 mM-[K](o), potassium influx is rather insensitive to [Na](o) but at low potassium concentrations even low levels of sodium inhibit.3. With 140 mM-[Na](o) the potassium influx curve is S-shaped below 1 mM [K](o). At much lower sodium concentrations, the S-shaped region and the value of [K](o) for which potassium influx is half-maximal are both shifted progressively towards zero. At 10 muM-[Na](o), potassium influx is half maximal at 0.14 mM-[K](o) and the curve is close to a rectangular hyperbola down to 22 muM-[K](o); there seems to be a trace of inflexion at about 15 muM-[K](o).4. When [Na](o) is reduced from 5 mM to zero, removal of the inhibitory effect of external sodium ions on sodium: potassium exchange could lead to an increase in sodium efflux into nominally potassium-free solutions if these solutions did in fact contain traces of potassium. Such traces could arise by leakage from the cells, but, in a number of experiments, direct measurements showed that [K](o) was too low to account in this way for all of the observed ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux. A further reason for rejecting this explanation is that ouabain-sensitive potassium loss into nominally (Na+K)-free solutions was unaffected by adding 5 mM-Na. (A slight increase in ouabain-resistant loss was observed.)5. The ouabain-sensitive efflux of sodium into (Na+K)-free solutions therefore seems to represent a mode of behaviour of the transport mechanism distinct both from the sodium: potassium exchange that occurs under physiological conditions and from the sodium: sodium exchange that occurs in K-free, Na-rich media.     

The stoicheiometry of the sodium pump

1. When resealed ghosts containing adenosine triphosphate (ATP), magnesium and sodium were incubated in a medium containing potassium, ATP was hydrolysed vigorously by a ouabain-sensitive mechanism. If the ghosts contained potassium instead of or in addition to sodium, and the external solution contained sodium but no potassium, there was little ouabain-sensitive hydrolysis of ATP. As it is known that the ouabain-sensitive ATPase in fragmented ghosts requires both sodium and potassium ions, these results show that the ATPase is activated by potassium externally and by sodium internally, and suggest that the ions activating the ATPase are the ions that are transported.2. Resealed ghosts containing ATP, magnesium and sodium were incubated in sodium-free media containing potassium, with and without ouabain, and the rate of loss of sodium and rate of hydrolysis of ATP were measured. The hydrolysis of 1 molecule of ATP by the ouabain-sensitive mechanism was accompanied by the ouabain-sensitive loss of about 3 sodium ions.3. (24)Na and (42)K were used to measure sodium efflux and potassium influx in identical batches of fresh red cells under the same conditions and at the same time. Each flux was measured in the presence and absence of ouabain. The ratio (ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux)/(ouabain-sensitive potassium influx) was significantly greater than 1 (1.20 +/- 0.01 and 1.35 +/- 0.01 in two experiments). If a small fraction of the potassium influx represented a ouabain-sensitive potassium: potassium exchange, the ratio of the numbers of ions moved in the sodium: potassium exchange catalysed by the pump must have been even further from unity.4. Resealed ghosts containing [gamma-(32)P]ATP, magnesium, (24)Na and orthophosphate were incubated in balanced salt solutions with and without potassium and with and without ouabain. A comparison of sodium efflux, estimated from (24)Na loss, with ATP hydrolysis, estimated from the formation of [(32)P]orthophosphate, showed that the sodium:sodium exchange in a potassium-free medium was accompanied by little or no ouabain-sensitive hydrolysis of ATP.5. Experiments on intact red cells loaded with (24)Na showed that both sodium:sodium exchange in a potassium-free medium, and sodium:potassium exchange in a medium containing potassium, were partially inhibited by oligomycin (1-10 mug/ml.). Inhibition of the sodium:potassium exchange was not affected by raising the external potassium concentration.     

Evidence for genetic anticipation in the oculodentodigital syndrome

Oculodentodigital syndrome (O.D.) is an autosomal dominant disorder comprising facial anomalies, syndactyly, microcorneae, dental enamel hypoplasia, and leukodystrophy. We describe a four generation family with O.D. in which anomalies such as syndactyly appear congenitally, whereas neurological (i.e., leukodystrophic) signs and symptoms tend to be expressed in a more severe form and/or at an earlier age of onset in successive generations of the kindred. This pattern of phenotypic expression is consistent with the phenomenon of genetic anticipation, and we suggest that O.D. may be a trinucleotide repeat disorder. Am. J. Med. Genet. 71:36–41, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Evidence for the genetic control of immunoglobulin E reactivity to the allergens of Alternaria alternata

BACKGROUND: The fungus Alternaria alternata contains potent allergens, and sensitization to these allergens is associated with a high risk of respiratory disease. The influence of genetic regulation on sensitization to Alternaria is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of genetic factors on IgE responses to specific allergens of Alternaria. METHODS: The concordance of skin prick test (SPT), radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and IgE-binding profiles of sera were examined from a large cohort of monozygotic and dizygotic twins. RESULTS: Casewise concordance for a positive SPT response was monozygous (MZ) 66%: dizygous (DZ) 40% (P = 0.002). Logistic regression confirmed that casewise concordance was significantly stronger between MZ than DZ pairs. Immunoblotting against an Alternaria extract revealed 19 allergenic bands. The differences in concordance between the different bands were not significant for either the MZ (P = 0.97) or DZ (P = 0.84) groups. The pooled MZ : DZ difference in concordance was just significant (P = 0.049), suggesting an overall genetic effect on the response to Alternaria. This was reinforced by the comparison of the MZ and DZ correlations for total number of bands recognized (MZ r = 0.65; DZ r = 0.37, P = 0.015). Overall, there was a moderate correlation between the individual SPT weal size and RAST score (r(2) = 0.41) and a substantial correlation between the number of immunoblotted bands and RAST scores (r(2) = 0.79). CONCLUSION: There is a strong genetic influence on IgE response to the mixture of Alternaria allergens and a lesser effect on IgE response to individual allergens.     

Contribution of an electrogenic sodium pump to the membrane potential in rabbit sinoatrial node cells

A study has been made of the transient hyperpolarization (K+-induced hyperpolarization) which developed following readmission of potassium after having pre-treated the rabbit sinoatrial node tissue with K+-depleted Tyrode solution for 4--5 min at 35 degrees C. Evidence is presented indicating that the K+-induced hyperpolarization results from the activity of an electrogenic sodium pump: The K+-induced hyperpolarization was inhibited by substituting Li+ for Na+ and by cooling the tissue. The amplitude of the K+-induced hyperpolarization was increased either by increasing K+ concentration in the recovery solution or by decreasing K+ concentration in the pre-treatment K+-depleted solution. By removing Cl- from the perfusates, the amplitude of the K+-induced hyperpolarization increased. In a Cl--depleted solution, the sinoatrial node cell membrane hyperpolarized by approximately 15 mV without a transient depolarization.