Departments of 1 Neurosurgery and 2 Physiology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin 53792; and 3 Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267
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ABSTRACT |
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We reported previously that inhibition of
Na+-K+-Cl cotransporter isoform 1 (NKCC1) by bumetanide abolishes high extracellular K+
concentration ([K+]o)-induced swelling and
intracellular Cl
accumulation in rat cortical astrocytes.
In this report, we extended our study by using cortical astrocytes from
NKCC1-deficient (NKCC1
/
) mice. NKCC1 protein and
activity were absent in NKCC1
/
astrocytes.
[K+]o of 75 mM increased NKCC1 activity
approximately fourfold in NKCC1+/+ cells (P < 0.05) but had no effect in NKCC1
/
astrocytes.
Intracellular Cl
was increased by 70% in
NKCC1+/+ astrocytes under 75 mM
[K+]o (P < 0.05) but
remained unchanged in NKCC1
/
astrocytes. Baseline
intracellular Na+ concentration
([Na+]i) in NKCC1+/+ astrocytes
was 19.0 ± 0.5 mM, compared with 16.9 ± 0.3 mM
[Na+]i in NKCC1
/
astrocytes
(P < 0.05). Relative cell volume of
NKCC1+/+ astrocytes increased by 13 ± 2% in 75 mM
[K+]o, compared with a value of 1.0 ± 0.5% in NKCC1
/
astrocytes (P < 0.05).
Regulatory volume increase after hypertonic shrinkage was completely
impaired in NKCC1
/
astrocytes.
High-[K+]o-induced 14C-labeled
D-aspartate release was reduced by ~30% in
NKCC1
/
astrocytes. Our study suggests that stimulation
of NKCC1 is required for high-[K+]o-induced
swelling, which contributes to glutamate release from astrocytes under
high [K+]o.
cell swelling; high potassium ion concentration; cultured astrocytes; glutamate release; bumetanide; intracellular chloride; excitatory amino acid
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INTRODUCTION |
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NA+-k+-cl
cotransporter (NKCC) isoform 1 (NKCC1) has been shown to
play a role in cell volume regulation and K+ uptake in
astrocytes (10, 12, 33). NKCC1 activity in cultured rat
cortical astrocytes is significantly stimulated by high extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o)
(32). Inhibition of NKCC1 activity by the potent
cotransporter inhibitor bumetanide decreases the
high-[K+]o-mediated uptake of
Cl
and blocks astrocyte swelling (Ref. 33;
this issue). Moreover, administration of bumetanide in brain cortex
significantly reduces edema and infarct volume after focal
ischemia (41). Thus NKCC1 could contribute to an
overload of intracellular Na+, K+, and
Cl
and cell swelling in conditions such as cerebral
ischemia, in which [K+]o is elevated.
Astrocytes release organic osmolytes such as excitatory amino acid (EAA) under high-[K+]o conditions to regulate cell volume (13, 18). One possible mechanism for the EAA release under high-[K+]o conditions is via volume-sensitive organic anion channels (VSOACs; Refs. 1, 27). High-[K+]o-induced 3H-labeled D-aspartate (Asp) release from cultured astrocytes is inhibited by the anion channel inhibitors L-644711 and dideoxyforskolin (27). We have reported (Ref. 33; this issue) that blocking of NKCC1 activity by bumetanide significantly reduces high-[K+]o-induced 14C-labeled D-Asp release. These results imply that NKCC1-mediated swelling may contribute to the high-[K+]o-triggered glutamate release.
The role of NKCC1 in high-[K+]o-triggered
swelling and glutamate release described above has been studied by
pharmacological techniques. Although bumetanide is a potent inhibitor
of the NKCCs, it also inhibits other ion transport proteins and
GABAA channels (26, 34). In this study, we
used astrocytes isolated from the NKCC1-deficient mice established by
Flagella et al.(6). We report here that
high-[K+]o-induced swelling was absent in
NKCC1/
astrocytes. A significant decrease in
intracellular Cl
and Na+ and release of
glutamate was observed in NKCC1
/
astrocytes. The
results suggest that NKCC1 is important in regulation of astrocyte
volume and intracellular Cl
and Na+.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Materials. Bumetanide, digitonin, Triton X-100, monensin, and gramicidin were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). Eagle's modified essential medium (EMEM) and Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) were from Mediatech Cellgro (Herndon, VA). Fetal bovine serum was obtained from Hyclone Laboratories (Logan, UT). Collagen type I was from Collaborative Biomedical Products (Bedford, MA). 86RbCl was purchased from NEN Life Science Products (Boston, MA). D-[14C]Asp was from American Radiolabeled Chemicals (St. Louis, MO). Chloride-36 was purchased from Amersham Pharmacia Biotech (Piscataway, NJ). Sodium-binding benzofuran isophthalate (SBFI)-AM was purchased from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). Pluronic acid was purchased from BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany).
Animals and genotype analysis. NKCC1 homozygous mutant and wild-type mice were obtained by breeding gene-targeted NKCC1 heterozygous mutant mice, and genotypes were determined by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of DNA from tail biopsies as described previously (6).
Primary culture of mouse cortical astrocytes.
Dissociated cortical astrocyte cultures were established based on a
method used in our previous study of rat cortical astrocyte cultures
(32). Cerebral cortices were removed from 1-day-old NKCC1+/+ or NKCC1/
mice. The cortices were
incubated in a solution of 0.25 mg trypsin /ml HBSS for 25 min at
37°C. The tissue was then mechanically triturated and filtered
through nylon meshes. The dissociated cells were rinsed and resuspended
in EMEM containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Viable cells (1 × 104 cells /well) were plated in 24-well plates coated with
collagen type 1. Cultures were maintained in a 5% CO2
atmosphere at 37°C. The cultures were subsequently refed every 3 days
throughout the study. To obtain morphologically differentiated
astrocytes, confluent cultures (days 12-15 in culture)
were treated with EMEM containing 0.25 mM dibutyryl cAMP (DBcAMP) for 7 days to induce differentiation. DBcAMP has been widely used to mimic
neuronal influences on astrocyte differentiation (9, 35).
Experiments were routinely performed (see Figs. 4-10) on cultures
treated with DBcAMP for 7 days.
Gel electrophoresis and Western blotting.
Cortical astrocytes growing on culture dishes were washed with ice-cold
phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; pH 7.4) that contained 2 mM EDTA and
protease inhibitors. Cells were scraped from dishes and lysed by
sonication at 4°C (32). To obtain cellular lysates, cellular debris was removed by centrifugation and protein content of
the cellular lysate was determined (29). Samples and
prestained molecular mass markers (Bio-Rad) were denatured in SDS
reducing buffer (1:2 vol/vol; Bio-Rad) and heated at 37°C for 15 min
before gel electrophoresis. The samples were then electrophoretically separated on 6% SDS gels, and the resolved proteins were
electrophoretically transferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane
(32). The blots were incubated in 7.5% nonfat dry milk in
Tris-buffered saline and then incubated with a primary antibody. After
rinsing, the blots were incubated with horseradish
peroxidase-conjugated secondary IgG. Bound antibody was visualized with
an enhanced chemiluminescence assay (ECL; Amersham). Anti-NKCC
monoclonal antibody against the human colonic T84 epithelial NKCC
(20) was used for detection of the cotransporter protein,
and the same blot was probed with anti- actin antibody as a control.
A linear curve with 5-30 µg of protein has been established for
both anti-NKCC antibody and anti-
actin antibody (32).
In addition, the linear range of the ECL exposure course on the film
was within 15-120 s (32). Therefore, 30 µg of
protein was loaded in all immunoblots of the present study. In
addition, the ECL exposure time was within 60 s.
Immunofluorescence staining. Cultured cells grown on collagen type I-coated coverslips were rinsed with PBS (pH 7.4) and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 40 min at room temperature. After rinsing, cells were incubated with blocking solution (10% normal goat serum, 0.4% Triton X-100, and 1% bovine serum albumin in PBS) for 1 h. Cells were then incubated with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) polyclonal (1:100) or anti-NKCC monoclonal antibodies (1:100) in blocking solution overnight at 4°C. Cells were rinsed with PBS and incubated with goat anti-mouse FITC-conjugated or goat anti-rabbit Texas red-conjugated antibodies (1:200) for 2 h. Cell images were captured by laser scanning confocal microscope (Bio-Rad MRC 1000) as described previously (32). Bio-Rad MRC-1024 Laser Sharp software (version 2.1T) was used to control the microscope and its settings. An identical setting was used to capture the negative control and experimental images.
Measurement of relative cell volume changes in single cell. Relative cell volume changes were estimated with video-enhanced differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, as described in our previous study (Ref. 33, this issue). The same method has been reported by others (40). Astrocytes cultured on collagen-coated coverslips were placed in an open-bath imaging chamber (Warner Instruments, Hamden, CT; bath volume 40 µl) on the stage of a Nikon TE 300 inverted epifluorescence microscope. Astrocytes were equilibrated with isotonic HEPES-buffered minimal essential medium (MEM, 312 mosmol/kgH2O) for 15 min (33). Astrocytes were exposed sequentially to HEPES-MEM (5 min), 75 mM [K+]o HEPES-MEM (10 min), HEPES-MEM (10 min), HEPES-MEM + 10 µM bumetanide (20 min), 75 mM [K+]o HEPES-MEM + 10 µM bumetanide (10 min), and HEPES-MEM (10 min). In 75 mM [K+]o HEPES-MEM, 75 mM [K+]o was obtained by replacing NaCl in HEPES-MEM solutions with equimolar KCl. A single astrocyte was visualized with a Nikon ×60 Plan Apo oil-immersion objective lens, and cell images were recorded every minute as described previously (33). The mean cross-sectional area (CSA) of the cell body was calculated with MetaMorph image-processing software. The control CSA values were obtained when cells were exposed to HEPES-MEM only. Relative changes in CSA (CSAr) were calculated as experimental CSA divided by control CSA. After each experiment, relative cell volume changes in response to HEPES-MEM calibration buffers were measured. Salt concentrations in the buffers were held constant, and the osmolality (238, 277, and 312 mosmol/kgH2O) was adjusted by varying the buffer concentration of sucrose.
Assay for NKCC1 activity. NKCC1 activity was measured as bumetanide-sensitive K+ influx with 86Rb as a tracer for K+ (32). Cultured astrocytes were equilibrated for 10-30 min at 37°C with isotonic HEPES-MEM (312 mosmol/kgH2O). Cells were preincubated for 10 min in HEPES-MEM containing either 0 or 10 µM bumetanide. For assay of cotransporter activity, cells were exposed to 1 µCi/ml of 86Rb in HEPES-MEM for 3 min in the presence or absence of 10 µM bumetanide. 86Rb influx was stopped by rinsing cells with ice-cold 0.1 M MgCl2. Radioactivity of the cellular extract in 1% SDS was analyzed by liquid scintillation counting (1900CA; Packard, Downers Grove, IL). K+ influx rate was calculated and expressed as nanomoles of K+ per milligram of protein per minute. It has been established that the slope of 86Rb uptake over 10 min is linear in astrocytes (32). Bumetanide-sensitive K+ influx was obtained by subtracting the K+ influx rate in the presence of bumetanide from the total K+ influx rate. Quadruplicate determinations were obtained in each experiment throughout the study, and protein content was measured in each sample with a method described previously (29). Statistical significance in the study was determined by ANOVA (Bonferroni-Dunn) at a confidence level of 95% (P < 0.05).
Intracellular Cl content measurement.
Cells on 24-well plates were preincubated for 30 min in HEPES-MEM
containing 5.8 mM [K+]o and 36Cl
(0.4 µCi/ml). A steady-state level of intracellular 36Cl
was established and maintained during the 30-min preincubation (33). The cells were then incubated in 75 mM
[K+]o HEPES-MEM containing 36Cl
(0.4 µCi/ml) in the presence or absence of 10 µM bumetanide for 4 or 13 min. Thus extracellular Cl
concentration
([Cl
]o) of 145 mM in HEPES-MEM was
maintained in 75 mM [K+]o, and the specific
activity of 36Cl was constant in 5.8 mM
[K+]o and 75 mM
[K+]o HEPES-MEM. Intracellular
36Cl content measurement was terminated by three washes
with 1 ml of ice-cold washing buffer (in mM: 118 NaCl, 26 NaHCO3, 1.8 CaCl2, pH 7.40). Radioactivity of
the cellular extract in 1% SDS was analyzed by liquid scintillation
counting (Packard 1900CA). In each experiment, specific activities
(counts/µmol × min) of 36Cl were determined for
each assay condition and used to calculate intracellular
Cl
content (µmol/mg protein).
Intracellular Na+ measurement. Intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]i) was measured with the fluorescent dye SBFI-AM as described previously (25). Cultured astrocytes grown on collagen-coated coverslips were loaded with 10 µM SBFI-AM at room temperature in HEPES-MEM containing 0.1% pluronic acid as described in our previous report (Ref. 33, this issue). The coverslips were placed in an open-bath imaging chamber containing HEPES-MEM at ambient temperature. With a Nikon TE 300 inverted epifluorescence microscope and a ×40 Super Fluor oil-immersion objective lens, astrocytes were excited every 10 s at 345 and 385 nm, and the emission fluorescences at 510 nm were recorded. Images were collected and analyzed with MetaFluor image-processing software (33). An area on the coverslip without cells was defined as the background region and used for subtraction of baseline fluorometric intensities at 345 and 385 nm. Approximately 65% of the SBFI fluorescence signals (340- to 380-nm ratios) measured in this study represented changes of Na+ in the cytoplasm of astrocytes (33).
To monitor changes of [Na+]i, the SBFI-loaded cells were equilibrated with HEPES-MEM for 20 min. Ratios of 340- to 380-nm fluorescence were recorded, and the bath chamber buffer was changed with 75 mM [K+]o HEPES-MEM (10 min) followed by HEPES-MEM (10 min). Absolute [Na+]i was determined for each cell by calibrating the SBFI fluorescence ratio with solutions containing 0, 10, 20, 40 or 80 mM extracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]o) and monensin (10 µM) and gramicidin (3 µM) to equilibrate [Na+]o and [Na+]i. The resulting ratios from each cell were fit with a three-parameter hyperbolic curve from which [Na+]i was calculated (4).D-[14C]Asp release measurement. Aspartate release was measured as described previously (Ref. 33, this issue). Astrocytes grown on chamber slides were incubated overnight in 1 ml of complete EMEM containing 2 µCi/ml of D-[14C]Asp (specific activity of 55 mCi/mmol). The perfusing rate of the perfusion chamber was 1.5 ml/min. This chamber allows a complete change of the perfusing buffer within 2 min. The cells were perfused at a constant flow rate with HEPES-MEM containing 5.8 or 75 mM [K+]o in the presence or absence of 10 µM bumetanide. The buffers and perfusion chamber were kept at 37°C. The perfusate was collected in 1-min intervals. At the end of the experiment, the cells were digested in 1% SDS. The radioactivity of samples was measured by liquid scintillation counting (Packard 1900CA). Calculation of fractional release was based on the following formula: fractional release = Ct/[Sum(Ct:Cend) + Cremain], where Ct is the cpm value in the effluent at time t, Cend is the cpm value in the effluent at the end of the experiment, Sum(Ct:Cend) is the total cpm value in the effluent from time t to the end of the experiment (28), and Cremain is the cpm value left in the cells at the end of the experiment.
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RESULTS |
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Absence of NKCC1 protein expression in cultured cortical astrocytes
isolated from NKCC1/
mice.
Mating of heterozygous mice yielded live offspring of all three
genotypes in a Mendelian ratio of 1:2:1 (23% NKCC1+/+,
54% NKCC1+/
, 23% NKCC1
/
). As shown in
Fig. 1A, a single DNA band
(~105 bp) was detected in a tail biopsy of the NKCC1+/+
mouse. In contrast, a larger DNA band (~156 bp) was found in the
NKCC1
/
tail biopsy. In a heterozygous sample, both PCR
products were present.
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Decrease in K+ influx in
NKCC1/
astrocytes under high
[K+]o.
Previous studies suggested that NKCC is important for K+
uptake in astrocytes and that cotransporter activity is significantly stimulated by high [K+]o (32,
37). In this study, we first examined whether the K+
influx rate was different in NKCC1+/+and
NKCC1
/
astrocytes (undifferentiated) under 5.8 mM
[K+]o. As shown in Fig.
3A, at 5.8 mM
[K+]o the total K+ influx rate
was 111.8 ± 6.8 nmol/mg protein × min in
NKCC1+/+ astrocytes; however, it was decreased to 86.1 ± 4.8 nmol/mg protein × min in NKCC1
/
astrocytes
(P > 0.05). 10 µM bumetanide did not significantly affect the K+ influx rate in either NKCC1+/+ or
NKCC1
/
astrocytes under 5.8 mM
[K+]o. When NKCC1+/+ astrocytes
were exposed to 75 mM [K+]o, the total
K+ influx rate was increased to 348.7 ± 25.8 nmol/mg
protein × min (P < 0.05). Inhibition of
cotransporter activity by 10 µM bumetanide decreased the total
K+ influx rate by 20% (P < 0.05).
Interestingly, genetic ablation of NKCC1 caused a similar reduction in
the total K+ influx rate under 75 mM
[K+]o. Moreover, no additional reduction of
total K+ influx was observed when NKCC1
/
astrocytes were treated with 10 µM bumetanide (Fig. 3A).
An identical pattern of changes in the total K+ influx was
found in differentiated NKCC1+/+ and NKCC1
/
astrocytes (data not shown). These data suggest that the cotransporter is important in K+ influx in astrocytes, particularly under
high-[K+]o conditions.
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Decrease in 36Cl accumulation in
NKCC1
/
astrocytes under high
[K+]o.
Pharmacological inhibition of NKCC suggested that the cotransporter
contributes to an accumulation of intracellular Cl
in
astrocytes (15, 33). We investigated this further with NKCC1-deficient astrocytes. The basal levels of intracellular 36Cl
were 0.48 ± 0.04 µmol/mg protein
when NKCC1+/+ astrocytes were exposed to 5.8 mM
[K+]o for 4 min (Fig.
4A). A similar level of
intracellular 36Cl was maintained after the cells were
incubated in 5.8 mM [K+]o for 13 min. The
intracellular 36Cl level was increased to 0.81 ± 0.06 µmol/mg protein when NKCC1+/+ astrocytes were exposed to
75 mM [K+]o for 4 min (P < 0.05) and maintained at 0.79 ± 0.05 µmol/mg protein after a
13-min incubation. Blocking of cotransporter activity by 10 µM
bumetanide significantly decreased the
high-[K+]o-induced 36Cl increase
in NKCC1+/+ astrocytes (P < 0.05; Fig.
4A). As shown in Fig. 4B, the basal 36Cl levels in NKCC1
/
astrocytes were not
significantly different from those of NKCC1+/+ astrocytes
under 5.8 mM [K+]o (P > 0.05). However, when NKCC1
/
astrocytes were exposed to
75 mM [K+]o for 4 min, no significant
increase in 36Cl accumulation was observed
(P > 0.05; Fig. 4B). After a 13-min incubation with 75 mM [K+]o, the
intracellular 36Cl level in the NKCC1
/
astrocytes was slightly increased but still lower than in control NKCC1+/+ astrocytes and insensitive to bumetanide.
Moreover, 10 µM bumetanide did not significantly affect the
intracellular 36Cl levels in NKCC1
/
astrocytes under either 5.8 or 75 mM [K+]o
(P > 0.05). Collectively, the results show that the
absence of NKCC1 in cortical astrocytes abolished the
high-[K+]o-mediated accumulation of
intracellular 36Cl.
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Decrease in intracellular Na+ in
NKCC1/
astrocytes.
We previously observed that pharmacological inhibition of NKCC1 in rat
cortical astrocytes resulted in a decrease in basal levels of
[Na+]i by ~2 mM (33).
In the current study, the basal levels of [Na+]i were 19.0 ± 0.5 mM in
NKCC1+/+ astrocytes. In contrast,
[Na+]i was 16.9 ± 0.3 mM in
NKCC1
/
astrocytes (P < 0.001; Fig.
5, A and B). In
response to high [K+]o, a compensatory
decrease in [Na+]i occurred in both
NKCC1+/+ and NKCC1
/
astrocytes (Fig. 5,
A and B), which has been suggested to be attributable in part to activation of
Na+-K+-ATPase (19).
[Na+]i in NKCC1+/+
astrocytes recovered to basal levels after cells were returned to 5.8 mM [K+]o. However, in NKCC1
/
astrocytes, [Na+]i remained significantly
lower than in NKCC1+/+ astrocytes. Thus the results suggest
that NKCC is important in maintaining intracellular Na+
under control conditions.
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Lack of
high-[K+]o-induced swelling
in NKCC1/
astrocytes.
A significant decrease in intracellular Cl
and
K+ uptake in NKCC1
/
astrocytes under high
[K+]o implies that ablation of NKCC1 may
prevent astrocyte swelling. Thus in the following experiments, relative
volume changes were examined in both NKCC1+/+ and
NKCC1
/
astrocytes. As shown in Fig.
6A, when NKCC1+/+
astrocytes were exposed to 75 mM [K+]o,
CSAr reached a maximum value of 1.13 ± 0.02. Inhibition of NKCC1 activity by 10 µM bumetanide abolished the
high-[K+]o-induced swelling. Ten micromolar
bumetanide had no significant effect on the basal level of
CSAr (Fig. 6A). In contrast, no cell swelling
was observed when NKCC1
/
astrocytes were exposed to
high [K+]o (Fig. 6B). Ten
micromolar bumetanide did not affect CSAr in NKCC1
/
astrocytes under either control or
high-[K+]o conditions (Fig. 6B).
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Decrease in
high-[K+]o-induced release
of D-[14C]Asp in NKCC1/
astrocytes.
We previously observed that NKCC1 activity in rat astrocytes
contributes to high-[K+]o-induced swelling
and glutamate release (33). If the
high-[K+]o-induced glutamate release is due
in part to swelling, we anticipated that preventing cell swelling by
inhibition of NKCC1 activity would reduce glutamate release. As shown
in Fig. 9A, in
NKCC1+/+ astrocytes there was a trace amount of
D-[14C]Asp release under 5.8 mM
[K+]o in the presence or absence of
bumetanide (data not shown in the latter case). A small increase in the
release of D-[14C]Asp occurred when cells
were exposed to 75 mM [K+]o (phase
I). The release was further developed with time and reached a peak
value after 20 min (phase II). On removal of the high-[K+]o medium, the release returned to
the resting level within 10 min. In the presence of 10 µM bumetanide,
the peak value of the D-[14C]Asp release
under 75 mM [K+]o was 0.65 ± 0.12%
(fractional release per minute; Fig. 9A). However, in the
absence of bumetanide, high [K+]o
induced substantially more D-[14C]Asp release
(P < 0.05; Fig. 9A). In summary, 10 µM
bumetanide has no effect on phase I of
D-[14C]Asp release; however, it blocked
~30% of the phase II release of
D-[14C]Asp under high
[K+]o (n = 12, P < 0.05; Fig. 9A and inset).
This is consistent with our finding in rat cortical astrocytes (Ref.
33, this issue).
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DISCUSSION |
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Role for NKCC1 in regulation of intracellular
Na+, K+,
and Cl in astrocytes.
Previous pharmacological studies suggested that NKCC1 plays a role in
maintenance of intracellular Na+ and Cl
(25, 26). Inhibition of NKCC1 by bumetanide in rat
hippocampal (25) or cortical (33) astrocytes
reduces the basal levels of intracellular Na+ by ~2 mM.
Consistent with these studies, we observed a reduction of 2.1 mM in
basal [Na+]i in NKCC1-deficient cortical
astrocytes. The collective results further support the notion that the
steady state of Na+ influx via NKCC1 is important in
maintenance of resting [Na+]i in astrocytes.
We have also examined whether deletion of NKCC1 activity would affect
basal levels of K+ and Cl
influx in
NKCC1
/
astrocytes. Unlike
[Na+]i, our data indicate that the basal
levels of K+ influx and accumulation of intracellular
36Cl were not significantly different in
NKCC1
/
and NKCC1+/+ cortical astrocytes.
This implies that a role for NKCC1 in maintenance of resting
intracellular levels of K+ and Cl
in
astrocytes is negligible. It is possible that the intracellular K+ concentration is maintained by mechanisms such as
Na+-K+-ATPase and K+ channels,
whereas intracellular Cl
could be regulated by other ion
transport pathways, including Cl
/HCO
channels.
Role for NKCC1 in regulation of astrocyte volume.
NKCC1 is important in cell volume regulation in a variety of mammalian
cell types (24, 26). Inhibition of NKCC1 by bumetanide leads to cell shrinkage under isotonic conditions in cells such as
retinal pigment epithelia, ventricular myocytes, and vascular endothelial cells (26). However, bumetanide has no effect
on the basal volume of C6 glioma and vascular smooth muscle cells (26). In our study, neither inhibition of NKCC1 activity
by bumetanide nor genetic ablation of NKCC1 affected the baseline volume in astrocytes. One possible explanation for the lack of an
effect is that NKCC1 is not essential for maintenance of cell volume in
mouse cortical astrocytes. Other mechanisms, such as the coupled
activities of Na+/H+ and
Cl/HCO
Role for NKCC1 in
high-[K+]o-induced
astrocyte swelling and glutamate release.
Several studies using pharmacological approaches suggested that NKCC1
plays a role in K+ uptake and astrocyte swelling in high
[K+]o (37). In rat cortical
astrocytes, we reported that inhibition of NKCC1 with bumetanide
abolished the high-[K+]o-induced swelling
(33). A similar observation was made in choroid
plexus cells (40). In the current report, we conclude that
activation of NKCC1 is responsible for
high-[K+]o-induced swelling in mouse cortical
astrocytes. Blocking of NKCC1 activity or ablation of NKCC1 abolishes
high-[K+]o-induced swelling. We believe that
NKCC1 leads to cell swelling via excessive influx of Na+,
K+, and Cl, with accompanying H2O
under high [K+]o. This view is supported by
the following findings. 1) NKCC1 activity is significantly
stimulated in NKCC1+/+ astrocytes. 2) Either
inhibition of NKCC1 with bumetanide or ablation of NKCC1 significantly
reduces intracellular Cl
content under high
[K+]o. Na+ entering the cell via
NKCC1 is then subsequently pumped out of the cell via
Na+-K+-ATPase. This speculation is based on our
finding that inhibition of Na+-K+-ATPase with 1 mM ouabain prevents the reduction of intracellular Na+ in
rat astrocytes under high [K+]o (data not
shown). A voltage-dependent stimulation of
Na+-K+-ATPase has been established
(7).
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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We thank Charanjeet Kaur of Dr. Albee Messing's laboratory for technical assistance in genotyping.
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FOOTNOTES |
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This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant R01-NS-38118, NSF CAREER Award IBN9981826 to D. Sun, and NIH Grant R01-DK-50594 to G. E. Shull.
Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: D. Sun, Dept. of Neurological Surgery, Univ. of Wisconsin Medical School, H4/332 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53792 (E-mail: sun{at}neurosurg.wisc.edu)
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
10.1152/ajpcell.00538.2001
Received 9 November 2001; accepted in final form 13 December 2001.
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