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J C Ellory

Publications and source records attributed to J C Ellory.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Modulation of K(+)-Cl- cotransport in equine red blood cells.

Potassium transport was measured in equine red blood cells, using 86Rb+ influx as a convenient assay. A significant component of volume- and pH-sensitive K(+)-Cl- cotransport to the overall K+ flux was observed in all blood samples studied, although fluxes were variable between animals, and within individuals when measured at intervals over a period of weeks. The aryloxyacetic acid [(dihydroindenyl)oxy]alkanoic acid (DIOA), at a final concentration of 100 microM, inhibited most (> 95%) of the Cl(-)-dependent K+ flux, and DIOA sensitivity was therefore used to define the activity of the K(+)-Cl- cotransport. K(+)-Cl- cotransport was also sensitive to protein phosphatase inhibition with calyculin A or okadaic acid, with inhibition constants of 9 +/- 1 nM for calyculin and about 100 nM for okadaic acid. Peak fluxes were observed at an external pH of 6.7-7.0, with inhibition at higher and lower values. Volume-sensitive K+ fluxes assayed in autologous plasma, controlled for osmolaity, pH and potassium concentration, were significantly lower (28 +/- 8% of control values, n = 6) than those measured in saline. This inhibition was mimicked by the culture medium RPMI, but disappeared following dialysis of the plasma. Phosphate (5.6 mM) inhibited volume-sensitive K+ fluxes by 48 +/- 2%, n = 3; no significant effect was observed by increasing external magnesium concentrations to 0.5 or 2 mM. Thus, inhibition by RPMI, but not that by plasma, may be due to phosphate. Finally, volume- and pH-sensitive K+ fluxes were sensitive to oxygen tension and were abolished reversibly by equilibrating solutions with nitrogen, as opposed to air. Use of solutions equilibrated with different values of Po2 may account for some of the variability in equine red blood cell KCl fluxes. The importance of these observations to equine red blood cell homeostasis and haemodynamics is discussed.

Animals↗

Volume-sensitive KCl co-transport and taurine fluxes in horse red blood cells.

Potassium (using 86Rb+ as a tracer), amino acid and taurine fluxes were measured in horse red blood cells (RBCs). No volume-sensitive component of alanine and glycine transport was observed, and although volume-sensitive taurine fluxes were observed in most animals, their absolute magnitudes were small. K+ fluxes, however, were shown to be particularly volume sensitive; they were stimulated by cell swelling and inhibited by cell shrinkage. Sizeable fluxes were present at normal cell volumes. The volume-sensitive K+ flux was Cl- dependent and was abolished by Cl- replacement with methylsulphate. The Cl(-)-dependent K+ fluxes in horse red blood cells were stimulated by lowering in external pH to 6.9 and by treatment with the sulphydryl-reacting agent, N-ethylmaleimide. They were inhibited by the potent K(+)-Cl- co-transport inhibitor, DIOA, ([(dihydroindenyl)oxy]alkanoic acid) but were insensitive to the Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- co-transport inhibitors, frusemide and bumetanide. A Cl- channel inhibitor, 5-nitro-2-(phenylpropyl-amino)-benzoate (NPPB), produced partial inhibition. These results suggest that regulatory volume decrease in horse red blood cells is achieved predominantly by volume-sensitive K+ efflux mediated via a K(+)-Cl- co-transport system with similar properties to those observed in the red blood cells of other species. The significance of these findings and their rheological consequences are discussed.

Animals↗

Transport of organic substrates via a volume-activated channel.

We have investigated the volume-activated transport of organic solutes in flounder erythrocytes. Osmotic swelling of cells suspended in a Na(+)-free medium led to increased membrane transport of taurine, glucose, and uridine. For each compound there was a significant lag period (1-2 min at 10 degrees C) between cell swelling and activation of the flux. The volume-activated fluxes of each of the substrates increased in parallel with increasing cell volume, and those of taurine and uridine increased linearly with concentration (up to 19 mM). The volume-activated fluxes of each of the three compounds showed similar sensitivities to a number of anion-selective channel blockers (5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid > 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid approximately MK-196 > niflumic acid > furosemide); the IC50 for the inhibition of the volume-activated fluxes by NPPB was around 12 microM. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the volume-activated transport of organic osmolytes is via a pathway with the characteristics of a volume-activated "chloride channel." This raises the question of whether the transport of organic substrates might represent a physiological role for such channels in other cell types.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗

The increased K+ leak of malaria-infected erythrocytes is not via a Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel.

Charybdotoxin and nitrendipine both inhibited K+(86Rb+) influx via the Ca(2+)-activated channel of uninfected erythrocytes but had no effect on K+(86Rb+) transport in malaria-infected cells. Activation of the channel in uninfected cells in which the cytoplasmic [Na+]/[K+] ratio was adjusted to be comparable with that of late-stage malaria-infected erythrocytes resulted in a large (nitrendipine-sensitive) increase in K+(86Rb+) influx. These results suggest that the endogenous Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel remains inactive in human red cells infected with late-stage parasites. The identity of the pathway which mediates the increased K(+)-leak in infected erythrocytes remains to be established.

Animals↗

Nitrendipine is a potent inhibitor of the Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel of human erythrocytes.

Nitrendipine, a classical blocker of L-type Ca2+ channels, is shown to be a potent inhibitor of the Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel of human erythrocytes. In erythrocytes suspended in a solution with physiological Na+ and K+ concentrations and in which the channel was activated using the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin, nitrendipine inhibited K+(86Rb+) influx with an I50 of around 130 nM. Similar results were obtained for K+(86Rb+) efflux, and for K+(86Rb+) influx into cells suspended in a high-K+ medium.

Calcium↗

Erythrocyte choline uptake after renal transplantation.

Erythrocyte membrane choline transport is abnormally high in chronic renal failure. The aim of this study was to find out whether, and how quickly, this abnormality is reversed by renal transplantation. Ten adults with chronic renal failure were studied before and for up to 6 months after renal transplantation. Plasma creatinine concentration and erythrocyte uptake of radiolabelled choline were measured periodically for up to 6 months. The maximum rate of choline transport (Vmax) was abnormally high before transplantation and fell to normal values during the first week after transplantation. This fall matched that in plasma creatinine. A temporary rise in plasma creatinine in one patient, reversed by methylprednisolone treatment, was accompanied by a rise in choline flux, and graft failure in another patient was accompanied by a return to pretreatment rates of choline transport. Thus, the high rates of choline uptake in uraemia are rapidly reduced on recovery of renal function. The speed of the changes suggests the involvement of a plasma factor.

Adult↗

Mode of action and comparative efficacy of pharmacological agents that inhibit calcium-dependent dehydration of sickle cells.

1. Selected Ca-channel antagonists were tested at 20 microM as inhibitors of Ca(2+)-uptake in human sickle red cells. Nitrendipine, fendiline, and bepridil (and its stereoisomers), were found to be as effective as methoxyverapamil (D-600) in inhibiting a fraction (25%) of Ca(2+)-uptake. In contrast cetiedil and Org 30701 were ineffective. 2. The drugs were subsequently tested as inhibitors of Ca(2+)-induced K+ efflux (Gardos) from sickle cells. They all showed inhibitory activity, with the order of efficacy nitrendipine greater than fendiline greater than bepridil greater than cetiedil greater than Org 30701. 3. With a 15 h programme of deoxygenation/reoxygenation cycles in a gas exchanger, it was shown that the inhibitors protected against cellular dehydration and loss of filterability in the order nitrendipine greater than fendiline greater than bepridil greater than cetiedil greater than Org 30701. However, significant stomatocytosis occurred at high concentrations of cetiedil, and bepridil (including its stereoisomers and analogues) impairing cell deformability. 4. It is concluded that Ca-antagonists may partially block both Ca(2+)-uptake and Ca(2+)-induced K+ efflux. The latter pathway is significant in contributing to sickle cell dehydration and nitrendipine is the most effective inhibitor of this route.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗

Characterization of a novel variant of amino acid transport system asc in erythrocytes from Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii).

In thoroughbred horses, red blood cell amino acid transport activity is Na(+)-independent and controlled by three codominant genetic alleles (h, l, s), coding for high-affinity system asc1 (L-alanine apparent Km for influx at 37 degrees C congruent to 0.35 mM), low-affinity system asc2 (L-alanine Km congruent to 14 mM), and transport deficiency, respectively. The present study investigated amino acid transport mechanisms in red cells from four wild species: Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii), Hartmann's zebra (Zebra hartmannae), Grevy's zebra (Zebra grevyi), and onager (Equus hemonius). Red blood cell samples from different Przewalski's horses exhibited uniformly high rates of L-alanine uptake, mediated by a high-affinity asc1-type transport system. Mean apparent Km and Vmax values (+/- SE) for L-alanine influx at 37 degrees C in red cells from 10 individual animals were 0.373 +/- 0.068 mM and 2.27 +/- 0.11 mmol (L cells.h), respectively. As in thoroughbreds, the Przewalski's horse transporter interacted with dibasic as well as neutral amino acids. However, the Przewalski asc1 isoform transported L-lysine with a substantially (6.4-fold) higher apparent affinity than its thoroughbred counterpart (Km for influx 1.4 mM at 37 degrees C) and was also less prone to trans-stimulation effects. The novel high apparent affinity of the Przewalski's horse transporter for L-lysine provides additional key evidence of functional and possible structural similarities between asc and the classical Na(+)-dependent system ASC and between these systems and the Na(+)-independent dibasic amino acid transport system y+. Unlike Przewalski's horse, zebra red cells were polymorphic with respect to L-alanine transport activity, showing high-affinity or low-affinity saturable mechanisms of L-alanine uptake. Onager red cells transported this amino acid with intermediate affinity (apparent Km for influx 3.0 mM at 37 degrees C). Radiation inactivation analysis was used to estimate the target size of system asc in red cells from Przewalski's horse. The transporter's in situ apparent molecular weight was 158,000 +/- 2500 (SE).

Alanine↗

Temperature dependence of electrophysiological properties of guinea pig and ground squirrel myocytes.

The effects of changing temperature on the electrophysiology of isolated cardiac myocytes of the guinea pig and Richardson's ground squirrel were studied by patch-clamp techniques. In cells from both species, the resting membrane potential declined on cooling from 36 to 12 degrees C by approximately 6 mV. The duration of the plateau of the action potential in guinea pig cells increased monotonically on cooling. In contrast, the action potential of ground squirrel cells showed a biphasic response, increasing in duration from 36 to 24 degrees C and then decreasing on cooling from 24 to 12 degrees C. From voltage-clamp studies, the properties of L-type calcium currents (ICa) on cooling were compared in the two species and were found to be similar: In both cases, ICa decreased in amplitude from approximately 2 nA peak current at 36 degrees C to less than 400 pA at 12 degrees C. The Q10 of both the maximum amplitude and time to peak for ICa in both species was approximately 1.8. The time for half inactivation had a greater Q10 of 2.5-3. It is concluded that, surprisingly, factors affecting the resting membrane potential and properties of L-type calcium channels are not major contributors to cardiac dysfunction on cooling. Rather, it is sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release and reuptake that are likely to be the most important cold-sensitive processes.

Animals↗

Enhanced choline and Rb+ transport in human erythrocytes infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Human erythrocytes infected in vitro with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum showed a markedly increased rate of choline influx compared with normal cells. Choline transport into uninfected cells (cultured in parallel with infected cells) obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Km approximately 11 microM). In malaria-parasite-infected cells there was an additional choline-transport component which failed to saturate at extracellular concentrations of up to 500 microM. This component was less sensitive than the endogenous transporter to inhibition by the Cinchona bark alkaloids quinine, quinidine, cinchonine and cinchonidine, but showed a much greater sensitivity than the native system to inhibition by piperine. The sensitivity of the induced choline transport to these reagents was similar to that of the malaria-induced (ouabain- and bumetanide-resistant) Rb(+)-transport pathway; however, the relative magnitudes of the piperine-sensitive choline and Rb+ fluxes in malaria-parasite-infected cells varied between cultures. This suggests either that the enhanced transport of the two cations was via functionally distinct (albeit pharmacologically similar) pathways, or that the transport was mediated by a pathway with variable substrate selectivity.

Animals↗

Use of membrane vesicles to estimate the numbers of system y+ and system L amino acid transporters in human erythrocytes.

We have used equilibrium values for L-leucine and L-lysine uptake by right-side-out vesicles to estimate the membrane abundance (sites/cell) of Na(+)-dependent amino acid transport systems L and y+ in human erythrocytes. All of the intravesicular space was accessible to L-leucine, as judged by comparisons with uridine uptake via the equilibrative nucleoside transporter (10(4) sites/cell). In contrast, only 28% of the total intravesicular space was accessible to L-lysine uptake via system y+. Since human erythrocyte membranes generate an average of approximately 1000 vesicles/cell, these data provide evidence that system L is a relatively high-abundance membrane transport protein in human erythrocytes, while system y+ is present in smaller amounts (approximately 300 copies/cell). Calculated turnover numbers for L-lysine transport by system y+ at 37 degrees C are 24 s-1 for zero-trans influx and 150 s-1 for equilibrium-exchange influx.

Amino Acid Transport Systems↗

Characteristics of 86Rb+ transport in human erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum.

Human red cells infected in vitro with Plasmodium falciparum showed a significant increase in the rate of both ouabain-sensitive and ouabain-insensitive 86Rb+ influx. The increase in ouabain-insensitive 86Rb+ influx was due, in part, to increased transport via a bumetanide-sensitive system and, in part to transport via a pathway that was absent (or at least inactive) in uninfected cells. The parasite-induced pathway was inhibited by piperine and had a dose response very similar to that of the Gardos channel of uninfected cells but was less sensitive than the Gardos channel to inhibition by quinine.

Alkaloids↗

Low potassium-type but not high potassium-type sheep red blood cells show passive K+ transport induced by low ionic strength.

Low potassium-type (LK) sheep red blood cells show a significant increase of the residual (i.e., ouabain-insensitive) K+ influx when the ionic strength of the solution is decreased. This effect is absent from high potassium-type (HK) sheep red blood cells. The KCl cotransport system is not involved since three different manoeuvres to suppress the KCl cotransport (replacement of Cl- by NO3-, volume-decrease, inhibition by anti-L1 antibodies) have no effect on the low ionic strength-stimulated K+ influx.

Animals↗

KCl cotransport in HbAA and HbSS red cells: activation by intracellular acidity and disappearance during maturation.

Low intracellular pH was shown to be a potent activator of the KCl cotransport system in HbSS red cells, and in reticulocyte-rich fractions of HbAA red cells. Rheological experiments indicated that cell dehydration via the KCl cotransporter in response to low pH decreased the filterability of HbSS red cells. In vitro maturation experiments showed that the KCl cotransport system was rendered cryptic rapidly, in contrast to choline transport, and serine transport via system ASC, which disappeared much more slowly.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗

Abnormal erythrocyte choline transport in patients with chronic renal failure.

1. Erythrocyte choline transport has been studied in nine patients on maintenance haemodialysis for chronic renal failure, six patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, 31 patients with renal transplants and in nine normal control subjects. 2. The mean maximum rate of choline influx (Vmax., measured at an extracellular choline concentration of 250 mumol/l) was 66.7 (SD 14.1) mumol h-1 l-1 cells in patients on haemodialysis, 87.8 (SD 18.5) mumol h-1 l-1 cells in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and 30.5 (SD 4.9) mumol h-1 l-1 cells in control subjects. The increase in choline flux in patients on haemodialysis and patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis compared with control subjects was highly significant (P less than 0.001). 3. Renal transplant patients showed variable values for the Vmax. of choline influx (range 17.7-71.7 mumol h-1 l-1 cells). The values showed a significant negative correlation with creatinine clearance and this correlation correctly extrapolated to the maximum choline flux in normal subjects and in patients on dialysis. 4. The kinetics of choline transport have been studied in erythrocytes of patients on haemodialysis and control subjects in 'zero-trans' conditions after depletion of intracellular choline. The mean Vmax. in these conditions was 38.4 (SD 4.6) mumol h-1 l-1 cells in patients on haemodialysis compared with 14.2 (SD 3.7) mumol h-1 l-1 cells in control subjects. The mean Km under 'zero-trans' conditions was 19.4 (SD 2.4) mumol/l in patients on haemodialysis and 7.4 (SD 1.4) mumol/l in control subjects. These differences were significant (P less than 0.001).

Biological Transport↗

Leukocyte intracellular pH and Na/H antiporter activity in uraemia and type I diabetes mellitus.

The leukocyte Na/H antiporter has been studied in patients with end-stage renal failure on maintenance haemodialysis. Thirteen non-diabetic haemodialysis patients (CRF group) and eight haemodialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy (CRF-DM group) were investigated. Measurements were made using the pH-sensitive fluorescent dye bis (carboxyethyl) carboxyfluorescein (BCECF). The initial intracellular pH (pHi), intracellular buffering capacity, and Na/H antiporter Vmax (at pHi = 6.0) have been recorded in bicarbonate-free solutions. The mean initial intracellular pH in the CRF group was 7.34 (SD 0.05, P less than 0.004) and this was significantly less than the CRF-DM group (7.42, SD 0.07) and normal controls (7.43, SD 0.09, n = 25). The mean intracellular buffering capacity was normal in the CRF and CRF-DM groups. The mean Na/H antiporter Vmax was also normal in the CRF and CRF-DM groups (56.5, SD 9.9; and 56.8, SD 12.8, mmol/l per min respectively compared to 55.2, SD 8.8, mmol/l per min in controls). These data are discussed with reference to the reported high values of Na/H antiporter Vmax in diabetic patients with early nephropathy. This abnormality does not appear to be present in end-stage diabetic nephropathy.

Adolescent↗