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W P Alles

Publications and source records attributed to W P Alles.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Urinary kallikrein: a physiological regulator of epithelial Na+ absorption.

The apical membrane of the mammalian urinary bladder contains two populations of ionic conductances--one Na+ selective and amiloride blockable, the other cation selective and amiloride insensitive (a leak channel). Addition of kallikrein (an enzyme of unknown function normally found in urine) to the mucosal solution of the mammalian urinary bladder epithelium resulted in the loss (over a 2-hr period) of amiloride-sensitive Na+ current and an increase in the leak current that is amiloride insensitive. The rate of hydrolysis of Na+ channels is a first-order process that is concentration (activity) dependent and described by simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a maximum rate of 9.5 X 10(-3) min-1. At the activities measured in human urine, the corresponding rate constant will decrease Na+ channel density by 99.5% in 24 hr. Amiloride protects the amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels from degradation but not the leak pathway. The rate of hydrolysis of the leak pathway as well as the kinetics of hydrolysis are the same as that described for the Na+ channel. Of interest is that the leak pathway is hydrolyzed into a form that seems to partition between the apical membrane and mucosal solution (an unstable leak pathway). These results and previous findings suggest a regulatory role for kallikrein in salt and water homeostasis.

Amiloride↗
PubMed1985

Single anion-selective channels in basolateral membrane of a mammalian tight epithelium.

Basolateral membrane chloride permeability of surface cells from rabbit urinary bladder epithelium was studied using the patch-clamp technique. Two types of anion-selective channel were observed. One channel type showed inward rectification and had a conductance of 64 pS at-50 mV when bathed symmetrically by saline solution containing 150 mM chloride; the other resembled high-conductance voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs). Both channels had the selectivity sequence Cl-approximately equal to Br-approximately equal to I- approximately equal to SCN- approximately equal to NO3- greater than F- greater than acetate greater than gluconate greater than Na+ approximately equal to K+ and were sensitive to the anion exchange inhibitor 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid. Basolateral chloride conductance in urinary bladder is apparently due to the 64 pS anion channel, which is active at physiological potentials. Imperfect selectivity of this channel against cations might also account for the low, but finite, sodium permeability of the basolateral membrane.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗
PubMed1984

Apical membrane properties and amiloride binding kinetics of the human descending colon.

The apical membrane properties of the isolated human descending colon were characterized by use of current fluctuation analysis methods and microelectrode techniques. The Na+ channel blocker amiloride was used to evaluate apical membrane conductance and the transepithelial short-circuit current (Isc). Amiloride significantly reduced Isc and increased the membrane resistance ratio. At submaximal doses of amiloride in the mucosal bathing solution, fluctuation analysis of the Isc revealed a Lorentzian component in the power-density spectra. The dose-response relationship between amiloride and current noise parameters was consistent with a two-state mechanism of blocker interaction with the channel. The on and off rate constants for the blocker-receptor reactions, the single-channel currents, and the Na+ channel density were estimated and were similar to those from Na+ channels from other so-called tight epithelia. In addition, these studies revealed an amiloride-insensitive conductance in the apical membrane in parallel to the amiloride-blockable Na+ channels. This conductance may be due to potassium ions. If so, the apical membrane properties of the human descending colon may closely resemble those of the rabbit descending colon and rat distal colon.

Adult↗