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Ouabain protects rat hearts against ischemia-reperfusion injury via pathway involving src kinase, mitoKATP, and ROS.

We showed recently that mitochondrial ATP-dependent K(+) channel (mitoK(ATP)) opening is required for the inotropic response to ouabain. Because mitoK(ATP) opening is also required for most forms of cardioprotection, we investigated whether exposure to ouabain was cardioprotective. We also began to map the signaling pathways linking ouabain binding to Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase with the opening of mitoK(ATP). In Langendorff-perfused rat hearts, 10-80 microM ouabain given before the onset of ischemia resulted in cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury, as documented by an improved recovery of contractile function and a reduction of infarct size. In skinned cardiac fibers, a ouabain-induced protection of mitochondrial outer membrane integrity, adenine nucleotide compartmentation, and energy transfer efficiency was evidenced by a decreased release of cytochrome c and preserved half-saturation constant of respiration for ADP and adenine nucleotide translocase-mitochondrial creatine kinase coupling, respectively. Ouabain-induced positive inotropy was dose dependent over the range studied, whereas ouabain-induced cardioprotection was maximal at the lowest dose tested. Compared with bradykinin (BK)-induced preconditioning, ouabain was equally efficient. However, the two ligands clearly diverge in the intracellular steps leading to mitoK(ATP) opening from their respective receptors. Thus BK-induced cardioprotection was blocked by inhibitors of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) or guanylyl cyclase (GC), whereas ouabain-induced protection was not blocked by either agent. Interestingly, however, ouabain-induced inotropy appears to require PKG and GC. Thus 5-hydroxydecanoate (a selective mitoK(ATP) inhibitor), N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)glycine (MPG; a reactive oxygen species scavenger), ODQ (a GC inhibitor), PP2 (a src kinase inhibitor), and KT-5823 (a PKG inhibitor) abolished preconditioning by BK and blocked the inotropic response to ouabain. However, only PP2, 5-HD, and MPG blocked ouabain-induced cardioprotection.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Does plasma immunoreactive ouabain originate from the adrenal gland?

It was reported recently that the endogenous digitalis-like factor ouabain may mainly originate from the adrenal gland. To ascertain the pathophysiological significance of endogenous ouabain and to examine if it originates in the adrenal gland, we determined plasma immunoreactive ouabain levels in patients with various cardiovascular and endocrine diseases. Plasma immunoreactive ouabain levels were also determined in the adrenal venous blood by adrenal venous sampling. Plasma immunoreactive ouabain levels were significantly increased in patients with essential hypertension, primary aldosteronism, Cushing's syndrome, pheochromocytoma, acromegaly, and chronic renal failure. Plasma immunoreactive ouabain levels were decreased in patients with primary aldosteronism after unilateral adrenalectomy, acromegaly after pituitary adenomectomy, and chronic renal failure after hemodialysis. Plasma immunoreactive ouabain levels in patients after bilateral adrenalectomy were similar to those in healthy subjects. There was no significant step-up of immunoreactive ouabain levels in the adrenal vein from the peripheral vein in three patients, whereas one patient with hypertension and right adrenal tumor but without any known adrenal hormone excess showed higher plasma immunoreactive ouabain levels in the right adrenal vein than those in the peripheral vein. These results suggest an important pathophysiological significance of endogenous ouabain in various cardiovascular and endocrine diseases. It is unlikely that the adrenal gland is a major source of plasma ouabain, although a possible excess production of ouabain by the adrenal tumor remains to be elucidated.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

Novel receptors for ouabain: studies in adrenocortical cells and membranes.

Sodium-potassium pumps (Na pumps) are the only known plasma membrane receptors for cardiac glycosides. However, adrenocortical cells secrete an endogenous ouabain via an unknown mechanism that is subject to feedback inhibition via the cell surface. In addition, recent studies suggest that the induction of sustained hypertension by ouabain analogs in rats may be independent of Na pump inhibition. Accordingly, we used bovine adrenocortical cells and membranes to search for novel binding sites for ouabain. In high extracellular potassium solutions, the binding of ouabain to the Na pumps of cultured cells was suppressed, yet residual specific binding of (3)H-ouabain was observed. In high extracellular potassium, Scatchard analyses revealed a novel class of ouabain binding sites with high affinity (<50 nmol/L, < 2.5 x 10(5) sites/cell) that was distinct from the low-affinity Na pump sites (>1 micromol/L, 4.5 x 10(6) sites/cell). Analysis of the kinetics for the dissociation of (3)H-ouabain from intact cells revealed components whose t(0.5) values were 6.5 minutes, 3.3 hours, and 33 hours and associated with novel sites, Na pumps, and lysosomal recycling, respectively. Studies with isolated membranes under ligand conditions where the participation of Na pumps was minimized revealed specific ouabain binding to novel sites that was saturable, time-dependent, of high affinity (K(d) approximately 15 nmol/L), and of low density (apparent B(max)=0.23 pmol/mg, c.f., Na pumps=10.2 pmol/mg). Ouabain binding to the novel sites was stimulated by high concentrations of KCl but was not affected by aldosterone or cortisol up to 30 micromol/L. Novel sites were not detected in skeletal muscle or liver membranes. Photoaffinity studies followed by SDS-PAGE showed ouabain-protectable labeling of membrane polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 143, 113, and 65 kDa. We conclude that adrenocortical cells express ouabain receptors that are distinct from Na pumps. These novel receptors may be involved in the regulation and/or secretion of endogenous ouabain.

Adrenal Cortex↗

Ouabain is secreted by bovine adrenocortical cells.

Ouabain is a specific inhibitor of the sodium pump. This steroid has been found in the mammalian circulation in significant amounts and may be of adrenal origin. Secretion of ouabain from adrenal cells has been little studied and the purpose of the present work was to determine the adrenal distribution of ouabain, aldosterone and cortisol, and to characterize the effects of ACTH and angiotensin II on the secretion of these steroids in primary cultures of bovine adrenocortical cells. In fresh bovine adrenals, the cortical to medullary ratios for aldosterone, cortisol and ouabain were 14, 4.25 and 2.5, respectively. All three steroids were detected in elevated amounts in the conditioned medium of primary cultures of adrenocortical cells. Reverse phase HPLC of the secreted ouabain immunoreactivity showed it was isopolar with commercial ouabain. In the presence of 10 nM ACTH or angiotensin II, the secretion of all three steroids increased significantly with similar time courses. The stimulated secretion of ouabain exceeded the intracellular content of this steroid in either control or activated cells by 3-5 fold. The amount of angiotensin II stimulated ouabain secretion was greater from cells incubated in larger volumes. These results show that ouabain is enriched in the bovine adrenal cortex, and is secreted by primary cultures of these cells. The secretion of ouabain is increased by ACTH and angiotensin II, is due to either de novo synthesis or transformation of an intracellular precursor that is not overtly immunoreactive, and is feedback regulated by either ouabain itself or a cosecreted factor. These cells may be useful to study stimulus-secretion coupling and the biosynthetic pathway of ouabain.

Adrenal Cortex↗

Exogenous ouabain is accumulated in the adrenals and mimics the kinetics of endogenous digitalis-like factor in rats.

Ouabain has been isolated as an endogenous pathogenetic factor in salt-induced hypertension and has been shown to be rich in the adrenals. In this study, organ accumulation of orally administered [3H]ouabain was examined in rats. Exogenous [3H]ouabain was accumulated in high levels in the adrenals, especially in the zona intermedia, and was not metabolized in the rat. Accumulated [3H]ouabain mimicked the movement of "endogenous" digitalis-like factor, since 1) the plasma [3H]ouabain level decreased in bilaterally adrenalectomized rats, 2) the plasma [3H]ouabain level increased accompanied by a decrease in [3H]ouabain content in the adrenals in reduced renal mass hypertensive rats, and 3) [3H]ouabain levels in plasma and in the adrenals increased in spontaneously hypertensive rats, as compared with those in respective control animals. Moreover, the rat diet contained a relatively high amount of ouabain-like immunoreactivity (OLI), and the ratio of the [3H]ouabain content to OLI in each organ was comparable to that of the daily intake of dietary [3H]ouabain to OLI. Furthermore, high 3H-radioactivities were also observed in the adrenals of rats that ingested [3H]digoxin and [3H]digitoxin. These data suggest that exogenous ouabain, related cardiotonic glycosides of plant origin, or both accumulate in the adrenals and, at least in part, act as "endogenous" digitalis-like factor(s).

Adrenal Cortex↗

Effects of small doses of ouabain on the arterial blood pressure of anesthetized hypertensive and normotensive rats.

Ouabain increases vascular resistance and may induce hypertension by inhibiting the Na+ pump. The effects of 0.18 and 18 microg/kg, and 1.8 mg/kg ouabain pretreatment on the phenylephrine (PHE; 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5 microg, in bolus)-evoked pressor responses were investigated using anesthetized normotensive (control and uninephrectomized) and hypertensive (1K1C and DOCA-salt treated) rats. Treatment with 18 microg/kg ouabain increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure in all groups studied. However, the magnitude of this increase was larger for the hypertensive 1K1C and DOCA-salt rats than for normotensive animals, while the pressor effect of 0.18 microg/kg ouabain was greater only in DOCA-salt rats. A very large dose (1.8 mg/kg) produced toxic effects on the normotensive control but not on uninephrectomized or 1K1C rats. Rat tail vascular beds were perfused to analyze the effects of 10 nM ouabain on the pressor response to PHE. In all animals, 10 nM ouabain increased the PHE pressor response, but this increase was larger in hypertensive DOCA-salt rats than in normotensive and 1K1C rats. Results suggested that a) increases in diastolic blood pressure induced by 18 microg/kg ouabain were larger in hypertensive than normotensive rats; b) in DOCA-salt rats, smaller ouabain doses had a stronger effect than in other groups; c) hypertensive and uninephrectomized rats were less sensitive to toxic doses of ouabain, and d) after treatment with 10 nM ouabain isolated tail vascular beds from DOCA-salt rats were more sensitive to the pressor effect of PHE than those from normotensive and 1K1C hypertensive rats. These data suggest that very small doses of ouabain, which might produce nanomolar plasma concentrations, enhance pressor reactivity in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats, supporting the idea that endogenous ouabain may contribute to the increase and maintenance of vascular tone in hypertension.

Analysis of Variance↗

Radioimmunoassay of plasma ouabain in healthy and pregnant individuals.

Ouabain was recently isolated from human plasma, bovine hypothalamus and bovine adrenal in attempts to identify endogenous substances inhibiting the cell membrane sodium pump. A number of radioimmunoassays have been developed in order to study the clinical significance of ouabain. The results have been controversial with regard to the presence and chemical nature of plasma ouabain-like immunoreactivity. We have now measured ouabain in healthy and pregnant individuals using solid-phase extraction of plasma samples followed by a new radioimmunoassay with the extraordinary sensitivity of at least 2 fmol/tube (5 pmol/l). Plasma extracts, a previously isolated human plasma ouabain-like compound and bovine hypothalamic inhibitory factor displaced the tracer in parallel and eluted identically with ouabain in high-performance liquid chromatography. Plasma ouabain immunoreactivity was found to be much lower than reported previously: 12.6+/-1.3 pmol/l in healthy men (mean+/-s.e., n=20) and 9.4+/-0.7 pmol/l in women (n=14). In pregnant women (n=28) plasma ouabain concentration was 16.3+/-4.0 pmol/l during the first trimester, 18.8+/-4.3 pmol/l during the second trimester and 24.3+/-4.0 pmol/l during the third trimester (all P<0.01 compared with non-pregnant women). Plasma ouabain 3-5 days after the delivery was 13.6+/-1.1 pmol/l (n=10, P<0.05-0.01 compared with second and third trimesters). The pregnancy-related changes in the plasma concentrations of ouabain resembled those of cortisol. Therefore cortisol was measured from the same plasma samples and a significant positive correlation was found (r=0.512, P=0.006). The similar profiles of plasma ouabain and cortisol during pregnancy and their rapid decreases postpartum are consistent with the adrenal cortical origin of ouabain and also show that the secretions of these hormones are possibly under the control of same factors.

Adult↗

Ouabain stimulates unidirectional and net potassium efflux in resting mammalian skeletal muscle.

The present study compared ouabain-sensitive unidirectional K+ flux into (JinK) and out of (JoutK) perfused rat hindlimb skeletal muscle in situ and mouse flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) in vitro. In situ, 5 mM ouabain inhibited 54 +/- 4% of the total JinK in 28 +/- 1 min, and increased the net and unidirectional efflux of K+ within 4 min. In contrast, 1.8 mM ouabain inhibited 40 +/- 8% of the total JinK in 38 +/- 2 min, but did not significantly affect JoutK. In vitro, 1.8 and 0.2 mM ouabain decreased JinK to a greater extent (83 +/- 5%) than in situ, but did not significantly affect 42K loss rate compared with controls. The increase in unidirectional K+ efflux (JoutK) with 5 mM ouabain in situ was attributed to increased K+ efflux through cation channels, since addition of barium (1 mM) to ouabain-perfused muscles returned JoutK to baseline values within 12 min. Perfusion with 5 mM ouabain plus 2 mM tetracaine for 30 min decreased JinK 46 +/- 9% (0.30 +/- 0.03 to 0.16 +/- 0.02 micromol x min(-1) x g(-1)), however tetracaine was unable to abolish the ouabain-induced increase in unidirectional K+ efflux. In both rat hindlimb and mouse FDB, tetracaine had no effect on JoutK. Perfusion of hindlimb muscle with 0.1 mM tetrodotoxin (TTX, a Na+ channel blocker) decreased JinK by 15 +/- 1%, but had no effect on JoutK; subsequent addition of ouabain (5 mM) decreased JinK a further 32 +/- 2%. The ouabain-induced increase in unidirectional K+ efflux did not occur when TTX was perfused prior to and during perfusion with 5 mM ouabain. We conclude that 5 mM ouabain increases the unidirectional efflux of K+ from skeletal muscle through a barium and TTX-sensitive pathway, suggestive of voltage sensitive Na+ channels, in addition to inhibiting Na+/K+-ATPase activity.

Animals↗

[Changes in renal sodium transport during hypertension development in ouabain-hypertensive rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in renal sodium transport during development of hypertension in ouabain-hypertensive rats (OHR) and further elucidate the role of ouabain in the pathogenesis of hypertension. METHODS: Eighty male SD rats weighing 80-100 g were randomized equally into normal control and ouabain groups and treated with intraperitoneal injection of normal saline (1 ml/kg) and ouabain (27.8 microg/kg) once daily, respectively. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and body weight of the rats were recorded weekly. One week before sacrifice scheduled at weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8, respectively, the rats were individually housed in metabolic cages to determine food consumption twice. Blood and 24-hour urine samples were collected to measure serum and urine concentration of sodium, trace lithium and creatinine. Endogenous creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), fractional excretions of sodium (FENa), fractional excretions of lithium (FELi) and fractional reabsorption of sodium in the distal tubules (FDRNa) were calculated. RESULTS: The body weight and food intake between ouabain groups and control groups were comparable during the experiment (P>0.05). Blood pressure was also comparable in the two groups after 2 weeks (P>0.05). At week 4, however, blood pressure of ouabain group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.001) and increased in a dose-dependent manner. The SBP in ouabain group appeared to reach a plateau at week 7. Ccr and plasma sodium (PNa) were similar in the 2 groups during the experiment (P>0.05). FELi was significantly lower at weeks 2, 4 and 6 in ouabain group than in the control group (P<0.01), and FELi decrement in ouabain group was accompanied by reduced sodium excretion. FENa was significantly lower at week 4 in ouabain group than in the control group (P<0.05), but this difference was not significant in weeks 2 and 6 (P>0.05). At weeks 2, 4 and 6, ouabain group showed significantly lower FDRNa than the control group (P<0.05), suggesting the compensation of the distal nephron segments. After 8 weeks, FENa, FELi and FDRNa were similar between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Ouabain can increase renal proximal tubule reabsorption of sodium and consequently decrease renal sodium excretion in OHR, which can contribute to alteration of the pressure-natriuresis relationship in OHR, and play an important role in the development and maintenance of hypertension of OHR.

Animals↗

Developmental study of ouabain inhibition of adrenergic induction of rat pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.87).

The activity of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.87), the rate-controlling enzyme in melatonin synthesis is stimulated approximately equal to 100-fold by an adrenergic cyclic AMP mechanism in both neonatal and adult rat pineal glands. This stimulation is blocked in the adult gland by the depolarizing agents ouabain (1 microM) and K+ (80 mM) (Parfitt, A., Weller, J.L., Klein, D.C., Sakai, K.K., and Marks, B.H. (1975) Mol. Pharmacol. 11, 241-255). In the present study pineal glands obtained from prenatal to adult rats were used; it was found that K+ (80 microM) inhibited the adrenergic stimulation of N-acetyltransferase activity at all ages but that ouabain (1 nM to 1 mM) treatment was not inhibitory early in development. In contrast, in the neonate, ouabain (1-100 nM) enhanced adrenergic induction of N-acetyltransferase activity, and ouabain treatment alone (1-1000 nM) stimulated N-acetyltransferase activity. A small stimulation was also seen at one concentration (1 nM) in the adult. Analysis of the development of high affinity ouabain binding sites and Na+,K+-ATPase activity in the intact pineal gland indicated that the developmental pattern of both resemble the development of ouabain inhibition of the adrenergic stimulation of N-acetyltransferase activity. All are low for the first few days of life, gradually increase during the next 3 weeks of life, and then approach adult levels. Similarly, ouabain (1 nM to 1 mM) had no effect on 86Rb uptake in the 2-day-old gland but blocked (IC50 congruent to 20 nM) 86Rb uptake in the adult gland. These findings indicate ouabain probably has little inhibitory effect on the norepinephrine stimulation of N-acetyltransferase activity in the neonatal because a high affinity ouabain binding form of Na+,K+-ATPase activity, similar to the alpha + form identified in rat brain, is at very low levels in the pinealocyte. Accordingly, it appears that an ouabain-insensitive mechanism in the neonatal gland maintains membrane potential and that this mechanism plays a less important role in the adult. The explanation of why ouabain alone stimulates N-acetyltransferase activity and why it enhances the effects of norepinephrine in the neonatal pineal gland might be that ouabain acts on surviving neural elements present in the gland to cause the net release of a transmitter, perhaps norepinephrine, which then stimulates N-acetyltransferase activity.

Acetyltransferases↗

Enhancement of cardiac actions of ouabain and its binding to Na+, K+-adenosine triphosphatase by increased sodium influx in isolated guinea-pig heart.

The rate of development of the positive inotropic action of ouabain is enhanced when the heart is stimulated at higher frequencies. A hypothesis that this enhancement is due to a stimulation of the glycoside binding to sarcolemmal Na+,K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) caused by an increase in intracellular Na+ available to the sodium pump was tested in isolated left atrial muscle preparations of guinea-pig heart, incubated at 30 degrees C and electrically stimulated at 0.5, 1 or 2 Hz. The rate of development of the positive inotropic action of ouabain was dependent on the frequency of stimulation. Each preparation was homogenized at a predetermined time and the fractional occupancy of Na+,K+-ATPase by ouabain was estimated from the decrease in the initial velocity of ATP-dependent [3H]ouabain binding reaction. A parallel relationship was observed between effects of stimulation frequency of the positive inotropic action and those on the occupancy of Na+,K+-ATPase by ouabain. In quiescent preparations, a sodium ionophore, monensin, enhanced the development of contracture caused by a toxic concentration of ouabain and also the glycoside binding to Na+,K+-ATPase. Similar effects on the ouabain-induced contracture and on the glycoside binding were observed with either grayanotoxin I or batrachotoxin, agents known to increase sodium influx, when muscle preparations were exposed to these agents under 1.5 Hz stimulation and were subsequently tested for the actions of ouabain in quiescence. When the exposure to ouabain and either grayanotoxin I or batrachotoxin was restricted to quiescent period, the development of ouabain-induced contracture and glycoside binding to Na+,K+-ATPase were not significantly altered. Monensin, grayanotoxin I or batrachotoxin failed to significantly affect [3H]ouabain binding to muscle homogenates when added to the medium for the labeled glycoside binding assay. These results indicate that intracellular sodium ions promote the ouabain binding to Na+,K+-ATPase and thereby enhance the development of glycoside actions in the isolated atrial muscle of guinea-pig heart. The "beat-dependent" onset of the glycoside action is at least partially explained from the effect of membrane depolarization to increase Na+ available to the sodium pump and to enhance the glycoside binding.

Animals↗

(Na+ + K+)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase. Regulation of inorganic phosphate, magnesium ion, and calcium ion interactions with the enzyme by ouabain.

1. (Na+ + K+)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase was phosphorylated on the alpha-subunit by Pi in the presence of Mg2+. Phosphorylation was stimulated by ouabain. The interactions of Pi, Mg2+, and ouabain with the enzyme could be explained by a random terreactant scheme in which the binding of each ligand to the enzyme increased the affinities for the other two. Dissociation constants of all steps of this scheme were estimated. 2. In the presence of Pi and ouabain and without added Mg2+, the phosphoenzyme was formed. Because this could be prevented by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, but not ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, phosphoenzyme formation under these conditions was probably dependent on traces of endogenous Mg2+. The ability of this Mg2+ to support phosphorylation could be explained by the large increase in the enzyme's affinity for Mg2+ by ouabain. 3. In the absence of ouabain, Ca2+ did not support phosphorylation and inhibited Mg2+-dependent phosphorylation. At lower concentrations, Ca2+ was competitive with Mg2+. With increasing Ca2+ concentration, negative cooperativity was observed, suggesting the existence of multiple divalent cation sites with equivalent affinities for Mg2+, but varying affinities for Ca2+. 4. In the presence of ouabain, the maximum inhibition of Mg2+-dependent phosphorylation by Ca2+ was 50%. With saturating Pi, Mg2+, and ouabain, the number of sites binding ouabain was equal to the number of sites phosphorylated. Although Ca2+ halved phosphorylation and reduced the affinity for ouabain about 100-fold, it did not affect the number of ouabain sites. 5. We suggest that the enzyme is an alpha-oligomer and that the half-of-the-sites reactivity for phosphorylation in the presence of Pi, Mg2+, ouabain, and optimal Ca2+ is caused by (a) ouabain-induced increase in the affinities of both protomers for Mg2+ and (b) the inability of Ca2+ to replace Mg2+ on one of the protomers.

Animals↗

[Effect of furosemide on ouabain toxicity in guinea pigs (author's transl)].

An attempt was made to study the effect of furosemide on the toxic and lethal dose (LD) of ouabain. Ouabain was infused continuously in guinea pigs anesthetized with urethane. The toxic dose of ouabain was determined by the minimal dose which produced ventricular arrhythmias. The LD of ouabain was 300.8 +/- 13.8 microgram/kg (mean +/- SE) in control guinea pigs. When furosemide was administered in a dose of 2 mg/kg i.v. prior to ouabain, this was significantly decreased to 225.2 +/- 14.1 microgram/kg (P less than 0.01). Furosemide-treated guinea pigs also showed a marked decrease in toxic dose of ouabain. In another series of experiment, the ouabain uptake by the heart and its subcellular fraction were determined by the infusion of 3H-ouabain at a constant rate under the same experimental conditions aforementioned. Approximately 30% decrease in the LD of 3H-ouabain was also observed in the furosemide pretreated guinea pigs. 3H-ouabain concentration in blood, cardiac muscles and microsomal fraction were lower than control group. These findings suggest that potentiation of ouabain toxicity produced by furosemide is not associated with increased cardiac ouabain uptake, but with increased sensitivity at the site of action.

Animals↗

Effects of intracerebroventricular administration of 6-hydroxydopamine on ouabain-like immunoreactivity in plasma and the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of central mechanisms on the production and release of an ouabain-like factor, the effects of intracerebroventricular injections of 6-hydroxydopamine on the tissue content and on the plasma level of the ouabain-like factor were determined in rats. METHODS: The vehicle (0.1% ascorbic acid in 0.9% saline) and 6- hydroxydopamine (250 micrograms/rat) were injected into the left lateral ventricle in ether-anaesthetized Wistar rats. Hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal and venous blood was sampled 24h and 7 days later. The procedure was repeated using another rat group 7 days later. Characteristics of immunoreactive ouabain-like factor were determined by a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for ouabain. The level of the ouabain-like factor in these tissues and in plasma extracts measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was compared between the two groups receiving 6-hydroxydopamine and the vehicle. RESULTS: Twenty-four hours after the intracerebroventricular injections of 6-hydroxydopamine, the ouabain-like factor level in the pituitary, hypothalamus and plasma had decreased significantly, whereas the ouabain-like factor level in the adrenal had not changed. The content of noradrenaline in the hypothalamus was also decreased markedly 7 days later and the content of ouabain-like factor in the pituitary remained low. On liquid chromatography the elution pattern of the ouabain-like factor in plasma and in tissue extracts coincided with that of authentic ouabain. CONCLUSIONS: Intracerebroventricular treatments with 6-hydroxydopamine elicited decreases in ouabain-like factor contents in the pituitary, the hypothalamus and the plasma. These results suggest that the production and release of ouabain-like factor are closely associated with the brain, particularly the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, and that noradrenergic or dopaminergic neurons, or both, play a key role in this mechanism.

Animals↗

Ouabain inhibits the increase due to palytoxin of cation permeability of erythrocytes.

1. Palytoxin in concentrations as low as 1 pM raises the potassium permeability of rat, human and sheep erythrocytes, and the sodium permeability of human erythrocytes. The release of potassium or sodium from human cells also occurs when extracellular sodium is replaced by choline. 2. Ouabain inhibits the release due to palytoxin of potassium ions from human, sheep and rat erythrocytes, and also the release of sodium ions from human cells. The glycoside effect is specific since a) it is already prominent with 5 X 10(-8) M ouabain b) rat erythrocytes are less sensitive than human cells to ouabain c) potassium release due to amphotericin B or the Ca2+ ionophore A 23187 is not influenced by ouabain and d) dog erythrocytes are resistant to palytoxin as well as to ouabain. 3. Palytoxin has no direct influence on the Na+, K+ - ATPase. It inhibits the binding of [3H]ouabain to erythrocyte membranes within the same concentration range as unlabelled ouabain. It partially displaces bound [3H]ouabain, and partially inhibits the inactivation of erythrocyte ATPase by the glycoside. Depletion of ATP or of external Ca2+ renders the cells less sensitive to palytoxin. Nevertheless inhibition by ouabain can be still demonstrated with human cells whose ATP stores had been largely exhausted, and also in the absence of external Ca2+. 4. Palytoxin decreases the surface tension at the air-water interface. We assume that the formation of nonspecific pores by palytoxin is linked with its surface activity. Further experiments should demonstrate whether ouabain prevents the binding of palytoxin to erythrocytes ("receptor hypothesis"), or whether an ouabain-sensitive hydrolysis of trace amounts of ATP ("metabolic hypothesis") promotes the palytoxin effect.

Acrylamides↗

Effects of ouabain, age and K-depletion on K-uptake in rat soleus muscle.

The relationship between the number of 3H-ouabain binding sites and the Na, K-pump mediated K-uptake has been characterized in rat soleus muscle. By brief exposure to 3H-ouabain (1 X 10(-6)-1 X 10(-5) mol/l) in vitro, it could be measured that 19-94% of the ouabain binding sites had been occupied. This was associated with a proportionate decrease in the ouabain suppressible K-uptake indicating that under strictly standardized conditions, measurements of 3H-ouabain binding sites quantify functional Na,K-pumps. When 3 week old rats were K-depleted for a further week followed by K-repletion 2 h before measurements, the 3H-ouabain binding site concentration was 61% lower than in age-matched control soleus muscles. However, the ouabain suppressible K-uptake was only reduced by 35%, partly because intracellular Na remained higher in the muscles obtained from K-depleted rats. From the 1st to the 4th week of life, the 3H-ouabain binding site concentration increased 2.9-fold. In contrast, the ouabain suppressible K-uptake decreased by a factor 3.5. Accordingly, in muscles from 1 week old rats, the ouabain suppressible K-uptake per 3H-ouabain binding site was 10-fold higher than in muscles from 4 week old rats. This difference could not be accounted for by changes in intracellular Na, total or extracellular water. It may be related to differentiation and change in structure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aging↗

Insulin effects on ouabain binding in A6 renal cells.

The effects of insulin on the Na+-K+-ATPase pump of the basolateral membrane of tight epithelia were evaluated by measuring transepithelial transport and [3H]ouabain binding in cultured A6 kidney cells. [3H]Ouabain binding in epithelia incubated in either K+-containing or K+-free solutions was measured. Insulin induced increases in transepithelial sodium transport, as measured by the short-circuit current (Isc), and in the initial rate of [3H]ouabain binding determined when the preparation was bathed in K+-containing solutions. However, when initial [3H]ouabain binding in tissues incubated in K+-free solutions was measured the stimulation of the initial rate of [3H]ouabain binding caused by insulin was markedly reduced. Incubating the apical side of the epithelium with either amiloride or Na+-free solutions also reduced or abolished the increase in the initial rate of [3H]ouabain binding caused by insulin. Equilibrium binding measurements showed that insulin did not increase the maximum number of [3H]ouabain-binding sites in tissues incubated with either normal K+ or K+-free solutions. These results indicate that the increase in the initial rate of [3H]ouabain binding under transporting conditions is due to an effect on the binding kinetics of ouabain, probably related to an increased rate of Na+ entry, rather than to an increase in the number of Na+-K+-ATPases in the basolateral membrane. Cycloheximide inhibited both the increase in Isc and the increase in the initial rate of [3H]ouabain binding caused by insulin in epithelia incubated in K+-containing solutions. However, cycloheximide was without effect on the initial rate of [3H]ouabain binding in insulin-treated tissues incubated in K+-free solution. This finding suggests that the cycloheximide-sensitive step of the action of insulin is related to Na+ delivery to the pump.

Animals↗

Effects of ouabain and isoproterenol on potassium influx in the turkey erythrocyte. Quantitative relation to ligand binding and cyclic AMP generation.

Studies have been carried out in the turkey erythrocyte to examine: (1) the influence of external K+ concentration on both [3H]ouabain binding and the sensitivity of potassium influx to inhibition by ouabain and (2) the quantitative relation between beta-adrenergic receptor site occupancy, agonist-directed cyclic AMP generation and potassium influx rate. Both [3H]ouabain binding and the ability of ouabain to inhibit potassium influx are markedly reduced at increasing external K+ concentrations, and at each K+ concentration the concentrations of ouabain required for half-maximal binding to the erythrocyte membrane and for half-maximal inhibition of potassium influx are identical. Both basal and isoproterenol-stimulated potassium influx rise with increasing external K+ concentrations. In contrast to basal potassium influx, which is 50-70% inhibitable by ouabain, the isoproterenol-stimulated component of potassium influx is entirely insensitive to ouabain. At all concentrations of K+, inhibition of basal potassium influx by ouabain is linear with ouabain binding, indicating that the rate of transport per unoccupied ouabain binding site is unaffected by simultaneous occupancy of other sites by ouabain. Similarly, the rate of isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP synthesis is directly proportional to beta-adrenergic receptor occupany over the entire concentration-response relationship for isoproterenol, showing that at all levels of occupancy beta-adrenergic receptor sites function independently of each other. Analysis of the relation of catecholamine-dependent potassium transport to the number of beta-adrenergic receptor sites occupied indicates an extremely sensitive physiological system, in which 50%-maximal stimulation of potassium transport is achieved at less than 3% receptor occupancy, corresponding to fewer than ten occupied receptors per cell.

Animals↗