Reduction of intracellular pH by tenidap. Involvement of cellular anion transporters in the pH change

Acute regulation of the SLC26A3 congenital chloride diarrhoea anion exchanger (DRA) expressed in Xenopus oocytes

Mutations in the human SLC26A3 gene, also known as down-regulated in adenoma (hDRA), cause autosomal recessive congenital chloride-losing diarrhoea (CLD). hDRA expressed in Xenopus oocytes mediated bidirectional Cl--Cl- and Cl--HCO3- exchange. In contrast, transport of oxalate was low, and transport of sulfate and of butyrate was undetectable. Two CLD missense disease mutants of hDRA were nonfunctional in oocytes. Truncation of up to 44 C-terminal amino acids from the putatively cytoplasmic C-terminal hydrophilic domain left transport function unimpaired, but deletion of the adjacent STAS (sulfate transporter anti-sigma factor antagonist) domain abolished function. hDRA-mediated Cl- transport was insensitive to changing extracellular pH, but was inhibited by intracellular acidification and activated by NH4+ at acidifying concentrations. These regulatory responses did not require the presence of either hDRA's N-terminal cytoplasmic tail or its 44 C-terminal amino acids, but they did require more proximate residues of the C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. Although only weakly sensitive to inhibition by stilbenes, hDRA was inhibited with two orders of magnitude greater potency by the anti-inflammatory drugs niflumate and tenidap. cAMP-insensitive Cl--HCO3- exchange mediated by hDRA gained modest cAMP sensitivity when co-expressed with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Despite the absence of hDRA transcripts in human cell lines derived from CFTR patients, DRA mRNA was present at wild-type levels in proximal colon and nearly so in the distal ileum of CFTR(-/-) mice. Thus, pharmacological modulation of DRA might be a useful adjunct treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Structural determinants and significance of regulation of electrogenic Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) cotransporter stoichiometry

Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) cotransporters play an important role in intracellular pH regulation and transepithelial HCO(3)(-) transport in various tissues. Of the characterized members of the HCO(3)(-) transporter superfamily, NBC1 and NBC4 proteins are known to be electrogenic. An important functional property of electrogenic Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) cotransporters is their HCO(3)(-):Na(+) coupling ratio, which sets the transporter reversal potential and determines the direction of Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) flux. Recent studies have shown that the HCO(3)(-):Na(+) transport stoichiometry of NBC1 proteins is either 2:1 or 3:1 depending on the cell type in which the transporters are expressed, indicating that the HCO(3)(-):Na(+) coupling ratio can be regulated. Mutational analysis has been very helpful in revealing the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways that modulate the coupling ratio. These studies have demonstrated that PKA-dependent phosphorylation of the COOH terminus of NBC1 proteins alters the transport stoichiometry. This cAMP-dependent signaling pathway provides HCO(3)(-) -transporting epithelia with an efficient mechanism for modulating the direction of Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) flux through the cotransporter.

Tenidap, an anti-inflammatory agent, inhibits DNA and collagen syntheses, depresses cell proliferation, and lowers intracellular pH in cultured human gingival fibroblasts

The effect of tenidap [(+/-)-5-chloro-2,3-dihydro-3-(hydroxy-2-thienylmethylene)-2-oxo-1H-indole-1-carboxamide], a new anti-inflammatory agent, was investigated on DNA synthesis by means of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation, collagen synthesis by means of [(3)H]proline incorporation, cell proliferation, and intracellular pH in nicardipine-reactive human gingival fibroblasts. Tenidap significantly inhibited [(3)H]thymidine incorporation at concentrations greater than 20 microM on the 4th and 8th day of treatment. Tenidap also significantly inhibited [(3)H]proline incorporation at a concentration greater than 50 microM on the 4th day and at more than 20 microM on the 8th day of treatment. The presence of 1 microM nifedipine or 1 microM nicardipine did not alter the depressing effect of tenidap. Tenidap (20 microM) also lowered intracellular pH. These results suggest that tenidap might be effective for the prevention of gingival overgrowth caused by calcium channel blockers.

Reduction of intracellular pH by inhibitors of natural killer cell activity, nicardipine, methyl 2-(N-benzyl-N-methylamino)ethyl-2,6-dimethyl-4-(2-isopropyl-pyrazolo[1, 5-a]pyridine-3-yl)-1,4-dihydro-pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate (AHC-52), and 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonic acid stilbene (DIDS)

Our previous study showed that nicardipine and its structural analog, methyl 2-(N-benzyl-N-methylamino)ethyl-2,6-dimethyl-4-(2-isopropyl-pyrazolo[1,5 -a]pyridine-3-yl)-1,4-dihydro-pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate (AHC-52), which is devoid of calcium channel blocking activity, were equally effective in inhibiting natural killer (NK) cell activity, perhaps through inhibition of P-glycoprotein. In this study, we confirmed this finding using a human NK-like cell line, YTN, which is highly cytotoxic to JY cells. The YTN cell-mediated cytotoxicity toward JY cells was inhibited by nicardipine and AHC-52 in a concentration-dependent manner, the concentrations required for 50% inhibition being 14 and 7 microM, respectively. We then examined by flow cytometry whether these reagents modulate the intracellular pH (pHi), since P-glycoprotein reportedly plays a role in pHi homeostasis, perhaps by altering chloride translocation. Both reagents reduced pHi at concentrations similar to those required for inhibition of the cytotoxicity. In addition, 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonic acid stilbene (DIDS), an inhibitor of anion exchangers, also inhibited NK cell activity, with an IC50 value of 160 microM, and reduced pHi at a similar concentration, although it is not a P-glycoprotein blocker. Thus, the inhibitory activities of nicardipine, AHC-52, and DIDS toward NK cell activity paralleled their lowering activities of pHi, suggesting the possibility that disregulation of pHi is related to inhibition of NK cell activity.