Role of aquaporin 2 in cell volume regulation

FORD PAULA; RIVAROLA VALERIA; CHARA OSVALDO; GALIZIA LUCIANDO; BLOT-CHABAUD, MARCEL; CLUZEAUD, F; FARMAN NICOLETTE; PARISI MARIO; CAPURRO CLAUDIA

Chateau du lac, Genval, Brussels, Belgium

Congreso; The 4 th International Conference on Aquaporins; 2005

SPA

Role of aquaporin 2 in cell volume regulation Ford, P1; Rivarola, V1; Chara, O1; Galizia, L1; Blot-Chabaud2, M; Cluzeaud, F2; Farman, N2, Parisi, M1; Capurro, C1. 1 Laboratorio de Biomembranas, Departamento de Fisiología y Biofísica, Facultad de Medicina, UBA. 2 INSERM U478, Faculté de Medicine Xavier Bichat, Paris, France. Objetives: In the mammalian kideney, cortical collecting duct cells are exposed to changes in environment osmolality, consequently cell volume regulation may be especially important for maintenance of intracellular homeostasis. The aim o fthe present work was to study cell volume regulation after hypo or hypertonic challenges, in two cortical collecting duct cell lines: one not expressing aquaporins and other stably transfected with aquaporin 2. Material and methods: We used a cellular line established from rat cortical collecting duct (RCCD1), which mainteins the cellular types and the transport characteristics of the native duct. Cell volume was evaluated using a fluorescent probe technique, adapted to confluent epithelial monolayers grown on coverslips. Fluorescence data were acquired every 10 s by use of a charge coupled device camera connected to a computer. The acquisition of single-cell kinetic signal can be simultaneously recorded with the intracellular pH. Resulst: Experiments with hypertonic mannitol (impermeably solute) media demonstrated that, independently of Aquaporin-2 expression, cortical collecting duct cells shrink but fail to show regulatory volume increase. When the bathing media was made hyperosmotic by the addition of urea (permeable solute) both RCCD1 cell lines responded with a transient osmotic shrinkage. However, cell volume recovery was completely abolished in the presence of phloretin, a specific inhibitor of urea transporters. This result is due to solute diffusion and not voume regulation. In contrast, under hypotonic shocks, regulatory volume decrease occurs and the activation of  these mechanisms is more rapid in Aquaporin-2 transfected cells. This regulatory response takes place in parallel with intrcellular acidification, wich is faster in cells expressing Aquaporin-2. The acidification and the inital regulatory volume deccrease response were inhibited by glibenclamide and barium chloride only in Aquaporin-2 cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that increases in the osmotic water permeability due to the expression of Aquaporin-2, are critical for a rapid activation of regulatory volume decrease mechanisms, wich would be linked to cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator and to barium-sensitive.