Ionizing radiation potentiates the induction of nitric oxide synthase by interferon-gamma and/or lipopolysaccharide in murine macrophage cell lines. Role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Macrophages respond to infection or injury by changing from a "resting" cellular phenotype to an "activated" state defined by the expression of various cytotoxic effector functions. Regulation of the transition from a resting to an activated state is effected by cytokine and/or pathogenic signals. Some signals do not directly induce activation, but instead "prime" the macrophage to respond more vigorously to a second signal. One example of this priming phenomenon involves induction of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS2). Our experiments indicate that low doses (1-5 Gy) of ionizing radiation can enhance the induction of enzymatically active NOS2 by IFN-gamma or LPS in J774.1 and RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell lines. Radiation alone did not produce this induction, rather, it was effective as a priming signal; cells exposed to radiation produced more NO when a second signal, either IFN-gamma or LPS, was applied 24 h later.

Astrocytes as targets for Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus infection.

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) produces an acute infection in humans and induces a well-characterized cytopathic effect in neurons of the central nervous system (CNS). However, little is known about the role of glial cells in response to VEE infection of the CNS. Our results demonstrate that VEE is capable of a productive infection in primary astrocyte cultures and that this infection is cytotoxic. Further, there were significant differences in the growth kinetics comparing virulent and attenuated strains of VEE. Additionally, VEE infection of astrocyte cultures induced gene expression of two neuro-immune modulators, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Assays for TNF-alpha protein and nitric oxide (NO) demonstrated high levels of TNF-alpha protein and low levels of NO in response to VEE infection of astrocytes. These observations suggest an important role of astrocytes in this virus-induced encephalitis, and that interactions between astrocytes, other glial cells, and neurons may be important in VEE pathogenesis. Such interactions, which could impact neuronal survival, may include loss of functional changes in astrocytes or, alternatively, their production of neurotoxic molecules.

Ionizing radiation potentiates the induction of nitric oxide synthase by IFN-gamma and/or LPS in murine macrophage cell lines: role of TNF-alpha.

Macrophages are activated to become cytotoxic by a highly coordinated set of cytokine signals. Ionizing radiation can mimic cytokine signals and lead to enhanced states of activation. We tested the ability of gamma-radiation, alone and with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), to induce nitric oxide (NO) production in J774.1 and RAW264.7 murine macrophages. NO was induced weakly, moderately, or strongly by IFN-gamma alone, LPS alone, or IFN-gamma + LPS, respectively. Radiation alone (0.5-50 Gy) did not induce NO, but enhanced NO production in a dose-dependent manner (0.5-5 Gy) when cells were exposed to IFN-gamma or LPS 24 h post-irradiation. Immunoblots showed parallel induction of nitric oxide synthase (NOS2). Application of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) antibody before irradiation blocked induction of NO by IFN-gamma. We conclude (1) that irradiated cells produce more NO in response to either IFN-gamma or LPS and (2) that the increase is mediated by induction of TNF-alpha.

Regulation of intracellular pH in J774 murine macrophage cells: H+ extrusion processes.

Mechanisms of intracellular pH (pHi) regulation were characterized in the murine macrophage cell line J774.1, using 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein to measure pHi. Under nominally HCO3(-)-free conditions, resting pHi of nonadherent J774.1 cells was 7.53 +/- 0.02 (n = 86), and of adherent cells was 7.59 +/- 0.02 (n = 97). In the presence of HCO3-/CO2, pHi values were reduced to 7.41 +/- 0.02 (n = 12) and 7.40 +/- 0.01 (n = 28), respectively. Amiloride, an inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchange, did not affect resting pHi. Inhibitors of a vacuolar type H(+)-ATPase [bafilomycin A1, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), 7-chloro-4-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazide (NBD), and p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (pCMBS)] reduced pHi by at least 0.2 pH units. Inhibitors of other classes of H(+)-ATPases (oligomycin, azide, vanadate, and ouabain) were without effect. Inhibition of H+ efflux, measured by the change in extracellular pH of a weakly buffered cell suspension, followed the same pharmacological profile, indicating that the reduction of pHi was due to inhibition of H+ extrusion. Mechanisms of recovery from an imposed intracellular acid load were also investigated. In NaCl-Hanks' solution, pHi recovered exponentially to normal within 2 min. The initial rate of recovery was inhibited > 90% by amiloride or by replacement of extracellular Na+ concentration by N-methyl-glucamine. Inhibitors of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase also inhibited recovery. NEM and NBD nonspecifically inhibited all recovery. Bafilomycin A1 and pCMBS did not inhibit the initial amiloride-sensitive portion of recovery, but they did inhibit a late component of recovery when pHi was above 7.0. We conclude that the Na+/H+ exchanger is primarily responsible for recovery from an acid load but does not regulate resting pHi. Conversely, a vacuolar H(+)-ATPase regulates the resting pHi of J774 cells but contributes little to recovery from acidification.

G-protein activators induce a potassium conductance in murine macrophages.

The whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to test whether intracellular application of G-protein activators affect ionic currents in murine macrophages. Both the J774.1 macrophage-like cell line and primary bone marrow derived macrophages were used. Cells were bathed in Na Hanks' solution and intracellularly dialyzed (via the patch pipette) with K Hanks (145 mM KCl, < 100 nM Ca) plus or minus the G-protein activators GTP gamma S (10 microM), GppNHp (10 microM), or AIF4- (200 microM AlCl3 + 5 mM KF). In the absence of G-protein activators, only two K currents, an inwardly rectifying K current (Kir) and an outward, inactivating K current (Ko) were observed. In the presence of protein activators, two effects were observed: (i) the Kir conductance, which is stable for up to 30 min under control conditions, decayed twice as fast and (ii) an outwardly rectifying, noninactivating current appeared. The induced outward current appeared < 2 min after attaining the whole-cell patch clamp configuration. The current could be distinguished from the Kir and Ko currents on the basis of its direction of rectification (outward), barium sensitivity (> 1 mM), and kinetics (no time-dependent inactivation). Intracellular application of GTP (500 microM), GDP (500 microM), cAMP (100 microM + 0.5 mM ATP), or IP3 (20 microM) did not induce the current; 100 microM ATP gamma S activated a half-maximal amount of current. Induction of outward current by 10 microM GTP gamma S could be prevented by pre-exposing cells to pertussis toxin but not cholera toxin. This current is K selective since (i) its induction was accompanied by hyperpolarization of the cell toward EK, even after Kir had "washed out", (ii) it was present after > 90% of both intracellular and extracellular Cl were replaced by isethionate, and (iii) the induced outward conductance was absent when Ki was completely replaced by Cs, and was reduced by approximately 1/3 when [K]i was reduced by 1/3. Quinidine (1 mM) and 4-aminopyridine (10 mM) inhibited the current, but apamin (1 microM) and charybdotoxin (1 microM) did not.

Heat induces intracellular acidification in human A-431 cells: role of Na(+)-H+ exchange and metabolism.

The resting intracellular pH (pHi) of A-431 cells at 37 degrees C in Na+ Hanks' solution is 7.23 +/- 0.02. In the presence of amiloride (100 microM) pHi decreases to 7.08 +/- 0.03. Hyperthermia induces a temperature- and time-dependent intracellular acidification of 0.2 pH units in either bicarbonate-free or bicarbonate-buffered solutions. After heat treatment (45 degrees C, 10 min) pHi returns to normal 1 h after incubation at 37 degrees C. The activity of the Na(+)-H+ exchanger was examined in heated and unheated cells in the absence of bicarbonate. Unheated cells recover from an acid load in a [Na+]o-dependent and amiloride-sensitive manner. The apparent Michaelis constant for extracellular Na+ is 38 +/- 9 mM, and the apparent mean affinity constant for amiloride is 11 +/- 3 microM. In heated cells the apparent affinity of the Na(+)-H+ exchanger for extracellular Na+ is not changed, but the maximal recovery rate is approximately 40% slower than that of unheated cells. The rate of recovery from acid loading returns to normal 2 h after heat treatment. [Na+]i and intrinsic buffering power in heated cells are the same as those in unheated cells. Decreases in both intracellular ATP and lactic acid are observed in heated cells. 2-Deoxy-D-glucose and sodium azide induce an intracellular acidification but prevent most of the acidification induced by heat. Heat treatment causes no further acidification in cells that are acidified by both amiloride and 2-deoxy-D-glucose together. These data are the first to suggest that thermally induced intracellular acidification is due to both an inhibition of Na(+)-H+ exchange and an inhibition of metabolic pathways.

Effect of adherence, cell morphology, and lipopolysaccharide on potassium conductance and passive membrane properties of murine macrophage J774.1 cells.

The effects of adherence, cell morphology, and lipopolysaccharide on electrical membrane properties and on the expression of the inwardly rectifying K conductance in J774.1 cells were investigated. Whole-cell inwardly rectifying K currents (Ki), membrane capacitance (Cm), and membrane potential (Vm) were measured using the patch-clamp technique. Specific Ki conductance (GKi, whole-cell Ki conductance corrected for leak and normalized to membrane capacitance) was measured as a function of time after adherence, and was found to increase almost twofold one day after plating. Membrane potential (Vm) also increased from -42 +/- 4 mV (n = 32) to -58 +/- 2 mV (n = 47) over the same time period. GKi and Vm were correlated with each other; GL (leak conductance normalized to membrane capacitance) and Vm were not. The magnitudes of GKi and Vm 15 min to 2 hr after adherence were unaffected by the presence of 100 microM cycloheximide, but the increase in GKi and Vm that normally occurred between 2 and 8 hr after adherence was abolished by cycloheximide treatment. Membrane properties were analyzed as a function of cell morphology, by dividing cells into three categories ranging from small round cells to large, extremely spread cells. The capacitance of spread cells increased more than twofold within one day after adherence, which indicates that spread cells inserted new membrane. Spread cells had more negative resting membrane potentials than round cells, but GKi and GL were not significantly different. Lipopolysaccharide-(LPS; 1 or 10 micrograms/ml) treated cells showed increased Cm compared to control cells plated for comparable times. In contrast to the effect of adherence, LPS-treated cells exhibited a significantly lower GKi than control cells, indicating that the additional membrane did not have as high a density of functional GKi channels. We conclude that both adherence and LPS treatment increase the total surface membrane area of J774 cells and change the density of Ki channels. In addition, this study demonstrates that membrane area and density of Ki channels can vary independently of one another.

Inwardly rectifying whole-cell and single-channel K currents in the murine macrophage cell line J774.1.

Inward currents in the murine macrophage-like cell line J774.1 were studied using the whole-cell and cell-attached variations of the patch-clamp technique. When cells were bathed in Na Hanks' (KCl = 4.5 mM, NaCl = 145 mM), and the electrode contained Na-free K Hanks' (KCl = 145 mM) single-channel currents were observed at potentials below -40 mV which showed inward rectification, were K-selective, and were blocked by 2.5 mM Ba in the pipette. Single-channel conductance was 29 pS, and was proportional to the square root of [K]o. Channels manifested complex kinetics, with multiple open and closed states. The steady-state open probability of the channel was voltage dependent, and declined from 0.9 to 0.45 between -40 and -140 mV. When hyperpolarizing voltage pulses were repetitively applied in the cell-attached patch mode, averaged single-channel currents showed inactivation. Inactivation of inwardly rectifying whole-cell current was measured in Na Hanks' and in two types of Na-free Hanks': one with a normal K concentration (4.5 mM) and the other containing 145 mM K. Inactivation was shown to have Na-dependent and Na-independent components. Properties of single-channel current were found to be sufficient to account for the behavior of the macroscopic current, except that single-channel current showed a greater degree of Na-independent inactivation than whole-cell current.

Patch-clamp studies in human macrophages: single-channel and whole-cell characterization of two K+ conductances.

Human peripheral blood monocytes cultured for varying periods of time were studied using whole-cell and single-channel patch-clamp recording techniques. Whole-cell recordings revealed both an outward K current activating at potentials greater than 20 mV and an inwardly rectifying K current present at potentials negative to -60 mV. Tail currents elicited by voltage steps that activated outward current reversed near EK, indicating that the outward current was due to a K conductance. The I-V curve for the macroscopic outward current was similar to the mean single-channel I-V curve for the large conductance (240 pS in symmetrical K) calcium-activated K channel present in these cells. TEA and charybdotoxin blocked the whole-cell outward current and the single-channel current. Excised and cell-attached single-channel data showed that calcium-activated K channels were absent in freshly isolated monocytes but were present in greater than 85% of patches from macrophages cultured for greater than 7 days. Only 35% of the human macrophages cultured for greater than 7 days exhibited whole-cell inward currents. The inward current was blocked by external barium and increased when [K]o increased. Inward-rectifying single-channel currents with a conductance of 28 pS were present in cells exhibiting inward whole-cell currents. These single-channel currents are similar to those described in detail in J774.1 cells (L.C. McKinney & E.K. Gallin, J. Membrane Biol. 103:41-53, 1988).

Sodium permeability of frog skeletal muscle in absence and presence of veratridine.

The effect of veratridine on the Na permeability of frog sartorius muscle was studied by means of ion flux measurements using radiolabeled sodium. Veratridine increases Na influx in a dose-dependent manner (apparent Kd = 160 +/- 7 microM when Vm congruent to -40 mV). The increase can be completely inhibited by tetrodotoxin (TTX) (apparent Ki = 8 +/- 2 nM), indicating that all veratridine-induced Na influx occurs via sodium channels. The time constant for the rate of onset of veratridine action is 1 h. Raising external pH one unit to 8.3 causes the rate of action of veratridine and the final level of Na influx to increase. The apparent Kd for veratridine depends on membrane voltage. Values obtained in 2.5 and 5 mM K Ringer (Vm congruent to -95 and -80 mV) were 579 +/- 279 and 35 +/- 8 microM, respectively. Veratridine-induced Na influx obeys the Goldman constant field flux equation and when veratridine concentration is 1 mM, sodium permeability is 1.5 X 10(-7) cm/s. This is much less than the maximum PNa (1.6 X 10(-3) cm/s) obtained from voltage-clamp measurements of peak Na conductance. Mg (52 mM) inhibits veratridine-induced influx by about half. Aspects of resting Na influx in the absence of veratridine (but in the presence of ouabain) were also characterized. Steady-state Na influx is unaffected by tetrodotoxin over the voltage range -90-0 mV, suggesting that no sodium channels are open in the resting state. Na influx is also insensitive to curare. It is linearly dependent on external sodium and larger at more negative membrane potentials.

Purification, solubility, and pKa of veratridine.

The alkaloid neurotoxin veratridine is widely used by cell physiologists to increase membrane sodium permeability. The compound is only sporadically available from commercial sources, but can be purified (Kupchan et al., 1953, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 75, 5519-5524) from veratrine, a mixture of several alkaloids. We describe here a purification procedure only slightly modified from that of Kupchan et al., and include important details not mentioned in the original paper. Ultraviolet and infrared spectra are presented. We have also determined the pKa and solubility of veratridine in 150 mM NaCl at 25 degrees C. The solubility is steeply pH dependent, ranging from 0.61 +/- 0.02 mM above pH 12 to 18.5 mM at pH 8.07. The pKa, determined from the solubility versus pH curve, was found to be 9.54 +/- 0.02.

Delayed rectification in the calf cardiac Purkinje fiber. Evidence for multiple state kinetics.

We have investigated the delayed rectifier current (Ix) in the calf cardiac Purkinje fiber using a conventional two-microelectrode voltage clamp arrangement. The deactivation of Ix was monitored by studying decaying current tails after the application of depolarizing voltage prepulses. The reversal potential (Vrev) of these Ix tails was measured as a function of prepulse magnitude and duration to test for possible permeant ion accumulation- or depletion-induced changes in Vrev. We found that prepulse-induced changes in Vrev were less than 5 mV, provided that prepulse durations were less than or equal to 3.5 s and magnitudes were less than or equal to +35 mV. We kept voltage pulse structures within these limits for the remainder of the experiments in this study. We studied the sensitivity of Vrev to variation in extracellular K+. The reversal potential for Ix is well described by a Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz relation for a channel permeable to Na+ and K+ with PNa/PK = 0.02. The deactivation of Ix was always found to be biexponential and the two components shared a common reversal potential. These results suggest that it is not necessary to postulate the existence of two populations of channels to account for the time course of the Ix tails. Rather, our results can quantitatively be reproduced by a model in which the Ix channel can exist in three (two closed, one open) conformational states connected by voltage dependent rate constants.

Diphenylhydantoin reduces veratridine-induced sodium permeability in frog skeletal muscle.

The effect of the anti-epileptic drug 5,5'-diphenylhydantoin (Dilantin) on Na permeability (PNa) in frog skeletal muscle was studied. Because there is no detectable tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na permeability in resting frog muscle, PNa was induced using the alkaloid 'neurotoxin' veratridine. Veratridine has been previously characterized as a useful 'tool' for producing a population of open Na channels in frog muscle. The amount of sodium permeability produced by veratridine was quantified in two ways: by measuring (a) membrane potential (Vm) and (b) 22Na influx. Dilantin was shown to reverse veratridine-induced depolarization by approximately one-third and to inhibit veratridine-induced Na influx in a dose-dependent manner, with an apparent Km of 78 +/- 8 microM.

Permeability of the squid giant axon to organic cations and small nonelectrolytes.

The permeability of the Na channel of squid giant axon to organic cations and small nonelectrolytes was studied. The compounds tested were guanidinium, formamidinium, and 14C-labeled urea, formamide, thiourea, and acetone. Permeability was calculated from measurements of reversal potential and influx on internally perfused, voltage clamped squid axons. The project had two objectives: (1) to determine whether different methods of measuring the permeability of organic cations yield similar values and (2) to see whether neutral analogs of the organic cations can permeate the Na channel. Our results show that the permeability ratio of sodium to a test ion depends upon the ionic composition of the solution used. This finding is consistent with the view put forward previously that the Na channel can contain more than one ion at a time. In addition, we found that the uncharged analogs of permeant cations are not measurably permeant through the Na channel, but instead probably pass through the lipid bilayer.

Effect of veratridine on membrane potential of sartorius muscle from Rana pipiens.

The effect of veratridine on the membrane potential of sartorius muscles from Rana pipiens was studied. Membrane potential (Vm) was measured in Ringer solutions containing 2.5, 10, 30, 75, and 190 mM K+ in the absence and presence of veratridine. The product [K]o[Cl]o was kept at 300 mM2 to maintain Donnan equilibrium. External Na+ was lowered to 10 mM. Ouabain (100 microM) was present in all solutions. Vm vs. log [K]o curves were fit using the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation with a single free parameter, alpha = PNa/PK (permeability ratio of Na to K). Veratridine (100 microM) causes alpha to increase 12.6 +/- 1.2-fold (n = 9), from 0.146 to 1.657. The effect of veratridine on Vm is dose dependent and reversible, with a time constant for washout of 40 min. The depolarization produced by veratridine is prevented by tetrodotoxin and by Mg, is sensitive to external Na concentration, and is insensitive to curare.