The polarized distribution of Na+,K+-ATPase plays a paramount physiological role, because either directly or through coupling with co- and countertransporters, it is responsible for the net movement of, for example, glucose, amino acids, Ca2+, K+, Cl-, and CO3H- across the whole epithelium. We report here that the beta-subunit is a key factor in the polarized distribution of this enzyme. 1) Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells (epithelial from dog kidney) express the Na+,K+-ATPase over the lateral side, but not on the basal and apical domains, as if the contact with a neighboring cell were crucial for the specific membrane location of this enzyme. 2) MDCK cells cocultured with other epithelial types (derived from human, cat, dog, pig, monkey, rabbit, mouse, hamster, and rat) express the enzyme in all (100%) homotypic MDCK/MDCK borders but rarely in heterotypic ones. 3) Although MDCK cells never express Na+,K+-ATPase at contacts with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, they do when CHO cells are transfected with beta1-subunit from the dog kidney (CHO-beta). 4) This may be attributed to the adhesive property of the beta1-subunit, because an aggregation assay using CHO (mock-transfected) and CHO-beta cells shows that the expression of dog beta1-subunit in the plasma membrane does increase adhesiveness. 5) This adhesiveness does not involve adherens or tight junctions. 6) Transfection of beta1-subunit forces CHO-beta cells to coexpress endogenous alpha-subunit. Together, our results indicate that MDCK cells express Na+,K+-ATPase at a given border provided the contacting cell expresses the dog beta1-subunit. The cell-cell interaction thus established would suffice to account for the polarized expression and positioning of Na+,K+-ATPase in epithelial cells.

Epithelial cells treated with high concentrations of ouabain (e.g., 1 μM) retrieve molecules involved in cell contacts from the plasma membrane and detach from one another and their substrates. On the basis of this observation, we suggested that ouabain might also modulate cell contacts at low, nontoxic levels (10 or 50 nM). To test this possibility, we analyzed its effect on a particular type of cell-cell contact: the tight junction (TJ). We demonstrate that at concentrations that neither inhibit K + pumping nor disturb the K + balance of the cell, ouabain modulates the degree of sealing of the TJ as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and the flux of neutral 3 kDa dextran (J DEX ). This modulation is accompanied by changes in the levels and distribution patterns of claudins 1, 2, and 4. Interestingly, changes in TER, J DEX , and claudins behavior are mediated through signal pathways containing ERK1/2 and c-Src, which have distinct effects on each physiological parameter and claudin type. These observations support the theory that at low concentrations, ouabain acts as a modulator of cell-cell contacts.claudins | c-Src | ERK1/2 | Madin-Darby canine kidney | occludin S everal lines of evidence, including the high affinity and specificity of ouabain for Na + ,K + -ATPase, suggest that endogenous ouabain analogs might exist. In keeping with this possibility, Hamlyn et al.(1) demonstrated the presence of a substance in plasma that cannot be distinguished from ouabain even by specific antibodies and mass spectrometry (1-4). Endogenous ouabain levels are increased during exercise (5) and in pathological conditions such as arterial hypertension (6-9) and eclampsia (10), raising the possibility that ouabain functions as a hormone and prompting efforts to elucidate physiological role.We have previously demonstrated that ouabain acts on cell-substrate and cell-cell contacts in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. At 1 μM, ouabain binding to the Na + ,K + -ATPase results in pump inhibition and disassembly of molecules from the tight, adherens, and focal junctions (i.e., a P→A mechanism from pump to adhesion) (11). Consistent with these results, Rajasekaran et al. (12) have observed that 0.5 μM ouabain acts on the tight junction (TJ), decreasing transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and increasing mannitol and inulin permeability in cultures of human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Furthermore, we have shown that in cocultures of wild-type MDCK and ouabain-resistant MDCK cells, ouabain treatment increases the expression of connexin 32, but not 26 or 43, and increases cell-cell communication via gap junctions to rescue the wild-type cells (13). Although these effects indicate that toxic levels of ouabain affect the structure and function of cell-cell junctions, we do not know how lower levels of ouabain affect adhesive structures.In the present work, we focus on this question and demonstrate that 10 nM ouabain affects neither Na + ,K + -ATPase nor the K + balance of the cells and does not indu...

Abstract. In previous work we described a "P-->A mechanism" that transduces occupancy of the pump ( P) by ouabain into changes in phosphorylation, stimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and endocytosis of cell-cell- and cell-substrate-attaching molecules ( A), thereby causing a release of the cell from the monolayer. In the present work we try to understand the mechanism of this effect; whether, in order to trigger the P-->A mechanism, ouabain should block the pumping activity of Na(+),K(+)-ATPase as pump, or whether it would suffice that the drug occupies this enzyme as a receptor. We assay a series of drugs known to act on the pump, such as ouabain, digoxin, digitoxin, palytoxin, oligomycin, strophanthidin, neothyoside-A, proscillaridin-A, etc. We gauge their ability to block the pump by measuring the K(+) content in the cells, and their ability to detach the cells from the monolayer by determining the amount of protein remaining in the culturing well. None of the drugs tested was able to cause detachment without stopping the pump. Ouabain also enhances phosphorylation, yet pump inhibition and signal transduction do not seem to be intimately associated in a causal chain, but to occur simultaneously. To investigate the response of the site of cell attachment, we analyze the position of beta-catenin by fluorescence confocal microscopy, and find that this adherent junction-associated molecule is sent to the nucleus, where it is known to act as a transcriptional cofactor.

No abstract

No abstract