-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the commonest severe inherited disorders, but specific treatments are lacking and the pathophysiology remains unclear. Affected individuals account for well over 250,000 births yearly, mostly in the Tropics, the USA, and the Caribbean, also in Northern Europe as well. Incidence in the UK amounts to around 12-15,000 individuals and is increasing, with approximately 300 SCD babies born each year as well as with arrival of new immigrants. About two thirds of SCD patients are homozygous HbSS individuals. Patients heterozygous for HbS and HbC (HbSC) constitute about a third of SCD cases, making this the second most common form of SCD, with approximately 80,000 births per year worldwide. Disease in these patients shows differences from that in homozygous HbSS individuals. Their red blood cells (RBCs), containing approximately equal amounts of HbS and HbC, are also likely to show differences in properties which may contribute to disease outcome. Nevertheless, little is known about the behaviour of RBCs from HbSC heterozygotes. This paper reviews what is known about SCD in HbSC individuals and will compare the properties of their RBCs with those from homozygous HbSS patients. Important areas of similarity and potential differences will be emphasised.
Anemia 01/2011; 2011:248527.
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Individuals heterozygous for HbS and HbC (HbSC) represent about 1/3(rd) of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Whilst HbSC disease is generally milder, there is considerable overlap in symptoms with HbSS disease. HbSC patients, as well as HbSS ones, present with the chronic anaemia and panoply of acute vaso-occlusive complications that characterize SCD. However, there are important clinical and haematological differences. Certain complications occur with greater frequency in HbSC patients (like proliferative retinopathy and osteonecrosis) whilst intravascular haemolysis is reduced. Patients with HbSC disease can be considered as a discrete subset of SCD cases. Although much work has been carried out on understanding the pathogenesis of SCD in HbSS homozygotes, including the contribution of altered red blood cell permeability, relatively little pertains directly to HbSC individuals. Results reported in the literature suggest that HbSC cells, and particularly certain subpopulations, present with similar permeability to HbSS cells but there are also important differences - these have not been well characterized. We hypothesise that their unique cell transport properties accounts for the different pattern of disease in HbSC patients and represents a potential chemotherapeutic target not shared in red blood cells from HbSS patients. The distinct pattern of clinical haematology in HbSC disease is emphasised here. We analyse some of the electrophysiological properties of single red blood cells from HbSC patients, comparing them with those from HbSS patients and normal HbAA individuals. We also use the isosmotic haemolysis technique to investigate the behaviour of total red blood cell populations. Whilst both HbSS and HbSC cells show increased monovalent and divalent (Ca(2+)) cation conductance further elevated upon deoxygenation, the distribution of current magnitudes differs, and outward rectification is greatest for HbSC cells. In addition, although Gd(3+) largely abolishes the cation conductance of both HbSS and HbSC cells, only in HbSS ones are currents inhibited by the aminoglycosides like streptomycin. This distinction is retained in isosmotic lysis experiments where both HbSS and HbSC cells undergo haemolysis in sucrose solutions but streptomycin significantly inhibits lysis only in HbSS cells. These findings emphasise similarities but also differences in the permeability properties of HbSS and HbSC cells, which may be important in pathogenesis.
Blood Cells Molecules and Diseases 03/2010; 45(1):46-52. · 2.35 Impact Factor
-
Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics. 01/2009; 2(2):77-87.
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The abundant membrane protein AE1 normally functions as an obligate anion exchanger, with classical carrier properties, in human red blood cells. Recently, four single point mutations of hAE1 have been identified that have lost the anion exchange function, and act as non-selective monovalent cation channels, as shown in both red cell flux and oocyte expression studies. The red cell transport function shows a paradoxical temperature dependence, and is associated with spherocytic and stomatocytic red cell defects, and haemolytic anaemias. Other forms of AE1, including the native AE1 in trout red cells, and the human mutation R760Q show both channel-like and anion exchange properties. The present results point to membrane domains 9 and 10 being important in the functional modification of AE1 activity.
Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences 11/2008; 364(1514):189-94. · 6.40 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: 1. Chronic renal failure (CRF) is associated with the abnormal regulation of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis at the systemic level. The transport of L-arginine, upregulated in blood cells from uraemic patients, modulates NO synthesis in this pathological condition. The model of partial nephrectomy in rats is widely accepted as a valid model of uraemia. Because there are no reports of L-arginine transport in blood cells from uraemic rats, the aim of the present study was to investigate L-arginine transport in red blood cells (RBCs) from these rats. 2. The kinetics of L-arginine transport in RBC and plasma and the amino acid profiles of RBC were investigated in control, sham-operated and subtotally nephrectomized rats. 3. L-Arginine transport was mediated via the cationic amino acid transport system y+ and a transport system with kinetics resembling the human system y+L. In control RBC, the apparent Ki for L-leucine inhibition of L-arginine transport via system y+L was 0.16 +/- 0.02 and 4.8 +/- 2 mmol/L in the presence of Li+ and Na+, respectively. 4. The Vmax values for L-arginine transport via system y+L and system y+ were similar in RBC from control sham-operated and uraemic rats. Moreover, L-arginine concentrations in plasma and RBC were not affected by uraemia. 5. The findings of the present study provide the first evidence that L-arginine transport in rat erythrocytes is mediated by two distinct cationic transport systems with characteristics of systems y+ and y+L, which accept neutral amino acids only in the presence of Li+. In contrast with previous studies in uraemic patients, plasma levels and maximal transport rates of L-arginine were not altered in this rat model of CRF.
Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 09/2006; 33(8):702-7. · 1.85 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: We have studied the effects of anti-GLUT1 antibodies on the uptake of glucose into erythrocytes. Glucose transport into human erythrocyte ghosts was measured directly using 3H-2-deoxy-glucose, or indirectly by monitoring associated volume changes using light scattering. The uptake of glucose was significantly inhibited in ghosts resealed in solutions containing specific antibodies against GLUT1. Such an effect was not observed when an antibody against the oestrogen receptor, lacking specificity towards GLUT1, was employed instead. The antibodies were also without effect on the efflux of preloaded glucose from erythrocyte ghosts. The demonstration that anti-GLUT antibodies can inhibit glucose uptake is support for the hypothesis that they exaggerate the cytoplasmic barrier to glucose uptake created by endofacial segments of GLUT1.
Bioelectrochemistry 06/2004; 62(2):195-8. · 3.76 Impact Factor
-
Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology - CLIN EXP PHARMACOL PHYSIOL. 01/2004; 31(10):738-740.
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Bleeding tendency in uraemic patients seems to be related to alterations in the activity of the L-arginine-nitric oxide (NO) signalling pathway in platelets. We have reported previously that L-arginine influx into human platelets is mediated by the high-affinity cationic amino acid transport system y(+)L. In the present study we examined the dependency of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity on L-arginine transport in platelets isolated from healthy controls and uraemic patients on haemodialysis. We investigated basal and ADP-stimulated NOS activity, as reflected by the conversion of L-[(3)H]arginine to L-[(3)H]citrulline, in platelets obtained from healthy controls and uraemic patients on haemodialysis. To determine whether NOS activity depended on L-arginine transport, we analysed the effects of competitive inhibitors of L-arginine transport via system y(+)L on NOS activity. Basal NOS activity was increased from 0.21+/-0.06 to 0.7+/-0.2 pmol/10(8) platelets ( n=9, P<0.05) in uraemic patients. Stimulation by ADP (10 micro M) significantly increased NOS activity (inhibitable by L-NAME) in control platelets (252%) but failed to increase further the elevated NOS activity in uraemic platelets. Homocysteine and L-leucine, competitive inhibitors of system y(+)L, markedly inhibited NOS activity in uraemic platelets. These observations indicate that platelets from uraemic patients on haemodialysis generate more NO than control platelets and that entry of L-arginine via system y(+)L is most likely rate-limiting for platelet NO production in chronic renal failure.
Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology 02/2003; 445(5):547-50. · 4.46 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Transport of LL-arginine, the precursor for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, has been investigated in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from healthy volunteers and chronic renal failure patients. Chronic renal failure patients were either on treatment by haemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Saturable influx of L-arginine in PBMCs was mediated by the cationic amino acid transport systems y(+) and y(+)L. Initial rates of L-arginine transport (2 microM) via system y(+) were significantly increased in chronic renal failure patients, whereas transport via system y(+)L was unaffected. The increase in L-arginine transport via system y(+) was: 1.7-fold in uraemic patients on CAPD, 4.3-fold in uraemic patients pre-haemodialysis and 2.6-fold post-haemodialysis. When the intracellular PBMCs amino acid profile was analysed in chronic renal failure patients and control subjects, L-lysine and L-arginine concentrations were significantly increased in pre-haemodialysis uraemic patients and restored to normal values by haemodialysis and CAPD. The present study provides the first evidence that system y(+) mediates the increased transport of L-arginine in PBMCs from patients with chronic renal failure. The increased activity of system y(+) may provide the necessary supply of L-arginine to sustain NO synthesis in PBMCs exposed to increased levels of circulating cytokines in chronic renal failure.
Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology 11/2002; 445(1):147-51. · 4.46 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The effects of raised hydraulic pressure on D-glucose exit from human red cells at 25 degrees C were determined using light scattering measurements in a sealed pressurized spectrofluorimeter cuvette. The reduction in the rates of glucose exit with raised pressure provides an index of the activation volume, deltaV++ (delta ln k/deltaP)(T) = -deltaV++/RT. Raised pressure decreased the rate constant of glucose exit from 0.077 +/- 0.003 s(-1) to 0.050 +/- 0.002 s(-1) (n = 5, P < 0.003). The Ki for glucose binding to the external site was 2.7 +/- 0.4 mm (0.1 MPa) and was reduced to 1.45 +/- 0.15 mm (40 MPa), (P < 0.01, Student's t test). Maltose had a biphasic effect on deltaV++. At [maltose] <250 microM, deltaV++ of glucose exit increased above that with [maltose = 0 mM], at >1 mm maltose, deltaV++ was reduced below that with [maltose = 0 mM]. Pentobarbital (2 mM) decreased the deltaV++ of net glucose exit into glucose-free solution from 30 +/- 5 ml mol(-1) (control) to 2 +/- 0.5 ml mol(-1) (P < 0.01). Raised pressure had a negligible effect on L-sorbose exit. These findings suggest that stable hydrated and liganded forms of GLUT with lower affinity towards glucose permit higher glucose mobilities across the transporter and are modelled equally well with one-alternating or a two-fixed-site kinetic models.
Journal of Membrane Biology 04/2002; 186(3):113-29. · 1.81 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The effects of raised hydraulic pressure on D-glucose exit from human red cells at 25C were determined using light scattering measurements in a sealed pressurized spectrofluorimeter cuvette. The reduction in the rates of glucose exit with raised pressure provides an index of the activation volume, (V (d ln k/dP)(T) = ?DV/RT. Raised pressure decreased the rate constant of glucose exit from 0.077 - 0.003 s?1 to 0.050 - 0.002 s?1 (n = 5, P <0.003). The Ki for glucose binding to the external site was 2.7 - 0.4 mM (0.1 MPa) and was reduced to 1.45 - 0.15 mM (40 MPa), (P <0.01, Student's t test). Maltose had a biphasic effect on (V. At [maltose] <250 mM, D( of glucose exit increased above that with [maltose = 0 mM], at >1 mM maltose, (V was reduced below that with [maltose = 0 mM]. Pentobarbital (2 mM) decreased the (V of net glucose exit into glucose-free solution from 30 - 5 ml mol?1 (control) to 2 - 0.5 ml mol?1 (P <0.01). Raised pressure had a negligible effect on L-sorbose exit. These findings suggest that stable hydrated and liganded forms of GLUT with lower affinity towards glucose permit higher glucose mobilities across the transporter and are modelled equally well with one-alternating or a two-fixed-site kinetic models.
Journal of Membrane Biology 03/2002; 186(3):113-129. · 1.81 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: 1. This study was aimed at identifying the signalling pathways involved in the activation of volume-regulatory mechanisms of human cervical cancer cells. 2. Osmotic swelling of human cervical cancer cells induced a substantial increase in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) by the activation of Ca2+ entry across the cell membrane, as well as Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. This Ca2+ signalling was critical for the normal regulatory volume decrease (RVD) response. 3. The activation of swelling-activated ion and taurine transport was significantly inhibited by tyrosine kinase inhibitors (genistein and tyrphostin AG 1478) and potentiated by the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor Na3VO4. However, the Src family of tyrosine kinases was not involved in regulation of the swelling-activated Cl- channel. 4. Cell swelling triggered mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascades leading to the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/ERK2) and p38 kinase. The volume-responsive ERK1/ERK2 signalling pathway linked with the activation of K+ and Cl- channels, and taurine transport. However, the volume-regulatory mechanism was independent of the activation of p38 MAP kinase. 5. The phosphorylated ERK1/ERK2 expression following a hypotonic shock was up-regulated by protein kinase C (PKC) activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and down-regulated by PKC inhibitor staurosporine. The response of ERK activation to hypotonicity also required Ca2+ entry and depended on tyrosine kinase and mitogen-activated/ERK-activating kinase (MEK) activity. 6. Considering the results overall, osmotic swelling promotes the activation of tyrosine kinase and ERK1/ERK2 and raises intracellular Ca2+, all of which play a crucial role in the volume-regulatory mechanism of human cervical cancer cells.
The Journal of Physiology 01/2002; 537(Pt 2):347-62. · 4.72 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The KCl cotransporter (KCC) plays a significant role in the ionic and osmotic homeostasis of many cell types. Four KCC isoforms have been cloned. KCC1 and KCC4 activity is osmolality-sensitive and involved in volume regulation. KCC2, a neuronal-specific isoform, can lower intracellular Cl(-) and is critical for inhibitory GABA responses in the mature central nervous system. KCC3, initially cloned from vascular endothelial cells, is widely but not universally distributed and has an unknown physiological significance. Here we show a tight link between the expression and activity of KCC3 and cell growth by a NIH/3T3 fibroblast expression system. KCC3 activity is sensitive to [(dihydroindenyl)oxy] alkanoic acid (DIOA) and N-ethylmaleimide and is regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. Osmotic swelling does not activate KCC3, and the process of regulatory volume decrease is refractory to DIOA, indicating that KCC3 is not involved in volume regulation. KCC3 expression enhances cell proliferation, and this growth advantage can be abolished by the inhibition of KCC3 by DIOA. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting measurements and Western blot analysis show DIOA caused a significant reduction of the cell fraction in proliferative phase and a change in phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (Rb) and cdc2, suggesting that KCC3 activity is important for cell cycle progression. Insulin-like growth factor-1 up-regulates KCC3 expression and stimulates cell growth. Tumor necrotic factor-alpha down-regulates KCC3 expression and causes growth arrest. These data indicate that KCC3 is an important KCC isoform that may be involved in cell proliferation.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 01/2002; 98(25):14714-9. · 9.68 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The properties of the malaria parasite-induced permeability pathways in the host red blood cell have been a major area of interest particularly in the context of whether the pathways are host- or parasite-derived. In the present study, the whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique has been used to show that, compared with normal cells, chicken red blood cells infected by Plasmodium gallinaceum exhibited a 5-40-fold larger membrane conductance, which could be further increased up to 100-fold by raising intracellular Ca(2+) levels. The increased conductance was not due to pathways with novel electrophysiological properties. Rather, the parasite increased the activity of endogenous 24 pS stretch-activated non-selective cationic (NSC) and 62 pS calcium-activated NSC channels, and, in some cases, of endogenous 255 pS anionic channels.
FEBS Letters 07/2001; 500(1-2):45-51. · 3.54 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The current study was designed to characterise K(+) transport in human fetal red blood cells, containing mainly haemoglobin F (HbF, and termed HbF cells), isolated from umbilical cords following normal parturition. Na(+)/K(+) pump activity was comparable to that in normal adult human red cells (which contain HbA, and are termed HbA cells). Passive (ouabain-resistant) K(+) transport was dominated by a bumetanide (10 microM)-resistant component, inhibited by [(dihydroxyindenyl)oxy]alkanoic acid (100 microM), calyculin A (100 nM) and Cl(-) removal, and stimulated by N-ethylmaleimide (1 mM) and staurosporine (2 microM) - all consistent with mediation via the K(+)-Cl(-) cotransporter (KCC). KCC activity in HbF cells was also O(2)-dependent and stimulated by swelling and urea, and showed a biphasic response to changes in external pH. Peak activity of KCC in HbF cells was about 3-fold that in HbA cells. These characteristics are qualitatively similar to those observed in HbA cells, notwithstanding the different conditions experienced by HbF cells in vivo, and the presence of HbF rather than HbA. KCC in HbF cells has a higher total capacity, but when measured at the ambient PO(2) of fetal blood it would be similar in magnitude to that in fully oxygenated HbA cells, and about that required to balance K(+) accumulation via the Na(+)/K(+) pump. These findings are relevant to the mechanism by which O(2) regulates membrane transporters in red blood cells, and to the strategy of promoting HbF synthesis as a therapy for patients with sickle cell disease.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 07/2001; 1512(2):231-8. · 4.66 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: In human erythrocytes infected with the mature form of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, the cytosolic concentration of Na(+) is increased and that of K(+) is decreased. In this study, the membrane transport changes underlying this perturbation were investigated using a combination of (86)Rb(+), (43)K(+), and (22)Na(+) flux measurements and a semiquantitative hemolysis technique. From >15 h postinvasion, there appeared in the infected erythrocyte membrane new permeation pathways (NPP) that caused a significant increase in the basal ion permeability of the erythrocyte membrane and that were inhibited by furosemide (0.1 mM). The NPP showed the selectivity sequence Cs(+) > Rb(+) > K(+) > Na(+), with the K(+)-to-Na(+) permeability ratio estimated as 2.3. From 18 to 36 h postinvasion, the activity of the erythrocyte Na(+)/K(+) pump increased in response to increased cytosolic Na(+) (a consequence of the increased leakage of Na(+) via the NPP) but underwent a progressive decrease in the latter 12 h of the parasite's occupancy of the erythrocyte (36-48 h postinvasion). Incorporation of the measured ion transport rates into a mathematical model of the human erythrocyte indicates that the induction of the NPP, together with the impairment of the Na(+)/K(+) pump, accounts for the altered Na(+) and K(+) levels in the host cell cytosol, as well as predicting an initial decrease, followed by a lytic increase in the volume of the host erythrocyte.
AJP Cell Physiology 06/2001; 280(6):C1576-87. · 3.54 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The molecular basis of sickle cell disease (SCD) is well known but the pathophysiology is poorly understood. It remains intractable to therapy. Hyperactivity of several membrane transport systems, including the K+-Cl- cotransporter (termed KCC), cause HbS-containing red cells (termed HbS cells) to dehydrate and sickle, leading to the development of sickle cell crises (SCCs). Contrary to normal red cells (HbA cells), KCC in HbS cells is active at low O2 tensions (PO2s), remaining responsive to low pH or urea. Since these stimuli are usually encountered in hypoxic regions, the abnormal O2 dependence increases the contribution of KCC to dehydration, and hence development of SCCs. These differences with HbA cells may be due to the younger population of cells or to polymerization of HbS. We used 86Rb+ as a K+ congener to investigate the activity of KCC at different PO2s, and density gradient separation to investigate different red cell fractions. We found no correlation of O2 dependence with cell fractions. We also used the substituted benzaldehyde 12C79 to increase the O2 affinity of HbS and found that its effect on HbS O2 saturation and cell sickling correlated with that on both Cl--independent and Cl--dependent K+ transport, implying that, at low PO2s, KCC activity correlated with HbS polymerization. The importance of these results to understanding the pathophysiology of SCD, and for the design of chemotherapeutic agents to ameliorate or prevent SCC, is discussed.
The FASEB Journal 04/2001; 15(3):823-32. · 5.71 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Patients with chronic renal and heart failure present with hypertension and widespread vasoconstriction, respectively. Although systemic release of nitric oxide (NO) may be elevated in both pathological syndromes, enhanced production of NO fails to overcome endothelial dysfunction. Plasma concentrations of L-arginine, a cationic amino acid precursor for NO synthesis, are reduced whilst levels of the endogenous L-arginine analogues, asymmetric and symmetric dimethyl arginine and N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine, seem to be elevated. We have reported that transport of L-arginine via the cationic amino acid transporters y(+)/CAT and/or y(+)L are up-regulated in erythrocytes, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and platelets from both patients with either chronic renal or heart failure. A possible explanation why NO serves as a failing counter-regulatory mechanism in both these pathologies is that availability of L-arginine for NO production is reduced despite the observed increase in membrane transport. This review examines the mechanisms underlying alterations in NO production in chronic renal and heart failure, and the possible role of L-arginine transport in vascular and platelet dysfunction observed in both syndromes.
Cardiovascular Research 04/2001; 49(4):697-712. · 6.06 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate swelling-activated taurine and K+ transport in human cervical cancer cells under various culture conditions, testing the hypothesis that the progression of cell cycle was accompanied by differential activities of swelling-activated transport pathways. Aphidicolin, an inhibitor of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, was used to synchronize the cell cycle. The distribution of cell cycle stage was determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Hypotonicity activated taurine efflux, which was sensitive to tamoxifen and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid (NPPB). Cell swelling also induced both Cl- -dependent and -independent K+ (86Rb+) efflux, presumably mediated by KCl cotransport (KCC) and Ca2+ -activated K+ channels, respectively. Cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 was accompanied by a remarkable decrease in the rate constant for swelling-activated taurine efflux, from 0.20+/-0.007 to 0.026+/-0.002 min(-1) (n=6). The activity of swelling-activated taurine efflux recovered progressively on re-entry into the cell cycle. After removal of aphidicolin and culture with 10% fetal calf serum for 10 h, the rate constant increased significantly from 0.026+/-0.002 to 0.093+/-0.002 min(-1) (n=6). After 24 h release from aphidicolin, the efflux rate constant had increased further to 0.195+/-0.006 min(-1) (n=6), a value not significantly different from that in normally proliferating cells. The differential activities of swelling-activated taurine transport matched well with our previous study showing a volume-sensitive anion channel associated with cell cycle progression. In contrast to the differential activities of swelling-activated taurine transport, swelling-activated K+ (86Rb+) transport was independent of the progression of cell cycle. Most importantly, pharmacological blockade of swelling-activated taurine efflux by tamoxifen or NPPB caused proliferating cervical cancer cells to arrest in G0/G1, suggesting that the activity of this efflux was associated with G1/S checkpoint progression. This study provides new and important information on the functional significance of swelling-activated transport system in the regulation of cell cycle clock of human cervical cancer cells.
Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology 03/2001; 441(6):787-95. · 4.46 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The maintenance of red blood cell volume is important in the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease. The KCl cotransporter (KCCl) is capable of mediating sickle cell dehydration. In this study, we have determined the effect of increased temperature (over the range 37-41 degrees C) on basal K+ transport and K+ transport following activation of KCCl by urea or N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). An increased temperature was found to have only a small effect (approximately a 20% increase) on basal K+ transport. In contrast, the increase was much greater (about 60%) after activation of KCCl by urea. Following activation of KCCl by NEM, the increase in K+ transport with increasing temperature was small (about 10%). This suggests that it is the signalling system rather than the transporter itself that is sensitive to temperature.
Bioelectrochemistry 01/2001; 52(2):127-31. · 3.76 Impact Factor