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1From the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, 2Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and 3Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville, School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Na,K-ATPase activity was determined by measuring the ouabain-sensitive rate of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. Western blot analysis was used to detect Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunit (
) and glycoprotein subunit (ß) protein as well as ß-actin which was used as a loading control.
RESULTS. Na,K-ATPase specific activity was more than two times higher in the equatorial epithelium than the anterior 50% of the epithelium. However, the abundance of Na,K-ATPase
1 isoform protein was similar in the two regions. Neither the
2 nor
3 Na,K-ATPase isoform could be detected in the anterior or equatorial epithelium, but Na,K-ATPase ß1 protein was detected in both regions. In contrast to the observed regional difference in Na,K-ATPase activity, the activity of a different P-type ATPase, plasma membrane Ca-ATPase (PMCA), was not significantly different in the anterior and central epithelium. Western blot analysis indicated the presence of two PMCA isoforms, PMCA2, and PMCA4.
CONCLUSIONS. Na,K-ATPase activity is significantly higher at the equatorial region of the epithelium compared with the anterior, even though the level of Na,K-ATPase protein is similar in the two regions. It is possible that nonuniform distribution of functional Na,K-ATPase activity contributes to the driving force for circulating solute movement through the lens fiber mass.
Investigators have demonstrated that Na,K-ATPase specific activity is not equally distributed throughout the lens, with fibers having lower specific activity than the epithelial monolayer.6 7 There are results indicating nonuniform sodium pump function, even within the lens epithelium. In the frog lens epithelial cells, patch-clamp measurement of the Na,K-ATPase-derived ouabain-sensitive electrical current suggested Na,K-ATPase activity could be higher in the equatorial epithelium than the anterior epithelium.8 More recently, using the considerably larger rabbit lens, Candia and Zamudio9 showed that ouabain-inhibitable current is entirely undetectable in the most central region of the lens epithelium. These investigators suggested that in the central 10% of the anterior surface, the Na,K-ATPase enzyme may be either inactive or absent. The present study was undertaken to measure and compare Na,K-ATPase enzyme activity in anterior and equatorial porcine lens epithelium and also to examine Na,K-ATPase protein expression in the two regions.
For the purpose of comparison, the activity of another P-type ATPase, plasma membrane Ca-ATPase (PMCA), was also examined in the anterior and equatorial lens epithelium. Bian et al.10 have shown that mRNA of all isoforms (PMCA types 14) is present in bovine lens epithelium, with PMCA3 being the most abundant. In contrast, Nabekura et al.11 found only PMCA1b mRNA in the rat lens epithelium. Nabekura et al. also analyzed material from the nuclear lens fibers but were unable to detect any PMCA mRNA. To our knowledge, there is no previous report on the regional expression of PMCA proteins within the lens epithelium.
| Materials and Methods |
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Samples of lens capsule-epithelium were obtained separately from the anterior and the periphery (equatorial region) of the lens surface. The anterior epithelium (50%60% of the anterior surface) was isolated by a curvilinear tear with the aid of surgical scissors. The remaining equatorial epithelium was then separated from the fibers. Anterior and equatorial epithelium samples were homogenized separately in ice-cold buffer containing (in mM) 150 sucrose, 5 HEPES, 4 EGTA, 0.8 dithiothreitol, and protease inhibitors (in µM) 2 antipain, 2 leupeptin, 1 pepstatin A, 1 phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), and 2 µg/mL aprotinin. Protein concentration was determined using the bicinchoninic acid assay (BCA; Pierce, Rockford, IL), and homogenates were used for Na,K-ATPase activity assay or Western blot analysis.
Measurement of Na,K-ATPase Activity
Na,K-ATPase activity was determined as described by Okafor et al.12 Briefly, lens epithelium homogenate was suspended at a final concentration of 0.25 µg protein/µL in buffer containing a final concentration of (in mM) 100 NaCl, 10 KCl, 3 MgCl2, 1 EGTA at pH 7.4 as well as alamethicin (10 µg/mL) added to permeabilize membrane and vesicles to ions and ATP.13 To half of the samples, ouabain was added at a final concentration of 1 mM. After a preincubation period of 5 minutes at 37°C, ATP was added to a final concentration of 1 mM. All tissue samples were subjected to identical ionic conditions and ATP concentration. ATP hydrolysis reaction was stopped after 45 minutes by the addition of ice-cold trichloroacetic acid. ATP hydrolysis was quantified by determining the amount of inorganic phosphate in each sample by using a colorimetric method based on the measurement of absorbance at 750 nm after the addition of 1% ammonium molybdate and 4% ferrous sulfate in 1.32 N hydrochloric acid. Na,K-ATPase activity was defined as the difference in ATP hydrolysis (inorganic phosphate release) measured in the presence and absence of ouabain.
Measurement of Plasma Membrane Ca-ATPase Activity
PMCA activity was determined as described by Dean et al.14 15 In this technique, ATP hydrolysis is coupled to reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) oxidation by pyruvate kinase, using phosphoenolpyruvate and lactate dehydrogenase. Samples of lens epithelium homogenate were centrifuged at 100,000g for 7 minutes to obtain crude membrane preparations. Fifty micrograms of crude membranes and 2 µL of supernatant (cytosolic component) was added to 200 µL of buffer containing (in mM) 20 HEPES, 130 NaCl, 10 MgCl2, 0.01 CaCl2, 1 ATP, and the coupled assay components, as well as 1 mM ouabain, 1.5 µM thapsigargin (a specific inhibitor of sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase) and 7.5 mM sodium azide (a mitochondrial inhibitor). The background rate of ATP hydrolysis was first measured under baseline conditions, and then 50 µg of membrane material was added to the reaction mixture and the rate measured again. Half the samples contained EGTA (5 mM) to chelate calcium. The ATP hydrolysis rate was determined by measuring the change of absorbance at 340 nm with a plate reader (Powerwave X; Bio-Tek instruments, Winooski, VT). PMCA activity was calculated as the difference between the ATP hydrolysis rate, with and without EGTA. The data are calculated as nanomoles phosphate released per milligram protein per minute.
Western Blot Analysis
Proteins in lens epithelium homogenates were solubilized in Laemmli16 buffer and separated by electrophoresis on a 7.5% SDS-polyacrylamide gel. After electrophoresis, proteins were transferred electrophoretically to a nitrocellulose membrane. Blocking of the nitrocellulose membrane for 1 hour with 5% nonfat dry milk in TTBS (30 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl, 0.5% [vol/vol] Tween-20 [pH 7.4]) was followed by a 1-hour incubation with the primary antibody. The antibodies used in this study were as follows: monoclonal anti-Na,K-ATPase
1 isoform (Sigma-Aldrich); polyclonal rabbit anti-Na,K-ATPase
2 and
3 isoforms (obtained from Thomas A. Pressley, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Lubbock, TX); monoclonal anti-ß-actin (Sigma-Aldrich); monoclonal anti-Na,K-ATPase ß1 isoform, anti-Na,K-ATPase ß2 isoform rabbit antiserum. and polyclonal rabbit anti-Na,K-ATPase ß3 isoform, a monoclonal anti-PMCA panspecific clone (5F10; Upstate Biotechnology, Lake Placid, NY); and polyclonal rabbit anti-PMCA1 to -3 isoforms and monoclonal anti-PMCA4 isoform clone JA9 (Affinity Bioreagents, Golden, CO). After five washes in TTBS for 5 minutes each, the nitrocellulose membrane was incubated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody for 1 hour. After three washes in TTBS for 5 minutes each, enhanced chemiluminescence substrate (Pierce) was applied for 1 minute to the nitrocellulose membrane, and the proteins were visualized by exposure to x-ray film.
Data Analysis
Students t-test was used for statistical analysis. P < 0.05 was considered significant.
| Results |
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1 subunit, the ubiquitously expressed Na,K-ATPase isoform.17 A dense
100-kDa band was observed in both the anterior and equatorial epithelium (Fig. 2a) . Although the activities from the two regions were different (Fig. 1) , the abundance of the catalytic
1 subunit was similar (Fig. 2a) . To confirm equal loading of proteins, the blots were stripped and reprobed for ß-actin, a housekeeping protein. As shown in Figure 2b , the abundance of ß-actin in the two regions of the lens epithelium was similar.
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45 kDa was observed in both the anterior and equatorial epithelia (Fig. 3) . A similar
45-kDa band was observed in brain, together with an
50-kDa band, which probably signifies a pool of ß1 protein with different glycosylation. Attempts to probe for the Na,K-ATPase ß2 and ß3 isoforms were not successful. The ß2 antibody produced numerous potentially spurious bands, whereas the ß3 antibody failed to cross-react (results not shown).
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2 and
3 could explain the observed difference in Na,K-ATPase activity between the anterior and equatorial epithelium. Isoform-specific polyclonal antibodies, anti-HERED for the Na,K-ATPase
2 isoform and anti-TED for the Na,K-ATPase
3 isoform, which has been shown to cross-react with several mammalian species,18 were used for this purpose. As shown in Figure 4 , Western blot using the anti-HERED and anti-TED antibodies revealed dense immunoreactive bands at
100 kDa in membrane material isolated from porcine optic nerve and brain but not from kidney medulla, which is known to express only
1.17 The findings confirm the Na,K-ATPase
2 and
3 isoform specificity and cross-reactivity of the antibodies with porcine material. Neither the anterior nor equatorial regions of lens epithelium revealed detectable Na,K-ATPase
2 or
3 bands.
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130 kDa when probed with the PMCA2 isoform-specific antibody (Fig. 6) . The same band was also observed in samples from the equatorial epithelium but with weaker intensity. In addition, two other PMCA2-immunoreactive bands were observed at 70 to 80 kDa and another band at
130 kDa. Distinct bands were detected in samples from both regions of the lens epithelium, by using the PMCA4 isoform-specific antibody (Fig. 6) . The major band observed in material from the equatorial region had a slightly higher molecular weight than that in the anterior region. On most occasions, the anterior epithelium also displayed a weak band aligning with the upper band from the equatorial region. The panspecific PMCA antibody detected the bands recognized by the PMCA4 antibody but not the PMCA2 antibody (Fig. 6) . This was confirmed by stripping a blot initially probed by the PMCA panspecific antibody and reprobing with either the PMCA2- or -4-specific antibody.
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| Discussion |
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In the frog lens, Gao et al.8 have demonstrated that differences in sodium pump current are the apparent result of differences in Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunit isoform distribution across the epithelium. Na,K-ATPase
2 isoform protein was detected at the anterior and
1 isoform protein at the equator. In the present study, we detected only the
1 isoform of the Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunit in the porcine lens epithelium. A noteworthy finding was that the abundance of the Na,K-ATPase
1 isoform was similar in the anterior and equatorial regions. Both regions also displayed robust expression of Na,K-ATPase ß1 subunit. The glycoprotein ß subunit is thought to be necessary for folding of the
, ß heterodimer and transport of the complex to the plasma membrane.23 Taken together, the results suggest that lower Na,K-ATPase activity in the anterior epithelium of the porcine lens is not the result of reduced Na,K-ATPase
and ß protein isoform expression.
Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunit expression by the lens epithelium appears to vary widely between species. Rat lens epithelium expresses three isoforms: Na,K-ATPase
1,
2, and
3.24 Bovine lens epithelium also expresses all three Na,K-ATPase isoforms at the equatorial region, but it does not have the
2 isoform in the anterior region.25 In contrast, the frog lens epithelium lacks the Na,K-ATPase
3 isoform and expresses mainly the Na,K-ATPase
2 isoform in the anterior region and Na,K-ATPase
1 isoform in the equatorial region.8 The present study confirms earlier reports that
1 is the only Na,K-ATPase isoform normally detectable in the porcine lens epithelium.26 27 However, it should be pointed out that Na,K-ATPase
2 protein can be expressed in the epithelium of porcine lenses subjected to culture under conditions that cause cytoplasmic sodium elevation.26 27
The anterior and equatorial epithelium express a similar abundance of Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunit yet have a different Na,K-ATPase-specific activity. The mechanisms underlying the observed difference in Na,K-ATPase activity in the two regions have yet to be identified. Various mechanisms such as oxidation28 29 or phosphorylation30 31 have been shown to modify Na,K-ATPase activity. A recent study by Cui et al.,32 using the human lens epithelial cell line B3, suggested Na,K-ATPase activity may be influenced by the turnover of Na,K-ATPase protein. There could be a difference in protein turnover rate between the two regions. Epithelial cell function at the anterior and the equator is different in numerous respects including the ability to proliferate, differentiate, and migrate.33 34 There are also regional differences in receptor expression and function.35 36
A number of mechanisms including PMCA, sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPases, mitochondria, sodium calcium exchangers, and calcium channels contribute to cytoplasmic calcium regulation.37 In this study, we focused on PMCA, which, together with the sodium calcium exchangers, is responsible for transporting calcium outward across the plasma membrane.38 Unlike Na,K-ATPase activity, PMCA activity was not significantly different between the anterior and equatorial regions of the epithelium. The results indicate the presence of PMCA2 and -4 isoforms in the porcine lens epithelium. Dense
130-kDa PMCA2 bands were observed in both the anterior and equatorial epithelium. PMCA2-immunoreactive bands at 70 to 80 kDa, which could represent proteolytic fragments, were observed only in the equator. The bands detected using the panspecific monoclonal antibody 5F10, which cross-reacts with all isoforms,39 colocalized with the PMCA4 band but not the PMCA2 band. PMCA4, which is found in most adult cells,38 was more abundant at the equator than the center of the epithelium. Moreover, the PMCA4 band in the anterior region had a lower molecular weight by approximately 15 kDa than did the major band in the equatorial region. This could be due to the cleavage of the isoform by calpain, as reported by James et al.40
In summary, the results of this study clearly demonstrate a nonuniform distribution of Na,K-ATPase activity within the lens epithelium, with equator having significantly higher activity than the anterior lens epithelium. Na,K-ATPase activity which is high at the lens equator may contribute to the driving force for circulating ionic currents that flow outward at the equator and inward at the anterior and posterior poles.41 Although the mechanism underlying the difference in Na,K-ATPase activity is not clear, it does not appear to be due to differences in Na,K-ATPase protein levels or differences in the pattern of Na,K-ATPase isoform expression. In contrast, the PMCA activity was not significantly different between the two regions.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication March 20, 2003; revised May 21, 2003; accepted June 2, 2003.
Disclosure: S. Tamiya, None; W.L. Dean, None; C.A. Paterson, None; N.A. Delamere, None;
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Nicholas A. Delamere, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202; delamere{at}louisville.edu.
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