Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M J Welsh

Publications and source records attributed to M J Welsh.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Evidence that Ca2(+)-dependent activation of airway epithelia Cl- channels is not dependent on phosphorylation.

Previous studies have shown that an increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]c) activates Cl- channels in airway epithelia but that the effect is indirect. Because adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) activate Cl- channels via phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C, respectively, we asked whether Ca2(+)-dependent Cl- channel activation is phosphorylation dependent. We measured 125I- efflux as an assay of Cl- channel activation in the intact cell. We found that depletion of cellular ATP prevented cAMP- and PMA-induced activation but did not alter activation produced by the Ca2+ ionophore A23187. Moreover, addition of high concentrations of staurosporine (5 microM), to nonspecifically inhibit kinase activity, blocked cAMP- and PMA-stimulated 125I- efflux but had no effect on A23187-induced efflux. These results suggest that elevation of [Ca2+]c does not activate Cl- channels via phosphorylation.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1990

Beta-adrenergic-mediated Cl secretion: evidence for additional non-cAMP-dependent pathway of effect.

It has been suggested that beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity, like pindolol, are weak partial agonists for beta-adrenergic-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activation. To evaluate this possibility, beta-adrenergic-mediated chloride secretion was studied in tracheal epithelial cells maintained in primary culture. Pindolol caused a dose-dependent increase in chloride secretion with a half-maximal effective concentration of 91 pM to a maximum that was 30 +/- 3% that of isoproterenol. Pindolol-induced chloride secretion was antagonized by the beta-adrenergic antagonist nadolol. However, in contrast to isoproterenol, pindolol did not stimulate adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation, adenylyl cyclase activity, or protein kinase A activation. Further studies examined the coupling of beta-adrenergic stimulation of cAMP accumulation to beta-adrenergic stimulation of chloride secretion. Coincubation of cells with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor RA233 increased maximal isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP accumulation eightfold but did not significantly increase the potency or maximal effect of isoproterenol for chloride secretion. It is clear that beta-adrenergic-stimulated elevations in cAMP mediate chloride secretion. These studies also demonstrate that pindolol, a drug with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity, mediates a beta-adrenergic receptor-specific increase in chloride secretion without increasing adenylyl cyclase nor protein kinase A activities. Thus intrinsic sympathomimetic activity may represent a non-cAMP-dependent mechanism of beta-adrenergic effect.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1990

Expression of normal and cystic fibrosis phenotypes by continuous airway epithelial cell lines.

Continuous epithelial cell lines from individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and normal controls are required to understand the genetic and cellular defects in CF. We used retroviruses to transduce SV40 large T antigen into nasal epithelial cells. Transformed continuous cell lines were isolated that expressed epithelial markers, cytokeratin, and tight junctions. Northern blot analysis shows that all of the cell lines express the putative CF gene mRNA. Studies of transepithelial electrolyte transport show that CF and normal cell lines develop a transepithelial electrical resistance. Normal but not CF cell lines secreted Cl- in response to agonists that increase cellular levels of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) (isoproterenol, forskolin, and a membrane-permeant analogue of cAMP) or in response to a tumor-promoting phorbol ester that activates protein kinase C. In contrast, the Ca2(+)-elevating agonist bradykinin and the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 stimulated secretion in both normal and CF cell lines. The continuous cell lines we have produced maintain their proper phenotypes and will serve as useful tools in understanding the pathophysiology of CF.

Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming↗
PubMed1990

Voltage-dependent and Ca2(+)-activated ion channels in human neutrophils.

To investigate the regulation of membrane voltage and transmembrane ion fluxes in human neutrophils, we studied plasma membrane currents using the whole-cell patch-clamp method. We observed three distinct ion channel currents: (a) a voltage-dependent K+ current, (b) a Ca2(+)-activated K+ current, and (c) a Ca2(+)-activated Cl- current. The voltage-dependent K+ current was found in cells at rest. Its conductive properties suggested an inwardly rectifying channel. The channel was activated at membrane potentials more positive than -60 mV, suggesting that it may determine the resting membrane potential of neutrophils. Activation of neutrophils by the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin led to an increase in whole-cell K+ and Cl- currents. The Ca2(+)-activated K+ channel differed from the voltage-dependent K+ channel because it was insensitive to voltage, because it rectified outwardly, and because the voltage-sensitive K+ channel was Ca2(+)-independent. The Ca2(+)-activated Cl- channel showed outward rectification and no apparent voltage dependency. The Ca2(+)-activated K+ and Cl- channels may play a role in cell volume homeostasis and/or cellular activation.

Calcium↗
PubMed1989

Interaction of the glucocorticoid receptor with the Mr 90,000 heat shock protein: an evolving model of ligand-mediated receptor transformation and translocation.

Reports from several laboratories support a model for glucocorticoid receptor (GR) transformation in cytosol in which a heteromeric 9S complex of GR and the Mr 90,000 heat shock protein undergo a temperature-dependent and hormone-promoted dissociation to yield the free DNA-binding form of the receptor. In this paper, we review evidence that the 9S heteromeric complex is derived from the normal inactive state of the receptor in the intact cell and that both Mr 90,000 heat shock protein and the untransformed GR localize by immunofluorescence with specific monoclonal antibodies to microtubules in a variety of cell types in culture. We propose that an association with cytoskeleton may be required for translocating the GR from its cytoplasmic site of synthesis to its nuclear site of action and that the 9S complex is derived from this cytoskeleton-associated form. Similar molybdate-stabilized 9S complexes can be obtained for all of the steroid receptors, several of which clearly are localized to the nucleus prior to exposure to hormone. These receptors may have moved to the terminus of the translocation pathway where they remain in a cytoskeleton-bound "docking" position. We speculate that, in the intact cell, ligand-dependent dissociation of Mr 90,000 heat shock protein permits the steroid receptors to progress by some ordered mechanism to their high affinity sites of action within the nucleus.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Calmodulin is associated with microtubules forming in PTK1 cells upon release from nocodazole treatment.

To investigate the association of calmodulin (CaM) with microtubules (MTs) in the mitotic apparatus (MA), the distributions of CaM and tubulin were examined in cells in which the normal spindle organization had been altered. A fluorescent CaM conjugate with tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate (CaM-TRITC) and a dichlorotriazinyl aminofluorescein conjugate with tubulin (tubulin-DTAF) were injected into cells that had been treated with the MT inhibitor nocodazole. With moderate nocodazole concentration (0.3 micrograms/ml, 37 degrees C, 4 h) in live cells, CaM-TRITC and tubulin-DTAF concentrated identically on or near the centrosomes and kinetochores. In serial sections of these cells, small MT segments were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in the regions where fluorescent protein had concentrated. When a higher drug concentration was used (3.0 micrograms/ml, 37 degrees C, 4 h), no regions of CaM-TRITC or tubulin-DTAF localization were observed, and no MTs were observed when serial sections were examined by TEM. However, following release from the high-concentration nocodazole block, CaM-TRITC colocalized with newly formed MTs at the kinetochores and centrosomes. Later in the recovery period, when chromosome-to-pole fibers had formed, CaM association with kinetochores diminished, ultimately attaining its normal pole-proximal association with kinetochore MTs in cells that progressed through mitosis. We interpret these observations as supporting the hypothesis that in the MA, CaM attains a physical association with kinetochore MTs and suggest that CaM-associated MTs may be inherently more stable.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Identification and regulation of whole-cell chloride currents in airway epithelium.

We used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique to study membrane currents in human airway epithelial cells. The conductive properties, as described by the instantaneous current-voltage relationship, rectified in the outward direction when bathed in symmetrical CsCl solutions. In the presence of Cl concentration gradients, currents reversed near ECl and were not altered significantly by cations. Agents that inhibit the apical membrane Cl conductance inhibited Cl currents. These conductive properties are similar to the conductive properties of the apical membrane Cl channel studied with the single-channel patch-clamp technique. The results suggest that the outwardly rectifying Cl channel is the predominant Cl-conductive pathway in the cell membrane. The steady-state and non-steady-state kinetics indicate that current flows through ion channels that are open at hyperpolarizing voltages and close with depolarization. These Cl currents were regulated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase: when the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase was included in the pipette solution, Cl channel current more than doubled. We also found that reducing extracellular osmolarity by 30% increased Cl current, suggesting that cell-swelling stimulated Cl current. Studies of transepithelial Cl transport in cell monolayers suggest that a reduction in solution osmolarity activates the apical Cl channel: reducing extracellular osmolarity stimulated a short-circuit current that was inhibited by Cl-free solution, by mucosal addition of a Cl channel antagonist, and by submucosal addition of a loop diuretic. These results suggest that apical membrane Cl channels may be regulated by cell volume and by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

Chlorides↗
PubMed1989

Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of apical membrane chloride channels in normal and cystic fibrosis airway epithelium.

The observations described herein allow us to make several inferences about PKC and regulation of normal and CF Cl- channels. FIGURE 5 shows a model that summarizes these observations. In this model, for the sake of clarity, we refer to the channel as a single entity, but note that it may consist of multiple subunits and associated proteins. FIGURE 5A shows the channel in an inactivated state following excision from the cell. The channel can be activated by strong membrane depolarization, via an unknown mechanism, or by phosphorylation with PKA or PKC at a low [Ca2+] We speculate that PKA and PKC may phosphorylate and activate the channel at the same site, or region of the channel, because phosphorylation-dependent activation by both is defective in CF. This result suggests that the CF defect might lie in a defective phosphorylation site on the channel, or associated protein, or in the mechanism that converts phosphorylation into a change in channel conformation, such as activation. Activated channels can be inactivated by PKC at a high [Ca2+]. At high [Ca2+], PKC maintains the channel in an inactivated state and it inactivates channels that have been activated by PKC at low [Ca2+], by depolarization, or by PKA. Both activation and inactivation appear to result from phosphorylation; neither can be explained by down-regulation of the channel. There are several possible ways to explain the two opposite effects of PKC on the Cl- channel: different responses may be due to an effect of Ca2+ on the channel, on PKC, or on the interaction between the two.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bronchi↗
PubMed1989

Release of intracellular calcium by two different second messengers in airway epithelium.

To better understand regulation of Cl- secretion by airway epithelia, we measured the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) using the Ca2+ indicator fura-2 and a fluorescent microscope imaging system. We examined receptor-mediated changes in [Ca2+]c in response to two Cl- secretagogues: the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol and the peptide hormone bradykinin. Isoproterenol increased cell adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels but did not alter cellular accumulation of inositol phosphates. Bradykinin stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation but, in the presence of indomethacin, did not alter cAMP levels. Despite the difference in second messenger pathways, both bradykinin and isoproterenol transiently increased [Ca2+]c. Bradykinin stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation and increased [Ca2+]c with similar potencies, suggesting that bradykinin elevated [Ca2+]c by stimulating inositol phosphate production. The response to isoproterenol was inhibited by a beta-adrenergic antagonist, but not an alpha-adrenergic antagonist, and was mimicked by a membrane permeant analogue of cAMP. Isoproterenol also increased [Ca2+]c and cAMP at similar potencies. These results suggest that isoproterenol increased [Ca2+]c via cAMP. Both agonists increased [Ca2+]c when the extracellular [Ca2+] was reduced, suggesting that they release Ca2+ from intracellular stores. The ability of cAMP to increase [Ca2+]c suggests a mechanism by which cAMP- and Ca2+-activated membrane transport processes can be regulated in a coordinating manner.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1989

Adrenergic stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation in tracheal epithelium.

To determine whether inositol phosphates are important second messengers in the regulation of Cl- secretion by airway epithelia, we examined the relationship between inositol phosphate accumulation and Cl- secretion in response to adrenergic agonists. We found that epinephrine stimulated Cl- secretion and inositol phosphate accumulation with similar concentration dependence. Although isoproterenol stimulated Cl- secretion, there was no effect of beta-adrenergic receptor activation on inositol phosphate accumulation. In contrast, alpha 1-adrenergic receptor activation stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation but failed to induce Cl- secretion. Another Cl- secretagogue, prostaglandin E1, also failed to stimulate inositol phosphate accumulation. These data suggest that inositol phosphate accumulation is neither sufficient nor required for stimulation of Cl- secretion in cultured canine tracheal epithelial cells.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed1989

Activation of normal and cystic fibrosis Cl- channels by voltage, temperature, and trypsin.

In cystic fibrosis (CF) phosphorylation-dependent activation of outwardly rectifying apical membrane Cl- channels is defective. To further understand regulation of this channel we examined several other mechanisms of channel activation in normal and CF cells. Previous studies have shown that strong membrane depolarization can activate channels in excised cell-free membrane patches. Here we show that such activation is dependent on both the absolute membrane voltage and the duration of depolarization. Moreover, activation was reversible by membrane hyperpolarization. In some cases, excising patches of membrane from the cell caused channel activation, even in the absence of depolarization. However, the frequency of channel activation with patch excision increased when bath temperature was increased from 23 to 37 degrees C. Although the channel remained in the activated state when temperature was reduced to 23 degrees C, subsequent hyperpolarization inactivated the channel. In cell-attached patches, neither depolarization nor increasing bath temperature to 37 degrees C activated channels, suggesting that neither is physiologically important in regulation of the channel. Thus changes in membrane voltage and bath temperature appear to cause a nonenzymatic change in the channel's conformation; the interactions between voltage and temperature suggest that they may affect the same process. To determine if a proteolytic alteration of the channel could also cause activation, we added trypsin to the cytosolic surface of excised membrane patches. Trypsin activated channels, which could not then be inactivated by either hyperpolarization or phosphorylation with PKC, suggesting that trypsin removed or altered a region of the channel involved in inactivation. All of these interventions activated Cl- channels from both normal and CF cells. Thus many aspects of Cl- channel activation are normal in CF; only phosphorylation-dependent activation is defective.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Immunofluorescence colocalization of the 90-kDa heat-shock protein and microtubules in interphase and mitotic mammalian cells.

A mouse monoclonal antibody (AC88) that was raised against the 88-kDa heat-shock protein of the water mold, Achlya ambisexualis, and that cross-reacts with the 90-kDa mammalian heat-shock protein (hsp90), and an antibody against tubulin were used to localize hsp90 and microtubules, respectively, in the same cultured rat endothelial and PtK1 epithelial cells by indirect immunofluorescence. AC88 and tubulin antibodies labeled the same structures in cells at all stages of the cell cycle, regardless of whether cells were permeabilized before or after fixation. Labeling of cell structures by both AC88 and anti-tubulin antibodies was identically affected by treating cells with colcemid. Double labeling with AC88 and anti-tubulin antibodies in interphase and mitotic cells is consistent with the conclusion that all microtubules are labeled and that no subclass of microtubules is preferentially labeled. Fluorescent labeling by AC88 was prevented by preabsorption of the antibody with purified rat hsp90 but was unaffected by preabsorption with purified 6S tubulin dimer. In contrast to AC88, fluorescent labeling by an anti-tubulin antibody was prevented by preabsorption with tubulin dimer but was unaffected by preabsorption with rat hsp90. Western-blot analysis demonstrated no cross-reactivity of AC88 for tubulin and no cross-reactivity of the anti-tubulin antibody for hsp90. A polyclonal antiserum fraction from a rabbit immunized with the 89-kDa heat-shock protein from chicken also labeled the mitotic apparatus in dividing cells and, somewhat less distinctly, fibrous structures in interphase cells. Labeling by hsp89 anti-serum was prevented by absorption with hsp90. AC88 also labeled microtubules in cultured mouse (L929 and 3T3), rat (endothelium and TRST), hamster (CHO) and primate (BSC, COS-1 and HeLa) cell lines. The demonstration of colocalization of hsp90 with microtubules should provide a valuable clue to eventual understanding of the cellular function of this ubiquitous, conserved and abundant stress-response protein.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Inositol trisphosphate isomers, but not inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate, induce calcium influx in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

To investigate the mechanisms by which inositol phosphates regulate cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c), we injected Xenopus oocytes with inositol phosphates and measured Ca2+-activated Cl- currents as an assay of [Ca2+]c. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) injection (0.1-10.0 pmol) induced an initial transient Cl- current (I1) followed by a second more prolonged Cl- current (I2). Both currents were Ca2+-dependent, but the source of Ca2+ was different. Release of intracellular Ca2+ stores produced I1, whereas influx of extracellular Ca2+ produced I2; Ca2+-free bathing media and inorganic calcium channel blockers (Mn2+, Co2+) did not alter I1 but completely and reversibly inhibited I2. Injection of the Ins(1,4,5)P3 metabolite, inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4,5)P4) (0.2-10.0 pmol) generated a Ca2+-dependent Cl- current with superimposed current oscillations that resulted from release of intracellular Ca2+, not Ca2+ influx. Injection of the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 metabolite, inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate (10.0 pmol), or the synthetic inositol trisphosphate isomer, inositol 2,4,5-trisphosphate (1.0-10.0 pmol), mimicked the effect of Ins(1,4,5)P3, stimulating an I1 resulting from release of intracellular Ca2+ and an I2 resulting from influx of extracellular Ca2+. The results indicate that several inositol trisphosphate isomers stimulate both release of intracellular Ca2+ and influx of extracellular Ca2+. Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 also stimulated release of intracellular Ca2+, but it was neither sufficient nor required for Ca2+ influx.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase opens chloride channels in normal but not cystic fibrosis airway epithelium.

Chloride (Cl-) secretion by the airway epithelium regulates, in part, the quantity and composition of the respiratory tract fluid, thereby facilitating mucociliary clearance. The rate of Cl- secretion is controlled by apical membrane Cl- channels. Apical Cl- channels are opened and Cl- secretion is stimulated by a variety of hormones and neurotransmitters that increase intracellular levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP). In cystic fibrosis (CF), a common lethal genetic disease of Caucasians, airway, sweat-gland duct, secretory-coil and possibly other epithelia are anion impermeable. This abnormality may explain several of the clinical manifestations of the disease. The Cl- impermeability in CF-airway epithelia has been localized to the apical cell membrane, where regulation of Cl- channels is abnormal: hormonal secretagogues stimulate cAMP accumulation appropriately but Cl- channels fail to open. Here we report that the purified catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase plus ATP opens Cl- channels in excised, cell-free patches of membrane from normal cells, but fails to open Cl- channels in CF cells. These results indicate that in normal cells, the cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylates the Cl- channel or an associated regulatory protein, causing the channel to open. The failure of CF Cl- channels to open suggests a defect either in the channel or in such an associated regulatory protein.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

Dynamics of a fluorescent calmodulin analog in the mammalian mitotic spindle at metaphase.

We have compared the exchange kinetics of fluorescein-labeled calmodulin and tubulin in the spindles of living mitotic cells at metaphase. Cultured mammalian cells in early stages of mitosis were microinjected with labeled calmodulin or tubulin and returned to an incubator to allow equilibration of the fluorescent protein with the endogenous protein pools. Calmodulin becomes concentrated in the mitotic spindle, and treatments with inhibitors of tubulin assembly show that this concentration is dependent on the presence of microtubules. The steady-state exchange rates of both tubulin and calmodulin were measured by an analysis of fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP), using cells pre-equilibrated to either 26 +/- 2 degrees C or 36 +/- 2 degrees C. A pulse of laser light focused to a 5-microns diameter column was used to destroy the fluorescence at one pole of a metaphase mitotic spindle. Ratios of fluorescence intensity from the two half-spindles and from the two polar regions were calculated for each image in a post-bleach time series to determine the rates and extents of FRAP. For tubulin, we confirm earlier observations concerning the temperature dependence of the extent of FRAP, but our data do not show a significant temperature dependence for the rate of FRAP. We hypothesize that the reduced extent of tubulin FRAP at the lower temperatures is a result of microtubules that are stable to depolymerization at 26 degrees C and are thus less likely to exchange subunits. Calmodulin's FRAP, however, does not exhibit any of the temperature dependence observed with fluorescent tubulin. At 26 +/- 2 degrees C calmodulin exchanges rapidly with the relatively stable population of microtubules, suggesting that calmodulin is bound, either directly or indirectly, to microtubule walls.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1988

Spectrin and calmodulin in spreading mouse blastomeres.

The role of spectrin and its association with calmodulin in spreading mouse blastomeres was investigated. Embryonic spectrin binds 125I-calmodulin in a calcium-dependent fashion in the blot overlay technique. Double-labeling experiments show coordinate redistribution of spectrin and calmodulin in blastomeres preparing to undergo active spreading movement. At this stage cortical spectrin staining is lost from the region of cell-substrate contact and spectrin and calmodulin become concentrated in two structures closely associated with the contacted region: a group of spherical bodies located on the cytoplasmic side of the cortical layer and a subcortical ring that marks the perimeter of the contacted region. The localization pattern of spectrin and calmodulin is also coordinated with that of actin and myosin. The results suggest that spectrin plays a role in the spreading of blastomeres and that this function may involve linkage of spectrin, calmodulin, and the cortical contractile apparatus.

Actins↗
PubMed1988

Characterization of human tracheal epithelial cells transformed by an origin-defective simian virus 40.

To facilitate understanding of the mechanisms underlying pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer and cystic fibrosis, we have transformed and characterized cultures of human tracheal epithelial cells. Cells were transfected by calcium phosphate precipitation with a plasmid containing a replication-defective simian virus 40 (SV40) genome. Colonies of cells with enhanced growth potential were isolated and analyzed for transformation- and epithelial-specific characteristics. Precrisis cells were observed to express the SV40 large tumor antigen, produce cytokeratins, have microvilli, and form tight junctions. After crisis, cells continued to express the SV40 large tumor antigen as well as epithelial-specific cytokeratins and to display the apical membrane microvilli. Apical membrane Cl channels were opened in postcrisis cells exposed to 50 microM forskolin. These channels showed electrical properties similar to those observed in primary cultures. The postcrisis cells have been in culture for greater than 250 generations and are potentially "immortal." In addition to providing a useful in vitro model for the study of ion transport by human airway epithelial cells, the cells can be used to examine stages of neoplastic progression.

Cell Line, Transformed↗