title: Bicarbonate transport mechanisms in rabbit ciliary body epithelium.
abstract: Sections of whole ciliary body dissected from Dutch belted rabbits were incubated with the cell entrappable pH probe BCECEF-AM. This led to a highly specific localization of epifluorescence emission at the exposed, non-pigmented cell layer (npe) of the dual layered epithelium that covers this organ. The BCECF-loaded tissue sections were superfused in a flow-through chamber and the intracellular pH (pHi) of small groups (10-20) of cells was derived from the ratio of the emission intensities derived from excitations at 490 and 440 nm. In CO2/HCO3- Ringer's, npe pHi = 7.09 +/- 0.11. Replacement of CO2/HCO3- by Hepes increased pHi by 0.22 +/- 0.02, indicating alkali secretory activity under the bicarbonate-rich conditions. Replacement of Cl- by gluconate elicited a rapid, 0.6-U increase in pHi. This effect exhibited little dependence on Na+ and was inhibited by 0.5 mM dihydro-4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene -2,2'-disulfonate (H2DIDS). These results indicate the presence of an electroneutral Cl-/base exchange activity. Elevation of [K-] (by partial replacement of Na+) also elicited increases in pHi. In Cl(-)-free media pHi reached 7.8-8.0, a condition under which intracellular [HCO3-] is at least twice as high as its extracellular value. This effect did not occur in the absence of Na+. The Na(+)-dependent high [K+]-induced pHi increase was inhibited by H2DIDS. The effects of Ba2+ on pHi, alone and in combination with high [K+], as well as that of full K+ removal, suggested that the link between high [K+] and pHi increase was mainly due to the effect of cell depolarization on an electronegative Na+ dependent HCO3- transporter. Under normal physiological conditions, the two acid/base transport systems are the main determinants of npe pHi.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wolosin
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bonanno
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hanzel
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Machen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D002138:Calibration; D002713:Chlorine / Q000378:metabolism; D002924:Ciliary Body / Q000378:metabolism*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D005452:Fluoresceins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015590:Fluorophotometry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D012964:Sodium / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001639:Bicarbonates; D005452:Fluoresceins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; C057433:2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein acetoxymethyl ester; D002713:Chlorine; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium