title: Regulation of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration in the outer segments of bovine retinal rods by Na-Ca-K exchange measured with fluo-3. II. Thermodynamic competence of transmembrane Na+ and K+ gradients and inactivation of Na(+)-dependent Ca2+ extrusion.
abstract: Regulation of cytosolic free Ca2+ in the physiologically relevant submicromolar range was measured in isolated intact bovine rod outer segments (ROS) with the intracellular Ca(2+)-indicating dye fluo-3. Changes in free Ca2+ were compared with changes in total Ca2+ measured with 45Ca fluxes and a good qualitative correlation was observed. Ca2+ homeostasis in isolated bovine ROS was exclusively mediated via the Na-Ca-K exchanger. Free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration was lowered by an increase in the inward Na+ gradient, was raised by an increase in external K+, and was raised by depolarization of the plasma membrane. The simplest stoichiometry consistent with these qualitative observations is 4Na:(1Ca + 1K). The individual K:Ca, Na:Ca, and K:Na coupling ratios were deduced from quantitative changes in cytosolic free Ca2+ upon changes in the transmembrane Na+ and K+ gradients. The observed changes in free Ca2+ did not agree with changes in free Ca2+ calculated on the basis of the above fixed stoichiometry which may reflect the flexibility in the Ca:K coupling ratio observed before in flux experiments (Schnetkamp, P. P. M., Szerencsei, R. T., and Basu, D. K. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 198-206). The most dramatic discrepancy was observed for the Na:Ca coupling ratio: the expected very large changes in cytosolic free Ca2+ upon changes in the transmembrane Na+ gradient were not observed. Rapid Na(+)-induced Ca2+ extrusion was unable to lower cytosolic free Ca2+ below 100 nM, even under nonequilibrium conditions and despite the observation that Ca2+ influx via reverse Na-Ca-K exchange readily occurred at a free external Ca2+ concentration of 20 nM. We conclude that the Na(+)-dependent extrusion mode of the Na-Ca-K exchanger occurs in a brief (20-s) burst of high maximal velocity transport followed by a nearly complete inactivation of transport. The importance of our findings for Ca2+ homeostasis in functioning rod photoreceptors is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Schnetkamp
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.forename: X B
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Szerencsei
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007474:Ion Exchange; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000378:metabolism*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014966:Xanthenes
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D014966:Xanthenes; C059715:Fluo-3; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium; D002118:Calcium