title: Cadmium uptake by cells of renal origin.
abstract: We compared the ability of rat glomerular mesangial cells and LLC-PK1 cells to take up Cd2+ from solution. The former are smooth muscle-like cells of mesenchymal origin, the latter an established line of proximal tubular epithelium. Both cells, as well as primary glomerular epithelia, accumulated Cd2+ against a concentration gradient in a time-dependent manner. Uptake by mesangial cells obeyed a Michaelis model with an apparent Km of 19 microM and could be described by an initial rapid step of surface binding followed by rate-limiting internalization. In contrast, uptake by LLC-PK1 cells was non-saturable under accessible concentrations of Cd2+ and internalization was not a necessary consequence of association with the cell surface. In several other cell types, Cd2+ uptake has been shown to be inhibited by blockage of cell-surface sulfhydryl groups. In contrast, uptake by neither mesangial nor LLC-PK1 cells was depressed by N-ethylmaleimide, which actually enhanced the surface binding and to a lesser extent the uptake by the LLC-PK1 cell line. Neither depended on metabolic energy for uptake or utilized Ca2+ channels. The internalization process was temperature dependent and was obliterated at 2 degrees C. In mesangial cells, this allowed direct observation of the internalization event from a presaturated surface pool. The rate of this process was consistent with the Vmax calculated from the Michaelis model. Surface binding and uptake were decreased by binding of Cd2+ to serum proteins and albumin and were much less dependent on the presence of low molecular weight components of serum. Therefore, these cells may be especially sensitive to Cd2+ at concentrations encountered in vivo because of the low protein content of the plasma ultrafiltrate. Surface binding of Cd2+ to mesangial cells was suppressed by competing divalent ions following the order of the Irving-Williams series (Mn less than Co less than Ni less than Cu greater than Zn), although Zn2+ showed the greatest effect on internalization. In LLC-PK1 cells, Zn2+ and Cu2+ were both effective in decreasing Cd2+ uptake. We conclude that Cd2+ uptake by the tubular epithelial cells is rapid and independent of specific cell surface interactions, whereas uptake by rat mesangial cells follows binding to a specific surface ligand saturating at about 1.5 x 10(7) copies/cell. In both types of cells the uptake appears quite specific for Cd2+ and shows some cross-reactivity with other metal cations explicable by competitive ligand binding.
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Banting Institute, Canada.
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Templeton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D005033:Ethylmaleimide / Q000494:pharmacology; D005920:Glomerular Mesangium / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D002104:Cadmium; D005033:Ethylmaleimide; D002118:Calcium