title: Cell swelling and a nonselective cation channel regulated by internal Ca2+ and ATP in native reactive astrocytes from adult rat brain.
abstract: Hypoxia-ischemia and ATP depletion are associated with glial swelling and blebbing, but mechanisms involved in these effects remain incompletely characterized. We examined morphological and electrophysiological responses of freshly isolated native reactive astrocytes (NRAs) after exposure to NaN(3), which depletes cellular ATP. Here we report that NaN(3) caused profound and sustained depolarization attributable to activation of a novel 35 pS Ca(2+)-activated, [ATP](i)-sensitive nonselective cation (NC(Ca-ATP)) channel, found in >90% of excised membrane patches. The channel was impermeable to Cl(-), was nearly equally permeable to monovalent cations, with permeabilities relative to K(+) being P(Cs)+/P(K)+(1.06) approximately P(Na)+/P(K)+(1.04) approximately P(Rb)+/P(K)+(1.02) approximately P(Li)+/P(K)+(0.96), and was essentially impermeable to Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) (P(Ca)2+/P(K)+ approximately P(Mg)2+/P(K)+ < 0.001), with intracellular Mg(2+) (100 microm to 1 mm) causing inward rectification. Pore radius, estimated by fitting relative permeabilities of organic cations to the Renkin equation, was 0.41 nm. This channel exhibited significantly different properties compared with previously reported NC(Ca-ATP) channels, including different sensitivity to block by various adenine nucleotides (EC(50) of 0.79 microm for [ATP](i), with no block by AMP or ADP), and activation by submicromolar [Ca](i). The apparent dissociation constant for Ca(2+) was voltage dependent (0.12, 0.31, and 1.5 microm at -40, -80, and -120 mV, respectively), with a Hill coefficient of 1.5. Channel opening by [ATP](i) depletion was accompanied by and appeared to precede blebbing of the cell membrane, suggesting participation of this channel in cation flux involved in cell swelling. We conclude that NRAs from adult rat brain express a 35 pS NC(Ca-ATP) channel that may play an important role in the pathogenesis of brain swelling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Simard
mesh_terms: D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000249:Adenosine Monophosphate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002414:Cations, Monovalent / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002469:Cell Separation; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D017136:Ion Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019810:Sodium Azide / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D002414:Cations, Monovalent; D007473:Ion Channels; D000249:Adenosine Monophosphate; D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D019810:Sodium Azide; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium