Developmentally regulated cell cycle dependence of swelling-activated anion channel activity in the mouse embryo

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (18) ◽  
pp. 3427-3434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marika Kolajova ◽  
Mary-Anne Hammer ◽  
Jennifer L. Collins ◽  
Jay M. Baltz

Anion channels activated by increased cell volume are a nearly ubiquitous mechanism of cell volume regulation, including in early preimplantation mouse embryos. Here, we show that the swelling-activated anion current (ICl,swell) in early mouse embryos is cell-cycle dependent, and also that this dependence is developmentally regulated. ICl,swell is present both in first meiotic prophase (germinal vesicle stage) mouse oocytes and in unfertilized mature oocytes in second meiotic metaphase, and it persists after fertilization though the 1-cell and 2-cell stages. ICl,swell was found to remain unchanged during metaphase at the end of the 1-cell stage. However, ICl,swell decreased during prophase and became nearly undetectable upon entry into metaphase at the end of the 2-cell stage. Entry into prophase/metaphase was required for the decrease in ICl,swell at the end of the 2-cell stage, since it persisted indefinitely in 2-cell embryos arrested in late G2. There is considerable evidence that the channel underlying ICl,swell is not only permeable to inorganic anions, but to organic osmolytes as well. We found a similar pattern of cell cycle and developmental dependence in the 1-cell and 2-cell stages for the swelling-induced increase in permeability to the organic osmolyte glycine. Thus, entry into metaphase deactivates ICl,swell in embryos, but only after developmental progression through the 2-cell stage.

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (3) ◽  
pp. C624-C635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Falin ◽  
Hiroaki Miyazaki ◽  
Kevin Strange

Mammalian Ste20-like proline/alanine-rich kinase (SPAK) and oxidative stress-responsive 1 (OSR1) kinases phosphorylate and regulate cation-coupled Cl− cotransporter activity in response to cell volume changes. SPAK and OSR1 are activated via phosphorylation by upstream with-no-lysine (WNK) kinases. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the SPAK/OSR1 ortholog germinal center kinase (GCK)-3 binds to and regulates the activity of the cell volume- and meiotic cell cycle-dependent ClC anion channel CLH-3b. We tested the hypothesis that WNK kinases function in the GCK-3/CLH-3b signaling cascade. CLH-3b heterologously expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells was unaffected by coexpression with the single C. elegans WNK kinase, WNK-1, or kinase-dead WNK-1 dominant-negative mutants. RNA interference (RNAi) knockdown of the single Drosophila WNK kinase had no effect on the activity of CLH-3b expressed in Drosophila S2 cells. Similarly, RNAi silencing of C. elegans WNK-1 had no effect on basal or cell volume-sensitive activity of CLH-3b expressed endogenously in worm oocytes. Previous yeast 2-hybrid studies suggested that ERK kinases may function upstream of GCK-3. Pharmacological inhibition of ERK signaling disrupted CLH-3b activity in HEK cells in a GCK-3-dependent manner. RNAi silencing of the C. elegans ERK kinase MPK-1 or the ERK phosphorylating/activating kinase MEK-2 constitutively activated native CLH-3b. MEK-2 and MPK-1 play important roles in regulating the meiotic cell cycle in C. elegans oocytes. Cell cycle-dependent changes in MPK-1 correlate with the pattern of CLH-3b activation observed during oocyte meiotic maturation. We postulate that MEK-2/MPK-1 functions upstream from GCK-3 to regulate its activity during cell volume and meiotic cell cycle changes.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-173
Author(s):  
T Wang ◽  
C D Allis

In this report, we have demonstrated for the first time that an abundant high-mobility-group (HMG)-like protein, HMG B, previously thought to be specific to macronuclei in Tetrahymena thermophila, is also present in micronuclei. Biochemical data document the fact that HMG B is extremely labile in micronuclei. Unless extreme precautions are taken during the isolation of nuclei (addition of 1% formaldehyde to the nucleus isolation buffer), HMG B is not detected in micronuclei. Using polyclonal antibodies highly selective for HMG B, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analyses show that the presence of HMG B in micronuclei is dynamic, correlating well with known periods of micronuclear DNA replication. This is the case not only during the vegetative cell cycle but also during early stages of the sexual cycle, conjugation, when the presence of HMG B in micronuclei is also closely correlated with meiotic DNA recombination and repair. Since micronuclei are transcriptionally inactive during vegetative growth, our data lend support to the idea that HMG B does not function exclusively in the establishment of transcriptionally competent chromatin. However, micronuclei are transcriptionally active during early stages of conjugation. Evidence that HMG B is strongly synthesized and deposited into micronuclei during this stage is presented. Therefore, it is tempting to suggest that HMG B may play an important role in remodeling micronuclear chromatin into an "active," more open configuration. We favor a model wherein HMG B, like other abundant, low-specificity HMG box-containing proteins, functions to wrap DNA, presumably modulating higher-order chromatin structure for a broad range of biological processes, including transcription and replication.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 973-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanina Netti ◽  
Alejandro Pizzoni ◽  
Martha Pérez-Domínguez ◽  
Paula Ford ◽  
Herminia Pasantes-Morales ◽  
...  

Neuronal activity in the retina generates osmotic gradients that lead to Müller cell swelling, followed by a regulatory volume decrease (RVD) response, partially due to the isoosmotic efflux of KCl and water. However, our previous studies in a human Müller cell line (MIO-M1) demonstrated that an important fraction of RVD may also involve the efflux of organic solutes. We also showed that RVD depends on the swelling-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Here we investigate the contribution of taurine (Tau) and glutamate (Glu), the most relevant amino acids in Müller cells, to RVD through the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC), as well as their Ca2+ dependency in MIO-M1 cells. Swelling-induced [3H]Tau/[3H]Glu release was assessed by radiotracer assays and cell volume by fluorescence videomicroscopy. Results showed that cells exhibited an osmosensitive efflux of [3H]Tau and [3H]Glu (Tau > Glu) blunted by VRAC inhibitors 4-(2-butyl-6,7-dichloro-2-cyclopentylindan-1-on-5-yl)-oxybutyric acid and carbenoxolone reducing RVD. Only [3H]Tau efflux was mainly dependent on Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. RVD was unaffected in a Ca2+-free medium, probably due to Ca2+-independent Tau and Glu release, but was reduced by chelating intracellular Ca2+. The inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase reduced [3H]Glu efflux but also the Ca2+-insensitive [3H]Tau fraction and decreased RVD, providing evidence of the relevance of this Ca2+-independent pathway. We propose that VRAC-mediated Tau and Glu release has a relevant role in RVD in Müller cells. The observed disparities in Ca2+ influence on amino acid release suggest the presence of VRAC isoforms that may differ in substrate selectivity and regulatory mechanisms, with important implications for retinal physiology. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The mechanisms for cell volume regulation in retinal Müller cells are still unknown. We show that swelling-induced taurine and glutamate release mediated by the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) largely contributes the to the regulatory volume decrease response in a human Müller cell line. Interestingly, the hypotonic-induced efflux of these amino acids exhibits disparities in Ca2+-dependent and -independent regulatory mechanisms, which strongly suggests that Müller cells may express different VRAC heteromers formed by the recently discovered leucine-rich repeat containing 8 (LRRC8) proteins.


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (S1) ◽  
pp. 135-160

Cells are constantly exposed to the risk of volume perturbation under physiological conditions. The increase or decrease in cell volume accompanies intracellular changes in cell membrane tension, ionic strength/concentration and macromolecular crowding. To avoid deleterious consequences caused by cell volume perturbation, cells have volume recovery systems that regulate osmotic water flow by transporting ions and organic osmolytes across the cell membrane. Thus far, a number of biomolecules have been reported to regulate cell volume. However, the question of how cells sense volume change and modulate volume regulatory systems is not fully understood. Recently, the existence and significance of phaseseparated biomolecular condensates have been revealed in numerous physiological events, including cell volume perturbation. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of cell volume-sensing mechanisms, introduce recent studies on biomolecular condensates induced by cell volume change and discuss how biomolecular condensates contribute to cell volume sensing and cell volume maintenance. In addition to previous studies of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology, a phase separation perspective will allow us to understand the complicated volume regulatory systems of cells.


2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Iwamori ◽  
Kunihiko Naito ◽  
Koji Sugiura ◽  
Hideyuki Kagii ◽  
Masakane Yamashita ◽  
...  

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is one of the most important signal transduction pathways that regulate the cell cycle in somatic cells. The present study examined the phosphorylation states of components in the MAPK cascade, Raf-1, MEK-1, and extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERKs), which are activated by mitogens, throughout early mouse embryo development and in cultured somatic cells generally. In somatic cells, Raf-1 and MEK-1 were phosphorylated at M-phase and dephosphorylated during interphase. ERKs were not phosphorylated at any stage during the cell cycle. These results were similar to previous findings for the first and second cell cycles of early mouse embryos. In contrast, after the four-cell stage, not only ERKs, but also Raf-1 and MEK-1, were not phosphorylated at any stage during the cell cycle in mouse early embryos. These results suggest that the MAPK cascade in mouse embryos is regulated by the same mechanism as in somatic cells before the two-cell stage, and that regulation is changed to an embryo-specific mechanism after the four-cell stage.


Zygote ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-179
Author(s):  
Jane C. Fenelon ◽  
Baozeng Xu ◽  
Jay M. Baltz

SummaryRecovery from decreased cell volume is accomplished by a regulated increase of intracellular osmolarity. The acute response is activation of inorganic ion transport into the cell, the main effector of which is the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE1. NHE1 is rapidly activated by a cell volume decrease in early embryos, but how this occurs is incompletely understood. Elucidating cell volume-regulatory mechanisms in early embryos is important, as it has been shown that their dysregulation results in preimplantation developmental arrest. The kinase JAK2 has a role in volume-mediated NHE1 activation in at least some cells, including 2-cell stage mouse embryos. However, while 2-cell embryos show partial inhibition of NHE1 when JAK2 activity is blocked, NHE1 activation in 1-cell embryos is JAK2-independent, implying a requirement for additional signalling mechanisms. As focal adhesion kinase (FAK aka PTK2) becomes phosphorylated and activated in some cell types in response to decreased cell volume, we sought to determine whether it was involved in NHE1 activation in the early mouse embryo. FAK activity requires initial autophosphorylation of a tyrosine residue, Y397. However, FAK Y397 phosphorylation levels were not increased in either 1- or 2-cell embryos after cell volume was decreased. Furthermore, the selective FAK inhibitor PF-562271 did not affect NHE1 activation at concentrations that essentially eliminated Y397 phosphorylation. Thus, autophosphorylation of FAK Y397 does not appear to be required for NHE1 activation induced by a decrease in cell volume in early mouse embryos.


Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Fulka

It has been suggested that nucleus replacement (transfer) may be used as an efficient oocyte therapy in order to prevent transmission of mutated mitochondrial DNA from mother to offspring in humans. The essential and not yet answered question is how mitochondria surrounding the karyoplast will be distributed in the newly reconstructed oocytes. In our model experiments, we have evaluated the distribution of mitochondria in reconstructed immature mouse oocytes when germinal vesicle karyoplasts, with labeled mitochondria, were fused to unlabeled cytoplasts. The penetration of mitochondria from karyoplasts into cytoplasts can be detected almost immediately after the beginning of fusion. In immature reconstructed oocytes, mitochondria are first located in the oocyte center but they are homogenously distributed within the whole cytoplasm before the completion of maturation. Fusion of oocytes at different stages of maturation suggests that the speed of mitochondria distribution is cell cycle dependent.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 368-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Wiese

γ-Tubulin is an indispensable component of the animal centrosome and is required for proper microtubule organization. Within the cell, γ-tubulin exists in a multiprotein complex containing between two (some yeasts) and six or more (metazoa) additional highly conserved proteins named gamma ring proteins (Grips) or gamma complex proteins (GCPs). γ-Tubulin containing complexes isolated from Xenopus eggs or Drosophila embryos appear ring-shaped and have therefore been named the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC). Curiously, many organisms (including humans) have two distinct γ-tubulin genes. In Drosophila, where the two γ-tubulin isotypes have been studied most extensively, the γ-tubulin genes are developmentally regulated: the “maternal” γ-tubulin isotype (named γTub37CD according to its location on the genetic map) is expressed in the ovary and is deposited in the egg, where it is thought to orchestrate the meiotic and early embryonic cleavages. The second γ-tubulin isotype (γTub23C) is ubiquitously expressed and persists in most of the cells of the adult fly. In those rare cases where both γ-tubulins coexist in the same cell, they show distinct subcellular distributions and cell-cycle-dependent changes: γTub37CD mainly localizes to the centrosome, where its levels vary only slightly with the cell cycle. In contrast, the level of γTub23C at the centrosome increases at the beginning of mitosis, and γTub23C also associates with spindle pole microtubules. Here, we show that γTub23C forms discrete complexes that closely resemble the complexes formed by γTub37CD. Surprisingly, however, γTub23C associates with a distinct, longer splice variant of Dgrip84. This may reflect a role for Dgrip84 in regulating the activity and/or the location of the γ-tubulin complexes formed with γTub37CD and γTub23C.


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