V. Poncet et al., CHLORIDE CHANNELS IN APICAL MEMBRANE OF PRIMARY CULTURES OF RABBIT DISTAL BRIGHT CONVOLUTED TUBULE, The American journal of physiology, 266(4), 1994, pp. 60000543-60000553
Using the patch clamp technique on the apical membrane of primary cult
ures of rabbit distal bright convoluted tubule cells (DCTb), two types
of Cl- channel were identified. A small channel of 9 pS was observed
in 9% of the patches. Cells pretreated with 1 mM 8-bromoadenosine 3',5
'-cyclic monophosphate (8-BrcAMP) or 5 mu M forskolin increased the ex
pression of Cl- channels by 26 and 37%, respectively. In cell-attached
and excised inside-out patches, the current-voltage (I-V) relationshi
ps of the 9-pS channel were linear. In only 1 out of 47 active patches
was the small-conductance Cl- channel still active 1 h after membrane
excision. The addition of 0.1 mu M of the catalytic subunit protein k
inase A with 2 mM ATP to the cytoplasmic side restored channel activit
y in 8 out of 15 excised membrane patches. In 5 out of 467 patches of
stimulated or nonstimulated cells, a larger Cl- conductance of 30 pS w
as also recorded. In excised inside-out patches this channel outwardly
rectified and was activated by strong depolarization. In cultured DCT
b cells, the small-conductance, cAMP-activated Cl- channel shares many
properties with the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulat
or. Our results suggest that at least the small-conductance channel ma
y participate in Cl- secretion across the apical membrane of DCTb in p
rimary culture. This secretion may increase the rate of the apical Cl-
/HCO3- exchange indirectly by enhancing the inwardly-directed Cl- grad
ient.