(Hypertension. 1998;32:1066-1070.)
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
From the Department of Physiology, Odense University, Odense, Denmark.
Correspondence to Dr Ole Skøtt, Department of Physiology, University of Odense, Winsloewparken 19, DK-5000 Odense, Denmark. E-mail o.skott{at}winsloew.ou.dk
| Abstract |
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1-blocker
phentolamine (PA) (10-5 mol/L) and, with PA
present, the dependence on chloride was similar to the above
series. The results show that K+-induced contraction of
smooth muscle cells in the afferent arteriole is highly sensitive to
chloride, whereas neurotransmitter release and ensuing contraction is
not dependent on chloride. Thus, there are different activation
pathways for depolarizing vasoconstrictors and for the sympathetic
nervous system in renal afferent arterioles. This could be of
physiological relevance for the resetting of
afferent arteriolar sensitivity during changes in salt intake.
Key Words: kidney calcium hypertension, arterial diltiazem resistance
| Introduction |
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| Methods |
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Isolation and Microperfusion Procedure of Rabbit Afferent
Arterioles
All animal procedures conformed with the Danish law on
experiments on animals and with the guidelines for the care and
handling of animals established by the US Department of Health and
Public Services and published by the National Institutes of Health. The
experiments were performed on afferent arterioles dissected from 1.5-
to 3-kg rabbits (Kolding Technical School, Kolding, Denmark) that were
fed standard rabbit chow and allowed free access to tap water. A total
of 72 animals were used in the present study. The preparation took
place as described before in detail.10 Afferent
arterioles were dissected, transferred to a thermoregulated chamber on
an inverted microscope, and perfused with concentric glass pipettes at
a pressure of 60 to 80 mm Hg and a temperature of 37°C. If
perfusion was not achieved within 120 minutes after the rabbit was
killed, the experiment was stopped. A test stimulus of 100 mmol/L
K+ assured viability of the vessels. The bath
contained 1 mL, and all exchanges were made with 10 mL of bathing
fluid.
Experimental Protocols
Series 1
The dependence of K+ responses on
Cl- concentration and the equilibration time
were determined. First, the bath was exchanged with
Cl--free solution. After 10 minutes,
K+ (100 mmol/L) was added for 1 minute.
Three series were performed, during which the vessels equilibrated for
1, 5, and 10 minutes, respectively, at each of the following
Cl- concentrations (in mmol/L): 0, 30, 60,
80, 100, 110, and 117. At the end of each period,
K+ was added for 1 minute.
Series 2
To test whether Cl--dependent contraction
was caused by Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated
Ca2+ channels, we determined chloride dependence
as in series 1, and then the experiment was repeated in the presence of
diltiazem (10-6 mol/L) and PA
(10-5 mol/L, to exclude nerve-mediated
effects).
Series 3
A subgroup of afferent vessels constricted in response to
K+ in the absence of bath chloride. To test
whether Cl- in the luminal perfusate
contributed to the atypical response, we determined chloride dependence
in vessels in which only bath chloride was substituted and compared the
result with the response obtained by combined bath and
perfusate chloride substitution. In a second series, we
ascertained whether release of endogenous
norepinephrine from preserved nerve terminals was involved
in the Cl--insensitive contraction.
K+ was added at a range of chloride
concentrations before and after addition of the
1-receptor antagonist PA
(10-5 mol/L). Because PA blocked the response, a
third series was used to test whether addition of exogenous
norepinephrine could contract vessels that were insensitive
to K+ during the same experimental
conditions.
Series 4
To asses the anion specificity of the response, we substituted
chloride with iodide or nitrate in 2 separate series and tested the
reactivity to K+.
Series 5
To exclude tachyphylaxis to the action of
K+, we stimulated the vessels repeatedly with
100 mmol/L K+ for 45 seconds, and the
vessels were allowed to recover each time for 15 minutes. We then
determined whether smooth muscle cell alkalinization caused the reduced
K+ response in zero ambient
Cl-. The sensitivity to K+
in the absence of chloride was compared in bicarbonate-buffered and in
HEPES-buffered solutions. To rule out that the reduced response to
K+ in zero chloride was because of chelation of
calcium by gluconate, we added 10 mmol/L calcium in one series,
and we substituted chloride with methanesulfonate, which does not
chelate calcium, in a second series.
Series 6
In the last series, we tested whether Cl-
ions may function as compensatory charge carriers to allow a continuous
Ca2+ influx during
depolarization.12 Vessels that were insensitive
to K+ in the absence of
Cl- were exposed to the cation-ionophore
gramicidin for 2 minutes in a buffer in which Na+
and Cl- were substituted with
N-methyl-D-glucamine
(NMDG+) and gluconate-,
respectively. This way, gramicidin may allow an efflux of cations in
exchange for Ca2+ influx during
depolarization.
Analytic Methods
Experiments were recorded on videotape at magnification
x400. The video sequences of interest were digitized with a Matrox
frame grabber, and vessel diameters were assessed by imaging software
(Metamorph, Universal Imaging).
Statistics
The arteriolar diameters were compared by Student's
t test on paired data in the individual arterioles before
and after addition of an agonist, with appropriate reduction for
multiple comparisons. Only the maximal responses were tested. When
comparing several treatments at the same time, ANOVA was used and then
a Newman-Keuls test. P<0.05 was considered
significant.
| Results |
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Role of Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channels
In this series, K+ induced half-maximal
contraction at a Cl- concentration of 94
mmol/L (Figure 2
). Diltiazem had no
effect on basal diameter but reversibly abolished all
K+-induced responses (n=6). Thus, the
Cl--sensitive component of
depolarization-induced afferent arteriolar contraction is dependent on
intact function of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels.
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Chloride-Independent, K+-Evoked Contraction of
Afferent Arterioles
A subgroup (
30%) of vessels reacted in a qualitatively
different way to K+ by a maximal contraction in
the absence of chloride. A simultaneous substitution of
Cl- in bath and perfusate fluid did not
change K+-induced contraction compared with bath
substitution alone (data not shown, n=5).The potential release of
endogenous norepinephrine from nerve terminals
by K+ was ascertained. PA
(10-5 mol/L) did not affect basal diameter but
reversibly blocked the chloride-independent response to
K+ (Figure 3
). Thus, the marked
response to K+ was reversed by PA to the typical
Cl--sensitive response found earlier (Figure 4
, n=5) with a half-maximal contraction
in response to K+ at 73 mmol/L chloride. In
other vessels, with a chloride-dependent response to
K+, exogenous norepinephrine (1
µmol/L) caused maximal constriction in the absence of chloride during
exposure to K+ (Figure 3
, n=4). Diltiazem
(10-6 mol/L) had no effect on
norepinephrine-induced contraction (n=3). Altogether, these
data suggest that the chloride-independent response to
K+ is induced by release of
endogenous norepinephrine from sympathetic
nerve terminals. Moreover, norepinephrine responses are not
dependent on intact function of voltage-gated
Ca2+ channels.
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Anion Specificity of the Response
Acute substitution of extracellular chloride with iodide or
nitrate (n=3) had no effect on basal diameters, and contrary to the
responses with impermeable anions, these anions fully supported
contraction in response to K+ (Table 1
).
|
Pathways for Regulation of K+ Sensitivity by
Chloride
Two consecutive exposures to K+ contracted
the vessels to 0 µm and to 1.2±1.2 µm. There was no
significant difference between the results at first and second addition
of K+ and hence no tachyphylaxis to
K+ (data not shown, n=4).
Gluconate, which was substituted for chloride in most series, can potentially chelate extracellular Ca2+ and thereby inhibit vasoreactivity. However, addition of extra Ca2+ (10 mmol/L) during gluconate substitution did not restore sensitivity to K+ (n=3, data not shown). In a second series in which chloride was substituted with methanesulfonate, which does not chelate calcium,20 half-maximal contraction was observed at 102 mmol/L chloride, which is not different from the value obtained in the gluconate series (n=3, data not shown). Thus, chelation of calcium is not likely to have contributed significantly to the present results.
Substitution of extracellular chloride could indirectly affect vasoreactivity by cellular alkalinization. However, K+-induced contraction was inhibited in a similar way by substitution of chloride in HCO3-buffered PSS (diameter, 14.8±1.3 µm) compared with HEPES-buffered PSS (diameter, 15.4±1.4 µm; n=6). Smooth muscle cell alkalinization therefore is not likely to cause the inhibition of K+-induced contraction in Cl--depleted media.
A steady Ca2+ influx during depolarization might
depend on regulated charge compensation by concomitant flux of a
counter ion, eg, Cl-, to maintain
electroneutrality.12 This hypothesis was tested
in 7 experiments. Exchange of extracellular permeable ions
(Na+ with NMDG+ and
Cl- with gluconate) did not change the internal
diameter of the vessels. Subsequent addition of the ionophore
gramicidin (2 and 20 µg/mL) had no effect on basal diameter, but in
the presence of gramicidin, K+ induced a small
but significant contraction (Figure 5
).
After recovery in PSS, K+ occluded the lumen
totally. Thus, an artificial pathway for charge compensation during
Ca2+ influx does not fully restore the
K+ sensitivity in a
Cl--free medium.
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| Discussion |
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A striking dependence of the K+ response on the
concentration of chloride in the bathing fluid was apparent with an
estimated threshold for contraction at 70 mmol/L chloride, a
half-maximal response at
80 mmol/L, and a maximal response at
110 mmol/L (Figure 1
). Moreover, an equilibration time of 10
minutes at each level of chloride was necessary to allow the arteriole
to regain sensitivity to K+. The
chloride-sensitive contraction in response to K+
could be attributed to voltage-gated Ca2+
channels because it was blocked by diltiazem (Figure 2
). Therefore, we
suggest that a physiologically relevant
concentration of chloride ions is required to sustain
K+-induced, diltiazem-sensitive contraction of
rabbit renal afferent arterioles. This conclusion is consistent
with data in which comparable substitutions of chloride led to
inhibition of the sequence of events distal to activation of
voltage-gated Ca2+ channels
(Ca2+ currents, cytosolic
Ca2+ increases and contraction) in response to
agonists or K+
depolarization.11 12 15 16 17 The requirement for
chloride is not absolute since other permeable anions supported
K+-induced vasoconstriction in a way similar to
chloride (Table 1
). However, under physiological
conditions, the requirement for permeable anions is satisfied by the
prevalence of chloride in the extracellular fluid.
The experiments defined a population of vessels (
30%) in which
K+ constricted the arterioles independently of
extracellular Cl- ions (Figure 3
). The
1-receptor antagonist PA converted
this Cl--independent response to
K+ to a typical
Cl--dependent pattern (Figure 4
). Furthermore,
exogenous norepinephrine constricted vessels in which
K+ had no effect after substitution of chloride
(Figure 3
). Together, these data suggest that the occasional
chloride-insensitive contraction represents a
K+-mediated release of endogenous
norepinephrine from intact sympathetic nerve endings.
As to the mechanism of the vascular dependence on extracellular chloride, we could exclude several factors. The data exclude tachyphylaxis to the action of K+, an intracellular pH change, or chelation of extracellular calcium as causes of the reduction in vasoreactivity in low external Cl-. Moreover, smooth muscle cell membrane potential remains constant at negative values after Cl- substitution,18 and K+ elicits depolarization as in Cl- media.19 Previous observations suggest that lyotropic anions (eg, F-, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, I-, SCN-) may control the voltage dependence of channel activation.20 These anions shift the voltage dependence of gating in a more positive direction, possibly through local effects of anion adsorption to the cell membrane that decrease the local steepness of the voltage gradient.20 A modification of Ca2+ channel gating characteristics by a change in surface charges at, or close to, the channel protein is therefore a relevant possibility. According to a second hypothesis, Cl- acts as an obligate counter ion for Ca2+ influx to proceed.12 By use of a protocol that allowed cellular cation efflux as charge compensation for calcium, we did not find experimental support for this idea in afferent arterioles. In smooth muscle, voltage-gated Ca2+ channels are modulated by G proteins21 that may be chloride sensitive.22 The present experimental design does not exclude that the cytosolic concentration of chloride changes. This effect could explain why a 10-minute equilibration period was required for alterations in extracellular chloride to influence the response to K+. This suggestion would be consistent with data obtained in the perfused hydronephrotic kidney in which an acute increase in the chloride gradient out of the cell enhanced vasoreactivity in response to vasoconstrictors.8
The sensitivity to chloride may have physiological relevance in several ways. The interstitial concentration of chloride as determined by macula densa epithelial transport could directly determine the reactivity of the vessel. Consistent with this proposal, afferent arteriolar sensitivity to angiotensin II is markedly enhanced when the thick ascending limb is perfused with a high NaCl solution.14 On the other hand, variations in plasma chloride concentrations could potentially influence vessel reactivity in vivo because the sensitivity to depolarization is maximal in a range of chloride concentrations very close to physiological levels. In this setting, it is interesting to note that ingestion of a low salt diet usually modulates (reduces) the sensitivity of isolated smooth muscle strips in vitro and of the renal vasculature in vivo to angiotensin II, whereas the sensitivity to norepinephrine is largely unchanged.23 Our observations of the afferent arteriole are consistent with this response.
In summary, the data show that K+-induced contraction of smooth muscle cells in the afferent arteriole is highly sensitive to chloride, whereas K+-induced sympathetic transmitter release and ensuing norepinephrine-mediated contraction is not chloride dependent. Thus, there are different pathways for the action of depolarizing vasoconstrictors and for the sympathetic nervous system in renal afferent arteriolar excitation-contraction coupling.
| Acknowledgments |
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Received February 11, 1998; first decision March 5, 1998; accepted August 5, 1998.
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