Critical role of bicarbonate and bicarbonate transporters in cardiac function

Bicarbonate is one of the major anions in mammalian tissues and extracellular fluids. Along with accompanying H+, HCO3- is generated from CO2 and H2 O, either spontaneously or via the catalytic activity of carbonic anhydrase. It serves as a component of the major buffer system, thereby playing a critical role in pH homeostasis. Bicarbonate can also be utilized by a variety of ion transporters, often working in coupled systems, to transport other ions and organic substrates across cell membranes. The functions of HCO3- and HCO3--transporters in epithelial tissues have been studied extensively, but their functions in heart are less well understood. Here we review studies of the identities and physiological functions of Cl-/HCO3- exchangers and Na+/HCO3-cotransporters of the SLC4 A and SLC26 A families in heart. We also present RNA Seq analysis of their cardiac mRNA expression levels. These studies indicate that slc4a3(AE3) is the major Cl-/HCO3- exchanger and plays a protective role in heart failure, and that Slc4a4(NBCe1) is the major Na+/HCO3- cotransporter and affects action potential duration. In addition, previous studies show that HCO3- has a positive inotropic effect in the perfused heart that is largely independent of effects on intracellular Ca2+. The importance of HCO3- in the regulation of contractility is supported by experiments showing that isolated cardiomyocytes exhibit sharply enhanced contractility, with no change in Ca2+ transients, when switched from Hepes-buffered to HCO3-- buffered solutions. These studies demonstrate that HCO3- and HCO3--handling proteins play important roles in the regulation of cardiac function.

Differential expression of pancreatic protein and chemosensing receptor m RNAs in NKCC1-null intestine

AIM: To investigate the intestinal functions of the NKCC1 Na^+-K^+-2Cl cotransporter(SLC12a2 gene), differential m RNA expression changes in NKCC1-null intestine were analyzed.METHODS: Microarray analysis of m RNA from intestines of adult wild-type mice and gene-targeted NKCC1-null mice(n = 6 of each genotype) was performed to identify patterns of differential gene expression changes. Differential expression patterns were further examined by Gene Ontology analysis using the online Gorilla program, and expression changes of selected genes were verified using northern blot analysis and quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction. Histological staining and immunofluorescence were performed to identify cell types in which upregulated pancreatic digestive enzymes were expressed.RESULTS: Genes typically associated with pancreatic function were upregulated. These included lipase, amylase, elastase, and serine proteases indicative of pancreatic exocrine function, as well as insulin and regenerating islet genes, representative of endocrine function. Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemistry showed that differential expression of exocrine pancreas m RNAs was specific to the duodenum and localized to a subset of goblet cells. In addition, a major pattern of changes involving differential expression of olfactory receptors that function in chemical sensing, as well as other chemosensing G-protein coupled receptors, was observed. These changes in chemosensory receptor expression may be related to the failure of intestinal function and dependency on parenteral nutrition observed in humans with SLC12a2 mutations. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that loss of NKCC1 affects not only secretion, but also goblet cell function and chemosensing of intestinal contents via G-protein coupled chemosensory receptors.

NBCe1 Na+-HCO3-cotransporter ablation causes reduced apoptosis following cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo

AIM To investigate the hypothesis that cardiomyocytespecific loss of the electrogenic NBCe1 Na^+-HCO3^- cotransporter is cardioprotective during in vivo ischemiareperfusion(IR)injury.METHODS An NBCe1 (Slc4a4 gene) conditional knockout mouse(KO)model was prepared by gene targeting.Cardiovascular performance of wildtype (WT) and cardiac-specific NBCe1 KO mice was analyzed by intraventricular pressure measurements,and changes in cardiac gene expression were determined by RNA Seq analysis.Response to in vivo IR injury was analyzed after 30 min occlusion of the left anterior descending artery followed by 3 h of reperfusion. RESULTS Loss of NBCe1 in cardiac myocytes did not impair cardiac contractility or relaxation under basal conditions or in response toβ-adrenergic stimulation,and caused only limited changes in gene expression patterns,such as those for electrical excitability.However,following ischemia and reperfusion,KO heart sections exhibited significantly fewer apoptotic nuclei than WT sections.CONCLUSION These studies indicate that cardiac-specific loss of NBCe1 does not impair cardiovascular performance,causes only minimal changes in gene expression patterns,and protects against IR injury in vivo.