Palytoxin modulates cytosolic ph in human osteoblast-like saos-2 cells via an interaction with the na+, k+-atpase. Monroe, James J., and Armen H. Tashjian, Jr. Department of Molecular and Cellular Toxicology, Harvard School of Public Health, and Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02115
APStracts 2:0386C, 1995.
Palytoxin at nM concentrations, enhances the permeability of mamalian cell membranes to both Na+ and Ca2+. In basal human osteoblast-like SaOS-2 cells, palytoxin (8 nM) caused a persistent decrease in cytosolic pH (pHi) of about 0.2 units which required the presence of extracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+e) and Na+ (Na+e). We acidified SaOS-2, cells by incubation with nigericin, to examine the action of palytoxin in cells with an activated Na+-H+ antiporter. Under these conditions, palytoxin increased the pHi without requiring Ca2+e or Na+e, and the alkalinization was unaffected by hexamethylene amiloride. We conclude that the palytoxin-induced rise in pHi did not involve the Na+-H+ antiporter. Palytoxin increased the rate of 86Rb+ efflux. We propose that palytoxin induced alkalinization in nigericin-acidified cells by collapsing the K+ gradient. Exposure to ouabain had no effect on pHi but it prevented the actions of palytoxin on pHi in both basal and nigericin-acidified cells. Ouabain-resistant mutant cells were less sensitive to palytoxin in extruding 86Rb+ than their ouabain -sensitive parents. We conclude that palytoxin interacts with the Na+, K+-ATPase to regulate pHi in both basal and nigericin-acidified SaOS -2 cells.

Received 21 July 1995; accepted in final form 17 October 1995.
APS Manuscript Number C446-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Cell Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 6 November 95