PubMed ID: 29874109
Author(s): Cao X, Pattnaik BR, Hughes BA. Mouse retinal pigment epithelial cells exhibit a thiocyanate-selective conductance. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2018 Oct 1;315(4):C457-C473. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00231.2017. Epub 2018 Jun 6. PMID 29874109
Journal: American Journal Of Physiology. Cell Physiology, Volume 315, Issue 4, Oct 2018
The basolateral membrane anion conductance of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a key component of the transepithelial Cl- transport pathway. Although multiple Cl- channels have been found to be expressed in the RPE, the components of the resting Cl- conductance have not been identified. In this study, we used the patch-clamp method to characterize the ion selectivity of the anion conductance in isolated mouse RPE cells and in excised patches of RPE basolateral and apical membranes. Relative permeabilities ( PA/ PCl) calculated from reversal potentials measured in intact cells under bi-ionic conditions were as follows: SCN- >> ClO4- > [Formula: see text] > I- > Br- > Cl- >> gluconate. Relative conductances ( GA/ GCl) followed a similar trend of SCN- >> ClO4- > [Formula: see text] > I- > Br- ≈Cl- >> gluconate. Whole cell currents were highly time-dependent in 10 mM external SCN-, reflecting collapse of the electrochemical potential gradient due to SCN- accumulation or depletion intracellularly. When the membrane potential was held at -120 mV to minimize SCN- accumulation in cells exposed to 10 mM SCN-, the instantaneous current reversed at -90 mV, revealing that PSCN/ PCl is approximately 500. Macroscopic current recordings from outside-out patches demonstrated that both the basolateral and apical membranes exhibit SCN- conductances, with the basolateral membrane having a larger SCN- current density and higher relative permeability for SCN-. Our results suggest that the RPE basolateral and apical membranes contain previously unappreciated anion channels or electrogenic transporters that may mediate the transmembrane fluxes of SCN- and Cl-.