Na⁺/H⁺ exchange and osmotic shrinkage in isolated trout hepatocytes

The ability of rainbow trout liver cells to regulate their intracellular pH (pHi) was studied using two methods on hepatocytes isolated by collagenase digestion: (i) by monitoring pHi with the fluorescent dye BCECF-AM, and (ii) by measuring the amiloride-sensitive uptake of ²²Na, which represents Na⁺/H⁺ exchange. In low-Na⁺ medium (⩽ 16 mmol l⁻¹), Na⁺ uptake was reduced by approximately 70 % in the presence of amiloride derivatives (DMA or MPA, 10⁻⁴ mol l⁻¹).

Changing separately either the extracellular pH (pHe) or the intracellular pH (pHi, clamped by treating the cells with nigericin in the presence of 140 mmol l⁻¹ K⁺) between 6 and 8 induced an increase in the rate of Na⁺ uptake when pHe was raised or when pHi was reduced.

When transferred to hypertonic medium, hepatocytes shrank to nearly 72 % of their initial volume, and thereafter a slow and partial regulatory volume increase phase was observed, with an increase in the amiloride-sensitive rate of Na⁺ uptake and an increase in intracellular pH. As DIDS-sensitive Cl⁻ uptake was concomitantly enhanced, it is suggested that hypertonic stress activates Na⁺/H⁺ and Cl⁻/HCO₃⁻ exchange.