Determinants of intracellular pH in gas gland cells of the swimbladder of the European eel Anguilla anguilla

Gas gland cells of the European eel (Auguilla auguilla) were cultured on collagen-coated coverslips, and intracellular pH was measured using the pH-sensitive fluorescent probe 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxypropyl)-5-(6)carboxyfluorescein (BCPCF). The contributions of various proton-translocating mechanisms to homeostasis of intracellular pH (pHi) were assessed by adding specific inhibitors of the various proton-translocating mechanisms at a constant extracellular pH (pHe) of 7.4 and after artificial acidification of the cells using the ammonium pulse technique. The greatest decrease in pHi was observed after addition of 5-(N-ethyl-N-isobutyl)-amiloride (MIA), an inhibitor of Na(+)/H(+) exchange. Na(+)/H(+) exchange was active under steady-state conditions at an extracellular pH of 7.4, and activity increased after intracellular acidification. Incubation of gas gland cells with 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS), an inhibitor of anion exchange, also caused a decrease in pHi, but this decrease was not as pronounced as in the presence of MIA. Furthermore, at low pH!, the effect of DIDS was further reduced, suggesting that bicarbonate-exchanging mechanisms are involved in maintaining a steady-state pHi but that their importance is reduced at low pH. Bafilomycin A(1), a specific inhibitor of the V-ATPase, had no effect on steady-state pHi. However, recovery of intracellular pH after an artificial acid load was significantly impaired in the presence of bafilomycin. Our results suggest that Na(+)/H(+) exchange and anion exchange are important for the regulation of pHi at alkaline values of pHe. When pHi is low, a situation probably often encountered by gas gland cells during gas secretion, Na(+)/H(+) exchange continues to play an important role in acid secretion and a V-ATPase appears to contribute to proton secretion.