HIGH INTRACELLULAR PH IN CFPAC - A PANCREAS CELL-LINE FROM A PATIENT WITH CYSTIC-FIBROSIS IS LOWERED BY RETROVIRUS-MEDIATED CFTR GENE-TRANSFER

Expression of CFTR from a retroviral vector in CFPAC, a pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line derived from a patient with Cystic Fibrosis, causes a decrease in the average intracellular pH (pH1) in these transduced clones (PLJ-CFTR), as compared to CFPAC or CFPAC transduced with control virus (PLJ clones). Whereas the average pH, calculated based on results obtained in two PLJ-CFTR clones, PLJ-CFTR-20 (n=2) and PLJ-CFTR-6 (n=5), was 7.46±0.07, the average pH, calculated from results obtained in CFPAC (n = 13), PLJ-6 (n = 11) and PLJ-10 (n = 3) was pH 7.83±0.11. This finding suggests that CFTR may be involved, directly or indirectly, in the regulation of pH, in the pancreas. © 1991 Academic Press, Inc.