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The rate of acid-stimulated and phenamil-sensitive sodium (Na(+)) uptake was measured in three different cell lineages: pavement cells (PVC), total mitochondrion-rich (MR) cell populations, and peanut lectin agglutinin-negative mitochondrion-rich cells (PNA(-) MR) isolated from the rainbow trout gill epithelium. Despite the presence of basal levels of Na(+) uptake in PVC, this transport was not enhanced by acidification, nor was it inhibited by independent treatment with bafilomycin (i.e., a V-type H(+)-ATPase inhibitor), phenamil (i.e., a specific inhibitor of ENaC), or Ag (a specific inhibitor of active Na(+) transport in fish). In contrast, Na(+) uptake in PNA(-) MR cells was increased by ~220% above basal levels following acidification of near 0.4 pH units in the presence of 1.0 mM external Na(+). Acid-stimulated Na(+) transport was entirely inhibited by both phenamil and bafilomycin. Silver (Ag) and copper (Cu), which are known to interfere with active Na(+) transport in fish, were also responsible for inhibiting acid stimulated Na(+) uptake in PNA(-) MR cells, but by themselves had no effect on basal Na(+) transport. Thus, we demonstrate that Ag specifically prevented acid-stimulated Na(+) uptake in PNA(-) MR cells in a dose-dependent manner. We also demonstrate rapid (<1 min) and significant inhibition of carbonic anhydrase (CA) by Ag in PNA(-) MR cells, but not in PVC. These data lend further support to the idea of a PNA(-) MR cell type as the primary site for Na(+) uptake in the freshwater (FW) gill phenotype of rainbow trout. Moreover, these findings provide support for the importance of intracellular protons in regulating the movement of Na(+) across the apical surface of the fish gill., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We have studied intracellular pH (pH(i)) recovery in isolated trout gill mitochondrion-rich (MR) cells following acidification by the NH(4)Cl pre-pulse technique. Within a mixed MR cell population, one cell type displayed Na(+)-independent pH(i) recovery while the other cell type lacked a Na(+)-independent pH(i) recovery. Cells displaying Na(+) independent recovery exhibited a significantly higher buffering capacity compared to cells lacking Na(+)-independent pH(i) recovery. Cells displaying Na(+) independent recovery were identified as PNA(+) (peanut lectin agluttinin binding) MR cells while those unable to recover were identified as PNA(-) (non-peanut lectin agluttinin binding) MR cells. Therefore, recovery from acidification in the absence of Na(+) provides a direct functional marker for PNA(+) and PNA(-) MR cells. Re-addition of Na(+) to acidified cells resulted in a transient pH(i) recovery in both cell types. This event was abolished by amiloride (500 microM) but it was insensitive to phenamil (50 microM). The phorbol ester PMA (1 microM) potentiated the Na(+) induced pH(i) recovery suggesting that activation by PKC is required for continuous Na(+)/H(+) exchanger activity in trout gill MR cells. This study is the first functional description of pH(i) recovery in lectin-identified trout gill MR cells and provides insight into a putative cellular signaling mechanism that may control pH(i) regulation in the gill epithelium., (2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Natural organic matter (NOM) is an important constituent of aquatic environments; however, its influence on aquatic biota remains poorly studied. In the current study, NOM was isolated from nine different sites in southern Ontario, Canada, by the on-site treatment of water by reverse osmosis, followed by cation exchange. NOM from each site was reconstituted to 10 mg of C/L and pH 7.0 and exposed to either adult rainbow trout implanted with indwelling catheters or to in vitro primary cultures of the gill epithelium grown on semipermeable membranes. In both the in vivo and in vitro preparations, NOM was found to hyperpolarize transepithelial potential (TEP), with the magnitude of this change correlating extremely well to the absorptivity of the NOM at 340 nm, which is an index of its aromaticity. Gill hyperpolarization appeared to be independent of Ca2+ complexation by the NOM in all but two samples tested. We argue that NOM has direct actions on the ionic transport and/or permeability properties of fish gills. While NOM effects on the bioavailability of contaminants are well-known, NOM actions on such fundamental physiological properties of the gills have previously been overlooked. These may be of comparable or greater magnitude than commonly reported for other water-quality variables (e.g., hardness, pH, salinity) and therefore of critical importance in ecological understanding and risk assessment.

Recent studies have shown that dietary Ca(2+) supplementation strongly inhibits uptake of Ca(2+) and Cd at the fish gill. To better understand the influence of dietary Ca(2+) on branchial Ca(2+) transport, we examined the expression of two trout gill calcium transporters during waterborne and dietary Cd exposure, at two different levels of dietary Ca(2+). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to monitor epithelial calcium channel (ECaC) and sodium-calcium exchange (NCX) mRNA levels following 7-28 days of exposure to these treatments. In brief, juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to control, 3 microg/L waterborne Cd, 500 mg/kg dietary Cd, or a combined 3 microg/L waterborne plus 500 mg/kg dietary Cd exposure, supplemented with either 20 mg/g or 60 mg/g dietary calcium (Ca(2+)). Two-way analysis of variance was used to discern the main effects of Cd exposure and dietary Ca(2+) supplementation on ECaC and NCX mRNA levels. We found that dietary Ca(2+) supplementation decreased significantly ECaC mRNA expression on days 14 and 21. In comparison, NCX mRNA levels were not influenced by dietary Ca(2+) supplementation, but rather were significantly inhibited in the combined waterborne and dietary Cd exposure on day 7 alone. Statistical analysis found no interactive effects between Cd exposure and dietary Ca(2+) exposure at any time point, except for day 28. This study provides evidence of the importance of nutritional status on the transcriptional regulation of ion transport at the fish gill. We discuss the importance of diet and nutritional status to the development of new regulatory approaches, such as the biotic ligand model, which currently do not account for the significance of diet on metal bioavailability in aquatic organisms.

Na(+) and Ca(2+) regulation were compared in two euryhaline species, killifish (normally estuarine-resident) and rainbow trout (normally freshwater-resident) during an incremental salinity increase. Whole-body unidirectional fluxes of Na(+) and Ca(2+), whole body Na(+) and Ca(2+), and plasma concentrations (trout only), were measured over 1-h periods throughout a total 6-h protocol of increasing salinity meant to simulate a natural tidal flow. Killifish exhibited significant increases in both Na(+) influx and efflux rates, with efflux slightly lagging behind efflux up to 60% SW, but net Na(+) balance was restored by the time killifish reached 100% SW. Whole body Na(+) did not change, in agreement with the capacity of this species to tolerate daily salinity fluctuations in its natural habitat. In contrast, rainbow trout experienced a dramatic increase in Na(+) influx (50-fold relative to FW values), but not Na(+) efflux between 40 and 60% SW, resulting in a large net loading of Na(+) at higher salinities (60-100% SW), and increases in plasma Na(+) and whole body Na(+) at 100% SW. Killifish were in negative Ca(2+) balance at all salinities, whereas trout were in positive Ca(2+) balance throughout. Ca(2+) influx rate increased two- to threefold in killifish at 80 and 100% SW, but there were no concomitant changes in Ca(2+) efflux. Ca(2+) flux rates were affected to a larger degree in trout, with twofold increases in Ca(2+) influx at 40% SW and sevenfold increases at 100% SW. Again, there was no change in Ca(2+) efflux with salinity, so plasma Ca(2+) concentration increased in 100% SW. As the killifish is regularly submitted to increased salinity in its natural environment, it is able to rapidly activate changes in unidirectional fluxes in order to ensure ionic homeostasis, in contrast to the trout.

A novel cell isolation technique was used to characterize cadmium and calcium uptake in distinct populations of gill cells from the adult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). A specific population of mitochondria-rich (MR) cell, termed the PNA+ MR cell (PNA is peanut lectin agglutinin), was found to accumulate over threefold more 109Cd than did PNA- MR cells, pavement cells (PV cells), and mucous cells during a 1-h in vivo exposure at 2.4 microg/l 109Cd. In vitro 109Cd exposures, performed in standard PBS and Cl- -free PBS, at concentrations from 1 to 16 microg/l 109Cd, were also carried out to further characterize Cd2+ uptake kinetics. As observed during in vivo experiments, PNA+ MR cells accumulated significantly more 109Cd than did other cell types when exposures were performed by an in vitro procedure in PBS. Under such conditions, Cd2+ accumulation kinetics in all cell types could be described with Michaelis-Menten relationships, with Km values of approximately 3.0 microg/l Cd (27 nM) for both MR cell subtypes and 8.6 microg/l Cd (77 nM) for PV cells. In similar experiments performed in Cl- -free conditions, a significant reduction in 109Cd accumulation in PNA+ MR cells was seen but not in PNA- MR or in PV cells. In vitro 45Ca fluxes were also performed to determine the cellular localization of Ca2+ transport in these functionally distinct populations of gill cells. 45Ca uptake was most pronounced in PNA+ MR cells, with levels over threefold higher than those found in either PNA(-) MR or in PV cells. Results from the present study suggest that the PNA+ MR cell type is a high-affinity and high-capacity site for apical entry of Cd2+ and Ca2+ in the gill epithelium of rainbow trout.

Mitochondria-rich cells (MR cells) of the gills of rainbow trout undergo changes in relative distribution and biochemical function during acclimation to partial-strength (10 per thousand ) and full-strength (30 per thousand ) seawater. In isolated total gill cells, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity increased fivefold and H(+)-ATPase activity decreased fourfold when trout were acclimated to either 10 per thousand or 30 per thousand seawater. When total MR gill cells were separated based on differential binding to peanut lectin agglutinin (PNA), the PNA subtypes underwent a change in relative distribution in seawater-acclimated fish. In freshwater, the ratio of PNA(-):PNA(+) was 65:35 while in seawater the distribution changed to 20:80 PNA(-):PNA(+). Additionally, differential changes in Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and H(+)-ATPase activity in each of the independent cell types occurred during seawater acclimation; Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity in the PNA(-) cells increased by 197% while in PNA(+) cells Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase decreased by 57%. However, H(+)-ATPase activity was decreased in both PNA(-) (84%) and PNA(+) (72%) subtypes during acclimation to seawater.

A magnetic cell separation technique (MACS) was developed for isolating and characterizing peanut lectin agglutinin positive (PNA(+)) cells from rainbow trout gills. Percoll density separated mitochondria-rich (MR) cells were serially labeled with PNA-FITC and an anti-FITC antibody covalently coupled to a 50-nm iron particle and then applied to a magnetic column. PNA(+) MR cells were enriched to >95% purity. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of both the PNA(+) and PNA negative (PNA(-)) fraction showed that PNA binds to MR chloride cells while the PNA(-) cell fraction is comprised of MR cells with features characteristic of pavement cells. Western blotting demonstrated that both PNA(+) and PNA(-) fractions had high levels of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Sco1 expression; however, relative expression of H(+)-ATPase in PNA(+) and PNA(-) cells demonstrated that untreated fish had twofold higher H(+)-ATPase levels in PNA(-) cells relative to the PNA(+) cells. Furthermore, hypercapnic acidosis significantly increased the relative H(+)-ATPase expression on PNA(-) cells only, whereas metabolic alkalosis had no significant effect.

Juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were subjected to a 2-day radioactive pulse of 110mAg at 11.9 microg/l (as AgNO3), followed by a 19-day post-tracer exposure to non-radioactive Ag(I) (3.8 microg/l). The distribution of 110mAg in the gills, liver, intestine, kidney, brain and remaining carcass was investigated over a 19-day post-tracer period. Initially, the intestine contained the highest proportion of the 110mAg burden (34%), however, by day 8, less than 5% of the total radioactivity remained in this tissue. The majority of the 110mAg eliminated from the intestine appeared to distribute to the liver. Eventually, the 110mAg content in the liver accounted for as much as 65% of the total radioactivity in the fish. Apart from the liver and intestine, only the gills and carcass contained any appreciable amount (>5%) of the total body 110mAg content. Liver and gill samples were fractionated using differential centrifugation techniques to discern the subcellular distribution of 110mAg in these tissues. In the liver, the 110mAg levels in the cytosolic fraction increased from 35% to 72% of the total cellular burden between days 8 and 19, respectively. The radioactive pulse in the gills was predominantly found in a membrane compartment termed the nuclear fraction ( approximately 60% of the total). Little change was observed over time (day 8 to day 19) to the subcellular distribution of Ag in the gills. Using size-exclusion chromatography, most ( approximately 70%) of the 110mAg content in the liver cytosol eluted at a molecular weight characteristic of metallothionein. The cytosolic distribution of 110mAg in gills was quite diffuse, occurring primarily in the heavy molecular weight fractions.