Hypoxia-induced inhibition of whole cell membrane currents and ion transport of A549 cells

In excitable cells, hypoxia inhibits K channels, causes membrane depolarization, and initiates complex adaptive mechanisms. It is unclear whether K channels of alveolar epithelial cells reveal a similar response to hypoxia. A549 cells were exposed to hypoxia during whole cell patch-clamp measurements. Hypoxia reversibly inhibited a voltage-dependent outward current, consistent with a K current, because tetraethylamonium (TEA; 10 mM) abolished this effect; however, iberiotoxin (0.1 muM) does not. In normoxia, TEA and iberiotoxin inhibited whole cell current (-35%), whereas the K-channel inhibitors glibenclamide (1 muM), barium (1 mM), chromanol B293 (10 muM), and 4-aminopyridine (1 mM) were ineffective. Rb-86 uptake was measured to see whether K-channel modulation also affected transport activity. TEA, iberiotoxin, and 4-h hypoxia (1.5% O-2) inhibited total Rb-86 uptake by 40, 20, and 35%, respectively. Increased extracellular K also inhibited Rb-86 uptake in a dose-dependent way. The K-channel opener 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (1 mM) increased Rb-86 uptake by 120% in normoxic and hypoxic cells by activation of Na-K pumps (+ 60%) and Na-K-2Cl cotransport (+ 170%). However, hypoxic transport inhibition was also seen in the presence of 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone, TEA, and iberiotoxin. These results indicate that hypoxia, membrane depolarization, and K-channel inhibition decrease whole cell membrane currents and transport activity. It appears, therefore, that a hypoxia-induced change in membrane conductance and membrane potential might be a link between hypoxia and alveolar ion transport inhibition.