Interleukin-10 protects cultured fetal rat type II epithelial cells from injury induced by mechanical stretch.

Mechanical ventilation plays a central role in the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. However, the mechanisms by which excessive stretch of fetal or neonatal type II epithelial cells contributes to lung injury are not well defined. In these investigations, isolated embryonic day 19 fetal rat type II epithelial cells were cultured on substrates coated with fibronectin and exposed to 5% or 20% cyclic stretch to simulate mechanical forces during lung development or lung injury, respectively.

Colony-stimulating factor-1 increases osteoclast intracellular pH and promotes survival via the electroneutral Na/HCO3 cotransporter NBCn1.

Colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) promotes the survival of osteoclasts, short-lived cells that resorb bone. Although a rise in intracellular pH (pH(i)) has been linked to inhibition of apoptosis, the effect of CSF-1 on pH(i) in osteoclasts has not been reported. The present study shows that, in the absence of CO(2)/HCO(3)(-), CSF-1 causes little change in osteoclast pH(i).

The SLC4 family of HCO 3 - transporters.

The SLC4 family consists of ten genes. All appear to encode integral membrane proteins with very similar hydropathy plots-consistent with the presence of 10-14 transmembrane segments. At least eight SLC4 members encode proteins that transport HCO(3)(-) (or a related species, such as CO(3)(2-)) across the plasma membrane.

Chronic metabolic acidosis upregulates rat kidney Na-HCO cotransporters NBCn1 and NBC3 but not NBC1.

Several members of the Na-HCO cotransporter (NBC) family have recently been identified functionally and partly characterized, including rkNBC1, NBCn1, and NBC3. Regulation of these NBCs may play a role in the maintenance of intracellular pH and in the regulation of renal acid-base balance. However, it is unknown whether the expressions of these NBCs are regulated in response to changes in acid-base status.