Cholangiocytes exhibit dynamic, actin-dependent apical membrane turnover.

The present studies of cholangiocytes used complementary histological, biochemical, and electrophysiological methods to identify a dense population of subapical vesicles, quantify the rates of vesicular trafficking, and assess the contribution of the actin cytoskeleton to membrane trafficking. FM 1-43 fluorescence measured significant basal rates of total exocytosis (1.33 +/- 0.16% plasma membrane/min) in isolated cholangiocytes and apical exocytosis in cholangiocyte monolayers. Cell surface area remained unchanged, indicating that there was a concurrent, equivalent rate of endocytosis. FM 1-43 washout studies showed that 36% of the endocytosed membrane was recycled to the plasma membrane. 8-(4-Chlorophenylthio)adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (CPT-cAMP; cAMP analog) increased exocytosis by 71 +/- 31%, whereas the Rp diastereomer of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate (Rp-cAMPS; protein kinase A inhibitor) diminished basal exocytosis by 53 +/- 11%. A dense population of 140-nm subapical vesicles arose, in part, from apical membrane endocytosis. Phalloidin staining showed that a subpopulation of the endocytosed vesicles was encapsulated by F-actin. Furthermore, membrane trafficking was inhibited by disrupting the actin cytoskeleton with cytochalasin D (51 +/- 13% of control) or jasplakinolide (58 +/- 9% of control). These studies indicate that there is a high rate of vesicular trafficking at the apical membrane of cholangiocytes and suggest that both cAMP and the actin cytoskeleton contribute importantly to these events.