Cell volume-regulated cation channels.

Considering the enormous turnover rates of ion channels when compared to carriers it is quite obvious that channel-mediated ion transport may serve as a rapid and efficient mechanism of cell volume regulation. Whenever studied in a quantitative fashion the hypertonic activation of non-selective cation channels is found to be the main mechanism of regulatory volume increase (RVI). Some channels are inhibited by amiloride (and may be related to the ENaC), others are blocked by Gd(3) and flufenamate (and possibly linked to the group of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels). Nevertheless, the actual architecture of hypertonicity-induced cation channels remains to be defined. In some preparations, hypertonic stress decreases K(+) channel activity so reducing the continuous K(+) leak out of the cell; this is equivalent to a net gain of cell osmolytes facilitating RVI. The hypotonic activation of K(+) selective channels appears to be one of the most common principles of regulatory volume decrease (RVD) and, in most instances, the actual channels involved could be identified on the molecular level. These are BKCa (or maxi K(+)) channels, IK(Ca) and SK(Ca) channels (of intermediate and small conductance, respectively), the group of voltage-gated (Kv) channels including their Beta (or Kv ancilliary) subunits, two-pore K(2P) channels, as well as inwardly rectifying K(+) (Kir) channels (also contributing to K(ATP) channels). In some cells, hypotonicity activates non-selective cation channels. This is surprising, at first sight, because of the inside negative membrane voltage and the sum of driving forces for Na(+) and K(+) diffusion across the cell membrane rather favouring net cation uptake. Some of these channels, however, exhibit a P(K)/P(Na) significantly higher than 1, whereas others are Ca(++) permeable linking hypotonic stress to the activation of Ca(++) dependent ion channels. In particular, the latter holds for the group of TRPs which are specialised in the perception of a variety of different stimuli including mechanical and (hypo-) osmotic stress. As a peculiarity, phospholemman (PLM, a 72 AA peptide also employed in ion transport regulation) appears to be activated under, both, hypertonic and hypotonic conditions, preferentially operating as a cation and anion channel, respectively.