Cellular Mechanism Underlying Hydrogen Sulfide Mediated Epithelial K + Secretion in Rat Epididymis
As a novel gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H S) elicits various physiological actions including smooth muscle relaxation and promotion of transepithelial ion transport. However, the pro-secretory function of H S in the male reproductive system remains largely unclear. The aim of this study is to...
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Published in | Frontiers in physiology Vol. 9; p. 1886 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
Frontiers Media S.A
07.01.2019
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | As a novel gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H
S) elicits various physiological actions including smooth muscle relaxation and promotion of transepithelial ion transport. However, the pro-secretory function of H
S in the male reproductive system remains largely unclear. The aim of this study is to elucidate the possible roles of H
S in modulating rat epididymal intraluminal ionic microenvironment essential for sperm storage. The results revealed that endogenous H
S-generating enzymes cystathionine β-synthetase (CBS) and cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) were both expressed in rat epididymis. CBS located predominantly in epithelial cells whilst CSE expressed primarily in smooth muscle cells. The relative expression level of CBS and CSE escalated from caput to cauda regions of epididymis, which was paralleled to the progressively increasing production of endogenous H
S. The effect of H
S on epididymal epithelial ion transportation was investigated using short-circuit current (
), measurement of intracellular ion concentration and
rat epididymal microperfusion. Our data showed that H
S induced transepithelial K
secretion via adenosine triphosphate-sensitive K
(K
) channel and large conductance Ca
-activated K
(BK
) channel. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel-mediated Ca
influx was implicated in the activation of BK
channel.
studies further demonstrated that H
S promoted K
secretion in rat epididymal epithelium. Inhibition of endogenous H
S synthesis caused a significant decrease in K
concentration of cauda epididymal intraluminal fluid. Moreover, our data demonstrated that high extracellular K
concentration actively depressed the motility of cauda epididymal sperm in a pH-independent manner. Collectively, the present study demonstrated that H
S was vital to the formation of high K
concentration in epididymal intraluminal fluid by promoting the transepithelial K
secretion, which might contribute to the maintenance of the cauda epididymal sperm in quiescent dormant state before ejaculation. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 This article was submitted to Renal and Epithelial Physiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Physiology Reviewed by: Oleh Pochynyuk, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, United States; Diego Alvarez de la Rosa, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain These authors have contributed equally to this work Edited by: Sebastian Frische, Aarhus University, Denmark |
ISSN: | 1664-042X 1664-042X |
DOI: | 10.3389/fphys.2018.01886 |