Effect of reactive oxygen species on NH 4 + permeation in Xenopus laevis oocytes

To investigate the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on NH 4+ permeation in Xenopus laevis oocytes, we used intracellular double-barreled microelectrodes to monitor the changes in membrane potential ( V m) and intracellular pH (pHi) induced by a 20 mM NH4Cl-containing solution. Under control conditions, NH4Cl exposure induced a large membrane depolarization (to V m = 4.0 ± 1.5 mV; n = 21) and intracellular acidification [reaching a change in pHi(ΔpHi) of 0.59 ± 0.06 pH units in 12 min]; the initial rate of cell acidification (dpHi/d t ) was 0.06 ± 0.01 pH units/min. Incubation of the oocytes in the presence of H2O2 or β-amyloid protein had no marked effect on the NH4Cl-induced ΔpHi. By contrast, in the presence of photoactivated rose bengal (RB), tert -butyl-hydroxyperoxide ( t -BHP), or xanthine/xanthine oxidase (X/XO), the same experimental maneuver induced significantly greater ΔpHi and dpHi/d t . These increases in ΔpHiand dpHi/d t were prevented by the ROS scavengers histidine and desferrioxamine, suggesting involvement of the reactive species 1ΔgO2 and ·OH. Using the voltage-clamp technique to identify the mechanism underlying the ROS-measured effects, we found that RB induced a large increase in the oocyte membrane conductance ( G m). This RB-induced G m increase was prevented by 1 mM diphenylamine-2-carboxylate (DPC) and by a low Na+concentration in the bath. We conclude that RB, t -BHP, and X/XO enhance NH 4+ influx into the oocyte via activation of a DPC-sensitive nonselective cation conductance pathway.