Loss of bradykinin receptors and TPA-stimulated Na+ influx in SV40-transformed WI-38 cells.

Mitogenic stimulation of Na(+)-H+ exchange activity, as defined by the level of 5-(N,N-hexamethylene)amiloride (HMA)-sensitive Na+ influx, was compared in WI-38 and SV40 virus-transformed WI-38 fibroblasts. Serum or bradykinin dramatically stimulated HMA-sensitive Na+ influx in WI-38 cells, whereas in SV40-transformed WI-38 cells, serum, but not bradykinin, produced a large increase in HMA-sensitive Na+ influx. This lack of a bradykinin response was traced to a dramatic reduction in the number of bradykinin receptors, from 470 fmol/mg protein in WI-38 cells to 29 fmol/mg protein in the SV40-transformed WI-38 cells. Transformation of WI-38 cells with SV40 virus also altered the mechanism by which HMA-sensitive Na+ influx is stimulated. In WI-38 cells, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) dramatically stimulated HMA-sensitive Na+ influx. In SV40-transformed WI-38 cells, TPA alone had no effect on HMA-sensitive influx and inhibited serum-stimulated HMA-sensitive Na+ influx. Down-regulation of protein kinase C activity decreased serum- and TPA-stimulated HMA-sensitive Na+ influx in the WI-38 cells and relieved the TPA inhibition of serum-stimulated HMA-sensitive Na+ influx in the SV40-transformed WI-38 cells.