Glucose deprivation results in the induction of glucose-regulated proteins and domes in MDCK monolayers in hormonally defined serum-free medium.

Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells spontaneously form dome-like structures in vitro, a phenomenon which has been proposed to be indicative of cellular differentiation. This study indicates the existence of a correlation between the induction of domes and of glucose-regulated proteins during glucose starvation. When MDCK monolayers were glucose deprived, domes appeared very rapidly. After only 3 h of glucose deprivation domes appeared in 69% of the microscope fields. The level of expression of glucose-regulated proteins (grps) as well as domes was examined over a 6-h time interval of glucose deprivation. Both grp 76 and 97 were induced over this time interval, with grp 76 being the more readily detectable. The level of induction of grp 76 as a function of time was quantitated by means of densitometry measurements. The induction of domes was examined in parallel with the induction of grp 76. The results indicated that the induction of grp 76 and domes occurs with a similar time course. The effect of glucose deprivation on the initial rate of ouabain-sensitive Rb+ uptake was also examined. Within the first 4 h of glucose deprivation, the initial rate of ouabain-sensitive Rb+ uptake did not differ significantly in glucose-deprived and control MDCK monolayers. These observations indicate that unlike the case with other methods of dome induction (e.g., treatment with either prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) or hexamethylene bis-acetamide (HMBA] glucose deprivation does not affect the Na+K+ ATPase activity of MDCK monolayers. These observations suggest that PGE1, HMBA, and glucose deprivation affect dome formation in MDCK monolayers by means of distinct mechanisms.