Sodium-bicarbonate cotransport current in identified leech glial cells.

1. The membrane current associated with the cotransport of Na+ and HCO3- was investigated in neuropil glial cells in isolated ganglia of the leech Hirudo medicinalis L. using the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique. 2. The addition of 5% CO2-24 mM HCO3- evoked an outward current, which slowly decayed, and which was dependent upon the presence of external Na+. Removal of CO2-HCO3- elicited a transient inward current. Re-addition of Na+ to Na(+)-free saline in the presence of CO2-HCO3- also produced an outward current. Under these conditions an intracellular alkalinization and a rise in intracellular [Na+] were recorded using triple-barrelled, ion-sensitive microelectrodes. Addition or removal of HCO3-, in the absence of external Na+, caused little or no change in membrane voltage, membrane current and intracellular pH, indicating that the glial membrane has a very low HCO3- conductance. 3. Voltage steps revealed nearly linear current-voltage relationships both in the absence and presence of CO2-HCO3-, with an intersection at the assumed reversal potential of the HCO(3-)-dependent current. These results suggest a cotransport stoichiometry of 2HCO3-: 1 Na+. The HCO(3-)-dependent current could be inhibited by diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS). 4. Simultaneous recording of current and intracellular pH showed a correlation of the maximal acid-base flux with the transient HCO(3-)-dependent current during voltage steps in the presence of CO2-HCO3-. The maximum rate of acid-base flux and the HCO(3-)-dependent peak current showed a similar dependence on membrane voltage. Lowering the external pH from 7.4 to 7.0 produced an inward current, which increased twofold in the presence of CO2-HCO3-. This current was largely inhibited by DIDS, indicating outward-going electrogenic Na(+)-HCO3- cotransport during external acidification. 5. When external Na+ was replaced by Li+, a similar outward current and intracellular alkalinization were observed in the presence of CO2-HCO3-. The Li(+)-induced intracellular alkalinization was not inhibited by amiloride, a blocker of Na+(Li+)-H+ exchange, but was sensitive to DIDS. These results suggest that Li+ could, at least partly, substitute for Na+ at the cotransporter site. 6. Our results indicate that the Na(+)-HCO3- cotransport produces a current across the glial cell membrane in both directions with a reversal potential near the membrane resting potential, rendering pHi a function of the glial membrane potential.