Structural and functional alterations of the cell membrane in the prehypertensive rat of the Okamoto Aoki strain

Abstract

Plasma membrane properties of 3 to 4-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were investigated in both excitable cells, i.e. cardiomyocytes and platelets, and non-excitable cells, i.e. erythrocytes. Cardiac sarcolemma from SHR exhibited: lowered capacity of high-affinity Ca2+-binding sites; higher Ca2+ pump activity; higher Na+K+-ATPase activity due to increased density of Na+ pump units; suppression of the above three effects by the Ca2+-calmodulin complex, and increased Na+Ca2+ exchange. No difference in platelet cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration was observed between SHR and WKY. In both substrains, erythrocyte intracellular Na+ content was similar in spite of reduced Na+ and K+ net fluxes. Isolated membranes from SHR erythrocytes were also characterized by: lowered phosphoinositide turnover; decreased ATP-dependent Ca2+-transport, and lowered capacity of high affinity Ca2+-binding sites. Structural alterations detected by fluorescence polarization of diphenylhexatriene were observed in SHR cardiac sarcolemma, erythrocyte and brain synaptosomal membranes. Membrane organization and activity of transport systems controlling the intracellular Na+ and Ca2+ level were thus already modified in the prehypertensive animals whereas the resulting intracellular ion contents were still unaltered.