The transport and accumulation of oxyvanadium compounds in human erythrocytes in vitro

Metavanadate, at physiologic pH the oxyanion form of pentavalent vanadium, is a potent reversible inhibitor of the sodium pump. Vanadium must enter cells to inhibit the sodium pump, and metavanadate may be converted to an inactive form inside of cells. Because of these factors and the complex inorganic chemistry of vanadium, we examined the kinetics of vanadium uptake and accumulation in normal erythrocytes in vitro at 37 degrees C. The kinetics of vanadium influx, efflux, and accumulation in erythrocytes in Tris-buffered, isotonic salt medium were fit closely by a model with vanadium in two possible oxidation states and with the vanadium permeating between two compartments. The equation for this model is: (formula: see text) in which subscripts i and o signify "inside" and "outside" the cells, respectively, and k1, k-1, and k2 are rate constants. 48V or EPR of vanadium(IV) gave similar estimates of the concentrations of the components. The k1 was 0.37 +/- 0.06 (S.E.M.) min-1 and k2 was 0.04 +/- 0.01 min-1. In control Tris-medium, k1 exceeded k-1 by a factor of 1.8. After 120 min of incubation in media with initial concentrations of 1, 10, or 100 microM vanadium(V), the total intracellular vanadium concentration exceeded that in the bath 4.5 to 18-fold. Vanadium influx was not appreciably changed by variations of external sodium or glucose levels. The k1 and k-1 were inversely related to external pH over the range 6.5 to 8.2. High O2 tension (95% to 100% O2) caused a decrease in k2, and the lipophilic oxidant, cumene hydroperoxide, accelerated the loss of accumulated vanadium from the cells, indicating that the k2 step represents reduction of vanadium(V) to vanadium(V) within the cells. On the basis of these studies we suggest that the intracellular concentration of vanadium(V), the inhibitor of the sodium pump, is determined by the combined effects of the rate of vanadium influx (dependent on the extracellular concentration of free metavanadate), the rate of vanadium efflux, and the rate of conversion of vanadium(V) to vanadium(IV).