Intracellular pH of perfused single frog skin: combined 19F- and 31P-NMR analysis

Intracellular pH (pHc) has been determined in frog skin by applying two different methods of pH measurement, 19F and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, to the same tissues. Results from both NMR approaches confirm an observation by Lin, Shporer, and Civan [Am. J. Physiol. 248 (Cell Physiol. 17): 1985] that acidification of the extracellular medium reverses the sign of the pH gradient present under baseline conditions. The fluorinated probe, alpha-(difluoromethyl)-alanine methyl ester, was introduced into the epithelial cells by preincubating skins for 4.7-10.4 h at room temperature in Ringer solutions containing 1 mM ester. The free amino acid was subsequently released by intracellular esterase activity, thus providing a high enough probe concentration for NMR analysis to be practicable. From measurements of short-circuit current and transepithelial resistance under base-line and experimental conditions and the appearance of phosphocreatine (PCr) in the 31P spectrum of preloaded tissues, the fluorinated probe appears to be nontoxic to frog skin. Measurement of the chemical shift of methylphosphonate relative to PCr permitted calculation of extracellular pH. Estimation of the intracellular pH was performed both by measurement of the chemical shift of inorganic phosphate (Pi) relative to PCr and by measurement of the central peak spacing of the 19F spectrum. From four direct comparisons of the two techniques in two experiments, the difference in the estimated pH was only 0.03 +/- 0.07 pH units, supporting the concept that 31P-NMR analysis is a valid method of measuring pH in this tissue.