Effects of myristate phorbol ester on V-ATPase activity and Na(+)-H+ exchange in alveolar macrophages

The roles of protein kinase C (PKC) in regulation of the plasmalemmal vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) and Na(+)-H+ exchanger (NHE) of rabbit alveolar macrophages (m phi) were investigated using phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). At an extracellular pH (pHo) of 7.4 (nominal absence of CO2-HCO3-), PMA caused a dose-dependent increase in the rate of cellular H+ extrusion with little change in intracellular pH (pHi). PMA caused a prolonged cytosolic acidification at pHo < or = 6.8. PMA-induced changes in pHi were sensitive to bafilomycin A1, but were insensitive to amiloride. Studies of pHi recovery following intracellular acid challenge showed that both V-ATPase and the NHE were up-regulated by PMA. An inactive analog, 4 alpha-phorbol, had no detectable effects on pHi homeostasis. These data indicate that (a) PKC is involved in regulation of V-ATPase and the NHE of resident alveolar m phi and (b) V-ATPase is the predominant mechanism for pHi homeostasis in unstimulated and PMA-activated m phi.