Hydrogen peroxide stimulates sodium-potassium pump activity in cultured pulmonary arterial endothelial cells

Oxidant injury to pulmonary vascular endothelium is an important factor in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury. Oxidant injury to other cell types has been reported to alter the function of Na-K-adenosinetriphophatase (ATPase) an enzyme important in maintenance of cellular ionic homeostasis and in transport of ions across biological membranes. We investigated the effect of H2O2 (0.001-10 mM) or xanthine (X) (15.2 micrograms/ml) plus xanthine oxidase (XO) (0.0153 U/ml) on the Na-K pump activity of cultured bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs). We used a functional assay, using 86RbCl as a tracer for K+ and expressing Na-K pump activity as ouabain-inhibitable K+ uptake. Our results demonstrate that H2O2 and X/XO stimulate Na-K pump activity of bovine PAECs, an effect prevented by catalase. In addition, we assessed the affinity, number, and turnover of [3H]ouabain binding sites on intact endothelial monolayers and found that H2O2 increased affinity to [3H]ouabain, decreased the number of binding sites, and increased the rate of pump turnover. Influx of 22Na increased in response to a nonlytic concentration of H2O2. Cell injury, as assessed by 51Cr release, adherent cell number, and phase-microscopic morphology, was not observed after 30-min incubations with the lowest dose (1 mM) of H2O2 effective in stimulating Na-K pump activity, or after incubation with X/XO. Na-K pump inhibition by ouabain significantly increased the 51Cr release caused by H2O2 or by X/XO, suggesting that the increase in Na-K pump activity may be a compensatory response to the cellular alterations produced by H2O2. Incubation with H2O2 decreased cell ATP content, an effect which was not prevented by coincubation with ouabain. In summary, these results show that H2O2 increases Na-K pump activity of PAECs, an effect mediated, at least in part, by increased intracellular [Na] and by an increased rate of pump turnover. It is possible that the increased pump activity may be an early marker of endothelial cell perturbation.