Bicarbonate exchangers SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 are localized at the apical membrane of intact porcine vas deferens epithelium

Abstract

The goal of this study was to detect bicarbonate exchangers SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 in intact vas deferens epithelia. Bicarbonate uptake by sperm cells while still in the male reproductive tract is required for the development of fertilizing capacity. The expression of SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 at the mRNA level has been reported in the porcine vas deferens (PVD) PVD9902 cell line, but it remains unknown whether SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 are expressed in intact PVD epithelium. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) was employed to investigate SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 immunoreactivities in intact PVD and primary PVD cultured (1oPVD) cells. qRT‐PCR was used to determine the mRNA copy number of SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 in total RNA isolated from 1oPVD cells. LSCM demonstrated that SLC26A3 and SLC26A6 immunoreactivities are located at the apical membrane of principal cells in the proximal and distal segments of PVD. In contrast to tissue sections 1oPVD cells (cultured for 14 days) demonstrated diffuse immunolabelling close to apical area. 1oPVD cells expressed 391±70 copies of SLC26A3 and 2324±265 copies of SLC26A6 mRNA per 500 ng of total RNA. The study was supported by the NIH (RO1HD058398) and (RR017686 ‐ Imaging and Molecular Cores).