Survival of T-lymphocytes under alkalosis and autocrine factor deficiency

Abstract

Alkalosis associated with elevated pH is characteristic of many clinical pathologies. Respiratory alkalosis is a result of hyperventilation, i.e., reduced partial CO2 pressure in alveolar air and blood. Yet another type of alkalosis, i.e., metabolic alkalosis, is associated with an absolute or relative increase in the levels of alkaline compounds in the organism. Despite high toxicity of the latter, mechanisms whereby these compounds exert their toxic effects remain obscure. In multicellular organisms, cell survival is controlled by a vast variety of factors, such as autocrine survival factors (AF) specifically targeted at cells that secrete them. Our previous studies (Lutsenko and Diachkova, 2003) demonstrated that AF control cell survival and energy metabolism in T-lymphocytes. In this study, combined effects of AF deficiency and alkalosis (pH 8.3) on cell survival, intracellular content of ATP and mitochondrial transmembrane potential of T-lymphocytes were studied using an IL-2-dependent cell line CTLL-2. It was found that in the absence of AF deficiency, alkalosis had no effect on survival of cultured CTLL-2 cells. The main mechanism of protection of CTLL-2 cells against cytotoxic effects of alkalosis was an enhanced anaerobic glycolysis and consequential increase in the lactate production. In contrast, alkalosis combined with AF deficiency caused a substantial decrease of cell survival, which lowered down to 53% after 6 h and to about 10 % after 20 h of culturing under these conditions. The ATP content dropped down sharply under the AF deficiency even at pH 7.3 but gradually restored to the initial level within the next 2-3 h; cell survival was at a high level under these conditions. Alkalosis combined with the AF deficiency notably worsened the functional state of the cells; ATP content in them remained at a low level over the whole period of the alkaline stress. After a 2-h incubation under alkalosis and AF deficiency, 23% of cells contained depolarized mitochondria; lactate production was notably suppressed. The data obtained suggest that the reduction of the intracellular ATP level in CTLL-2 cells under alkalosis and AF deficiency are due to inhibition of anaerobic glycolysis and mitochondrial dysfunction. Cell death developed predominantly via the necrotic rather than the apoptotic pathway.