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QCM sensor provides insight into the role of pivotal ions in cellular regulatory volume decrease

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Abstract

All vertebrate cells generally self-regulate for sustaining homeostasis and cell functions. As a major regulatory mechanism, regulatory volume decrease (RVD) occurs in hypotonicity-induced cell swelling, and then shrinking by the efflux of intracellular osmolytes and water, in which the ions K+, Cl−, and Ca2+ play a key role in the RVD process. We observed that these pivotal ions could result in novel RVD behaviors under repeatedly hypotonic stimulation. However, there is a lack of valid means for assessing the effect of pivotal ions on RVD. In this work, we proposed an effective measurement process based on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) combined with cell function of RVD for revealing acute variations in cell volume regulation induced by the pivotal ions. A QCM sensor was implemented by adhering MCF-7 cells to a poly-l-lysine-modified gold chip and cyclic stimulation with hypotonic NaCl medium, in which a frequency shift (Δf) showed the superior feasibility of the technique in exhibiting RVD behaviors. With the increase in the number of cycles, the RVD values decreased progressively under three stimulation cycles with hypotonic NaCl alone. Compared with the first cycle, the RVD level in the second and third cycles declined by 60.7±1.7% and 82.1±1.6% (n=3), respectively; conversely, it recovered in NaCl-KCl solution, but was significantly enhanced by 52.2±0.8% in NaCl-CaCl2 solution. Moreover, the inhibition of chloride channels to block Cl− efflux also decreased the RVD level by 56.2±3.0%. The results indicate that these ions (K+, Cl−, Ca2+) are all able to affect the function of RVD, among which intracellular Cl− depletion reduced RVD during measurement, but which recovered with K+ supplement, and Ca2+ enhanced RVD due to activation of ion channels. Therefore, this work provides a comprehensive assessment of cellular behavior and offers an innovative method for gaining insight into cellular functions and mechanisms.

Graphical abstract

A novel strategy was conducted by integrating a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) with the function of cell volume regulation for analyzing the role of the pivotal ions ( K+, Cl−, Ca2+) in NaCl media on the behaviors of regulatory cell volume decrease (RVD).

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21874057).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of China

    Peihui Yang, Shan Bao, Suting Xiao, Jingwei Feng & Xinxin Lu

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  1. Peihui Yang
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Yang, P., Bao, S., Xiao, S. et al. QCM sensor provides insight into the role of pivotal ions in cellular regulatory volume decrease. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 245–254 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04415-7

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