K⁺ Channel Activation Inhibits Allergen-Stimulated ATP Release by Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Allergens derived from the fungus Alternaria alternata stimulate the release of multiple alarmins including ATP, IL-33 and DNA fragments from human bronchial epithelial cells (hBECs). Oxidative stress induced by Alternaria extract activates ATP release by opening voltage-dependent anion channels (VDAC-1) in the apical membrane and by stimulating exocytosis of ATP containing membrane vesicles. The present study shows that pretreatment of hBECs with K2P channel inhibitors prior to Alternaria exposure significantly increases the initial rate of ATP release and inhibition of ATP loading into membrane vesicles with bafilomycin A1 blocks the response. Furthermore, pretreatment with the K+ channel openers, EBIO (KCa3.1 channels), NS11021 (KCa1.1 channels) and pinacidil (KATP channels) each inhibited the bafilomycin A1-dependent component of ATP release, reducing the initial rate of ATP secretion by ~50%. K2P channel blockers caused depolarization whereas K+ channel openers produced hyperpolarization of the cell membrane. Additionally, K2P channel inhibitors also increased Alternaria-stimulated Ca2+ uptake into hBECs while K+ channel openers reduced the Alternaria response by ~50%. Imaging experiments involving visualization of fluorescently labeled MARCKS proteins in the apical membrane showed that treatment with Alternaria caused a significant decrease in fluorescence intensity, however pretreatment with K+ channel openers, but not K2P channel blockers, inhibited the effect. These results are consistent with recent findings showing that MARCKS proteins bind to the plasma membrane through an electrostatic association with PIP2 and that phosphorylation by PKC or membrane hyperpolarization following K+ channel activation disrupts this interaction resulting in MARCKS detachment from the membrane. MARCKS detachment uncouples the membrane from the actin cytoskeleton, facilitating vesicle docking, fusion and release of ATP. This study was supported by NIH grants (AI128729 and AI169530) to HK and SMO and by USDA-AES 0016134 to SMO. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.