thioinosine and Diabetes--Gestational

The purpose of this study was to clarify the transport characteristics of nucleosides in rat placenta and the changes of functional expression of nucleoside transporters in rat placenta with experimental diabetes mellitus. Placental uptake clearances of [(3)H]adenosine and [(3)H]zidovudine from maternal blood was much higher than that of [(14)C]mannitol. Xenopus oocytes injected with rat ENT1 and ENT2 cRNA took up [(3)H]adenosine with K(m) values of 6.1 and 26 µM, respectively. [(3)H]Adenosine transport by rat placental brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) was saturable and was inhibited by nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR), a specific ENT inhibitor, in a manner consistent with involvement of both rat ENT1 and ENT2. [(3)H]Didanosine was modestly taken up by placenta, and the inhibitory effect of 100 µM NBMPR on [(3)H]ddI uptake by BBMV suggested a role of ENT2-mediated transport. Expression of ENT1, ENT2, ENT3, CNT2, and CNT3 mRNAs was detected in placenta of control and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic pregnant rats, and CNT2 (SLC28A2) expression was significantly increased in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Consistently, Na(+)-dependent adenosine uptake by BBMV from STZ-induced diabetic pregnant rats was higher than that from control rats. These results suggest the involvement of placental ENT2 as well as ENT1 in nucleoside uptake from maternal blood, and the induction of CNT2 in experimental diabetes mellitus.

Topics: Adenosine; Animals; Biological Transport; Carrier Proteins; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; Diabetes, Gestational; Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1; Equilibrative-Nucleoside Transporter 2; Female; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Membrane Transport Proteins; Microvilli; Nucleosides; Oocytes; Placenta; Pregnancy; Rats; Rats, Wistar; RNA, Messenger; Thioinosine; Trophoblasts; Up-Regulation; Xenopus laevis; Zidovudine

Adenosine transport was characterized in human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells isolated from non-diabetic and diabetic pregnant subjects. Transport of adenosine was mediated by a Na+-independent transport system inhibited by nanomolar concentrations of nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR) in both cell types. Diabetes increased adenosine transport, an effect that was associated with a higher maximal velocity (Vmax) for NBMPR-sensitive (es) saturable nucleoside transport (18 +/- 2 vs. 61 +/- 3 pmol (microgram protein)-1 min-1, P < 0.05) and the maximal number of binding sites (Bmax) for specific [3H]NBMPR binding (74 +/- 4 vs. 156 +/- 10 pmol (microgram protein)-1, P < 0.05), with no significant changes in the Michaelis-Menten (Km) and dissociation (Kd) constants, respectively. Adenosine transport was unaltered by inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (with 100 microM NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, L-NAME) or protein synthesis (with 1 microM cycloheximide), but was increased by inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity (with 100 microM, SQ-22536) in non-diabetic cells. Diabetes-induced adenosine transport was blocked by L-NAME and associated with an increase in L-[3H]citrulline formation from L-[3H]arginine and intracellular cGMP, but with a decrease in intracellular cAMP compared with non-diabetic cells. Expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) was unaltered by diabetes. Dibutyryl cGMP (dbcGMP) increased, but dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) decreased, adenosine transport in non-diabetic cells. dbcGMP or the NO donor S-nitrosoacetylpenicillamine (SNAP, 100 microM) did not alter the diabetes-elevated adenosine transport. However, activation of adenylyl cyclase with forskolin (1 microM), directly or after incubation of cells with dbcAMP, inhibited adenosine transport in both cell types. Our findings provide the first evidence that adenosine transport in human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells is mediated by the NBMPR-sensitive transport system es, and that its activity is upregulated by gestational diabetes.

Topics: Adenosine; Biological Transport; Cells, Cultured; Cyclic AMP; Cyclic GMP; Diabetes, Gestational; Female; Humans; Intracellular Membranes; Kinetics; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Nitric Oxide; Nucleotides, Cyclic; Pregnancy; Reference Values; Thioinosine; Umbilical Arteries