Hyposmotic activation of ICl,swell in rabbit nonpigmented ciliary epithelial cells involves increased ClC-3 trafficking to the plasma membrane

In mammalian nonpigmented ciliary epithelial (NPE) cells, hyposmotic stimulation leading to cell swelling activates an outwardly rectifying Cl– conductance (ICl,swell), which, in turn, results in regulatory volume decrease. The aim of this study was to determine whether increased trafficking of intracellular ClC-3 Cl channels to the plasma membrane could contribute to the ICl,swell following hyposmotic stimulation. Our results demonstrate that hyposmotic stimulation reversibly activates an outwardly rectifying Cl– current that is inhibited by phorbol-12-dibutyrate and niflumic acid. Transfection with ClC-3 antisense, but not sense, oligonucleotides reduced ClC-3 expression as well as ICl,swell. Intracellular dialysis with 2 different ClC-3 antibodies abolished activation of ICl,swell. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that hyposmotic stimulation increased ClC-3 immunoreactivity at the plasma membrane. To determine whether this increased expression of ClC-3 at the plasma membrane could be due to increas...