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Red blood cells are involved not only in transportation of oxygen and carbon dioxide but also in autoregulation of vascular tone by ATP release in hypoxic conditions. Molecular mechanisms of the ATP release from red blood cells in response to a decrease in partial oxygen pressure still remain to be elucidated. In this work we have studied effects of hypoxia on red blood cell hemolysis in humans and rats and compared the effects of inhibitors of ecto-ATPase and pannexin on the release of ATP and hemoglobin from rat erythrocytes. The 20-min hypoxia at 37°C increased hemolysis of red blood cells in humans and rats 1.5- and 2.5-fold, respectively. In rat erythrocytes a significant increase in hypoxia-induced extracellular ATP level was found only in the presence of ecto-ATPase inhibitor ARL 67156. In these conditions we observed a positive correlation (R2 = 0.5003) between the increase in free hemoglobin concentration and the ATP release. Neither carbenoxolon nor probenecid, the inhibitors of low-selectivity pannexin channels, altered the hypoxia-induced ATP release from rat erythrocytes. The obtained results indicate a key role of hemolysis in the ATP release from red blood cells.

In smooth muscles, inhibition of Na(+),K(+),2Cl(-) cotransport (NKCC) by bumetanide decreased intracellular Cl(-) content ([Cl(-)](i)) and suppressed the contractions triggered by diverse stimuli. This study examines whether or not bicarbonate, a regulator of several Cl(-) transporters, affects the impact of NKCC in excitation-contraction coupling. Addition of 25 mM NaHCO(3) attenuated the inhibitory action of bumetanide on mesenteric artery contractions evoked by 30 mM KCl and phenylephrine (PE) by 5 and 3-fold, respectively. In cultured vascular smooth muscle cells, NaHCO(3) almost completely abolished inhibitory actions of bumetanide on transient depolarization and [Ca(2+)](i) elevation triggered by PE. In bicarbonate-free medium, bumetanide decreased [Cl(-)](i) by approximately 15%; this effect was almost totally abrogated by NaHCO(3). The addition of NaHCO(3) resulted in 2-fold inhibition of NKCC activity and 3-fold attenuation of [Cl(-)](i). These data strongly suggest that extracellular HCO(3)(-) diminishes the NKCC-sensitive component of excitation-contraction coupling via suppression of this carrier.