An epithelial high-affinity amiloride-binding site, different from the Na+ channel

Amiloride and vertebrate gustatory responses to NaCl

Amiloride at < or = 1 microM may block epithelial Na+ channels without affecting other cellular mechanisms, and attenuates gustatory responses to lingual NaCl from the chorda tympani nerves (CT) of gerbil, hamster, rhesus monkey, and several strains of laboratory rat and mouse, and from glossopharyngeally innervated frog taste-receptor cells; at 5 microM to 50 microM, also from Wistar rat and mongrel dog CT. Affected units responded more to NaCl than to KCl. Suppression of CT responses to KCl, HCl, NH4Cl, or saccharides also occurred in some mammals, but amiloride did not elicit responses. Taste-dependent behaviors towards NaCl or KCl were altered. DBA and 129/J laboratory mice, and mudpuppy, were unaffected by amiloride. In humans, 10 microM amiloride both produced taste reports and reduced total intensity of NaCl and LiCl by 15-20%. NaCl and LiCl sourness, and KCl and QHCl bitterness declined, but saltiness generally did not change. Effects on sweetness were inconsistent. Amiloride-sensitive gustatory mechanisms were prominent in some mammals, were not necessary for responses to NaCl, and were of minor importance for human taste.

An aldosterone regulated chicken intestine protein with high affinity to amiloride

The pattern of chicken intestine amiloride-binding proteins was determined using the photoreactive amiloride analogue 2'-methoxy-5'-nitrobenzamil (NMBA) and a polyclonal anti-amiloride antibody. At 10(-7)M, NMBA inhibits approximately 62% of the Na+ channel activity. At this concentration the amiloride analogue labels a number of membrane proteins, and in particular a 40-45 kDa polypeptide denoted ABP40. Incorporation of NMBA into ABP40 could be prevented by a 100-fold excess of benzamil, but not by a 1000-fold excess of 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)-amiloride. Labeling of ABP40 was intense in membranes derived from salt-deprived chickens and approximately 5-fold weaker in membranes from salt-repleted animals. Because of its small size, ABP40 is not likely to be an avian Na+ channel subunit, yet this amiloride-binding protein could be involved in the response to aldosterone.

The amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+ channel: binding sites and channel densities

The amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel found in many transporting epithelia plays a key role in regulating salt and water homeostasis. Both biochemical and biophysical approaches have been used to identify, characterize, and quantitate this important channel. Among biophysical methods, there is agreement as to the single-channel conductance and gating kinetics of the highly selective Na+ channel found in native epithelia. Amiloride and its analogs inhibit transport through the channel by binding to high-affinity ligand-binding sites. This characteristic of high-affinity binding has been used biochemically to quantitate channel densities and to isolate presumptive channel proteins. Although the goals of biophysical and biochemical experiments are the same in elucidating mechanisms underlying regulation of Na+ transport, our review highlights a major quantitative discrepancy between methods in estimation of channel densities involved in transport. Because the density of binding sites measured biochemically is three to four orders of magnitude in excess of channel densities measured biophysically, it is unlikely that high-affinity ligand binding can be used physiologically to quantitate channel densities and characterize the channel proteins.

Interaction of amiloride with rat parotid muscarinic and alpha-adrenergic receptors

1. In rat parotid acini, amiloride inhibited the secretion of amylase and the efflux of calcium and rubidium in response to carbamylcholine and to norepinephrine. 2. Amiloride competitively inhibited the binding of [3H]N-methylscopolamine and [3H] is thus a competitive antagonist of muscarinic and norepinephrine alpha-adrenergic receptors. 3. Amiloride did not affect the response to substance P with respect to secretion or ion movements. 4. Thus the Na+/H+ antiporter is not involved in the short-term regulation of amylase secretion and calcium and potassium movements in rat parotid gland function.

Effect of central amiloride infusion on mineralocorticoid hypertension

There is strong evidence from different types of studies, including the discrete infusion of agonists and antagonists and ablation of specific brain areas or transmitter-type neurons, that mineralocorticoids, in excess, act in the brain to elevate blood pressure. Aldosterone enhances the entry of Na+ through amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels in some mineralocorticoid-sensitive transport epithelial cells. To define possible cellular mechanisms involved in central mineralocorticoid action, benzamil, an amiloride analogue with selective affinity for the Na+ channel, was continuously infused intracerebroventricularly in three mineralocorticoid-dependent hypertension models in Sprague-Dawley rats, the continuous subcutaneous infusion of aldosterone, the intracerebroventricular infusion of aldosterone, and the ingestion of carbenoxolone, a synthetic licorice analogue. The intracerebroventricular infusion of 0.3 and 0.5 micrograms/h of benzamil, doses that did not have an adverse effect on growth and that had no effect on the blood pressure when infused subcutaneously, prevented the increase in blood pressure in these models. The infusion of these levels of benzamil had no effect on urine volume even in those animals in which it prevented an increase in blood pressure. These data suggest that the central effects of mineralocorticoids on blood pressure are mediated, at least in part, by the effects of mineralocorticoids on amiloride-sensitive sodium transport.

Isolation of a rat amiloride-binding protein cDNA clone: tissue distribution and regulation of expression

Sodium transport across high-resistance epithelia involves both an apical amiloride-sensitive sodium channel and the basal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase pump. Aldosterone regulates sodium transport by increasing the sodium permeability of the sodium channels. To study further the regulation of gene expression in sodium-transporting epithelia by corticosteroids, we have cloned an amiloride-binding protein (ABP) cDNA from rat descending colon and kidney. Identical 311 nucleotide cDNAs were amplified from both rat descending colon and kidney, and the predicted amino acid sequence exhibited 83% homology to the equivalent region of the human peptide sequence. Use of this cDNA as a probe resulted in detection of a transcript in both the small and large bowel, thymus, and seminal vesicle. The latter tissue exhibited the highest level of rat ABP expression. Low to undetectable levels of rat ABP were expressed in the descending colon and kidney. No regulation of rat ABP by either class of corticosteroids was observed. Levels of ABP were low at birth and increased gradually to adult levels just before weaning in the bowel. The distribution of rat ABP is not as would be predicted for an aldosterone-induced gene and is thus unlikely to be a component of the amiloride-sensitive electrogenic sodium channel.

Molecular cloning and functional expression of different molecular forms of rat amiloride-binding proteins

The colon and lung amiloride-binding proteins were cloned from rat tissues. Two sizes of transcripts were identified. The 2.7-kb transcript codes for an 85-kDa protein, whereas the 1.2-kb transcript codes for a 25-kDa polypeptide. The 2.7-kb transcript was detected in the proximal and distal colon and in duodenum, liver, placenta and thymus. The 1.2-kb transcript was the only form present in lung and spleen, and it was also detected in placenta and colon. The short form corresponds to the 3' terminus of the longer one. It is formed by alternative transcription under the control of an internal promoter. Cells stably transfected with cDNAs encoding these two proteins were used for binding studies using [3H]phenamil, a potent blocker of the epithelial Na+ channel, derived from amiloride. Both the long and short forms of the protein bind amiloride and some of its derivatives, but they have distinct pharmacologies. The order of potency of the different amiloride derivatives to inhibit [3H]phenamil binding was phenamil (K0.5 = 10 nM) > benzamil (K0.5 = 43 nM) > amiloride (K0.5 = 1.4 microM) approximately ethylisopropylamiloride (K0.5 = 1.6 microM) for the long form, whereas it was phenamil (K0.5 = 68 nM) > amiloride (K0.5 = 3.2 microM) approximately ethylisopropylamiloride (K0.5 = 4 microM) approximately benzamil (K0.5 = 6.3 microM) for the short form. Although the binding proteins described here are distinct from the pore-forming protein of the epithelial Na+ channel, the pharmacological profile of the long form of the ABP is identical to that described previously in pig and human kidney, and similar to that expected for an epithelial Na+ channel. The pharmacological profile of the short form resembles that previously described for an amiloride-binding protein in pneumocytes. Results presented in this paper suggest that previously purified preparations showing Na+ channel activity contain different forms of the amiloride-binding protein, possibly associated with other proteins. The similarity between amiloride-binding proteins and a protein identified in seminal vesicles suggests that amiloride-binding proteins are the first members of a new family of epithelia-specific proteins.