Uptake of [3H]benzamil at different sodium concentrations. Inferences regarding the regulation of sodium permeability

Binding sites for amiloride in intact epithelia

The following is the abstract of the article discussed in the subsequent letter:

Blazer-Yost, Bonnie L., and Sandy I. Helman.The amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+ channel: binding sites and channel densities. Am. J. Physiol. 272 ( Cell Physiol. 41): C761–C769, 1997.—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.

Cystic fibrosis. 4. Abnormalities of airway epithelial function and the implications of the discovery of the cystic fibrosis gene

Details of ion transporting abnormalities in cystic fibrosis airway epithelium are now known. The central hypothesis, that excessive drying of the airway surfaces is a primary event that leads to all the manifestations of the respiratory insufficiency in cystic fibrosis, is not proved. The hypothesis is, however, consistent with the known transporting abnormalities and is strengthened by the modest clinical improvement produced by a strategy designed to correct the transporting abnormalities. The discovery of the cystic fibrosis gene, together with the presumed structure of the protein product, provides a focal point that must eventually connect the functional abnormalities with the genetic defect. The cellular function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator must now be the major target in research on cystic fibrosis. Strategies for treatment based on known cellular and molecular abnormalities are beginning to emerge but will be undoubtedly more focused once the responsibility of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator is known.

Altered sensitivity to amiloride in cystic fibrosis. Observations using cultured sweat glands

1. Using cultured epithelia from sweat glands, derived from both cystic fibrosis and normal subjects, the relationship between amiloride concentration and the inhibition of electrogenic sodium transport was measured, under short circuit conditions. 2. The Kd for amiloride in cultures from normal subjects was 0.64 microM (n = 6) while in cultures derived from CF patients the value was 1.07 microM (n = 4). The values were significantly different (P less than 0.02, ANOVA). 3. In cultures from normal sweat glands, bathed in solutions free of permeable anions (chloride/bicarbonate), the Kd for amiloride rose to a value greater than found in CF tissues (2.3 microM). In CF epithelia subject to the same conditions the abnormally high value increased further, so that in solutions without permeable anions normal and CF cultures behaved similarly. 4. In cultures derived from normal and CF tissues lowering the sodium concentration to 10 mM also lowered the Kd for amiloride, however the shift was greater for CF cultures. 5. Several possible explanations for the results are discussed. The most probable is that the relatively more positive apical membrane potential in CF epithelia opposes the interaction of amiloride with the sodium channel, implying that complex formation is potential sensitive.

Functional expression of the amiloride-sensitive sodium channel in Xenopus oocytes

Expression of the amiloride-sensitive sodium channel was examined in Xenopus oocytes that were microinjected with A6 cell mRNA. Amiloride-inhibitable 22Na flux could be measured in intact oocytes 2-3 days after injection with 25 ng of poly(A)+ RNA isolated from aldosterone-treated A6 cells. The rate of 22Na uptake was approximately 15-fold greater in oocytes microinjected with 25 ng of poly(A)+ RNA than in water-injected control oocytes. An increase in 22Na uptake by mRNA-injected oocytes occurred whether the mRNA was isolated from A6 cells grown on a porous or nonporous support. In the presence of 4 mM NaCl, amiloride caused dose-dependent inhibition of 22Na uptake in mRNA-injected oocytes, which was half-maximal at 6 x 10(-8) M. Both 1 microM amiloride and 0.1 microM benzamil inhibited 22Na uptake in mRNA-injected oocytes by greater than 95%, whereas less than 50% inhibition occurred with 1 microM 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)amiloride. When A6 cell mRNA was size fractionated by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation, amiloride-sensitive 22Na uptake was expressed predominantly by oocytes injected with mRNA from two contiguous fractions.

Amiloride and its analogs as tools to inhibit Na+ transport via the Na+ channel, the Na+/H+ antiport and the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger

Amiloride analogs inhibit a number of transmembrane Na+ transport systems: 1) the epithelium Na+ channel, 2) the Na+/H+ exchange system and 3) the Na+/Ca2+ exchange system. Structure--activity relationships using amiloride derivatives with selected modification of each of the functional groups of the molecule indicate that the 3 Na+ transporting systems have distinct pharmacological profiles. 5-N Disubstituted derivatives of amiloride, such as ethylisopropylamiloride are the most potent inhibitors of the Na+/H+ exchange system. Conversely, amiloride derivatives that are substituted on the guanidino moiety, such as phenamil, are potent inhibitors of the epithelium Na+ channel. It is thus possible, by using selected amiloride derivatives to inhibit selectively one or another of the Na+ transport systems.

Structure-activity relationship of amiloride analogs as blockers of epithelial Na channels: II. Side-chain modifications

The overall on- and off-rate constants for blockage of epithelial Na channels by amiloride analogs were estimated by noise analysis of the stationary Na current traversing frog skin epithelium. The (2-position) side chain structure of amiloride was varied in order to obtain structure/rate constant relationships. Hydrophobic chain elongations (benzamil and related compounds of high blocking potency) increase the stability of the blocking complex (lowered off-rate), explained by attachment of the added phenyl moiety to a hydrophobic area near the site of side chain interaction with the channel protein. Some other chain modifications show that the on-rate, which is smaller than a diffusion-limited rate, varies with side chain structure. In several cases this effect is not attributable to steric hindrance on encounter, and implies that the side chain interacts briefly with the channel protein (encounter complex) before the main blocking position of the molecule is attained. The encounter complex must be labile since the overall rate constants of blockage are not concentration-dependent. In two cases, changes at the 2-position side chain and at other ring ligands, with known effects on the blocking rate constants, could be combined in one analog. The rate constants of blocking by the resulting compounds indicate that the structural changes have additive effects in terms of activation energies. Along with other observations (voltage dependence of the rate constants and competition with the transported Na ion), these results suggest a blocking process of at least two steps. It appears that initially the 2-position side chain invades the outward-facing channel entrance, establishing a labile complex. Then the molecule is either released completely (no block) or the 6-ligand of the pyrazine ring gains access to its receptor counterpart, thus establishing the blocking complex, the lifetime of which is strongly determined by the electronegativity of the 6-ligand.

Inhibition of Na+/Ca2+ exchange in pituitary plasma membrane vesicles by analogues of amiloride

Amiloride is a weak inhibitor of Na+/Ca2+ exchange in isolated plasma membrane vesicles prepared from GH3 rat anterior pituitary cells. However, substitution on either a terminal guanidino nitrogen atom or the 5-amino nitrogen atom can increase inhibitory potency ca. 100-fold (I50 approximately 10 microM). A structure-activity study indicates that defined structural modifications of guanidino substituents are associated with increases in inhibitory activity. In contrast, analogues bearing 5-amino substituents generally increase in potency with increasing hydrophobicity of the substitution. Specificity in action of either class is indicated by several criteria. These inhibitors do not disrupt the osmotic integrity of the membrane, nor do they significantly interfere with plasmalemmal Ca2+-ATPase-driven Ca2+ uptake, Na+,K+-ATPase enzymatic activity, or the function of Ca2+ or K+ channels. Inhibition is freely reversible, further indicating a lack of nonspecific membrane effects. The mechanism by which each inhibitor class blocks exchange was found to be identical. Protonation of the guanidino moiety (i.e., cationic charge) is essential for activity. Analysis of transport inhibition as a function of Ca2+ concentration indicates noncompetitive kinetics. However, inhibition was reversed by elevating intravesicular Na+, indicating a competitive interaction with this ion. These results suggest that the inhibitors function as Na+ analogues, interact at a Na+ binding site on the carrier (presumably the site at which the third Na+ binds), and reversibly tie up the transporter in an inactive complex. In addition to blocking pituitary exchange, these analogues are effective inhibitors of the bovine brain and porcine cardiac transport systems.

Competitive blocking of epithelial sodium channels by organic cations: the relationship between macroscopic and microscopic inhibition constants

Fluctuation analysis of Na current passing the apical membrane in the skin of Rana ridibunda was used to study the kinetics of Na-channel blocking by several organic cations present in the outer solution together with 60 mM Na. The ratios of the apparent off-rate and on-rate constants (the microscopic inhibition constants) thus obtained for triamterene, triaminopyrimidine (TAP), 5,6-diCl-amiloride, 5H-amiloride and amiloride itself are found to be in the mean about sevenfold smaller than the corresponding inhibition constants obtained from macroscopic dose-response curves. The apparent discrepancy is explicable by competition of the organic blocker with the channel block by Na ions (the self-inhibition effect). The type of interaction between extrinsic blockage and self-inhibition may be purely competitive or mixed. However, in case of mixed inhibition the competitive component must dominate the noncompetitive component by at least seven to one.

Competitive blocking of apical sodium channels in epithelia

Apical sodium-selective channels in frog skin, when blocked by amiloride or triamterene, exhibit fluctuations in current, the spectra of which are Lorentzian. These effects have been modeled previously with two-state and three-state models by Lindemann and Van Driessche. A recent observation by Hoshiko and Van Driessche that corner frequencies are lowered by increasing the apical sodium concentration cannot be accounted for by these models. We explore the possibility that sodium (S) and amiloride (A) compete for a site at the mouth of the channel. A new three-state channel model (sodium-occupied, open/unoccupied, open/amiloride-blocked) is analyzed. Its corner frequency is of the form fc = fco [1 + (A/KA)/(1 + S/KS)], consistent with the observed sodium dependence of the corner frequency. The minimum frequency, fco, and the inhibition constants, KA and KS, are expressed in terms of the rate constants of the model. To account for sodium self-inhibition, we postulate that two sodium ions in the channel may result in clogging--a fourth state. The two corner frequencies are calculated; so are the plateau values of the noise power. The noise power shows a maximum as a function of blocker concentration, as observed previously using triamterene. The four-state model predicts the observed suppression by small amounts of blocker of the low-frequency sodium (clogging) noise.

Bretylium opens mucosal amiloride-sensitive sodium channels

Addition of the quanternary ammonium compound, bretylium, to the outer surface of a frog skin leads to an increase in the potential difference and in the short circuit current across the skin. Bretylium does not have any effect when applied to the inside face of the frog skin. The effect of bretylium is dependent upon the presence of sodium ions in the outer medium; it is depressed when sodium is replaced by choline or potassium but not when lithium substitutes for sodium. The bretylium effect is blocked by the specific sodium channel blocker, amiloride. It is proposed that bretylium opens mucosal, amiloride-sensitive sodium channels.

Control of sodium permeability of the outer barrier in toad skin

The 24Na efflux (JNaeff) (i.e., the rate of appearance of 24Na in the outer compartment) in the isolated short-circuited toad skin bathed by NaCl-Ringer's solution on both sides is composed of para- and transcellular components of almost equal magnitudes. This relies on the assumption that amiloride acts on the transcellular component only and could block it completely. Ouabain induces a large transient increase of the transcellular component. This increase, which starts within a few minutes after the addition of ouabain, is due to electrical depolarization of the outer barrier, rather than a consequence of blocking Na recirculation across the inner barrier. The subsequent decline of JNaeff, which takes place after the ouabain-induced JNaeff peak, is due to a progressive block of outer barrier Na channels with time, which can eventually be complete, depending on the duration of action of ouabain. As the external Na concentration was always kept high and constant in these experiments, the results indicate that a rise in cell Na concentration, and not in the outer bathing solution, is the signal that triggers the reduction of outer barrier Na permeability (PNao). Ouabain has no effect upon JNaeff with Na-free solution bathing the outer and NaCl-Ringer's solution the inner skin surface, showing the importance of Na penetration across the outer barrier, and not across the inner barrier due to its low Na permeability, in the process of closing the Na channels of this structure. Step changes from Na 115 mM to Na-free external solution, or vice-versa, may affect both the outer barrier electrical potential difference (PDo) and cell Na concentration (Na)c. Therefore, the behavior of JNaeff depends on which variable (if PDo or (Na)c regulated outer barrier Na permeability) is most affected by step changes in outer bathing solution Na concentration. Amiloride in the control condition blocks the transcellular component of JNaeff. However, in the condition of approximate short-circuiting of the outer barrier and high cellular Na concentration induced by long term effects of ouabain, when the Na channels of the outer barrier are already blocked by elevated cell Na concentration, amiloride may induce the opposite effect, increasing Na permeability of the outer barrier. With outer barrier Na channels completely blocked by high cell Na concentration, PCMB in the outer bathing medium induces a large increase of JNaeff, rendering these channels again amiloride sensitive. The results are consistent with the notion that Na efflux from cell compartment to the outer bathing solution goes through the amiloride-sensitive Na channels of the apical border of the superficial cell layer of toad skin, with an apparent Na permeability modulated by cell ionic environment, most probably the cell Na concentration.

Irreversible inhibition of epithelial sodium channels by ultraviolet irradiation

1 The effects of u.v. irradiation at 254 nm and 350 nm on sodium transport across frog skin epithelium have been investigated. 2 Irradiation at 254 nm but not at 350 nm produces a dose-dependent, functionally selective blockade of sodium transport. The effect is apparently due to the irreversible closure of apical sodium channels. 3 The amiloride-sensitive conductance was directly related to sodium transport as measured by short circuit current (SCC) both in normal and irradiated tissues, although both conductance and current were reduced in irradiated tissues. 4 The sensitivity of epithelia to irradiation at 254 nm was defined from the rate constants for the decline in SCC during three 2 min periods of irradiation at 1850 microW cm-2. The rate constant for the initial 2 min irradiation was 0.093 +/- 0.008 min-1. 5 Lowering the sodium concentration to 5.5 mM from 110 mM increased the rate constant to 0.141 +/- 0.014 min-1, consistent with the view that more functional sodium channels exist at lowered sodium concentration. 6 Lowering the temperature to 7 degrees C from 23 degrees C reduced the rate constant to 0.032 +/- 0.007 min-1 suggesting that blockade of channels is not due to a direct interaction with photons. 7 Using a variety of experimental protocols we were unable to demonstrate that bromamiloride or iodoamiloride can act as photoligands for sodium channels in the epithelium of Rana temporaria. This is in contrast to earlier reports with other epithelia.

Amiloride: a molecular probe of sodium transport in tissues and cells

The potassium-sparing diuretic amiloride has proven to be a useful pharmacological tool for elucidating the molecular basis and physiological regulation of facilitated sodium entry in tissues and cells. There are two general classes of Na+ transport mechanisms which are sensitive to this drug: 1) a conductive Na+ entry pathway found in electrically high resistance epithelia and 2) a Na+-H+ electroneutral exchange system found in certain leaky epithelia such as the renal proximal tubule. This latter system is also found in many different cellular preparations and seems to function in cell proliferation and differentiation, volume regulation, and intracellular pH regulation. In these cells, this exchange pathway becomes operational usually after some external stimuli. Much higher concentrations of amiloride are required to inhibit the exchange pathway than those required to inhibit the Na+ entry pathway. This drug is the most potent and specific inhibitor of Na+ entry found to date and thus affords the opportunity to be used as a label for the isolation of these transport moieties.

Kinetics of amiloride action in the hen coprodaeum in vitro

The kinetics of amiloride action on the isolated epithelium of the hen coprodaeum are reported. Tissues were taken from birds fed on low salt diets for 9-10 days, conditions which induce a high resting short circuit current due to sodium and sensitive to amiloride. The relation between the inhibition of amiloride sensitive short circuit current and blocker concentration obeyed simple mass laws with an apparent stoichiometry of 1:1 between amiloride and the sodium entry sites. The concentration of amiloride producing its half maximal effect (Ki) was 1.77 +/- 0.20 microM at a sodium concentration of 130 mM. There was a shallow dependence of Ki on sodium concentration, the value of Ki falling to 0.78 +/- 0.1 microM at 1.3 mM Na. The relation of Ki to Na concentration was linear indicating competitive antagonism. The sodium concentration which half saturates the amiloride site (KNa) was 80 mM. This value is very different from the concentration of sodium which half saturates SCC (Kscc = 5-7 mM) suggesting there are at least two sites at which sodium can modify the transporting characteristics. These data are compared to those for other epithelia where Kscc and KNa are rather similar. The benzyl derivative of amiloride (benzamil) was found to be 11.6 times more potent than amiloride on this tissue. The potency ration is similar to that for other sodium transporting epithelia suggesting that the structure of the ion translocation mechanism is partly conserved between species although the Ki for amiloride may vary by an order of magnitude.

Aldosterone control of the density of sodium channels in the toad urinary bladder

Near-instantaneous current-voltage relationships and shot-noise analysis of amiloride-induced current fluctuations were used to estimate apical membrane permeability to Na (PNa), intraepithelial Na activity (Nac), single-channel Na currents (i) and the number of open (conducting) apical Na channels (N0), in the urinary bladder of the toad (Bufo marinus). To facilitate voltage-clamping of the apical membrane, the serosal plasma membranes were depolarized by substitution of a high KCl (85 mM) sucrose (50 mM) medium for the conventional Na-Ringer's solution on the serosal side. Aldosterone (5 X 10(-7) M, serosal side only) elicited proportionate increases in the Na-specific current (INa and in PNa, with no significant change in the dependence of PNa on mucosal Na (Nao). PNa and the control of PNa by aldosterone were substrate-dependent: In substrate-depleted bladders, pretreatment with aldosterone markedly augmented the response to pyruvate (7.5 X 10(-3) M) which evoked coordinate and equivalent increases in INa and PNa. The aldosterone-dependent increase in PNa was a result of an equivalent increase in the area density of conducting apical Na channels. The computed single-channel current did not change. We propose that, following aldosterone-induced protein synthesis, there is a reversible metabolically-dependent recruitment of preexisting Na channels from a reservoir of electrically undetectable channels. The results do not exclude the possibility of a complementary induction of Na-channel synthesis.