Immunopurification and functional reconstitution of a Na+ channel complex from rat lymphocytes

Functional Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels Are Present in the Human B Cell Membrane

B cells express various ion channels, but the presence of voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels has not been confirmed in the plasma membrane yet. In this study, we have identified several NaV channels, which are expressed in the human B cell membrane, by electrophysiological and molecular biology methods. The sensitivity of the detected sodium current to tetrodotoxin was between the values published for TTX-sensitive and TTX-insensitive channels, which suggests the co-existence of multiple NaV1 subtypes in the B cell membrane. This was confirmed by RT-qPCR results, which showed high expression of TTX-sensitive channels along with the lower expression of TTX-insensitive NaV1 channels. The biophysical characteristics of the currents also supported the expression of multiple NaV channels. In addition, we investigated the potential functional role of NaV channels by membrane potential measurements. Removal of Na+ from the extracellular solution caused a reversible hyperpolarization, supporting the role of NaV channels in shaping and maintaining the resting membrane potential. As this study was mainly limited to electrophysiological properties, we cannot exclude the possible non-canonical functions of these channels. This work concludes that the presence of voltage-gated sodium channels in the plasma membrane of human B cells should be recognized and accounted for in the future.

Beyond the CRAC: Diversification of ion signaling in B cells

Although calcium signaling and the important role of calcium release–activated calcium channels is well recognized in the context of immune cell signaling, there is a vast diversity of ion channels and transporters that regulate the entry of ions beyond calcium, including magnesium, zinc, potassium, sodium, and chloride. These ions play a critical role in numerous metabolic and cellular processes. The importance of ions in human health and disease is illustrated by the identification of primary immunodeficiencies in patients with mutations in genes encoding ion channels and transporters, as well as the immunological defects observed in individuals with nutritional ion deficiencies. Despite progress in identifying the important role of ions in immune cell development and activation, we are still in the early stages of exploring the diversity of ion channels and transporters and mechanistically understanding the role of these ions in immune cell biology. Here, we review the biology of ion signaling in B cells and the identification of critical ion channels and transporters in B‐cell development, activation, and differentiation into effector cells. Elucidating the role of ion channels and transporters in immune cell signaling is critical for expanding the repertoire of potential therapeutics for the treatment of immune disorders. Moreover, increased understanding of the role of ions in immune cell function will enhance our understanding of the potentially serious consequences of ion deficiencies in human health and disease.

Sodium channels and multiple sclerosis: roles in symptom production, damage and therapy

Our understanding of the potential role of sodium channels in multiple sclerosis (MS) has grown substantially in recent years. The channels have long had a recognized role in the symptomatology of the disease, but now also have suspected roles in causing permanent axonal destruction, and a potential role in modulating the intensity of immune activity. Sodium channels might also provide an avenue to achieve axonal and neuronal protection in MS, thereby impeding the otherwise relentless advance of permanent neurological deficit. The symptoms of MS are largely determined by the conduction properties of axons and these, in turn, are largely determined by sodium channels. The number, subtype and distribution of the sodium channels are all important, together with the way that channel function is modified by local factors, such as those resulting from inflammation (eg, nitric oxide). Suspicion is growing that sodium channels may also contribute to the axonal degeneration primarily responsible for permanent neurological deficits. The proposed mechanism involves intra-axonal sodium accumulation which promotes reverse action of the sodium/calcium exchanger and thereby a lethal rise in intra-axonal calcium. Partial blockade of sodium channels protects axons from degeneration in experimental models of MS, and therapy based on this approach is currently under investigation in clinical trials. Some recent findings suggest that such systemic inhibition of sodium channels may also promote axonal protection by suppressing inflammation within the brain.

Actin cytoskeleton disassembly affects conductive properties of stretch-activated cation channels in leukaemia cells

Mechanosensitive channels in various eucaryotic cells are thought to be functionally and structurally coupled to the cortical cytoskeleton. However, the results of electrophysiological studies are rather controversial and the functional impact of cytoskeleton assembly-disassembly on stretch-activated channel properties remains unclear. Here, the possible involvement of cytoskeletal elements in the regulation of stretch-activated Ca2+-permeable channels was studied in human leukaemia K562 cells with the use of agents that selectively modify the actin or tubulin system. F-actin disassembly resulted in a considerable reduction of the amplitude of stretch-activated currents without significant change in channel open probability. The effects of treatments with cytochalasins or latrunculin were principally similar, developed gradually and consisted a strong decrease of single channel conductance. Microtubule disruption did not affect stretch-activated channels. The data presented here are in principal agreement with the general conclusion that mechanosensitive channel functions are largely dependent on the integrity of the cortical actin cytoskeleton. Specifically, changes in conductive properties of the pore may provide an essential mechanism of channel regulation underlying functional modulation of membrane currents. Our results allow one to speculate that microfilament organization may be an important determinant in modulating biophysical characteristics of stretch-activated cation channels in cells of blood origin.

Acute ENaC stimulation by cAMP in a kidney cell line is mediated by exocytic insertion from a recycling channel pool

Acute hormonal regulation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in tight epithelia increases transcellular Na⁺ transport via trafficking of intracellular channels to the apical surface. The fate of the channels removed from the apical surface following agonist washout is less clear. By repetitively stimulating polarized mouse cortical collecting duct (mCCD, _MPKCCD₁₄) epithelia, we evaluated the hypothesis that ENaC recycles through an intracellular pool to be available for reinsertion into the apical membrane. Short circuit current (I_SC), membrane capacitance (C_T), and conductance (G_T) were recorded from mCCD epithelia mounted in modified Ussing chambers. Surface biotinylation of ENaC demonstrated an increase in channel number in the apical membrane following cAMP stimulation. This increase was accompanied by a 83 ± 6% (n = 31) increase in I_SC and a 15.3 ± 1.5% (n = 15) increase in C_T. Selective membrane permeabilization demonstrated that the C_T increase was due to an increase in apical membrane capacitance. I_SC and C_T declined to basal levels on stimulus washout. Repetitive cAMP stimulation and washout (∼1 h each cycle) resulted in response fatigue; ΔI_SC decreased ∼10% per stimulation–recovery cycle. When channel production was blocked by cycloheximide, ΔI_SC decreased ∼15% per stimulation cycle, indicating that newly synthesized ENaC contributed a relatively small fraction of the channels mobilized to the apical membrane. Selective block of surface ENaC by benzamil demonstrated that channels inserted from a subapical pool made up >90% of the stimulated I_SC, and that on restimulation a large proportion of channels retrieved from the apical surface were reinserted into the apical membrane. Channel recycling was disrupted by brefeldin A, which inhibited ENaC exocytosis, by chloroquine, which inhibited ENaC endocytosis and recycling, and by latrunculin A, which blocked ENaC exocytosis. A compartment model featuring channel populations in the apical membrane and intracellular recycling pool provided an adequate kinetic description of the I_SC responses to repetitive stimulation. The model supports the concept of ENaC recycling in response to repetitive cAMP stimulation.

Steroids and exogenous gamma-ENaC subunit modulate cation channels formed by alpha-ENaC in human B lymphocytes

Previous studies using whole-cell recording methods suggest that human B lymphocytes express an amiloride-sensitive, sodium-permeable channel. The present studies aim to determine whether this channel has biophysical properties and a molecular structure related to the alpha, beta, and gamma subunits of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Northern blots showed that human B lymphocytes express messages for both alpha- and beta- but not gamma-ENaC. Western blots showed that both alpha- and beta- but not gamma-ENaC proteins are expressed and strongly reduced by antisense oligonucleotides. Patch clamp experiments demonstrated that lymphocyte sodium channels are not active in cell-attached patches. However, membrane stretch can activate a 21-pS nonselective cation channel. The frequency of observance of this channel was significantly reduced by antisense oligonucleotide against alpha-ENaC but not by antisense oligonucleotide against beta-ENaC, indicating that only the alpha subunit of ENaC is necessary to form stretch-activated cation channels. Aldosterone (1.5 microm) reduced the frequency of observance of 21-pS alpha-ENaC channels and simultaneously induced the appearance of spontaneously active 10-pS channels. Antisense oligonucleotide experiments showed that this 10-pS channel is formed from alpha- and beta-ENaC. After expression of exogenous gamma-ENaC, aldosterone again reduced the frequency of observance of the 21-pS alpha-ENaC channel but induced the appearance of a 5-pS channel, presumably a alphabetagamma-ENaC channel. In the absence of aldosterone, the alpha subunit forms an alpha-cryptic channel that is activated by stretch, and in the presence of aldosterone, beta and alpha subunits together form an active channel that is modulated by aldosterone.

Epithelial sodium channel/degenerin family of ion channels: a variety of functions for a shared structure

The recently discovered epithelial sodium channel (ENaC)/degenerin (DEG) gene family encodes sodium channels involved in various cell functions in metazoans. Subfamilies found in invertebrates or mammals are functionally distinct. The degenerins in Caenorhabditis elegans participate in mechanotransduction in neuronal cells, FaNaC in snails is a ligand-gated channel activated by neuropeptides, and the Drosophila subfamily is expressed in gonads and neurons. In mammals, ENaC mediates Na+ transport in epithelia and is essential for sodium homeostasis. The ASIC genes encode proton-gated cation channels in both the central and peripheral nervous system that could be involved in pain transduction. This review summarizes the physiological roles of the different channels belonging to this family, their biophysical and pharmacological characteristics, and the emerging knowledge of their molecular structure. Although functionally different, the ENaC/DEG family members share functional domains that are involved in the control of channel activity and in the formation of the pore. The functional heterogeneity among the members of the ENaC/DEG channel family provides a unique opportunity to address the molecular basis of basic channel functions such as activation by ligands, mechanotransduction, ionic selectivity, or block by pharmacological ligands.

cAMP increases density of ENaC subunits in the apical membrane of MDCK cells in direct proportion to amiloride-sensitive Na(+) transport

Antidiuretic hormone and/or cAMP increase Na(+) transport in the rat renal collecting duct and similar epithelia, including Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell monolayers grown in culture. This study was undertaken to determine if that increment in Na(+) transport could be explained quantitatively by an increased density of ENaC Na(+) channels in the apical membrane. MDCK cells with no endogenous ENaC expression were retrovirally transfected with rat alpha-, beta-, and gammaENaC subunits, each of which were labeled with the FLAG epitope in their extracellular loop as described previously (Firsov, D., L. Schild, I. Gautschi, A.-M. Mérillat, E. Schneeberger, and B.C. Rossier. 1996. PROC: Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 93:15370-15375). The density of ENaC subunits was quantified by specific binding of (125)I-labeled anti-FLAG antibody (M2) to the apical membrane, which was found to be a saturable function of M2 concentration with half-maximal binding at 4-8 nM. Transepithelial Na(+) transport was measured as the amiloride-sensitive short-circuit current (AS-I(sc)) across MDCK cells grown on permeable supports. Specific M2 binding was positively correlated with AS-I(sc) measured in the same experiments. Stimulation with cAMP (20 microM 8-p-chlorothio-cAMP plus 200 microM IBMX) significantly increased AS-I(sc) from 11.2 +/- 1.3 to 18.1 +/- 1.3 microA/cm(2). M2 binding (at 1.7 nM M2) increased in direct proportion to AS-I(sc) from 0.62 +/- 0.13 to 1.16 +/- 0.18 fmol/cm(2). Based on the concentration dependence of M2 binding, the quantity of Na(+) channels per unit of AS-I(sc) was calculated to be the same in the presence and absence of cAMP, 0.23 +/- 0.04 and 0.21 +/-0.05 fmol/microA, respectively. These values would be consistent with a single channel conductance of approximately 5 pS (typically reported for ENaC channels) only if the open probability is <0.02, i.e., less than one-tenth of the typical value. We interpret the proportional increases in binding and AS-I(sc) to indicate that the increased density of ENaC subunits in the apical membrane can account completely for the I(sc) increase produced by cAMP.

Mechanosensitive cation channels in human leukaemia cells: calcium permeation and blocking effect

Cell-attached and inside-out patch-clamp methods were employed to identify and characterize mechanosensitive (MS) ionic channels in the plasma membrane of human myeloid leukaemia K562 cells. A reversible activation of gadolinium-blockable mechanogated currents in response to negative pressure application was found in 58 % of stable patches (n = 317). I-V relationships measured with a sodium-containing pipette solution showed slight inward rectification. Data analysis revealed the presence of two different populations of channels that were distinguishable by their conductance properties (17.2 +/- 0.3 pS and 24.5 +/- 0.5 pS), but were indistinguishable with regard to their selective and pharmacological properties. Ion-substitution experiments indicated that MS channels in leukaemia cells were permeable to cations but not to anions and do not discriminate between Na(+) and K(+). The channels were fully impermeable to large organic cations such as Tris(+) and N-methyl-D-glucamine ions (NMDG(+)). Ca(2+) permeation and blockade of MS channels were examined using pipettes containing different concentrations of Ca(2+). In the presence of 2 mM CaCl(2), when other cations were impermeant, both outward and inward single-channel currents were observed; the I-V relationship showed a unitary conductance of 7.7 +/- 1.0 pS. The relative permeability value, P(Ca)/P(K), was equal to 0.75, as estimated at physiological Ca(2+) concentrations. Partial or full inhibition of inward Ca(2+) currents through MS channels was observed at higher concentrations of external Ca(2+) (10 or 20 mM). No MS channels were activated when using a pipette containing 90 mM CaCl(2). Monovalent mechanogated currents were not significantly affected by extracellular Ca(2+) at concentrations within the physiological range (0-2 mM), and at some higher Ca(2+) concentrations.

The epithelial Na+ channel: cell surface insertion and retrieval in Na+ homeostasis and hypertension

The epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) forms the pathway for Na+ absorption in the kidney collecting duct and other epithelia. Dominant gain-of-function mutations cause Liddle's syndrome, an inherited form of hypertension resulting from excessive renal Na+ absorption. Conversely, loss-of-function mutations cause pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, a disorder of salt wasting and hypotension. Thus, ENaC has a critical role in the maintenance of Na+ homeostasis and blood pressure control. Altered Na+ absorption in the lung may also contribute to the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis. Epithelial Na+ absorption is regulated in large part by mechanisms that control the expression of ENaC at the cell surface. Nedd4, a ubiquitin protein ligase, binds to ENaC and targets the channel for endocytosis and degradation. Liddle's syndrome mutations disrupt the interaction between ENaC and Nedd4, resulting in an increase in the number of ENaC channels at the cell surface. Aldosterone and vasopressin also regulate Na+ absorption to defend against hypotension and hypovolemia. Both hormones increase the expression of ENaC at the cell surface. The goal of this review is to summarize recent data on the regulation of ENaC expression at the cell surface.

Mechanisms Mediating the Renal Profibrotic Actions of Vasoactive Peptides in Transgenic Mice

Abstract. Transgenic mice are useful tools to investigate the mechanisms of the renal profibrotic actions of endothelin and angiotensin II. The overexpression of angiotensinogen and renin genes induces renal sclerosis independently of changes in systemic hemodynamics. The same results are observed when the endothelin-1 gene is overexpressed. Transgenic mice harboring the luciferase gene, under the control of the collagen I α2 chain promoter, and made hypertensive by induction of a nitric oxide (NO) deficiency have been studied. In this strain of mice, luciferase activity is an early index of renal and vascular fibrosis. Luciferase activity was increased in preglomerular arterioles and glomeruli when mice were treated with Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, an inhibitor of NO synthases. Bosentan (an endothelin receptor antagonist) was as efficient as losartan (an AT1 receptor antagonist) in preventing renal fibrosis, although it did not decrease BP. In short-term experiments, angiotensin II produced an increase in luciferase activity that was entirely prevented by losartan but also by bosentan. It can be concluded that, during chronic inhibition of NO, the collagen I gene is activated, which contributes to the development of nephroangiosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis. Angiotensin II plays a major role in this fibrogenic process, and its effect is at least partly independent of systemic hemodynamics and mediated by the profibrotic action of endothelin-1.

Using Transgenic Mice to Analyze the Mechanisms of Progression of Chronic Renal Failure

Abstract. An understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of renal lesions is necessary for the development of strategies aiming to delay the progression of chronic renal failure. The generation of transgenic mice in the past 20 years has contributed significantly to the study of this phenomenon. Overexpression and/or inactivation of single factors in renal tissue demonstrated that molecules such as growth factors, proto-oncogenes, and renin-angiotensin system elements play major roles in renal deterioration. Several mouse models of renal injury have been developed in the past 10 yr. Transgenic mice that exhibit a normal phenotype under physiologic conditions allow analysis of the roles of single factors in the progression of chronic renal failure when renal injury models are used. Using this strategy, it was demonstrated that vascular adaptation, which is a process that involves the endothelin/nitric oxide balance, is essential for the survival of mice after nephron reduction and that the epidermal growth factor/activator protein-1/Bcl-2 pathway is involved in the development of renal lesions after renal injury, possibly via adjustment of the proliferation/apoptosis balance. Moreover, it was demonstrated that selective inhibition of epidermal growth factor signaling in the kidney successfully prevents the progression of chronic renal failure. These results indicate the power of transgenesis for elucidation of the pathogenesis of renal disease.

General overview of mineralocorticoid hormone action

The adrenal cortex elaborates two major groups of steroids that have been arbitrarily classified as glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, despite the fact that carbohydrate metabolism is intimately linked to mineral balance in mammals. In fact, glucocorticoids assured both of these functions in all living cells, animal and photosynthetic, prior to the appearance of aldosterone in teleosts at the dawn of terrestrial colonization. The evolutionary drive for a hormone specifically designed for hydromineral regulation led to zonation for the conversion of 18-hydroxycorticosterone into aldosterone through the catalytic action of a synthase in the secluded compartment of the adrenal zona glomerulosa. Corticoid hormones exert their physiological action by binding to receptors that belong to a transcription factor superfamily, which also includes some of the proteins regulating steroid synthesis. Steroids stimulate sodium absorption by the activation and/or de novo synthesis of the ion-gated, amiloride-sensitive sodium channel in the apical membrane and that of the Na+/K+-ATPase in the basolateral membrane. Receptors, channels, and pumps apparently are linked to the cytoskeleton and are further regulated variously by methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquination, and glycosylation, suggesting a complex system of control at multiple checkpoints. Mutations in genes for many of these different proteins have been described and are known to cause clinical disease.

Kinetic interconversion of rat and bovine homologs of the alpha subunit of an amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel by C-terminal truncation of the bovine subunit

We have recently cloned the alpha subunit of a bovine amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel (alphabENaC). This subunit shares extensive homology with both rat and human alphaENaC subunits but shows marked divergence at the C terminus beginning at amino acid 584 of the 697-residue sequence. When incorporated into planar lipid bilayers, alphabENaC almost exclusively exhibits a main transition to 39 picosiemens (pS) with very rare 13 pS step transitions to one of two subconductance states (26 and 13 pS). In contrast, the alpha subunit of the rat renal homolog of ENaC (alpharENaC) has a main transition step to 13 pS that is almost constituitively open, with a second stepwise transition of 26 to 39 pS. A deletion mutant of alphabENaC, encompassing the entire C-terminal region (R567X), converts the kinetic behavior of alphabENaC to that of alpharENaC, i. e. a transition to 13 pS followed by a second 26 pS transition to 39 pS. Chemical cross-linking of R567X restores the wild-type alphabENaC gating pattern, whereas treatment with the reducing agent dithiothreitol produced only 13 pS transitions. In contrast, an equivalent C-terminal truncation of alpharENaC (R613X) had no effect on the gating pattern of alpharENaC. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that interactions between the C termini of alphabENaC account for the different kinetic behavior of this member of the ENaC family of Na+ channels.

Diversity and regulation of amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels

Amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels play a vital role in many important physiological processes such as delineation of the final urine composition, sensory transduction, and whole-body Na+ homeostasis. These channels display a wide range of biophysical properties, and are regulated by cAMP-mediated second messenger systems. The first of these channels has recently been cloned. This cloned amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel is termined ENaC (Epithelial Na+ Channel) and, in heterologous cellular expression systems, displays a single channel conductance of 4 to 7 pS, a high PNa/PK (> 10), a high amiloride sensitivity (Ki(amil) = 150 nM), and relatively long open and closed times. ENaC may form the core conduction element of many of these functionally diverse forms of Na+ channel. The kinetic and regulatory differences between these channels may be due, in large measure, to unique polypeptides that associate with the core element, forming a functional channel unit.

Triple-barrel organization of ENaC, a cloned epithelial Na+ channel

A cloned rat epithelial Na+ channel (rENaC) was studied in planar lipid bilayers. Two forms of the channel were examined: channels produced by the alpha subunit alone and those formed by alpha, beta, and gamma subunits. The protein was derived from two sources: either from in vitro translation reaction followed by Sephadex column purification or from heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes and isolation of plasma membranes. We found that either alpha-rENaC alone or alpha- in combination with beta- and gamma-rENaC, produced highly Na(+)-selective (PNa/PK = 10), amiloride-sensitive (Kamili = 170 nM), and mechanosensitive cation channels in planar bilayers. alpha-rENaC displayed a complicated gating mechanism: there was a nearly constitutively open 13-picosiemens (pS) state and a second 40-pS level that was achieved from the 13-pS level by a 26-pS transition. alpha-, beta-, gamma-rENaC showed primarily the 13-pS level. alpha-rENaC and alpha,beta,gamma-rENaC channels studied by patch clamp displayed the same gating pattern, albeit with > 2-fold lowered conductance levels, i.e. 6 and 18 pS, respectively. Upon treatment of either channel with the sulfhydryl reducing agent dithiothreitol, both channels fluctuated among three independent 13-pS sublevels. Bathing each channel with a high salt solution (1.5 M NaCl) produced stochastic openings of 19 and 38 pS in magnitude between all three conductance levels. Different combinations of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-rENaC in the reconstitution mixture did not produce channels of intermediate conductance levels. These findings suggest that functional ENaC is composed of three identical conducting elements and that their gating is concerted.