SNARE proteins regulate H(+)-ATPase redistribution to the apical membrane in rat renal inner medullary collecting duct cells. (33/1377)

The interaction of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins provides the necessary steps for vesicle docking fusion. In inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells, acid secretion is regulated in part by exocytotic insertion and endocytotic retrieval of an H(+)-ATPase to and from the apical membrane. We previously suggested a role for SNARE proteins in exocytotic insertion of proton pumps in IMCD cells. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether SNARE proteins are associated with the 31-kDa subunit of H(+)-ATPase in IMCD cells during exocytosis and to determine the effects of clostridial toxins on SNARE-mediated trafficking of H(+)-ATPase. Cell acidification induced a marked increment of H(+)-ATPase in the apical membrane. However, pretreating cells with clostridial toxins blocked the cellular translocation of the 31-kDa subunit. Immunoprecipitation of IMCD cell homogenate, using antibodies against either the 31-kDa subunit of H(+)-ATPase or vesicle-associated membrane protein-2, co-immunoprecipitated N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor, alpha-soluble NSF attachment protein (alpha-SNAP), synaptosome-associated protein-23, syntaxin, and vesicle-associated membrane protein-2. Pretreatment with clostridial toxin resulted in reduced co-immunoprecipitation of H(+)-ATPase and syntaxin. These experiments document, for the first time, a putative docking fusion complex in IMCD cells and a physical association of the H(+)-ATPase with the complex. The sensitivity to the action of clostridial toxin indicates the docking-fusion complex is a part of the exocytotic mechanism of the proton pump.  (+info)

Cloning and preliminary characterization of a calcium-binding protein closely related to nucleolin on the apical surface of inner medullary collecting duct cells. (34/1377)

Calcium stone crystal attachment to the urinary epithelium plays an essential role in the development of kidney stones by allowing small crystals to be retained in the kidney until they become macroscopic. We among others have described attachment of stone crystals to cultured renal epithelia (Wiessner, J. H., Kleinman, J. G., Blumenthal, S. S., Garancis, J. C., and Mandel, G. S. (1987) J. Urol. 138, 640-643). To isolate protein(s) that may participate in crystal attachment, apical membranes of cultured renal inner medullary collecting duct were biotinylated, the cells were lysed with detergent, the lysate was subjected to hydroxyapatite chromatography, and fractions were incubated with calcium oxalate monohydrate. Electrophoresis of material solubilized from the crystals showed several selectively adsorbed protein bands. A 110-kDa band stained positively for biotin and for glycosides and bound (45)Ca. The amino acid sequence of this band was determined to be that of a protein closely related to rat nucleolin (nucleolin-related protein; NRP). NRP was cloned and sequenced and was 83% homologous with the previously sequenced nucleolar protein nucleolin. Using temperature-induced phase partitioning with Triton X-114, NRP was associated with both the insoluble membrane skeleton pellet and the soluble aqueous phase but not the soluble detergent phase. This association with the membrane skeleton was increased in the presence of calcium. Thus, NRP is associated with the apical membranes of cultured renal tubular cells and is bound to membrane skeletal elements in a calcium-dependent fashion. The physiological role of NRP remains to be determined; however, a pathophysiological role may be that of mediating the attachment to the renal tubular epithelium of calcium stone crystals.  (+info)

Glomerulonephritis and sodium retention: enhancement of Na+/K+-ATPase activity in the collecting duct is shared by rats with puromycin induced nephrotic syndrome and mice with spontaneous lupus-like glomerulonephritis. (35/1377)

BACKGROUND: In rats with puromycin aminoglucoside-induced (PAN) nephrotic syndrome, micropuncture studies have localized the site of sodium retention to the collecting duct. We have confirmed this finding by demonstrating a two-fold increase in Na+/K+-ATPase activity specifically limited to the cortical collecting duct in PAN rats. To further define whether this phenomenon was dependent on the chemical induction of the nephrotic syndrome or was a general phenomenon observed in glomerulonephritis, we measured Na+/K+-ATPase activity in nephron segments from mice with spontaneous lupus-like nephritis. METHODS: Hydrolytic activity of Na+/K+-ATPase was measured in three isolated nephron segments: proximal convoluted tubule, thick ascending limb and cortical collecting duct. The Na+/K+-ATPase activities were measured in PAN rats, sham-injected controls, and in (MRL x BXSB) F1 male mice which develop a well established spontaneous lupus-like glomerulonephritis by 4 months of age and their controls. Control mice have the same genetic background, but lack the Yaa mutant gene responsible for autoimmune acceleration and are free of glomerular lesions at 4 months of age. RESULTS: In (MRL x BXSB) F1 male mice, Na+/K+-ATPase was similar to control mice in the proximal convoluted tubule and the thick ascending limb. In contrast, cortical collecting duct Na+/K+-ATPase activity was two times higher in (MRL x BXSB) F1 mice than controls. These results were identical to those observed in PAN rats compared to their sham-injected controls studied 7 days after an intraperitoneal injection of puromycin or isotonic saline, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Enhancement of Na+/K+-ATPase activity localized to the cortical collecting duct is a general characteristic of glomerulonephritis independent of its mode of induction, i.e. chemical versus autoimmune. Therefore, the experimental model of PAN is suitable to study the underlying mechanisms leading to Na+/K+-ATPase dysfunction.  (+info)

Glucocorticoids downregulate the vasopressin-regulated urea transporter in rat terminal inner medullary collecting ducts. (36/1377)

This study tested whether glucocorticoids regulate tubular urea transport. Urea permeability was measured in perfused inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) subsegments from rats that underwent adrenalectomy, adrenalectomy plus replacement with a physiologic dose of glucocorticoid (dexamethasone), or sham operation. Compared with sham rats, basal urea permeability in terminal IMCD was significantly increased in adrenalectomized rats and reduced in dexamethasone-treated rats. Vasopressin significantly increased urea permeability in all three groups. In contrast, there was no difference in basal or vasopressin-stimulated urea permeability in initial IMCD between the three groups. Next, membrane and vesicle fraction proteins were isolated from inner medullary tip or base and Western analysis was performed by use of an antibody to the rat vasopressin-regulated urea transporter. Vasopressin-regulated urea transporter protein was significantly increased in both membrane and vesicle fractions from the inner medullary tip of adrenalectomized rats. There was no change in vasopressin-regulated urea transporter protein in the inner medullary base, and Northern analysis showed no change in urea transporter mRNA abundance in either inner medullary region. It was concluded that glucocorticoids can downregulate function and expression of the vasopressin-regulated urea transporter in rat terminal IMCD.  (+info)

Inhibition of IMCD 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 by low pH and acute acid loading. (37/1377)

Mineralocorticoid receptors in the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) are protected from glucocorticoid binding by an enzyme, 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11 beta-HSD2). To study the role of 11 beta-HSD2 in acid-base homeostasis, 11 beta-HSD2 activity was measured in rat IMCD-enriched cell suspensions. Homogenates of cell suspensions were incubated in buffers ranging in pH from 6.00 to 8.15 in the presence of 1 microCi of 3H-corticosterone (CS) and 400 microM NAD+. Enzyme activity was expressed as the amount of 3H-CS converted to 3H-11-dehydrocorticosterone (DHCS). IMCD 11 beta-HSD2 activity at pH 6.5 was 49% of activity at pH 7.5; 22.5 versus 11.0 fmol/microgram of protein per h. Experiments also were performed on intact cell suspensions at pH 7.5 and 6.5. There was a 42% inhibition in the IMCD cell suspension conversion rate of 3H-CS to 3H-11-DHCS at pH 6.5; 13.1 versus 7.6 fmol/microgram per h (P < 0.005). In cell suspensions at pH 7.5, 1-day acid loading caused a 26% inhibition in conversion rate, 13.2 versus 9.9 fmol/microgram per h (P < 0.05), when compared with controls. These results suggest that during acute metabolic acidosis, IMCD 11 beta-HSD2 is inhibited and may allow access to the mineralocorticoid receptors by glucocorticoids.  (+info)

Angiotensin II inhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase in tubular MCT cells by a posttranscriptional mechanism. (38/1377)

Expression of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and generation of nitric oxide (NO) have been recently described, in addition to mesangial and medullary thick ascending limb cells, in proximal tubular cells, including MCT, a mouse proximal tubular epithelium cell line. Because vasoconstrictors may interfere with the induction of iNOS and the subsequent generation of NO, in the study presented here, whether exogenous angiotensin II (ANG II) influences bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/gamma-interferon (gamma-IF)-stimulated NO synthesis and iNOS protein and mRNA expression in MCT cells was tested. LPS/gamma-IF readily stimulated nitrite synthesis in MCT cells, as one measured parameter of NO synthesis. Coincubation of cells with 10(-9)-10(-6) M ANG II attenuated this LPS/gamma-IF-stimulated induction of nitrite. This effect was reversed by the AT1-receptor blocker losartan, but not by an AT2-receptor antagonist, indicating signal transduction through AT1-receptors. Western blot analysis applying a specific monoclonal antibody generated against mouse iNOS revealed that 10(-8)-10(-6) M ANG II significantly reduced LPS/gamma-IF-induced iNOS protein expression. However, ANG II had no effect on LPS/gamma-IF-induced iNOS mRNA as assessed by Northern blots. Moreover, transient transfection studies using a chimeric gene construct, in which iNOS regulatory elements are linked to the CAT reporter gene, showed no effect of ANG II on the LPS/gamma-IF-stimulated transcriptional activity. The study presented here demonstrates that ANG II influences LPS/gamma-IF-stimulated NO generation in MCT cells, most likely at a posttranscriptional level, by influencing iNOS protein expression. Whether proximal tubular cells in vivo express iNOS remains to be established, but this study suggests a mechanism for how iNOS activity is influenced by ANG II in cultured proximal tubular cells.  (+info)

Aldosterone-mediated regulation of ENaC alpha, beta, and gamma subunit proteins in rat kidney. (39/1377)

Aldosterone stimulates sodium transport in the renal collecting duct by activating the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). To investigate the basis of this effect, we have developed a novel set of rabbit polyclonal antibodies to the 3 subunits of ENaC and have determined the abundance and distribution of ENaC subunits in the principal cells of the rat renal collecting duct. Elevated circulating aldosterone (due to either dietary NaCl restriction or aldosterone infusion) markedly increased the abundance of alphaENaC protein without increasing the abundance of the beta and gamma subunits. Thus, alphaENaC is selectively induced by aldosterone. In addition, immunofluorescence immunolocalization showed a striking redistribution in ENaC labeling to the apical region of the collecting duct principal cells. Finally, aldosterone induced a shift in molecular weight of gammaENaC from 85 kDa to 70 kDa, consistent with physiological proteolytic clipping of the extracellular loop as postulated previously. Thus, at the protein level, the response of ENaC to aldosterone stimulation is heterogenous, with both quantitative and qualitative changes that can explain observed increases in ENaC-mediated sodium transport.  (+info)

Characterization of cis-elements required for osmotic response of rat Na(+)/H(+) exchanger-2 (NHE-2) gene. (40/1377)

The Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE-2) has been implicated in osmoregulation in the kidney, because it transports Na(+) across the cell membrane and efficiently alters intracellular osmolarity. On hyperosmotic stress, NHE-2 mRNA increases in abundance in mouse inner medullary collecting duct (mIMCD-3) cells, suggesting possible transcriptional regulation. To investigate the molecular mechanism of potential transcriptional regulation of NHE-2 by hyperosmolarity, we have functionally characterized the 5'-flanking region of the gene in mIMCD-3 cells. Transient transfection of luciferase reporter gene constructs revealed a novel cis-acting element, which we call OsmoE (osmotic-responsive element, bp -808 to -791, GGGCCAGTTGGCGCTGGG), and a TonE-like element (tonicity-responsive element, bp -1201 to -1189, GCTGGAAAACCGA), which together are shown to be responsible for hyperosmotic induction of the NHE-2 gene. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays suggest that different DNA-protein interactions occur between these two osmotic response elements. However, both DNA sequences were shown to specifically bind nuclear proteins that dramatically increase in abundance under hyperosmotic conditions. Isolation of trans-acting factors and characterization of their specific interaction with these osmotic response elements will further elucidate the transcriptional mechanisms controlling NHE-2 gene expression under hyperosmolar conditions.  (+info)