Mechanisms of phosphate transport.

Over the past 25 years, successive cloning of SLC34A1, SLC34A2 and SLC34A3, which encode the sodium-dependent inorganic phosphate (Pi) cotransport proteins 2a-2c, has facilitated the identification of molecular mechanisms that underlie the regulation of renal and intestinal Pi transport. Pi and various hormones, including parathyroid hormone and phosphatonins, such as fibroblast growth factor 23, regulate the activity of these Pi transporters through transcriptional, translational and post-translational mechanisms involving interactions with PDZ domain-containing proteins, lipid microdomains and acute trafficking of the transporters via endocytosis and exocytosis. In humans and rodents, mutations in any of the three transporters lead to dysregulation of epithelial Pi transport with effects on serum Pi levels and can cause cardiovascular and musculoskeletal damage, illustrating the importance of these transporters in the maintenance of local and systemic Pi homeostasis. Functional and structural studies have provided insights into the mechanism by which these proteins transport Pi, whereas in vivo and ex vivo cell culture studies have identified several small molecules that can modify their transport function. These small molecules represent potential new drugs to help maintain Pi homeostasis in patients with chronic kidney disease - a condition that is associated with hyperphosphataemia and severe cardiovascular and skeletal consequences.

Proteomic analysis of plasma membrane vesicles isolated from the rat renal cortex.

Polarized epithelial cells are responsible for the vectorial transport of solutes and have a key role in maintaining body fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. Such cells contain structurally and functionally distinct plasma membrane domains. Brush border and basolateral membranes of renal and intestinal epithelial cells can be separated using a number of different separation techniques, which allow their different transport functions and receptor expressions to be studied. In this communication, we report a proteomic analysis of these two membrane segments, apical and basolateral, obtained from the rat renal cortex isolated by two different methods: differential centrifugation and free-flow electrophoresis. The study was aimed at assessing the nature of the major proteins isolated by these two separation techniques. Two analytical strategies were used: separation by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) at the protein level or by cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after proteolysis (i.e., at the peptide level). Proteolytic peptides derived from the proteins present in gel pieces or from HPLC fractions after proteolysis were sequenced by on-line liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Several hundred proteins were identified in each membrane section. In addition to proteins known to be located at the apical and basolateral membranes, several novel proteins were also identified. In particular, a number of proteins with putative roles in signal transduction were identified in both membranes. To our knowledge, this is the first reported study to try and characterize the membrane proteome of polarized epithelial cells and to provide a data set of the most abundant proteins present in renal proximal tubule cell membranes.