Adaptation of intercalated cells along the collecting duct to systemic acid/base changes.

Collecting duct intercalated cells respond to short-term acid/base perturbations by rapidly shuttling H(+)-ATPase to and from the plasma membrane. Purkerson et al. provide information on the regulation of the anion transporters during chronic acidosis and acute recovery (alkalosis). They found that the major mechanism for both acute and chronic states is regulation of both the H(+)-ATPase and the anion exchangers plus changes in the overall expression level of these anion transporters in chronic adaptation.

Vacuolar H+ -ATPase B1 subunit mutations that cause inherited distal renal tubular acidosis affect proton pump assembly and trafficking in inner medullary collecting duct cells.

Point mutations in the B1 subunit of vacuolar H+ -ATPase are associated with impaired ability of the distal nephron to secrete acid (distal renal tubular acidosis). For testing of the hypothesis that these mutations interfere with assembly and trafficking of the H+ -ATPase, constructs that mimic seven known point mutations in inherited distal renal tubular acidosis (M) or wild-type (WT) B1 were transfected into a rat inner medullary collecting duct cell line to express green fluorescence protein (GFP)-B1WT or GFP-B1M fusion proteins. In co-immunoprecipitation studies, GFP-B1WT formed complexes with other H+ -ATPase subunits (c, H, and E), whereas GFP-B1M did not. Proteins that were immunoprecipitated with anti-GFP antibody from GFP-B1WT cells had ATPase activity, whereas proteins from GFP-B1M cells did not. Proton pump-mediated intracellular pH transport was inhibited in GFP-B1M-transfected cells but not in GFP-B1WT cells. GFP-B1WT and GFP-B1M are present in the apical membrane and increased with cellular acidification. In GFP-B1WT cells, the apical membrane fraction of GFP-B1, endogenous B1, and the 31-kD subunits of the H+ -ATPase increased with cell acidification. In GFP-B1M cells, the endogenous B1 and 31-kD subunits did not increase with acidification. B1 point mutations prevent normal assembly of the H+ -ATPase and also may act as an inhibitor of H+ -ATPase function by competing with endogenous intact H+ -ATPase for trafficking in inner medullary collecting duct cells.

Syntaxin 1A has a specific binding site in the H3 domain that is critical for targeting of H+-ATPase to apical membrane of renal epithelial cells.

H(+) transport in the collecting duct is regulated by exocytic insertion of H(+)-ATPase-laden vesicles into the apical membrane. The soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein (SNAP) receptor (SNARE) proteins are critical for exocytosis. Syntaxin 1A contains three main domains, SNARE N, H3, and carboxy-terminal transmembrane domain. Several syntaxin isoforms form SNARE fusion complexes through the H3 domain; only syntaxin 1A, through its H3 domain, also binds H(+)-ATPase. This raised the possibility that there are separate binding sites within the H3 domain of syntaxin 1A for H(+)-ATPase and for SNARE proteins. A series of truncations in the H3 domain of syntaxin 1A were made and expressed as glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins. We determined the amount of H(+)-ATPase and SNARE proteins in rat kidney homogenate that complexed with GST-syntaxin molecules. Full-length syntaxin isoforms and syntaxin-1ADeltaC [amino acids (aa) 1-264] formed complexes with H(+)-ATPase and SNAP23 and vesicle-associated membrane polypeptide (VAMP). A cassette within the H3 portion was found that bound H(+)-ATPase (aa 235-264) and another that bound SNAP23 and VAMP (aa 190-234) to an equivalent degree as full-length syntaxin. However, the aa 235-264 cassette alone without the SNARE N (aa 1-160) does not bind but requires ligation to the SNARE N to bind H(+)-ATPase. When this chimerical construct was transected into inner medullary collecting duct cells it inhibited intracellular pH recovery, an index of H(+)-ATPase mediated secretion. We conclude that within the H3 domain of syntaxin 1A is a unique cassette that participates in the binding of the H(+)-ATPase to the apical membrane and confers specificity of syntaxin 1A in the process of H(+)-ATPase exocytosis.

Munc-18-2 regulates exocytosis of H(+)-ATPase in rat inner medullary collecting duct cells.

Exocytic insertion of H(+)-ATPase into the apical membrane of inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells is dependent on a soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein target receptor (SNARE) complex. In this study we determined the role of Munc-18 in regulation of IMCD cell exocytosis of H(+)-ATPase. We compared the effect of acute cell acidification (the stimulus for IMCD exocytosis) on the interaction of syntaxin 1A with Munc-18-2 and the 31-kDa subunit of H(+)-ATPase. Immunoprecipitation revealed that cell acidification decreased green fluorescent protein (GFP)-syntaxin 1A and Munc-18-2 interaction by 49 +/- 7% and increased the interaction between GFP-syntaxin 1A and H(+)-ATPase by 170 +/- 23%. Apical membrane Munc-18-2 decreased by 27.5 +/- 4.6% and H(+)-ATPase increased by 246 +/- 22%, whereas GP-135, an apical membrane marker, did not increase. Pretreatment of IMCD cells with a PKC inhibitor (GO-6983) diminished the previously described changes in Munc-18-2-syntaxin 1A interaction and redistribution of H(+)-ATPase. In a pull-down assay of H(+)-ATPase by glutathione S-transferase (GST)-syntaxin 1A bound to beads, preincubation of beads with an approximately twofold excess of His-Munc-18-2 decreased H(+)-ATPase pulled down by 64 +/- 16%. IMCD cells that overexpress Munc-18-2 had a reduced rate of proton transport compared with control cells. We conclude that Munc-18-2 must dissociate from the syntaxin 1A protein for the exocytosis of H(+)-ATPase to occur. This dissociation leads to a conformational change in syntaxin 1A, allowing it to interact with H(+)-ATPase, synaptosome-associated protein (SNAP)-23, and vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP), forming the SNARE complex that leads to the docking and fusion of H(+)-ATPase vesicles.

Syntaxin isoform specificity in the regulation of renal H+-ATPase exocytosis.

Intercalated and inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells of the kidney mediate the transport of H+ by a plasma membrane H+-ATPase. The rate of H+ transport in these cells is regulated by exocytic insertion of H+-ATPase-laden vesicles into the apical membrane. We have shown that the exocytic insertion of proton pumps (H+-ATPase) into the apical membrane of rat IMCD cells, in culture, involves SNARE proteins (syntaxin (synt), SNAP-23, and VAMP). The membrane fusion complex observed in IMCD cells with the induction of proton pump exocytosis not only included these SNAREs but also the H+-ATPase. Based on these observations, we suggested that the targeting of these vesicles to the apical membrane is mediated by an interaction between the H+-ATPase and a specific t-SNARE. To evaluate this hypothesis, we utilized a "pull-down" assay in which we identified, by Western analysis, the proteins in a rat kidney medullary homogenate that complexed with glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion syntaxin isoforms attached to Sepharose 4B-glutathione beads. The syntaxin isoforms employed were 1A, 1B, 2, 4, 5, and also 1A that was truncated to exclude the H3 SNARE binding domain (synt-1ADeltaH3). All full-length syntaxin isoforms formed complexes with SNAP-23 and VAMP. Neither GST nor synt-1ADeltaH3 formed complexes with these SNAREs. H+-ATPase (subunits E, a, and c) bound to syntaxin-1A and to a lesser extent to synt-1B but not to synt-1ADeltaH3 or synt-2, -4, and -5. In cultured IMCD cells transfected to express syntaxin truncated for the membrane binding domain (synt-DeltaC), expression of synt-1ADeltaC, but not synt-4DeltaC, inhibited H+-ATPase exocytosis. In conclusion, because all full-length syntaxins examined bound VAMP-2 and SNAP-23, but only non-H3-truncated syntaxin-1 bound H+-ATPase, and synt-1ADeltaC expression by intact IMCD cells inhibited H+-ATPase exocytosis, it is likely that the H+-ATPase binds directly to the H3 domain of syntaxin-1 and not through VAMP-2 or SNAP-23. Interaction between the syntaxin-1A and H+-ATPase is important in the targeted exocytosis of the proton pump to the apical membrane of intercalated cells.