Transmembrane protein 139 (TMEM139) interacts with human kidney isoform of anion exchanger 1 (kAE1).

Human kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) mediates Cl(-)/HCO3(-) exchanges at the basolateral membrane of the acid-secreting α-intercalated cells. Mutations in SLC4A1 gene encoding kAE1 are associated with distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA). Several studies have shown that impaired trafficking of the mutant kAE1 is an important molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of dRTA. Proteins involved in kAE1 trafficking were identified but the mechanism resulting in dRTA remained unclear. Thus, this study attempted to search for additional proteins interacting with C-terminal of kAE1 (Ct-kAE1) and involved in kAE1 trafficking to cell membrane. Transmembrane protein 139 (TMEM139) was identified as a protein interacting with Ct-kAE1 by yeast two-hybrid screening. The interaction between kAE1 and TMEM139 was confirmed by affinity co-purification, co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-based protein fragment complementation assay (PCA). In addition, flow cytometry results showed that suppression of endogenous TMEM139 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) and over-expression of TMEM139 in HEK293T cells could reduce and increase membrane localization of kAE1, respectively. The presented data demonstrate that TMEM139 interacts with kAE1 and promotes its intracellular trafficking.

Human kidney anion exchanger 1 interacts with adaptor-related protein complex 1 µ1A (AP-1 mu1A).

Kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) mediates chloride (Cl⁻) and bicarbonate (HCO3⁻) exchange at the basolateral membrane of kidney α-intercalated cells. Impaired trafficking of kAE1 leads to defect of the Cl⁻/HCO3⁻ exchange at the basolateral membrane and failure of proton (H+) secretion at the apical membrane, causing a kidney disease--distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA). To gain a better insight into kAE1 trafficking, we searched for proteins physically interacting with the C-terminal region of kAE1 (Ct-kAE1), which contains motifs crucial for intracellular trafficking, by a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system. An adaptor-related protein complex 1 µ1A (AP-1 mu1A) subunit was found to interact with Ct-kAE1. The interaction between either Ct-kAE1 or full-length kAE1 and AP-1 mu1A were confirmed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T by co-immunoprecipitation, affinity co-purification, co-localization, yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-based protein fragment complementation assay (PCA) and GST pull-down assay. The interacting site for AP-1 mu1A on Ct-kAE1 was found to be Y904DEV907, a subset of YXXØ motif. Interestingly, suppression of endogenous AP-1 mu1A in HEK 293T by small interfering RNA (siRNA) decreased membrane localization of kAE1 and increased its intracellular accumulation, suggesting for the first time that AP-1 mu1A is involved in the kAE1 trafficking of kidney α-intercalated cells.

Prothrombin haplotype associated with kidney stone disease in Northeastern Thai patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate genetic variations associated with kidney stone disease in Northeastern Thai patients. METHODS: Altogether, 67 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) distributed within 8 candidate genes, namely TFF1, S100A8, S100A9, S100A12, AMBP, SPP1, UMOD, and F2, which encode stone inhibitor proteins, including trefoil factor 1, calgranulin (A, B, and C), bikunin, osteopontin, tamm-Horsfall protein, and prothrombin, respectively, were initially genotyped in 112 individuals each and in additional subjects to consist of 164 patients and 216 control subjects in total. RESULTS: We found that minor allele and homozygous genotype frequencies of 8 of 10 SNPs distributed within the F2 gene were significantly higher in the control group than in the patient group. Two F2 haplotypes were found to be dually associated with kidney stone risk, one (TGCCGCCGCG) with increased disease risk and the other (CGTTCCGCTA) with decreased disease risk. However, these 2 haplotypes were associated with the disease risks in only the female, not the male, group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study indicate that genetic variation of F2 is associated with kidney stone risk in Northeastern Thai female patients.

Alteration of lymphocyte opioid receptors in methadone maintenance subjects.

Methadone maintenance therapy is the most widely used treatment in patients with heroin addiction. Multiple studies have suggested that both current and former heroin addicts entering a methadone maintenance treatment program have altered immune function. Our previous study indicated that heroin addicts have depressed mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation and a decrease in the modulation of lymphocyte surface markers. This immunosuppression may be mediated via the direct interaction of opiates with lymphocyte opioid receptors. In order to test this hypothesis, the levels of opioid receptors on immune cells obtained from heroin users were determined using saturation binding, and it was found that former heroin addicts on methadone maintenance treatment had a significantly reduced maximum number (B(max)) of [(3)H]naloxone binding. The B(max) values were 51.3+/-7.6 fmol/mg protein for the non-addicted group and 25.3+/-3.1 fmol/mg protein for the methadone maintenance group. Opioid receptor gene expression on the immune cell was determined using a semi-quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction technique with specific pairs of primers to amplify mu- and delta-opioid receptor mRNAs. Both types of mRNAs were significantly decreased in lymphocytes obtained from the former heroin addicts on methadone maintenance subjects. Similarly, in an in vitro study, 100 microM methadone significantly down-regulated both mu- and delta-opioid receptor mRNA expressions in cultured lymphocytes obtained from naïve subjects. This effect was prevented by including 100 microM naloxone or pretreating with 50 ng/ml pertussis toxin. The data presented indicate that chronic opiate exposure was associated with down-regulation of G-protein-coupled opioid receptor gene expression in human lymphocytes.

Interaction of integrin-linked kinase with the kidney chloride/bicarbonate exchanger, kAE1.

Kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) mediates chloride/bicarbonate exchange at the basolateral membrane of kidney alpha-intercalated cells, thereby facilitating bicarbonate reabsorption into the blood. Human kAE1 lacks the N-terminal 65 residues of the erythroid form (AE1, band 3), which are essential for binding of cytoskeletal and cytosolic proteins. Yeast two-hybrid screening identified integrin-linked kinase (ILK), a serine/threonine kinase, and an actin-binding protein as an interacting partner with the N-terminal domain of kAE1. Interaction between kAE1 and ILK was confirmed in co-expression experiments in HEK 293 cells and is mediated by a previously unidentified calponin homology domain in the kAE1 N-terminal region. The calponin homology domain of kAE1 binds the C-terminal catalytic domain of ILK to enhance association of kAE1 with the actin cytoskeleton. Overexpression of ILK increased kAE1 levels at the cell surface as shown by flow cytometry, cell surface biotinylation, and anion transport activity assays. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that ILK associates with kAE1 early in biosynthesis, likely in the endoplasmic reticulum. ILK co-localized with kAE1 at the basolateral membrane of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells and in alpha-intercalated cells of human kidneys. Taken together these results suggest that ILK and kAE1 traffic together from the endoplasmic reticulum to the basolateral membrane. ILK may provide a linkage between kAE1 and the underlying actin cytoskeleton to stabilize kAE1 at the basolateral membrane, resulting in higher levels of cell surface expression.

Trafficking defect of mutant kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) proteins associated with distal renal tubular acidosis and Southeast Asian ovalocytosis.

Compound heterozygous anion exchanger 1 (AE1) SAO/G701D mutations result in distal renal tubular acidosis with Southeast Asian ovalocytosis. Interaction, trafficking and localization of wild-type and mutant (SAO and G701D) kAE1 proteins fused with hemagglutinin, six-histidine, Myc, or green fluorescence protein (GFP) were examined in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. When individually expressed, wild-type kAE1 was localized at cell surface while mutant kAE1 SAO and G701D were intracellularly retained. When co-expressed, wild-type kAE1 could form heterodimer with kAE1 SAO or kAE1 G701D and could rescue mutant kAE1 proteins to express on the cell surface. Co-expression of kAE1 SAO and kAE1 G701D also resulted in heterodimer formation but intracellular retention without cell surface expression, suggesting their trafficking defect and failure to rescue each other to the plasma membrane, most likely the molecular mechanism of the disease in the compound heterozygous condition.

Trafficking defects of a novel autosomal recessive distal renal tubular acidosis mutant (S773P) of the human kidney anion exchanger (kAE1).

Autosomal dominant and recessive distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) can be caused by mutations in the anion exchanger 1 (AE1 or SLC4A1) gene, which encodes the erythroid chloride/bicarbonate anion exchanger membrane glycoprotein (eAE1) and a truncated kidney isoform (kAE1). The biosynthesis and trafficking of kAE1 containing a novel recessive missense dRTA mutation (kAE1 S773P) was studied in transiently transfected HEK-293 cells, expressing the mutant alone or in combination with wild-type kAE1 or another recessive mutant, kAE1 G701D. The kAE1 S773P mutant was expressed at a three times lower level than wild-type, had a 2-fold decrease in its half-life, and was targeted for degradation by the proteasome. It could not be detected at the plasma membrane in human embryonic kidney cells and showed predominant endoplasmic reticulum immunolocalization in both human embryonic kidney and LLC-PK1 cells. The oligosaccharide on a kAE1 S773P N-glycosylation mutant (N555) was not processed to the complex form indicating impaired exit from the endoplasmic reticulum. The kAE1 S773P mutant showed decreased binding to an inhibitor affinity resin and increased sensitivity to proteases, suggesting that it was not properly folded. The other recessive dRTA mutant, kAE1 G701D, also exhibited defective trafficking to the plasma membrane. The recessive kAE1 mutants formed dimers like wild-type AE1 and could hetero-oligomerize with wild-type kAE1 or with each other. Hetero-oligomers of wild-type kAE1 with recessive kAE1 S773P or G701D, in contrast to the dominant kAE1 R589H mutant, were delivered to the plasma membrane.

Human kanadaptin and kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) do not interact in transfected HEK 293 cells.

Kanadaptin (kidney anion exchanger adaptor protein) is a widely expressed protein, shown previously to interact with the cytosolic domain of mouse Cl-/HCO3- anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) but not erythroid AE1 (eAE1) by a yeast-two hybrid assay. Kanadaptin was co-localized with kAE1 in intracellular membranes but not at the plasma membrane in alpha-intercalated cells of rabbit kidney. It was suggested that kanadaptin is an adaptor protein or chaperone involved in targeting kAE1 to the plasma membrane. To test this hypothesis, the interaction of human kanadaptin with human kAE1 was studied in co-transfected HEK293 cells. Human kanadaptin contains 796 amino acids and was immuno-detected as a 90 kDa protein in transfected cells. Pulse-chase experiments showed that it has a half-life (t1/2) of 7 h. Human kanadaptin was localized predominantly to the nucleus, whereas kAE1 was present intracellularly and at the plasma membrane. Trafficking of kAE1 from its site of synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane was unaffected by co-expression of human kanadaptin. Moreover, we found that no interaction between human kanadaptin and kAE1 or eAE1 could be detected in co-transfected cells either by co-immunoprecipitation or by histidine6-tagged co-purification. Taken together, we found that human kanadaptin did not interact with kAE1 and had no effect on trafficking of kAE1 to the plasma membrane in transfected cells. Kanadaptin may not be involved in the biosynthesis and targeting of kAE1. As such, defects in kanadaptin and its interaction with kAE1 are unlikely to be involved in the pathogenesis of the inherited kidney disease, distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA).

A novel missense mutation in AE1 causing autosomal dominant distal renal tubular acidosis retains normal transport function but is mistargeted in polarized epithelial cells.

Mutations in SLC4A1, encoding the chloride-bicarbonate exchanger AE1, cause distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA), a disease of defective urinary acidification by the distal nephron. In this study we report a novel missense mutation, G609R, causing dominant dRTA in affected members of a large Caucasian pedigree who all exhibited metabolic acidosis with alkaline urine, prominent nephrocalcinosis, and progressive renal impairment. To investigate the potential disease mechanism, the consequent effects of this mutation were determined. We first assessed anion transport function of G609R by expression in Xenopus oocytes. Western blotting and immunofluorescence demonstrated that the mutant protein was expressed at the oocyte cell surface. Measuring chloride and bicarbonate fluxes revealed normal 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid-inhibitable anion exchange, suggesting that loss-of-function of kAE1 cannot explain the severe disease phenotype in this kindred. We next expressed epitope-tagged wild-type or mutant kAE1 in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. In monolayers grown to polarity, mutant kAE1 was detected subapically and at the apical membrane, as well as at the basolateral membrane, in contrast to the normal basolateral appearance of wild-type kAE1. These findings suggest that the seventh transmembrane domain that contains Gly-609 plays an important role in targeting kAE1 to the correct cell surface compartment. They confirm that dominant dRTA is associated with non-polarized trafficking of the protein, with no significant effect on anion transport function in vitro, which remains an unusual mechanism of human disease.

Analysis of the interaction between human kidney anion exchanger 1 and kanadaptin using yeast two-hybrid systems

Kidney anion exchanger adaptor protein (Kanadaptin) is a protein which interacts with the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain of kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) and was first detected in mice using the yeast two-hybrid system and was also found to co-localize with kAE1 in rabbit a-intercalated cells. Impaired trafficking of human kAE1 can result in the kidney disease-distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA), and defective interaction between human kAE1 and kanadaptin may cause this trafficking impairment and be the basis for dRTA pathogenesis. However, it is unknown whether kAE1 can really interact with kanadaptin in humans. We have thus investigated the interaction between human kAE1 and human kanadaptin by using both Gal4 and LexA yeast two-hybrid systems. It was found that co-expression of Gal4DBD fused to the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain of kAE1 and Gal4AD fused to kanadaptin could not activate the transcription of the ADE2, HIS3 and lacZ reporters in the Gal4 system. A similar result was obtained for the interaction between B42AD fused to the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain of kAE1 and LexA fused to kanadaptin in activation of lacZ transcription in the LexA system. The absence of interaction between the fusion proteins in both yeast two-hybrid systems raises the possibility that kAE1 may not interact with kanadaptin in human cells. Considerably different structures of both kAE1 and kanadaptin in mice and humans may lead to different binding properties of the proteins in these two species.