scholarly journals Regulation of endogenous ENaC functional expression by CFTR and ΔF508-CFTR in airway epithelial cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (1) ◽  
pp. L88-L101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Rubenstein ◽  
Shannon R. Lockwood ◽  
Ellen Lide ◽  
Rebecca Bauer ◽  
Laurence Suaud ◽  
...  

The functional expression of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) appears elevated in cystic fibrosis (CF) airway epithelia, but the mechanism by which this occurs is not clear. We tested the hypothesis that the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) alters the trafficking of endogenously expressed human ENaC in the CFBE41o− model of CF bronchial epithelia. Functional expression of ENaC, as defined by amiloride-inhibited short-circuit current ( Isc) in Ussing chambers, was absent under control conditions but present in CFBE41o− parental and ΔF508-CFTR-overexpressing cells after treatment with 1 μM dexamethasone (Dex) for 24 h. The effect of Dex was mimicked by incubation with the glucocorticoid hydrocortisone but not with the mineralocorticoid aldosterone. Application of trypsin to the apical surface to activate uncleaved, “near-silent” ENaC caused an additional increase in amiloride-sensitive Isc in the Dex-treated cells and was without effect in the control cells, suggesting that Dex increased ENaC cell surface expression. In contrast, Dex treatment did not stimulate amiloride-sensitive Isc in CFBE41o− cells that stably express wild-type (wt) CFTR. CFBE41o− wt cells also had reduced expression of α- and γ-ENaC compared with parental and ΔF508-CFTR-overexpressing cells. Furthermore, application of trypsin to the apical surface of Dex-treated CFBE41o− wt cells did not stimulate amiloride-sensitive Isc, suggesting that ENaC remained absent from the surface of these cells even after Dex treatment. We also tested the effect of trafficking-corrected ΔF508-CFTR on ENaC functional expression. Incubation with 1 mM 4-phenylbutyrate synergistically increased Dex-induced ENaC functional expression in ΔF508-CFTR-overexpressing cells. These data support the hypothesis that wt CFTR can regulate the whole cell, functional, and surface expression of endogenous ENaC in airway epithelial cells and that absence of this regulation may foster ENaC hyperactivity in CF airway epithelia.

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (2) ◽  
pp. L97-L106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shilpa Nimishakavi ◽  
Marina Besprozvannaya ◽  
Wilfred W. Raymond ◽  
Charles S. Craik ◽  
Dieter C. Gruenert ◽  
...  

Prostasin is a membrane-anchored protease expressed in airway epithelium, where it stimulates salt and water uptake by cleaving the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC). Prostasin is activated by another transmembrane tryptic protease, matriptase. Because ENaC-mediated dehydration contributes to cystic fibrosis (CF), prostasin and matriptase are potential therapeutic targets, but their catalytic competence on airway epithelial surfaces has been unclear. Seeking tools for exploring sites and modulation of activity, we used recombinant prostasin and matriptase to identify substrate t-butyloxycarbonyl-l-Gln-Ala-Arg-4-nitroanilide (QAR-4NA), which allowed direct assay of proteases in living cells. Comparisons of bronchial epithelial cells (CFBE41o−) with and without functioning cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) revealed similar levels of apical and basolateral aprotinin-inhibitable activity. Although recombinant matriptase was more active than prostasin in hydrolyzing QAR-4NA, cell surface activity resisted matriptase-selective inhibition, suggesting that prostasin dominates. Surface biotinylation revealed similar expression of matriptase and prostasin in epithelial cells expressing wild-type vs. ΔF508-mutated CFTR. However, the ratio of mature to inactive proprostasin suggested surface enrichment of active enzyme. Although small amounts of matriptase and prostasin were shed spontaneously, prostasin anchored to the cell surface by glycosylphosphatidylinositol was the major contributor to observed QAR-4NA-hydrolyzing activity. For example, the apical surface of wild-type CFBE41o− epithelial cells express 22% of total, extractable, aprotinin-inhibitable, QAR-4NA-hydrolyzing activity and 16% of prostasin immunoreactivity. In conclusion, prostasin is present, mature and active on the apical surface of wild-type and CF bronchial epithelial cells, where it can be targeted for inhibition via the airway lumen.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Shilei Ding ◽  
Damien Adam ◽  
Guillaume Beaudoin-Bussières ◽  
Alexandra Tauzin ◽  
Shang Yu Gong ◽  
...  

Different serological assays were rapidly generated to study humoral responses against the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein. Due to the intrinsic difficulty of working with SARS-CoV-2 authentic virus, most serological assays use recombinant forms of the Spike glycoprotein or its receptor binding domain (RBD). Cell-based assays expressing different forms of the Spike, as well as pseudoviral assays, are also widely used. To evaluate whether these assays recapitulate findings generated when the Spike is expressed in its physiological context (at the surface of the infected primary cells), we developed an intracellular staining against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) to distinguish infected from uninfected cells. Human airway epithelial cells (pAECs) were infected with authentic SARS-CoV-2 D614G or Alpha variants. We observed robust cell-surface expression of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike at the surface of the infected pAECs using the conformational-independent anti-S2 CV3-25 antibody. The infected cells were also readily recognized by plasma from convalescent and vaccinated individuals and correlated with several serological assays. This suggests that the antigenicity of the Spike present at the surface of the infected primary cells is maintained in serological assays involving expression of the native full-length Spike.


2017 ◽  
Vol 312 (5) ◽  
pp. L688-L702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel A. Molina ◽  
Hannah K. Moriarty ◽  
Daniel T. Infield ◽  
Barry R. Imhoff ◽  
Rachel J. Vance ◽  
...  

Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes is the most common comorbidity associated with cystic fibrosis (CF) and correlates with increased rates of lung function decline. Because glucose is a nutrient present in the airways of patients with bacterial airway infections and because insulin controls glucose metabolism, the effect of insulin on CF airway epithelia was investigated to determine the role of insulin receptors and glucose transport in regulating glucose availability in the airway. The response to insulin by human airway epithelial cells was characterized by quantitative PCR, immunoblot, immunofluorescence, and glucose uptake assays. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) activity were analyzed by pharmacological and immunoblot assays. We found that normal human primary airway epithelial cells expressed glucose transporter 4 and that application of insulin stimulated cytochalasin B-inhibitable glucose uptake, consistent with a requirement for glucose transporter translocation. Application of insulin to normal primary human airway epithelial cells promoted airway barrier function as demonstrated by increased transepithelial electrical resistance and decreased paracellular flux of small molecules. This provides the first demonstration that airway cells express insulin-regulated glucose transporters that act in concert with tight junctions to form an airway glucose barrier. However, insulin failed to increase glucose uptake or decrease paracellular flux of small molecules in human airway epithelia expressing F508del-CFTR. Insulin stimulation of Akt1 and Akt2 signaling in CF airway cells was diminished compared with that observed in airway cells expressing wild-type CFTR. These results indicate that the airway glucose barrier is regulated by insulin and is dysfunctional in CF.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1590-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thu Ngan Trinh ◽  
Claudia Bilodeau ◽  
Émilie Maillé ◽  
Manon Ruffin ◽  
Marie-Claude Quintal ◽  
...  

The epithelial response to bacterial airway infection, a common feature of lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis, has been extensively studied. However, its impact on cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channel function is not clearly defined. Our aims were, therefore, to evaluate the effect of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on CFTR function and expression in non-cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells, and to investigate its impact on ΔF508-CFTR rescue by the VRT-325 corrector in cystic fibrosis cells.CFTR expression/maturation was evaluated by immunoblotting and its function by short-circuit current measurements.A 24-h exposure to P. aeruginosa diffusible material (PsaDM) reduced CFTR currents as well as total and membrane protein expression of the wildtype (wt) CFTR protein in CFBE-wt cells. In CFBE-ΔF508 cells, PsaDM severely reduced CFTR maturation and current rescue induced by VRT-325. We also confirmed a deleterious impact of PsaDM on wt-CFTR currents in non-cystic fibrosis primary airway cells as well as on the rescue of ΔF508-CFTR function induced by VRT-325 in primary cystic fibrosis cells.These findings show that CFTR function could be impaired in non-cystic fibrosis patients infected by P. aeruginosa. Our data also suggest that CFTR corrector efficiency may be affected by infectious components, which should be taken into account in screening assays of correctors.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (1) ◽  
pp. C243-C251 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Egan ◽  
E. M. Schwiebert ◽  
W. B. Guggino

When nonepithelial cell types expressing the delta F508-cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutation are grown at reduced temperatures, the mutant protein can be properly processed. The effect of low temperatures on Cl- channel activity in airway epithelial cells that endogenously express the delta F508-CFTR mutation has not been investigated. Therefore, we examined the effect of incubation temperature on both CFTR and outwardly rectifying Cl- channel (ORCC) activity in normal, in cystic fibrosis (CF)-affected, and in wild-type CFTR-complemented CF airway epithelia with use of a combination of inside-out and whole cell patch-clamp recording, 36Cl- efflux assays, and immunocytochemistry. We report that incubation of CF-affected airway epithelial cells at 25-27 degrees C is associated with the appearance of a protein kinase A-stimulated CFTR-like Cl- conductance. In addition to the appearance of CFTR Cl- channel activity, there is, however, a decrease in the number of active ORCC when cells are grown at 25-27 degrees C, suggesting that the decrease in incubation temperature may be associated with multiple alterations in ion channel expression and/or regulation in airway epithelial cells.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document