NHE3 is one of five plasma membrane Na+/H+ exchangers and is encoded by the mouse gene Slc9a3. It is expressed on apical membranes of renal proximal tubule and intestinal epithelial cells and is thought to play a major role in NaCl and HCO3- absorption. As the distribution of NHE3 overlaps with that of the NHE2 isoform in kidney and intestine, the function and relative importance of NHE3 in vivo is unclear. To analyse its physiological functions, we generated mice lacking NHE3 function. Homozygous mutant (Slc9a3-/-) mice survive, but they have slight diarrhoea and blood analysis revealed that they are mildly acidotic. HCO3- and fluid absorption are sharply reduced in proximal convoluted tubules, blood pressure is reduced and there is a severe absorptive defect in the intestine. Thus, compensatory mechanisms must limit gross perturbations of electrolyte and acid-base balance. Plasma aldosterone is increased in NHE3-deficient mice, and expression of both renin and the AE1 (Slc4a1) Cl-/HCO3- exchanger mRNAs are induced in kidney. In the colon, epithelial Na+ channel activity is increased and colonic H+,K+-ATPase mRNA is massively induced. These data show that NHE3 is the major absorptive Na+/H+ exchanger in kidney and intestine, and that lack of the exchanger impairs acid-base balance and Na+-fluid volume homeostasis.
In chloride-secretory epithelia, the basolateral Na-K2Cl cotransporter (NKCC1) is thought to play a major role in transepithelial Cl ؊ and fluid transport. Similarly, in marginal cells of the inner ear, NKCC1 has been proposed as a component of the entry pathway for K ؉ that is secreted into the endolymph, thus playing a critical role in hearing. To test these hypotheses, we generated and analyzed an NKCC1-deficient mouse. Homozygous mutant (Nkcc1 ؊/؊ ) mice exhibited growth retardation, a 28% incidence of death around the time of weaning, and mild difficulties in maintaining their balance. Mean arterial blood pressure was significantly reduced in both heterozygous and homozygous mutants, indicating an important function for NKCC1 in the maintenance of blood pressure. cAMP-induced short circuit currents, which are dependent on the CFTR Cl ؊ channel, were reduced in jejunum, cecum, and trachea of Nkcc1 ؊/؊ mice, indicating that NKCC1 contributes to cAMP-induced Cl ؊ secretion. In contrast, secretion of gastric acid in adult Nkcc1 ؊/؊ stomachs and enterotoxin-stimulated fluid secretion in the intestine of suckling Nkcc1 ؊/؊ mice were normal. Finally, homozygous mutants were deaf, and histological analysis of the inner ear revealed a collapse of the membranous labyrinth, consistent with a critical role for NKCC1 in transepithelial K ؉ movements involved in generation of the K ؉ -rich endolymph and the endocochlear potential.
The relative importance of plasma membrane Ca 2؉ -ATPase (PMCA) 1 and PMCA4 was assessed in mice carrying null mutations in their genes (Atp2b1 and Atp2b4). Loss of both copies of the gene encoding PMCA1 caused embryolethality, whereas heterozygous mutants had no overt disease phenotype. Despite widespread and abundant expression of PMCA4, PMCA4 null (Pmca4 ؊/؊ ) mutants exhibited no embryolethality and appeared outwardly normal. Loss of PMCA4 impaired phasic contractions and caused apoptosis in portal vein smooth muscle in vitro; however, this phenotype was dependent on the mouse strain being employed. Pmca4 ؊/؊ mice on a Black Swiss background did not exhibit the phenotype unless they also carried a null mutation in one copy of the Pmca1 gene. Pmca4 ؊/؊ male mice were infertile but had normal spermatogenesis and mating behavior. Pmca4؊/؊ sperm that had not undergone capacitation exhibited normal motility but could not achieve hyperactivated motility needed to traverse the female genital tract. Ultrastructure of the motility apparatus in Pmca4 ؊/؊ sperm tails was normal, but an increased incidence of mitochondrial condensation indicated Ca 2؉ overload. Immunoblotting and immuno-histochemistry showed that PMCA4 is the most abundant isoform in testis and sperm and that it is localized to the principle piece of the sperm tail, which is also the location of the major Ca 2؉ channel (CatSper) required for sperm motility. These results are consistent with an essential housekeeping or developmental function for PMCA1, but not PMCA4, and show that PMCA4 expression in the principle piece of the sperm tail is essential for hyperactivated motility and male fertility.
Mutations in the gene encoding the thiazide-sensitive Na ؉ -Cl ؊ cotransporter (NCC) of the distal convoluted tubule cause Gitelman's syndrome, an inherited hypokalemic alkalosis with hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria. These metabolic abnormalities are secondary to the deficit in NaCl reabsorption, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. To gain a better understanding of the role of NCC in sodium and fluid volume homeostasis and in the pathogenesis of Gitelman's syndrome, we used gene targeting to prepare an NCC-deficient mouse. Null mutant (Ncc ؊/؊ ) mice appear healthy and are normal with respect to acid-base balance, plasma electrolyte concentrations, serum aldosterone levels, and blood pressure. Ncc ؊/؊ mice retain Na ؉ as well as wild-type mice when fed a Na ؉ -depleted diet; however, after 2 weeks of Na ؉ depletion the mean arterial blood pressure of Ncc ؊/؊ mice was significantly lower than that of wild-type mice. In addition, Ncc ؊/؊ mice exhibited increased renin mRNA levels in kidney, hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria, and morphological changes in the distal convoluted tubule. These data indicate that the loss of NCC activity in the mouse causes only subtle perturbations of sodium and fluid volume homeostasis, but renal handling of Mg 2؉ and Ca 2؉ are altered, as observed in Gitelman's syndrome.
The cytochrome P450 (CYP1A1) enzyme metabolically activates many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including benzo [a]pyrene (BaP), to DNA-and protein-binding intermediates that are associated with toxicity, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis. As a result, it is widely accepted that CYP1A1 potentiates the toxicity of this class of chemicals. In distinct contrast, we show here that CYP1A1 inducibility is essential in the detoxication of oral BaP. We compared Cyp1a1(Ϫ/Ϫ) knockout mice, having the genetic absence of the CYP1A1 enzyme, with Cyp1a1(ϩ/ϩ) wild-type mice. At an oral BaP dose of 125 mg/ kg/day, Cyp1a1(Ϫ/Ϫ) mice died within 30 days whereas Cyp1a1(ϩ/ϩ) mice displayed no outward signs of toxicity. The rate of BaP clearance was 4-fold slower in Cyp1a1(Ϫ/Ϫ) than Cyp1a1(ϩ/ϩ) mice. The cause of death in Cyp1a1(Ϫ/Ϫ) mice receiving oral BaP seemed to be immunotoxicity, including toxic chemical depression of the bone marrow; some toxic effects in Cyp1a1(Ϫ/Ϫ) mice were noted at a BaP dose as low as 1.25 mg/kg/day. DNA post-labeling studies demonstrated dramatically higher BaP-DNA adduct levels in all Cyp1a1(Ϫ/Ϫ) tissues assayed, with the exception of the small intestine, which is probably a major site of BaP metabolism in Cyp1a1(ϩ/ϩ) mice. Different BaP-DNA adduct patterns were also observed between the two genotypes receiving oral BaP. Despite previous studies in vitro and in cell culture that have shown a participatory role for CYP1A1 in BaP toxicity, the present data indicate that, in the intact animal, inducible CYP1A1 is extremely important in detoxication and protection against oral BaP toxicity.
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