Aldosterone-induced serum-and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase isoform 1 (SGK1) contributes to the regulation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), the activity of which is critical for long term blood pressure control. Aldosterone-induced SGK1 is thought to enhance ENaC surface expression by phosphorylating Nedd4-2 and thereby preventing ENaC retrieval and degradation. In outside-out membrane patches of Xenopus laevis oocytes heterologously expressing ENaC, amiloride-sensitive ENaC currents were enhanced by phosphatase inhibitors and were dependent on cytosolic Mg 2؉ . This indicates that a kinase is involved in channel regulation. Indeed, recombinant constitutively active SGK1, included in the pipette solution, caused a sustained 2-to 3-fold increase of ENaC currents. Deletion of the C terminus of ␣ENaC largely reduced the stimulatory effect of SGK1, whereas stimulation by SGK1 did not require the presence of the C termini of the -or ␥-subunits. Replacing the serine residue Ser 621 of the SGK1 consensus motif in the C terminus of the ␣-subunit by an alanine specifically abolished the stimulatory effect of SGK. Our findings indicate that SGK1 can stimulate ENaC activity independently of an inhibition of Nedd4-2-mediated channel retrieval. This defines a novel regulatory pathway likely to be relevant for aldosterone-induced stimulation of ENaC in vivo.The appropriate regulation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) 1 in the kidney is critically important for the maintenance of body sodium balance and hence for long term regulation of arterial blood pressure (1). Indeed, two human genetic diseases provide direct evidence that molecular dysfunction of ENaC has severe effects on arterial blood pressure. Loss-offunction mutations of ENaC cause urinary sodium loss, hyperkalemia, and low blood pressure in patients with pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 (2). In contrast, gain-of-function mutations of ENaC are found in patients with so-called Liddle's syndrome (pseudohyperaldosteronism) and result in increased renal sodium re-absorption, hypokalemia, and severe arterial hypertension (3).ENaC is composed of three subunits called ␣, , and ␥ (4). The C termini of the ENaC subunits each contain a proline-rich PPXY (PY) motif, which is believed to be important for interaction with the ubiquitin-protein ligases Nedd4 and Nedd4-2, promoting the ubiquitination, endocytosis, and proteasomal degradation of the channel (5-8). The functional importance of the PY motif was recognized in Liddle's syndrome where mutations and/or deletions of the PY motif in  or ␥ ENaC reduce the endocytic retrieval of ENaC from the membrane (9, 10). This results in an increase in the number of ENaC channels in the membrane, which in turn is thought to cause hyperabsorption of Na ϩ and hypertension in patients with Liddle's syndrome (11,12).The most important hormone to regulate ENaC activity is the mineralocorticoid aldosterone. The effects of aldosterone include transcriptional, translational, and post-translational modifications of ENaC and inv...