ENaC 2 in the distal nephron plays an important role in maintaining Na ϩ homeostasis and consequently controls systemic blood pressure. Excess sodium reabsorption due to enhanced ENaC activity can lead to hypertension, as is seen in Liddle syndrome (1, 2) and other genetic diseases (3). Surprisingly, whether high salt intake induces hypertension by targeting ENaC has not been examined. High salt intake can elevate both superoxide (O 2 . ) (4, 5) and H 2 O 2 (6) in the kidney by stimulating NAD(P)H oxidase (7-9), and O 2 . can increase aldosterone-me- , stimulate the non-receptor tyrosine kinase, c-Src (15). c-Src is known to be directly associated with p85, the regulatory subunit of PI3K (16). Tyrosine phosphorylation of p85 reduces its inhibitory effect on PI3K (17). These studies indicate that ROS may stimulate PI3K and consequently promote the synthesis of PI(3,4,5)P 3 . We (18 -20) and others (21,22) have previously shown that PI(3,4,5)P 3 stimulates ENaC. Taken together, these studies suggest that H 2 O 2 may stimulate ENaC by elevating PI(3,4,5)P 3 through activation of PI3K. In the present study, using patch clamp techniques combined with confocal microscopy analysis of apical PI(3,4,5)P 3 levels, we show that H 2 O 2 stimulates ENaC in A6 distal nephron cells via PI3K-dependent elevation of PI(3,4,5)P 3 in the apical membrane.
MATERIALS AND METHODSCell Culture-Xenopus A6 distal nephron cells were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA). Under previously used culture conditions, basal activity of ENaC in A6 cells is relatively high (23). It is difficult to see and analyze any stimulatory effect when basal ENaC activity is high. Therefore, in the present study, we modified the culture medium to reduce basal ENaC activity. The medium contained 2 parts of DMEM/F-12 (1:1) medium (Invitrogen), 1 part of H 2 O, 15 mM NaHCO 3 (total Na ϩ ϭ 101 mM, which is ideal for amphibian A6 cells), 2 mM L-glutamine, 10% fetal bovine serum (Invitrogen), 25 units/ml penicillin, 25 units/ml streptomycin. A6 cells were cultured in plastic flasks in the presence of 1 M aldosterone at 26°C and 4% CO 2 . After the cells became 70% * This work was supported, in whole or in part, by National Institutes of Health Grant 5R01-DK067110 (to H.-P. M.