Cleavage state of γENaC in mouse and rat kidney.

Extracellular proteases can activate the epithelial Na channel (ENaC) by cleavage of the g subunit. Here we investigate the cleavage state of the channel in the kidneys of mice and rats on a low-salt diet. We identified the cleaved species of channels expressed in FRT cells by co-expressing the apical-membrane bound protease CAP1 (prostasin). To compare the peptides produced in the heterologous system with those in the mouse kidney we treated both lysates with PNGaseF to remove N-linked glycosylation. The apparent molecular mass of the smallest C-terminal fragment of gENaC (52 kDa) was indistinguishable from that of the CAP1-induced species in FRT cells. Similar cleaved peptides were observed in total and cell surface fractions of rat kidney. This suggests that most of the subunits at the surface have been processed by extracellular proteases. This was confirmed using non-reducing gels, in which the N- and C-terminal fragments of gENaC are linked by a disulfide bond. Under these conditions the major cleaved form in rat kidney had an apparent molecular mass of 56 kDa, ~4 kDa lower than that of the full-length form, consistent with excision of a short peptide by two proteolytic events. We conclude that the most abundant gENaC species in the apical membrane of rat and mouse kidney on a low-Na diet is the twice-cleaved, presumably activated form.