The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae does not sequester chloride but can express a functional mammalian chloride channel.
Chloride uptake into yeast was measured as a function of pH. A small amount of uptake was seen at pH values of 3.0 and 4.0; at pH 6.0 chloride uptake was substantially less than the uptake of phosphate and rubidium. Because chloride uptake is inefficient, we expressed the putative mammalian chloride channel, pI(Cln), in yeast and observed a chloride-selective current when total membrane protein was reconstituted into lipid bilayers. The current was inhibited by a specific chloride channel blocker, 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid. These results suggest that yeast may serve as a means to characterize chloride channels from other organisms.
Coury
L A
LA
Renal Electrolyte Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2500, USA.
McGeoch
J E
JE
Guidotti
G
G
Brodsky
J L
JL
D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D002712:Chlorides / Q000378:metabolism*; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*
D018118:Chloride Channels; D002712:Chlorides; D010710:Phosphates