title: Fatty acid modulation and sequence identity of fetal guinea pig alveolar type II cell amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel.
abstract: Removal of fetal lung fluid at birth is crucial to survival. In vivo, a reversal in the direction of vectorial, amiloride-sensitive Na+) transport can be stimulated by ETYA, a nonmetabolizable analogue of the naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acid, arachidonate. Using the patch-clamp technique, fetal guinea pig alveolar type II pneumocyte single Na+ channel activity was robustly activated by 10 microM arachidonate, ETYA, oleate and stearate; this was unaffected by cyclooxygenase and 5'lipoxygenase inhibitors. The Na+ channel expressed in fetal guinea pig alveolar epithelial type II pneumocytes has biophysical properties compatible with species-specific coexpression of a novel variant of alphaENaC with betaENaC. gammaENaC is either not expressed in this tissue or shares very little homology with the rat and human gamma subunit. Thus, dramatic stimulation of this channel by arachidonate explains the in vivo observation of gestation-dependent reversal of fetal transepithelial driving force and may, therefore, be of physiological significance during the transition to breathing air at birth.
authors.affiliation: Lung Membrane Transport Group, Tayside Institute of Child Health, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 9SY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Baines
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: MacGregor
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kemp
mesh_terms: D000584:Amiloride / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004594:Electrophysiology; D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C440894:Scnn1a protein, rat; D015222:Sodium Channels; D000584:Amiloride