title: Membrane organization and function of M1 and M23 isoforms of aquaporin-4 in epithelial cells.
abstract: Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channels exist as heterotetramers of M1 and M23 splice variants and appear to be present in orthogonal arrays of intramembraneous particles (OAPs) visualized by freeze-fracture microscopy. We report that AQP4 forms OAPs in rat gastric parietal cells but not in parietal cells from the mouse or kangaroo rat. Furthermore, the organization of principal cell OAPs in Brattleboro rat kidney is perturbed by vasopressin (arginine vasopressin). Membranes of LLC-PK(1) cells expressing M23-AQP4 showed large, abundant OAPs, but none were detectable in cells expressing M1-AQP4. Measurements of osmotic swelling of transfected LLC-PK(1) cells using videomicroscopy, gave osmotic water permeability coefficient (P(f)) values (in cm/s) of 0.018 (M1-AQP4), 0.019 (M23-AQP4), and 0.003 (control). Quantitative immunoblot and immunofluorescence showed an eightfold greater expression of M1- over M23-AQP4 in the cell lines, suggesting that single-channel p(f) (cm(3)/s) is much greater for the M23 variant. Somatic fusion of M1- and M23-AQP4 cells (P(f) = 0.028 cm/s) yielded OAPs that were fewer and smaller than in M23 cells alone, and M1-to-M23 expression ratios ( approximately 1:4) normalized to AQP4 in M1 or M23 cells indicated a reduced single-channel p(f) for the M23 variant. Expression of an M23-AQP4-Ser(111E) mutant produced approximately 1.5-fold greater single-channel p(f) and OAPs that were up to 2.5-fold larger than wild-type M23-AQP4 OAPs, suggesting that a putative PKA phosphorylation site Ser(111) is involved in OAP formation. We conclude that the higher-order organization of AQP4 in OAPs increases single-channel osmotic water permeability by one order of magnitude and that differential cellular expression levels of the two isoforms could regulate this organization.
authors.affiliation: Renal Unit and Program in Membrane Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Silberstein
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bouley
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Pingke
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pastor-Soler
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Alfred N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Van Hoek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051401:Aquaporin 4; D020346:Aquaporins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003894:Deamino Arginine Vasopressin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004173:Dipodomys; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D007536:Isomerism; D007685:Kidney Tubules, Collecting / Q000166:cytology; D018374:LLC-PK1 Cells; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010295:Parietal Cells, Gastric / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats; D011910:Rats, Brattleboro; D012076:Renal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013552:Swine; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: C496031:Aqp4 protein, mouse; C496032:Aqp4 protein, rat; D051401:Aquaporin 4; D020346:Aquaporins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012076:Renal Agents; D003894:Deamino Arginine Vasopressin