title: Phosphorylation of UT-A1 on serine 486 correlates with membrane accumulation and urea transport activity in both rat IMCDs and cultured cells.
abstract: Vasopressin is the primary hormone regulating urine-concentrating ability. Vasopressin phosphorylates the UT-A1 urea transporter in rat inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs). To assess the effect of UT-A1 phosphorylation at S486, we developed a phospho-specific antibody to S486-UT-A1 using an 11 amino acid peptide antigen starting from amino acid 482 that bracketed S486 in roughly the center of the sequence. We also developed two stably transfected mIMCD3 cell lines: one expressing wild-type UT-A1 and one expressing a mutated form of UT-A1, S486A/S499A, that is unresponsive to protein kinase A. Forskolin stimulates urea flux in the wild-type UT-A1-mIMCD3 cells but not in the S486A/S499A-UT-A1-mIMCD3 cells. The phospho-S486-UT-A1 antibody identified UT-A1 protein in the wild-type UT-A1-mIMCD3 cells but not in the S486A/S499A-UT-A1-mIMCD3 cells. In rat IMCDs, forskolin increased the abundance of phospho-S486-UT-A1 (measured using the phospho-S486 antibody) and of total UT-A1 phosphorylation (measured by (32)P incorporation). Forskolin also increased the plasma membrane accumulation of phospho-S486-UT-A1 in rat IMCD suspensions, as measured by biotinylation. In rats treated with vasopressin in vivo, the majority of the phospho-S486-UT-A1 appears in the apical plasma membrane. In summary, we developed stably transfected mIMCD3 cell lines expressing UT-A1 and an S486-UT-A1 phospho-specific antibody. We confirmed that vasopressin increases UT-A1 accumulation in the apical plasma membrane and showed that vasopressin phosphorylates UT-A1 at S486 in rat IMCDs and that the S486-phospho-UT-A1 form is primarily detected in the apical plasma membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Renal Division, Emory University School of Medicine, 1639 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. janet.klein@emory.edu
authors.forename: Janet D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Mitsi A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Blount
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fröhlich
authors.forename: Chad E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Denson
authors.forename: Xiaoxiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Jae H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.forename: Christopher F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Jeff M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sands
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D007679:Kidney Medulla / Q000166:cytology; D007685:Kidney Tubules, Collecting / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014508:Urea / Q000378:metabolism*; D000096982:Urea Transporters
chemical_list: D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D014508:Urea; D000096982:Urea Transporters