Isoforms of the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter in murine TAL II. Functional characterization and activation by cAMP

The functional properties of alternatively spliced isoforms of the mouse apical Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter (mBSC1) were examined, using expression in Xenopus oocytes and measurement of 22Na+ or 86Rb+ uptake. A total of six isoforms, generated by the combinatorial association of three 5' exon cassettes (A, B, and F) with two alternative 3' ends, are expressed in mouse thick ascending limb (TAL) [see companion article, D. B. Mount, A. Baekgaard, A. E. Hall, C. Plata, J. Xu, D. R. Beier, G. Gamba, and S. C. Hebert. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Renal Physiol. 45): F347-F358, 1999]. The two 3' ends predict COOH-terminal cytoplasmic domains of 129 amino acids (the C4 COOH terminus) and 457 amino acids (the C9 terminus). The three C9 isoforms (mBSC1-A9/F9/B9) all express Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransport activity, whereas C4 isoforms are nonfunctional in Xenopus oocytes. Activation or inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) does not affect the activity of the C9 isoforms. The coinjection of mBSC1-A4 with mBSC1-F9 reduces tracer uptake, compared with mBSC1-F9 alone, an effect of C4 isoforms that is partially reversed by the addition of cAMP-IBMX to the uptake medium. The inhibitory effect of C4 isoforms is a dose-dependent function of the alternatively spliced COOH terminus. Isoforms with a C4 COOH terminus thus exert a dominant negative effect on Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransport, a property that is reversed by the activation of PKA. This interaction between coexpressed COOH-terminal isoforms of mBSC1 may account for the regulation of Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransport in the mouse TAL by hormones that generate cAMP.