Molecular determinants of pH sensitivity of the type IIa Na/P(i) cotransporter

Type II Na/P(i) cotransporters play key roles in epithelial P(i) transport and thereby contribute to overall P(i) homeostasis. Renal proximal tubular brush border membrane expresses the IIa isoform, whereas the IIb isoform is preferentially expressed in small intestinal brush border membrane of mammals. IIa and IIb proteins are predicted to contain eight transmembrane domains with the N- and C-terminal tails facing the cytoplasm. They differ in their pH dependences: the activity of IIa increases at higher pH, whereas the IIb shows no or a slightly opposite pH dependence. To determine the structural domains responsible for the difference in pH sensitivity, mouse IIa and IIb chimeras were constructed, and their pH dependence was characterized. A region between the fourth and fifth transmembrane domains was required for conferring pH sensitivity to the IIa-mediated Na/P(i) cotransport. Sequence comparison (IIa versus IIb) of the third extracellular loops revealed a stretch of three charged amino acids in IIa (REK) replaced by uncharged residues in IIb (GNT). Introduction of the uncharged GNT sequence (by REK) in IIa abolished its pH dependence, whereas introduction of the charged REK stretch in IIb (by GNT) led to a pH dependence similar to IIa. These findings suggest that charged residues within the third extracellular loop are involved in the pH sensitivity of IIa Na/P(i) cotransporter.