Role of cytoplasmic domain of the Na+/H+ exchanger in hormonal activation

The growth factor-activated Na+/H+ exchanger is regulated by numerous stimuli, including polypeptide hormones, phorbol esters, cell acidity, and cell shrinkage. To determine whether this regulation occurs at a common site on the cytoplasmic domain of the Na+/H+ exchanger, we microinjected polyclonal antibodies (RP1-c28) to the C-terminal 157 amino acids of the molecule and measured cell pH changes after application of a variety of stimuli known to activate the Na+/H+ exchanger. Microinjection of approximately 10 fg of RP1-c28 antibody, but not control IgG, into single cultured fibroblasts blocked subsequent activation of the exchanger by both endothelin and alpha-thrombin. In contrast, microinjected RP1-c28 did not prevent activation of Na+/H+ exchange by phorbol esters, consistent with the observation that both endothelin-1 and alpha-thrombin retained the ability to activate exchange activity in protein kinase C-depleted cells. Finally, activation of Na+/H+ exchange by both cell acidity and osmotic shrinkage was also unaffected by microinjected RP1-c28 antibody. These data indicate that activation of Na+/H+ exchange by endothelin-1 and alpha-thrombin is mechanistically distinct both from activation by protein kinase C and activation by physical factors and probably occurs at a separate site on the exchanger molecule.