Immunolocalization of sat-1 sulfate/oxalate/bicarbonate anion exchanger in the rat kidney

The rat liver sulfate/bicarbonate/oxalate exchanger (sat-1) transports sulfate across the canalicular membrane in exchange for either bicarbonate or oxalate. Sulfate/oxalate exchange has been detected in the proximal tubule of the kidney, where it is probably involved in the reabsorption of filtered sulfate and the secretion of oxalate and may contribute to oxalate-dependent chloride reabsorption. Screening of a renal cortex cDNA library determined that sat-1 is expressed in the rat kidney. To evaluate this anion exchanger, the sat-1 protein was expressed in Sf9 cells. Sodium-independent sulfate and oxalate uptake was enhanced 7.3-fold and 13.1-fold, respectively, in Sf9 cells expressing the sat-1 protein compared with cells infected with wild-type virus. We determined that sat-1 is glycosylated in the kidney; however, anion exchange via sat-1 is observed despite incomplete glycosylation of sat-1 in Sf9 cells. The sat-1 protein, with an added COOH-terminal 6-histidine tag, was purified on a metal affinity column and used to generate anti-sat-1 monoclonal antibodies. The sat-1 protein was localized to the basolateral membrane, but not the apical membrane, of the proximal tubule by both Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. These studies demonstrate that sulfate/oxalate exchange on the apical and basolateral membranes of the proximal tubule represents transport on two different anion exchangers.