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The E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2 regulates several ion transport proteins, including the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC). Nedd4-2 decreases apical membrane expression and activity of ENaC. Although it is subject to tight hormonal control, the mechanistic basis of Nedd4-2 regulation remains poorly understood. To characterize regulatory inputs to Nedd4-2 function, we screened for novel sites of Nedd4-2 phosphorylation using tandem mass spectrometry. Three of seven identified Xenopus Nedd4-2 Ser/Thr phosphorylation sites corresponded to previously identified target sites for SGK 1, whereas four were novel, including Ser-293, which matched the consensus for a MAPK target sequence. Further in vitro and in vivo phosphorylation experiments revealed that Nedd4-2 serves as a target of JNK1, but not of p38 MAPK or ERK1/2. Additional rounds of tandem mass spectrometry identified two other phosphorylated residues within Nedd4-2, including Thr-899, which is present within the catalytic domain. Nedd4-2 with mutations at these sites had markedly inhibited JNKl-dependent phosphorylation, virtually no ENaC inhibitory activity, and significantly reduced ubiquitin ligase activity. These data identify phosphorylatable residues that activate Nedd4-2 and may work together with residues targeted by inhibitory kinases (e.g. SGK1 and protein kinase A) to govern Nedd4-2 regulation of epithelial ion transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous work has established that the metabolic sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibits the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) by promoting its binding to neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally down-regulated 4-2, E3 ubiquitin protein ligase (Nedd4-2). Here, using MS analysis and in vitro phosphorylation, we show that AMPK phosphorylates Nedd4-2 at the Ser-444 (Xenopus Nedd4-2) site critical for Nedd4-2 stability. We further demonstrate that the Pak-interacting exchange factor β1Pix is required for AMPK-mediated inhibition of ENaC-dependent currents in both CHO and murine kidney cortical collecting duct (CCD) cells. Short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown of β1Pix expression in CCD cells attenuated the inhibitory effect of AMPK activators on ENaC currents. Moreover, overexpression of a β1Pix dimerization-deficient mutant unable to bind 14-3-3 proteins (Δ602-611) increased ENaC currents in CCD cells, whereas overexpression of WT β1Pix had the opposite effect. Using additional immunoblotting and co-immunoprecipitation experiments, we found that treatment with AMPK activators promoted the binding of β1Pix to 14-3-3 proteins in CCD cells. However, the association between Nedd4-2 and 14-3-3 proteins was not consistently affected by AMPK activation, β1Pix knockdown, or overexpression of WT β1Pix or the β1Pix-Δ602-611 mutant. Moreover, we found that β1Pix is important for phosphorylation of the aforementioned Nedd4-2 site critical for its stability. Overall, these findings elucidate novel molecular mechanisms by which AMPK regulates ENaC. Specifically, they indicate that AMPK promotes the assembly of β1Pix, 14-3-3 proteins, and Nedd4-2 into a complex that inhibits ENaC by enhancing Nedd4-2 binding to ENaC and its degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) is a major contributor to luminal acidification in epithelia of Wolffian duct origin. In both kidney-intercalated cells and epididymal clear cells, cAMP induces V-ATPase apical membrane accumulation, which is linked to proton secretion. We have shown previously that the A subunit in the cytoplasmic V1 sector of the V-ATPase is phosphorylated by protein kinase A (PKA). Here we have identified by mass spectrometry and mutagenesis that Ser-175 is the major PKA phosphorylation site in the A subunit. Overexpression in HEK-293T cells of either a wild-type (WT) or phosphomimic Ser-175 to Asp (S175D) A subunit mutant caused increased acidification of HCO3-containing culture medium compared with cells expressing vector alone or a PKA phosphorylationdeficient Ser-175 to Ala (S175A) mutant. Moreover, localization of the S175A A subunit mutant expressed in HEK-293T cells was more diffusely cytosolic than that of WT or S175D A subunit. Acute V-ATPase-mediated, bafilomycin-sensitive H+ secretion was up-regulated by a specific PKA activator in HEK-293T cells expressing WT A subunit in HCO-3free buffer. In cells expressing the S175D mutant, V-ATPase activity at the membrane was constitutively up-regulated and unresponsive to PKA activators, whereas cells expressing the S175A mutant had decreased V-ATPase activity that was unresponsive to PKA activation. Finally, Ser-175 was necessary for PKA-stimulated apical accumulation of the V-ATPase in a polarized rabbit cell line of collecting duct A-type intercalated cell characteristics (Clone C). In summary, these results indicate a novel mechanism for the regulation of V-ATPase localization and activity in kidney cells via direct PKA-dependent phosphorylation of the A subunit at Ser-175. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently found that the metabolic sensor AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) inhibits the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) through decreased plasma membrane ENaC expression, an effect requiring the presence of a binding motif in the cytoplasmic tail of the β-ENaC subunit for the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2. To further examine the role of Nedd4-2 in the regulation of ENaC by AMPK, we studied the effects of AMPK activation on ENaC currents in Xenopus oocytes co-expressing ENaC and wild-type (WT) or mutant forms of Nedd4-2. ENaC inhibition by AMPK was preserved in oocytes expressing WT Nedd4-2 but blocked in oocytes expressing either a dominant-negative (DN) or constitutively active (CA) Nedd4-2 mutant, suggesting that AMPK-dependent modulation of Nedd4-2 function is involved. Similar experiments utilizing WT or mutant forms of the serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase (SGK1), modulators of protein kinase A (PKA), or extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) did not affect ENaC inhibition by AMPK, suggesting that these pathways known to modulate the Nedd4-2-ENaC interaction are not responsible. AMPK-dependent phosphorylation of Nedd4-2 expressed in HEK-293 cells occurred both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting a potential mechanism for modulation of Nedd4-2 and thus cellular ENaC activity. Moreover, cellular AMPK activation significantly enhanced the interaction of the β-ENaC subunit with Nedd4-2, as measured by co-immunoprecipitation assays in HEK-293 cells. In summary, these results suggest a novel mechanism for ENaC regulation in which AMPK promotes ENaC-Nedd4-2 interaction, thereby inhibiting ENaC by increasing Nedd4-2-dependent ENaC retrieval from the plasma membrane. AMPK-dependent ENaC inhibition may limit cellular Na+ loading under conditions of metabolic stress when AMPK becomes activated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]