Membrane Biology
Paraoxonase 3 functions as a chaperone to decrease functional expression of the epithelial sodium channel
The paraoxonase (PON) family comprises three highly conserved members: PON1, PON2, and PON3. They are orthologs of Caenorhabditis elegans MEC-6, an endoplasmic reticulum–resident chaperone that has a critical role in proper assembly and surface expression of the touch-sensing degenerin channel in nematodes. We have shown recently that MEC-6 and PON2 negatively regulate functional expression of the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), suggesting that the chaperone function is conserved within this family.Specific Palmitoyltransferases Associate with and Activate the Epithelial Sodium Channel
The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) has an important role in regulating extracellular fluid volume and blood pressure, as well as airway surface liquid volume and mucociliary clearance. ENaC is a trimer of three homologous subunits (α, β, and γ). We previously reported that cytoplasmic residues on the β (βCys-43 and βCys-557) and γ (γCys-33 and γCys-41) subunits are palmitoylated. Mutation of Cys that blocked ENaC palmitoylation also reduced channel open probability. Furthermore, γ subunit palmitoylation had a dominant role over β subunit palmitoylation in regulating ENaC.Intracellular Na+ Regulates Epithelial Na+ Channel Maturation
Epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) function is regulated by the intracellular Na+ concentration ((Na+)i) through a process known as Na+ feedback inhibition. Although this process is known to decrease the expression of proteolytically processed active channels on the cell surface, it is unknown how (Na+)i alters ENaC cleavage. We show here that (Na+)i regulates the posttranslational processing of ENaC subunits during channel biogenesis. At times when (Na+)i is low, ENaC subunits develop mature N-glycans and are processed by proteases.
