Identification of apical membranes from tight epithelia using spin-labeled amiloride and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Apical cell membranes from Na+-transporting epithelia were identified in centrifugal fractions prepared from homogenates of rainbow trout kidney, gill and frog skin using a spin-labeled, nitroxide derivative of amiloride and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Spin-labeled amiloride (ASp) is a potent inhibitor of Na+ transport. Frog skin short-circuit current was inhibited by 50% in the presence of 7 X 10(-8) M ASp, whereas 4 X 10(-7) M amiloride was required to obtain the same effect. ASp is a suitable probe for the amiloride binding site based on analytical criteria: Unbound ASp produces an EPR signal linear with concentration and detectable at micromolar concentrations. Estimates of ASp binding can usually be made on less than 100 micrograms of membrane protein. While ASp binds nonspecifically to many materials, amiloride- or benzamil-displaceable binding occurred only in trout gill and kidney, and in frog skin, but not in trout skeletal muscle. ASp binds to membrane fractions produced by differential centrifugation of trout gill, kidney and frog skin. In trout gill and kidney, 81% and 91%, respectively, of the amiloride-displaceable ASp binding is found in the 10,000 X g fraction. All of the ASp binding in frog skin is found in the 10,000 X g fraction. These data indicate that spin-labeled amiloride is a useful probe for the identification of the amiloride binding site, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy will allow the amiloride binding site to be used as a molecular marker for apical membranes.