Intracellular H+ regulates the alpha-subunit of ENaC, the epithelial Na+ channel.

Protons regulate electrogenic sodium absorption in a variety of epithelia, including the cortical collecting duct, frog skin, and urinary bladder. Recently, three subunits (alpha, beta, gamma) coding for the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) were cloned. However, it is not known whether pH regulates Na+ channels directly by interacting with one of the three ENaC subunits or indirectly by interacting with a regulatory protein. As a first step to identifying the molecular mechanisms of proton-mediated regulation of apical membrane Na+ permeability in epithelia, we examined the effect of pH on the biophysical properties of ENaC. To this end, we expressed various combinations of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits of ENaC in Xenopus oocytes and studied ENaC currents by the two-electrode voltage-clamp and patch-clamp techniques. In addition, the effect of pH on the alpha-ENaC subunit was examined in planar lipid bilayers. We report that alpha,beta,gamma-ENaC currents were regulated by changes in intracellular pH (pHi) but not by changes in extracellular pH (pHo). Acidification reduced and alkalization increased channel activity by a voltage-independent mechanism. Moreover, a reduction of pHi reduced single-channel open probability, reduced single-channel open time, and increased single-channel closed time without altering single-channel conductance. Acidification of the cytoplasmic solution also inhibited alpha, beta-ENaC, alpha,gamma-ENaC, and alpha-ENaC currents. We conclude that pHi but not pHo regulates ENaC and that the alpha-ENaC subunit is regulated directly by pHi.