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Dual effect of temperature on the human epithelial Na+ channel

  • Ion Channels, Transporters
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Abstract

The amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is the rate-limiting step for sodium reabsorption in the distal segments of the nephron, in the colon and in the airways. Its activity is regulated by intracellular and extracellular factors but the mechanisms of this regulation are not yet completely understood. Recently, we have shown that the fast regulation of ENaC by the extracellular [Na+], a phenomenon termed self-inhibition, is temperature dependent. In the present study we examined the effects of temperature on the single-channel properties of ENaC. Single-channel recordings from excised patches showed that the channel open probability (P o, estimated from the number of open channels N·P o, where N is the total number of channels) increased on average two- to threefold while the single-channel conductance decreased by about half when the temperature of the perfusion solution was lowered from ~30 to ~15 °C. The effects of temperature on the single-channel conductance and P o explain the changes of the macroscopic current that can be observed upon temperature changes and, in particular, the paradoxical effect of temperature on the current carried by ENaC.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Bernard Rossier, Laurent Schild, Stefan Kellenberger, Dmitri Firsov and Olivier Staub for careful reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions. This work was supported by the Human Frontier Science Foundation (HFSP) grant RG 0261.

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  1. Ahmed Chraïbi

    Present address: Faculté de médecine, Département de Physiologie et Biophysique, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 , 12 avenue Nord Sherbrooke, Canada J1H 5N4

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Pharmacologie et de Toxicologie, Université de Lausanne, Rue du Bugnon 27, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Ahmed Chraïbi & Jean-Daniel Horisberger

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  1. Ahmed Chraïbi
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  2. Jean-Daniel Horisberger
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Correspondence to Jean-Daniel Horisberger.

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Chraïbi, A., Horisberger, JD. Dual effect of temperature on the human epithelial Na+ channel. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 447, 316–320 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-003-1178-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-003-1178-9

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