Identification of three isoforms for the Na+-dependent phosphate cotransporter (NaPi-2) in rat kidney

Abstract

We have isolated three unique NaPi-2-related protein cDNAs (NaPi-2α, NaPi-2β, and NaPi-2γ) from a rat kidney library. NaPi-2α cDNA encodes 337 amino acids which have high homology to the N-terminal half of NaPi-2 containing 3 transmembrane domains. NaPi-2β encodes 327 amino acids which are identical to the N-terminal region of NaPi-2 containing 4 transmembrane domains, whereas the 146 amino acids in the C-terminal region are completely different. In contrast, NaPi-2γ encodes 268 amino acids which are identical to the C-terminal half of NaPi-2. An analysis of phage and cosmid clones indicated that the three related proteins were produced by alternative splicing in the NaPi-2 gene. In a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system, NaPi- 2α, β, and γ were found to be 36, 36, and 29 kDa amino acid polypeptides, respectively. NaPi-2α and NaPi-2γ were glycosylated and revealed to be 45- and 35-kDa proteins, respectively. In isolated brush-border membrane vesicles, an N-terminal antibody was reacted with 45- and 40-kDa, and a C- terminal antibody was reacted with 37-kDa protein. The sizes of these proteins corresponded to those in glycosylated forms. A functional analysis demonstrated that NaPi-2γ and -2α markedly inhibited NaPi-2 activity in Xenopus oocytes. The results suggest that these short isoforms may function as a dominant negative inhibitor of the full-length transporter.