Urinary proteases degrade epithelial sodium channels.

The mammalian urinary bladder epithelium accommodates volume changes by the insertion and withdrawal of cytoplasmic vesicles. Both apical membrane (which is entirely composed of fused vesicles) and the cytoplasmic vesicles contain three types of ionic conductances, one amiloride sensitive, another a cation-selective conductance and the third a cation conductance which seems to partition between the apical membrane and the mucosal solution. The transport properties of the apical membrane (which has been exposed to urine in vivo) differ from the cytoplasmic vesicles by possessing a lower density of amiloride-sensitive channels and a variable level of leak conductance. It was previously shown that glandular kallikrein was able to hydrolyze epithelial sodium channels into the leak conductance and that this leak conductance was further degraded into a channel which partitioned between the apical membrane and the mucosal solution. This report investigates whether kallikrein is the only urinary constituent capable of altering the apical membrane ionic permeability or whether other proteases or ionic conditions also irreversible modify apical membrane permeability. Alterations of mucosal pH, urea concentrations, calcium concentrations or osmolarity did not irreversible affect the apical membrane ionic conductances. However, urokinase and plasmin (both serine proteases found in mammalian urine) were found to cause an irreversible loss of amiloride-sensitive current, a variable change in the leak current as well as the appearance of a third conductance which was unstable in the apical membrane and appears to partition between the apical membrane and the mucosal solution. Amiloride protects the amiloride-sensitive conductance from hydrolysis but does not protect the leak pathway. Neither channel is protected by sodium. Fluctuation analysis demonstrated that the loss of amiloride-sensitive current was due to a decrease in the sodium-channel density and not a change in the single-channel current. Assuming a simple model of sequential degradation, estimates of single-channel currents and conductances for both the leak channel and unstable leak channel are determined.