Modulation of Na+-Pi cotransport in opossum kidney cells by extracellular phosphate.

The effect of the extracellular concentration of Pi on the Na+-dependent phosphate transport activity of OK cells was investigated. When incubated with extracellular Pi at concentrations of 200 microM or less, Na+-Pi cotransport increased approximately twofold in OK cells compared with control cells (kept in 0.85 mM Pi), whereas other Na+-dependent transport activities were not affected. After Pi deprivation, Na+-Pi cotransport could be inhibited to a similar extent (80%) by parathyroid hormone (PTH) as in control cells, suggesting that the PTH-sensitive Na+-Pi cotransport activity is also regulated by extracellular Pi. The increase of Na+-Pi cotransport was maximally expressed after 6 h and could be prevented by cycloheximide (70 microM) but not by actinomycin D (0.5-5 g/ml). However, the adaptive response was completely blocked by 3'-deoxyadenosine (cordycepin) at 100 microM. From these data, it is concluded that the upregulation of Na+-Pi cotransport in OK cells due to low extracellular Pi is controlled at a posttranscriptional level.