Parathyroid hormone and parathyroid hormone-related peptide inhibit the apical Na+/H+ exchanger NHE-3 isoform in renal cells (OK) via a dual signaling cascade involving protein kinase A and C.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHRP) interact with a common G protein-coupled receptor and stimulate production of diverse second messengers (i.e. cAMP, diacylglycerol, and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) that varies depending on the target cell. In renal proximal tubule OK cells, PTH inhibits the activity of the apical membrane Na+/H+ exchanger, although it is unclear whether the signal is transmitted through protein kinase A (PKA) and/or protein kinase C (PKC). To delineate the signaling circuitry, a series of synthetic PTH and PTHRP fragments were used that stimulate the adenylate cyclase-cAMP-PKA and/or phospholipase C-diacylglycerol-PKC pathways. Human PTH-(1-34) and PTHRP-(1-34) stimulated adenylate cyclase and PKC activity, whereas the PTH analogues, PTH-(3-34), PTH-(28-42), and PTH-(28-48), selectively enhanced only PKC activity. However, each peptide fragment inhibited Na+/H+ exchanger activity by 40-50%, suggesting that PKC and possibly PKA were capable of transducing the PTH/PTHRP signal to the transporter. This was corroborated when forskolin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), direct agonists of adenylate cyclase and PKC, respectively, both inhibited the Na+/H+ exchanger. The specific PKA antagonist, H-89, abolished the forskolin-mediated suppression of Na+/H+ exchanger activity, but did not prevent the inhibitory effects of PTH-(1-34) or PMA. In comparison, the potent PKC inhibitor, chelerythrine chloride, prevented the inhibition of Na+/H+ exchanger activity mediated by PTH-(28-48) and PMA but did not avert the negative regulation caused by PTH-(1-34) or forskolin. However, inhibition of both PKA and PKC prevented PTH-(1-34)-mediated suppression of Na+/H+ exchanger activity, indicating that PTH-(1-34) acted through both signaling pathways. In addition, Northern blot analysis revealed the presence of only the NHE-3 isoform of the Na+/H+ exchanger in OK cells. In summary, these results demonstrated that NHE-3 is expressed in OK cells and that activation of the PTH receptor can stimulate both the PKA and PKC pathways, each of which can independently lead to inhibition of NHE-3 activity.