MST3 Involvement in Na<sup>+</sup> and K<sup>+</sup> Homeostasis with Increasing Dietary Potassium Intake

oleh: Chee-Hong Chan, Sheng-Nan Wu, Bo-Ying Bao, Houng-Wei Li, Te-Ling Lu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-01-01

Deskripsi

K<sup>+</sup> loading inhibits NKCC2 (Na-K-Cl cotransporter) and NCC (Na-Cl cotransporter) in the early distal tubules, resulting in Na<sup>+</sup> delivery to the late distal convoluted tubules (DCTs). In the DCTs, Na<sup>+</sup> entry through ENaC (epithelial Na channel) drives K<sup>+</sup> secretion through ROMK (renal outer medullary potassium channel). WNK4 (with-no-lysine 4) regulates the NCC/NKCC2 through SAPK (Ste20-related proline-alanine-rich kinase)/OSR1 (oxidative stress responsive). K<sup>+</sup> loading increases intracellular Cl<sup>−</sup>, which binds to the WNK4, thereby inhibiting autophosphorylation and downstream signals. Acute K<sup>+</sup> loading-deactivated NCC was not observed in Cl<sup>−</sup>-insensitive WNK4 mice, indicating that WNK4 was involved in K<sup>+</sup> loading-inhibited NCC activity. However, chronic K<sup>+</sup> loading deactivated NCC in Cl<sup>−</sup>-insensitive WNK4 mice, indicating that other mechanisms may be involved. We previously reported that mammalian Ste20-like protein kinase 3 (MST3/STK24) was expressed mainly in the medullary TAL (thick ascending tubule) and at lower levels in the DCTs. MST3<i><sup>−/−</sup></i> mice exhibited higher ENaC activity, causing hypernatremia and hypertension. To investigate MST3 function in maintaining Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup> homeostasis in kidneys, mice were fed diets containing various concentrations of Na<sup>+</sup> and K<sup>+</sup>. The 2% KCl diets induced less MST3 expression in MST3<i><sup>−/−</sup></i> mice than that in wild-type (WT) mice. The MST3<i><sup>−/−</sup></i> mice had higher WNK4, NKCC2-S130 phosphorylation, and ENaC expression, resulting in lower urinary Na<sup>+</sup> and K<sup>+</sup> excretion than those of WT mice. Lower urinary Na<sup>+</sup> excretion was associated with elevated plasma [Na<sup>+</sup>] and hypertension. These results suggest that MST3 maintains Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup> homeostasis in response to K<sup>+</sup> loading by regulation of WNK4 expression and NKCC2 and ENaC activity.