Characterizing a Mutant Na+ /HCO3 - Cotransporter in a Patient
With pRTA Nayem Haque1; Michael Duffey1; Mark Parker1
1Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Department of Physiology & Biophysics
• Using frog X. laevis oocytes, perform two-
electrode voltage clamp (TEVC) to compare
the transport activity of A744T with wildtype
NBCe1-A.
• Quantify levels of surface expressed protein
using biotinylation & western blot.
• Our blood experiences a tremendous acid
insult that comes from diet, exercise and
cellular metabolism. Blood pH is maintained
within a narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45.
• Bicarbonate plays an important role in
maintain blood pH and counteracting acidity.
• NBCe1-A is a Na+/HCO3 - cotransporter on
the basolateral side of the proximal tubule.
• Defects in NBCe1-A are associated with
proximal renal tubular acidosis (pRTA).
Symptoms include growth, intellectual and
motor defects.
• A mutant NBCe1-A is reported in a patient
with pRTA1 . The mutation involves an amino
acid change from alanine at position 744 to
threonine (A744T)
Two-Electrode Voltage Clamp Data
Western Blot Analysis
1. Transfer gel into WB
sandwich case. Run at 30
V for one hour.
Cathode
Sponge
3M Paper Nitrocellulose
Gel
Anode
3. Drip ECL solution to
catalyze HRP reaction.
Image using Interactive
Chemi.
Horseradish
Peroxidase
2° Antibody
1° Antibody
EGFP
I would like to thank Bianca Q., Aniko M., and other members of
the Parker lab for helping me carry out these experiments.
Special thanks to Dr. Mark P. and Dr. Michael D. for providing
the resources and guidance needed to complete this project.
1 Khan, AO, Basamh, OS. Pediatric Primary Calcific Band Keratopathy With Or Without Glaucoma From Biallelic SLC4A4 Mutations. Ophthalmic Genetics. 2018; 425-427.
• Western blot for EGFP-tagged NBCe1
revealed a significant reduction in both total
and surface NBCe1-A expression in the
mutant as compared to wildtype NBCe1.
• Electrophysiology data indicates a significant
reduction in the bicarbonate transport
activity of the mutant compared to wildtype
NBCe1.
Residue A744 resides in a small nonpolar
pocket within NBCe1. The A744T mutant, which
introduced a large polar threonine into this
region, may kink the overall three-dimensional
structure of NBCe1 and is therefore not well
tolerated. Creating mutants with small nonpolar
residues will help to determine if A744 is
absolutely required for proper NBCe1 function.
• Perform immunocytochemistry on MDCKI
cells transfected with NBCe1. This
experiment will be used to identify if surface
expression of the mutant is also decreased in
a mammalian system.
• Repeat these experiments with A744V and
A744G mutants to see if these amino acids
are tolerated at position 744.
• Virtually all bicarbonate is generated and
recycled in the kidneys. On the basolateral
side of the proximal tubule, NBCe1-A works
to reabsorb bicarbonate back into blood.
Model 1. Inject oocytes with
Water, NBCe1-A A744T
and NBCe1-WT RNA
3-5 Days
2. Split oocytes for TEVC experiments and use
15 oocytes from each group for western blot.
3a. Run TEVC 3b. Homogenize
oocytes. Extract small
fraction for total protein
analysis. OC725
BATH
4b. Extract surface proteins with
Neutravidin column. Run gel
and proceed with western blot.
Total & Surface NBCe1-A
Lanes
2. Probe PVDF membrane
with Mouse anti-EGFP
1° antibody and Goat
anti-mouse 2° antibody.
NBCe1-A
Luminol
3-amino phthalate
HRP
Figure 1. Current-voltage (I-V) relationship obtained
from water-injected oocytes (A), single oocytes
expressing NBCe1-A WT (B), and oocytes expressing
mutant NBCe1-A (C), with corresponding average
bicarbonate dependent conductance (BDC) taken
between -20 mV and +20 mV (D). Oocytes were
exposed to bicarbonate free ND96 solution and
subsequently exposed to 5% CO2/ HCO3 - solution (BIC)
for 2 minutes before voltage clamping. In panel D,
means not marked with the same number of asterisks
are significantly different from each other using t-tests
(P < 0.025). Western Blot Analysis
A B
35
48
63
75
100
135
180
245
kDaMa
rke
r
WT
WT
WT
H 2 O
A7
44
T
A7
44
T
A7
44
T
WT
WT
WT
H 2 O
A7
44
T
A7
44
T
A7
44
T
Figure 2. Western blot of total (A) and surface (B)
EGFP-tagged NBCe1 from solubilized oocyte protein
extracts expressing NBCe1-A WT, A744T mutant, or
oocytes injected with H2O. Molecular weight of NBCe1
is 116 kDa as a core glycosylated monomer (m).
Glycosylated monomeric and dimer NBCe1 is denoted
(gm) and (d) on the blots, respectively. The combined
density of the three bands representing total EGFP-
tagged transporter is significantly lower in the A744T
mutant as compared to WT (Average reduction of 90
±2%; n = 3 batches of 15 oocytes). There was no visible
band for the biotinylated mutant in panel B.
m gm
d
NBCe1-A
Na+ 3 HCO3 -
A744TWildtype
Intracellular
Extracellular
Gel Lane Sample 1 Marker
2-4 NBCe1-A WT
5 Water Injected
6-8 NBCe1-A A744T