Originally published as JHC exPRESS on October 15, 2007. doi:10.1369/jhc.7A7281.2007
Volume 56 (1): 67-75, 2008 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Expression and Localization of Aquaporins in the Kidney of the Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus)
Department of Anatomy (SM,SK,KT,TH,MS) and The Institute of Laboratory Animal Science (HI), Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan Correspondence to: Seishi Maeda, PhD, Dept. of Anatomy, Hyogo College of Medicine, Mukogawa 1-1, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan. E-mail: maedas{at}hyo-med.ac.jp
Expression and localization of members of the aquaporin (AQP) family (AQP1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) in the kidney of the musk shrew (Suncus murinus) was examined by immunohistochemistry. AQP1 was expressed in the proximal tubules and in the thin limb of the loops of Henle. AQP1 was the only water channel expressed in the proximal nephron examined, indicating that AQP1 may be an independent water transporter in the proximal nephron. AQP2 and AQP5 were localized to the apical cytoplasm of the cortical to medullary collecting duct (CD) cells and AQP3 and AQP4 were localized to the basal aspect of the cortical to medullary CD cells. AQP3 expression was weaker in the cortical cells compared with the medullary cells, whereas AQP4 was strongly positive throughout the CD. These indicate that the CD is the main water reabsorption segment of the nephron and is regulated by AQPs. Indeed, apical water transport of CD cells of the musk shrew may be controlled by both AQP2 and AQP5. The characteristic expression pattern of the AQPs in this animal provides a novel animal model for elucidating the regulation of water reabsorption by AQPs in the mammalian kidney. (J Histochem Cytochem 56:67–75, 2008)
Key Words: aquaporin immunohistochemistry insectivore Suncus urine water channel water reabsorption
AQUAPORINS (AQPs) are water-selective channels that increase the water permeability of the plasma membrane of cells in bacteria, plants, and animals. In mammals, at least 13 AQP subtypes (AQP0 to AQP12) have been found and are expressed in many cell types. AQPs exhibit various patterns of localization and complicated coexpression in various cells (see reviews, Takata et al. 2004
The musk shrew (Suncus murinus) is a small animal that exhibits several primitive mammalian characteristics (Shigehara 1985
Animals Twenty adult male musk shrews, 16 to 24 weeks of age and weighing 55–60 g, were used in this study according to procedures approved by The Animal Care and Use Committee at Hyogo College of Medicine. Animals were kept in separate cages and maintained under a 12-hr light/dark cycle at a constant temperature of 25C. Food and water were given ad libitum until sacrifice. Animals were anesthetized with diethyl ether and sodium pentobarbital (40 mg/kg, IP). For reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and Western blotting examination, animals were killed by decapitation, and kidneys were removed. Kidneys were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at –80C until use. For histochemical experiments, an overdose of pentobarbital was injected into the animals and intracardially perfused with PBS followed by Bouin's fixative.
RT-PCR
Antibodies Anti-AQP antibodies in the present study were as follows: polyclonal rabbit anti-AQP1 antibody (PAb) (Chemicon; Temecula, CA), rabbit anti-AQP2 PAb (Almone Labs; Jerusalem, Israel), goat anti-AQP4 PAb (Santa Cruz Biotechnology; Santa Cruz, CA), and goat anti-human AQP5 PAb (Santa Cruz Biotechnology). A polyclonal rabbit anti-AQP3 PAb was raised against the C-terminal 18 amino acids estimated from the AQP3 cDNA sequence of the musk shrew (DDBJ accession no. AB275385). Secondary antibodies used for brightfield microscopic examination included biotin-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG PAb (Jackson ImmunoResearch; West Grove, PA) or donkey anti-goat IgG PAb (Jackson ImmunoResearch). Cy3 or FITC-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch) and anti-goat IgG PAb (Jackson ImmunoResearch) were used for fluorescent studies. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG PAb and rabbit anti-goat IgG PAb (Zymed; South San Francisco, CA) were used for Western blotting.
Western Blotting
Immunohistochemistry
RT-PCR amplification was observed for AQP1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (Figure 1A ), indicating that these AQPs are expressed in the musk shrew kidney. Expression of these AQPs was also detected with Western blotting in the kidney homogenate, and typical major bands were observed in each blot (Figure 1B). AQP3 was reactive to <100-kDa band in addition to the <37-kDa band. This may be the oligomeric AQP3, which was not dissociated in the sample buffer (Roudier et al. 2002
AQPs examined in this study were localized to the nephron in the kidney tissue (Figure 2 ). AQP1 was localized to the proximal tubules and followed the loop of Henle (Figures 2A–2D). Although strong reactivity was observed in the straight part of the proximal tubules and the following thin limbs (Figure 2C), weak expression was also noted in the apical part of the convoluted tubules (Figure 2A). AQP1 was localized to the apical and basolateral region of the straight tubules and thin limb (Figure 2C, inset). AQP1 was the only water channel detected in the proximal nephron in this study. The other AQP subtypes (AQP2, AQP3, AQP4, and AQP5) were distributed in the cortical and medullary CD cells (Figures 2E–2L). AQP2 reactivity was localized to the apical cytoplasm of cortical CD cells with reactivity being closer to the apical membrane in the medullary CD cells (Figures 2E and 2F). Unlike AQP2 reactivity, AQP3 was distributed to the basolateral region of the CD cells (Figures 2G and 2H). This reactivity was a little weaker in cortical cells compared with medullary cells. This raises the possibility that the water transport activity by AQP3 may be higher in the distal CD than in the proximal CD. AQP4 was also localized to the basal region of CD cells but, unlike AQP3, there was no difference in the intensity of the immunoreactivity observed between the cortex and medulla (Figures 2I and 2J). AQP5 immunoreactivity was observed in the apical cytoplasm of the cortical CD and was closer to the apical membrane in the medullary CD (Figures 2K and 2L). Cellular distribution of these AQPs in CD cells was examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy following dual-fluorescent staining (Figure 3 ). AQP2 and AQP4 were located in the apical cytoplasm and basolateral aspect of the cells, respectively (Figures 3A–3C). Both AQP3 and AQP4 colocalized to the basal membrane of the cells (Figures 3D–3F), whereas AQP2 and AQP5 were both distributed over the apical cytoplasm (Figures 3G–3I). Thus, AQPs exhibit either an apical (AQP2 and AQP5) or basal (AQP3 and AQP4) location on CD cells. This indicates that they may play a role in water transport into and out of the cell. Interestingly, a characteristic feature of the musk shrew kidney is the distribution of four different kinds of AQPs within a single cell.
In this study we examined the expression and localization of AQP1, AQP2, AQP3, AQP4, and AQP5 in the kidney of the insectivore, musk shrew (Suncus murinus). AQP1 was expressed in the proximal straight tubules and in the thin limb of the loop of Henle with weak expression evident in the convoluted tubules. AQP1 was the only water channel detected in the proximal part of the nephron in this study. Similar results have been obtained in previous studies of rodent and human kidney (Denker et al. 1988
Four subtypes of AQPs (AQP2, AQP3, AQP4, and AQP5) were all localized to the CD cells. Whereas AQP2, AQP3, and AQP4 have been reported to be detected in CD cells in rodents and human (see reviews, Takata et al. 2004
AQP3 and AQP4 were localized to the basal region of the CD in the musk shrew. They were exclusively fixed to the basolateral aspect of the cells. Colocalization of these AQPs is well known in rodents (Echevarria et al. 1994
Physiological characteristics of the musk shrew are revealed by blood biochemistry analysis (Nagai et al. 1984
This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Researchers, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan. We thank Ms. Megumi Hatta and Mr. Katsumi Gion (Department of Anatomy, Hyogo College of Medicine) for secretarial assistance.
Received for publication May 18, 2007; accepted September 17, 2007
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