A CORTICOSTEROID-INDUCED GENE EXPRESSING AN ISK-LIKE K+ CHANNEL ACTIVITY IN XENOPUS OOCYTES

Screening a rat colon cDNA library for aldosterone-induced genes resulted in the molecular cloning of a cDNA whose corresponding mRNA is strongly induced in the colon by dexamethasone, aldosterone, and a low NaCl diet, A similar mRNA,vas detected in kidney papilla but not in brain, heart, or skeletal muscle, Xenopus laevis oocytes injected with cRNA synthesized from this clone, designated CHIF (channel-inducing factor), express a Kf-specific channel activity, The biophysical, pharmacological, and regulatory characteristics of this channel are very similar to those reported before for IsK (minK), These include: slow (tau > 20 s) activation by membrane depolarization with a threshold potential above -50 mV, blockade by clofilium, inhibition by phorbol ester, and activation by 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate and high cytoplasmic Ca2+, The primary structure of this clone, however, shows no homology to IsK, Instead, CHIF exhibits >50% similarity to two other short bitopic membrane proteins, phospholemman and the gamma subunit of Na+,K+-ATPase, The data are consistent with the possibility that CHIF is a member of a family of transmembrane regulators capable of activating endogenous oocyte transport proteins.