Deactivation of CFTR-Cl conductance by endogenous phosphatases in the native sweat duct

Abstract

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a phosphorylation-activated Cl channel. However, very little is known about the endogenous mechanism(s) of deactivation of CFTR-Cl conductance (CFTR-GCl) in vivo. We studied the action of endogenous phosphatases in regulation of the adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)- and ATP-induced CFTR-GCl in the apical membrane of microperfused preparations of basolaterally permeabilized native sweat duct. Activation of CFTR-GCl was monitored by measuring the apical Cl diffusion potentials and GCl, which spontaneously deactivated on removal of cAMP. This spontaneous loss of CFTR-GCl activity could be prevented by a cocktail of phosphatase inhibitors (fluoride, vanadate, and okadaic acid). We studied the effects of each of these phosphatase antagonists on the rate of deactivation of CFTR-GCl after cAMP washout. In contrast to vanadate or fluoride, okadaic acid virtually prevented deactivation of CFTR-GCl after cAMP washout. We conclude that either or both protein phosphatases 1 and 2A are responsible for the dephosphorylation deactivation of CFTR-GCl in vivo.