Functional vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) proton pumps traffic to the enterocyte brush border membrane and require CFTR

Vacuolar ATPases (V-ATPases) are highly conserved proton pumps that regulate organelle pH. Epithelial luminal pH is also regulated by cAMP-dependent traffic of specific subunits of the V-ATPase complex from endosomes into the apical membrane. In the intestine, cAMP-dependent traffic of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channels and the sodium hydrogen exchanger (NHE3) in the brush border regulate luminal pH. V-ATPase was found to colocalize with CFTR in intestinal CFTR high expresser (CHE) cells recently. Moreover, apical traffic of V-ATPase and CFTR in rat Brunner's glands was shown to be dependent on cAMP/PKA. These observations support a functional relationship between V-ATPase and CFTR in the intestine. The current study examined V-ATPase and CFTR distribution in intestines from wild-type, CFTR-/- mice and polarized intestinal CaCo-2(BB)e cells following cAMP stimulation and inhibition of CFTR/V-ATPase function. Coimmunoprecipitation studies examined V-ATPase interaction with CFTR. The pH-sensitive dye BCECF determined proton efflux and its dependence on V-ATPase/CFTR in intestinal cells. cAMP increased V-ATPase/CFTR colocalization in the apical domain of intestinal cells and redistributed the V-ATPase V(o)a1 and V(o)a2 trafficking subunits from the basolateral membrane to the brush border membrane. V(o)a1 and V(o)a2 subunits were localized to endosomes beneath the terminal web in untreated CFTR-/- intestine but redistributed to the subapical cytoplasm following cAMP treatment. Inhibition of CFTR or V-ATPase significantly decreased pH(i) in cells, confirming their functional interdependence. These data establish that V-ATPase traffics into the brush border membrane to regulate proton efflux and this activity is dependent on CFTR in the intestine.