Identification of a novel ankyrin isoform (AnkG190) in kidney and lung that associates with the plasma membrane and binds α-Na,K-ATPase

Ankyrins are a family of adapter molecules that mediate linkages between integral membrane and cytoskeletal proteins, Such interactions are crucial to the polarized distribution of membrane proteins in transporting epithelia. We have cloned and characterized a novel 190-kDa member of this family from a rat kidney cDNA library, which me term Ank(G)190 based on the predicted size and homology with the larger neuronal Ank(G) isoform, Ank(G)190 displays a unique 31-residue amino terminus, a repeats domain consisting of 24 repetitive 33-residue motifs, a spectrin binding domain, and a truncated regulatory domain. Probes derived from the unique amino terminus hybridize to an 8-kilobase message exclusively ire kidney and lung and specifically to the kidney outer medullary collecting duets by in situ hybridization. Transfections of Madin-Darby canine kidney and COS-7 epithelial cell limes with a full-length Ank(G)190 construct result in (a) expression at the lateral plasma membrane, (b) functional assembly with the cytoskeleton, and (c) interaction with at least one membrane protein, the Na,K-ATPase. Two independent Na,K-ATPase binding domains on Ank(G)190 are demonstrated as follows: one within the distal 12 ankyrin repeats, and a second site within the spectrin binding domain. Thus, ankyrins may interact with integral membrane proteins in a pleiotropic manner that may involve complex tertiary structural determinants.