Description
Product Characteristics: The Epithelial Sodium Channel (ENaC) is a membrane ion channel permeable to Na+ ions. It is located in the apical plasma membrane of epithelia in the kidneys, lung, colon, and other tissues where it plays a role in trans epithelial Na+-ion transport (1). Specifically Na+ transport via ENaC occurs across many epithelial surfaces, and plays a key role in regulating salt and water absorption (2). ENaCs are composed of three structurally related subunits that form a tetrameric channel, α, β, and γ. The expression of its alpha and beta subunits is enhanced as keratinocytes differentiate (3, 4). The beta and gamma-ENaC subunits are essential for edema fluid to exert its maximal effect on net fluid absorption by distal lung epithelia(5). And it has been concluded that the subunits are differentially expressed in the retina of mice with ocular hypertension, therefore the up-regulation of alpha-ENaC proteins could serve as a protection mechanism against elevated intraocular pressure (6).
Target Information: Nonvoltage-gated, amiloride-sensitive, sodium channels control fluid and electrolyte transport across epithelia in many organs. These channels are heteromeric complexes consisting of 3 subunits: alpha, beta, and gamma. This gene encodes the alpha subunit, and mutations in this gene have been associated with pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 (PHA1), a rare salt wasting disease resulting from target organ unresponsiveness to mineralocorticoids. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2009]