PEX , a phosphate-regulating gene with homology to endopeptidases on the X chromosome, was recently identified as the candidate gene for X-linked hypophosphatemia. In the present study, we cloned mouse and human Pex/PEX cDNAs encoding part of the 5 Ј untranslated region, the protein coding region, and the entire 3 Ј untranslated region, determined the tissue distribution of Pex/PEX mRNA, and characterized the Pex mutation in the murine Hyp homologue of the human disease. Using the reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) and ribonuclease protection assays, we found that Pex/PEX mRNA is expressed predominantly in human fetal and adult mouse calvaria and long bone. With RNA from Hyp mouse bone, an RT/PCR product was generated with 5 Ј but not 3 Ј Pex primer pairs and a protected Pex mRNA fragment was detected with 5 Ј but not 3 Ј Pex riboprobes by ribonuclease protection assay. Analysis of the RT/ PCR product derived from Hyp bone RNA revealed an aberrant Pex transcript with retention of intron sequence downstream from nucleotide 1302 of the Pex cDNA. Pex mRNA was not detected on Northern blots of poly (A) ϩ RNA from Hyp bone, while a low-abundance Pex transcript of Ϸ 7 kb was apparent in normal bone. Southern analysis of genomic DNA from Hyp mice revealed the absence of hybridizing bands with cDNA probes from the 3 Ј region of the Pex cDNA. We conclude that Pex/PEX is a low-abundance transcript that is expressed predominantly in bone of mice and humans and that a large deletion in the 3 Ј region of the Pex gene is present in the murine Hyp homologue of X-linked hypophosphatemia. ( J. Clin. Invest . 1997. 99:1200-1209.)

We report the characterization of factor inhibiting activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4)–mediated transcription (FIAT), a leucine zipper nuclear protein. FIAT interacted with ATF4 to inhibit binding of ATF4 to DNA and block ATF4-mediated transcription of the osteocalcin gene in vitro. Transgenic mice overexpressing FIAT in osteoblasts also had reduced osteocalcin gene expression and decreased bone mineral density, bone volume, mineralized volume, trabecular thickness, trabecular number, and decreased rigidity of long bones. Mineral homeostasis, osteoclast number and activity, and osteoblast proliferation and apoptosis were unchanged in transgenics. Expression of osteoblastic differentiation markers was largely unaffected and type I collagen synthesis was unchanged. Mineral apposition rate was reduced in transgenic mice, suggesting that the lowered bone mass was due to a decline in osteoblast activity. This cell-autonomous decrease in osteoblast activity was confirmed by measuring reduced alkaline phosphatase activity and mineralization in primary osteoblast cultures. These results show that FIAT regulates bone mass accrual and establish FIAT as a novel transcriptional regulator of osteoblastic function.

The present study was undertaken to define the mechanisms governing the regulation of the novel renal brush-border membrane (BBM) Na-phosphate (Pi) cotransporter designated type IIc (Npt2c). To address this issue, the renal expression of Npt2c was compared in two hypophosphatemic mouse models with impaired renal BBM Na-Pi cotransport. In mice homozygous for the disrupted Npt2a gene (Npt2-/-), BBM Npt2c protein abundance, relative to actin, was increased 2.8-fold compared with Npt2+/+ littermates, whereas a corresponding increase in renal Npt2c mRNA abundance, relative to beta-actin, was not evident. In contrast, in X-linked Hyp mice, which harbor a large deletion in the Phex gene, the renal abundance of both Npt2c protein and mRNA was significantly decreased by 80 and 50%, respectively, relative to normal littermates. Pi deprivation elicited a 2.5-fold increase in BBM Npt2c protein abundance in Npt2+/+ mice but failed to elicit a further increase in Npt2c protein in Npt2-/- mice. Pi restriction led to an increase in BBM Npt2c protein abundance in both normal and Hyp mice without correcting its renal expression in the mutants. In summary, we report that BBM Npt2c protein expression is differentially regulated in Npt2-/- mice and Hyp mice and that the Npt2c response to low-Pi challenge differs in both hypophosphatemic mouse strains. We demonstrate that Npt2c protein is maximally upregulated in Npt2-/- mice and suggest that Npt2c likely accounts for residual BBM Na-Pi cotransport in the knockout model. Finally, our data indicate that loss of Phex function abrogates renal Npt2c protein expression.

Three classes of high-affinity Na+-Picotransporters are expressed in mammalian kidney. These include Npt1 (type I), Npt2 (type II), and the cellular receptors for gibbon ape leukemia virus (Glvr-1) and amphotropic murine retrovirus (Ram-1) (type III). We defined the tissue distribution as well as the relative renal abundance of Npt1, Npt2, Glvr-1, and Ram-1 mRNAs and examined the effects of low-Pi diet, the Hyp mutation, and growth hormone (GH) on their renal expression by ribonuclease protection assay. In normal mouse kidney, Npt1, Npt2, Glvr-1, and Ram-1 accounted for 15 ± 1.0, 84 ± 1.0, 0.5 ± 0.2, and 0.5 ± 0.3% of total Na+-Picotransporter mRNAs, respectively. Evidence was obtained for low-abundance Npt1 mRNA expression in liver and Npt2 mRNA expression in intestine, whereas Glvr-1 and Ram-1 mRNAs were also detected in bone, intestine, heart, and liver. Npt2 mRNA was localized to proximal tubules in the renal outer cortex, whereas Glvr-1 transcripts were detected throughout the kidney by in situ hybridization. The Hyp mutation elicited a significant reduction in renal Npt1 and Npt2 mRNAs (78 ± 8 and 57 ± 3% of normal, respectively), whereas neither low-Pi diet nor GH influenced the renal abundance of Npt1 and Npt2 transcripts. Renal Glvr-1 mRNA expression was significantly increased in Hyp mice and GH-treated mice (145 ± 6 and 165 ± 5% of control, respectively), whereas the renal abundance of Ram-1 transcript was unaffected by either the Hyp mutation, low-Pi diet, or GH treatment. In summary, we demonstrate that Npt2 is the predominant Na+-Picotransporter in mouse kidney, that Npt2 and Glvr-1 have distinct patterns of renal expression, and that the Hyp mutation modulates the renal expression of Npt1, Npt2, and Glvr-1 mRNAs. Our results suggest that increased renal Glvr-1 mRNA may contribute to GH stimulation of renal Na+-Picotransport.

The renal Na + /phosphate (Pi) cotransporter Npt2 is expressed in the brush border membrane (BBM) of proximal tubular cells. We examined the effect of Npt2 gene knockout on age-dependent BBM Na + /Pi cotransport, expression of Na + /Pi cotransporter genes Npt1, Glvr-1, and Ram-1, and the adaptive response to chronic Pi deprivation. Na + /Pi cotransport declines with age in wild-type mice (Npt2 +/+ ), but not in mice homozygous for the disrupted Npt2 allele (Npt2 -/-). At all ages, Na + /Pi cotransport in Npt2 -/-mice is approximately 15% of that in Npt2 +/+ littermates. Only Npt1 mRNA abundance increases with age in Npt2 +/+ mice, whereas Npt1, Glvr-1, and Ram-1 mRNAs show an age-dependent increase in Npt2 -/-mice. Pi deprivation significantly increases Na + /Pi cotransport, Npt2 protein, and mRNA in Npt2 +/+ mice. In contrast, Pi-deprived Npt2 -/-mice fail to show the adaptive increase in transport despite exhibiting a fall in serum Pi. We conclude that (a) Npt2 is a major determinant of BBM Na + /Pi cotransport; (b) the age-dependent increase in Npt1, Glvr-1, and Ram-1 mRNAs in Npt2 -/-mice is insufficient to compensate for loss of Npt2; and (c) Npt2 is essential for the adaptive BBM Na + /Pi cotransport response to Pi deprivation.

No abstract

The basic domain-leucine zipper protein, activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), was recently shown to control key aspects of osteoblast biology. ATF4 regulates the timely onset of osteoblast differentiation, the synthesis of type I collagen, and the transcription of the osteocalcin and RANKL (receptor activator of NFkappa-B ligand) genes. Accordingly, the levels and activity of ATF4 are under tight control through mechanisms that include protein stability and phosphorylation. We have uncovered yet another mode of inhibition of ATF4 through its interaction with the leucine zipper protein FIAT (Factor Inhibiting ATF4-mediated Transcription, also described as gamma-taxilin). FIAT/gamma-taxilin localizes to the nucleus in osteoblasts and dimerizes with ATF4 to form inactive dimers, because it does not contain a DNA-binding basic domain moiety. The interaction of FIAT/gamma-taxilin with ATF4 thus inhibits ATF4-mediated transcription. Transgenic mice overexpressing FIAT/gamma-taxilin show osteopenia and reduced expression of the ATF4 target gene, osteocalcin. Interestingly, FIAT/gamma-taxilin also interacts with the transcriptional co-activator alphaNAC (Nascent polypeptide associated complex And Coactivator alpha), suggesting alternative, non-mutually exclusive mechanisms contributing to the inhibition of ATF4-dependent osteocalcin gene transcription by FIAT/gamma-taxilin.

While there is considerable evidence for phosphate (Pi) reabsorption in the distal tubule, Pi transport and its regulation have not been well characterized in this segment of the nephron. In the present study, we examined Na