PTH and DA regulate Na-K ATPase through divergent pathways

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and dopamine (DA) inhibit Na-K ATPase activity and sodium-phosphate cotransport in proximal tubular cells. We previously showed that PTH and DA inhibit phosphate transport in opossum kidney (OK) cells through different signaling pathways. Therefore, we hypothesized that PTH and DA also inhibit Na-K ATPase through divergent pathways. We measured PTH and DA inhibition of Na-K ATPase activity in the presence of inhibitors of signaling pathways. PTH and DA inhibited Na-K ATPase in a biphasic manner, the early inhibition through protein kinase C (PKC)- and phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂)-dependent pathways and the late inhibition through protein kinase A- and PLA₂-dependent pathways. Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation blocked early and late inhibition of Na-K ATPase by PTH but not by DA. Pertussis toxin blocked early and late inhibition by DA but not by PTH. Treatment with DA, but not PTH, resulted in an early downregulation of basolateral membrane expression of the a-subunit, whereas total cellular expression remained constant for both agonists. We conclude that PTH and DA regulate Na-K ATPase by different mechanisms through activation of divergent pathways.