Na⁺/H⁺ Exchanger-2 Is an O-Linked but Not an N-Linked Sialoglycoprotein

A polyclonal antibody (Ab597) was produced in rabbit against a fusion protein of glutathione-S-transferase and the last 87 amino acids of the Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger isoform, NHE2. By Western blotting, Ab597 recognized proteins of 75 and 85 kDa in PS120/NHE2 membranes (PS120 cells stably transfected with NHE2), and this antibody did not cross-react with NHE1 and NHE3. When Ab597 was used to immunocytochemically stain PS120/NHE2 cells, permeabilization of the cells was required for staining, confirming the putative membrane topology of NHE2 that the C-terminus is cytoplasmic. NHE1 is N-glycosylated. NHE2 was predicted to be N-glycosylated as it contains one potential N-linked glycosylation site (N³⁵⁰VS), which is conserved among NHE1, NHE3, and NHE4. However, NHE2 was resistant to peptide: N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) and endoglycosidase H (Endo H) digestion, suggesting that NHE2 is not N-glycosylated. In contrast, neuraminidase shifted the mobility of the 85 kDa NHE2 protein in PS120/NHE2 membranes into an 81 kDa band, and O-glycanase further shifted the mobility of the neuraminidase-treated 81 kDa protein to 75 kDa. Incubation of PS120/NHE2 cells with benzyl N-acetyl-α-D-galactosaminide (BzαGalNAc), an O-glycosylation inhibitor, decreased the size of the 85 kDa protein to 81 kDa. This treatment had no effect on the initial rate of Na⁺/H⁺ exchange of PS120/NHE2 cells. The 75 kDa protein was not affected by the glycosidase treatment of PS120/NHE2 membranes or the BzαGa1NAc treatment of PS120/NHE2 cells. These results suggest that the 85 kDa protein is an O-glycosylated form of NHE2, while the 75 kDa protein is an unglycosylated form. Thus, unlike NHE1, which is N- and O-glycosylated, NHE2 has only O-linked glycosylation.