Liddle's syndrome is an inherited form of hypertension caused by mutat
ions that truncate the C-terminus of human epithelial Na+ channel (hEN
aC) subunits, Expression of truncated beta and gamma hENaC subunits in
creased Na+ current, However, truncation did not alter single-channel
conductance or open state probability, suggesting there were more chan
nels in the plasma membrane. Moreover, truncation of the C-terminus of
the beta subunit increased apical cell-surface expression of hENaC in
a renal epithelium, We identified a conserved motif in the C-terminus
of all three subunits that, when mutated, reproduced the effect of Li
ddle's truncations. Further, both truncation of the C-terminus and mut
ation of the conserved C-terminal motif increased surface expression o
f chimeric proteins containing the C-terminus of beta hENaC, Thus, by
deleting a conserved motif, Liddle's mutations increase the number of
Na+ channels in the apical membrane, which increases renal Na+ absorpt
ion and creates a predisposition to hypertension.