The SCNN1A gene encodes for the α subunit of the epithelial sodium channel ENaC in vertebrates. ENaC is assembled as a heterotrimer composed of three homologous subunits α, β, and γ or δ, β, and γ.[5] The other ENAC subunits are encoded by SCNN1B, SCNN1G, and SCNN1D.
ENaC is expressed in epithelial cells[5] and is different from the voltage-gated sodium channel that is involved in the generation of action potentials in neurons. The abbreviation for the genes encoding for voltage-gated sodium channel starts with three letters: SCN. In contrast to these sodium channels, ENaC is constitutively active and is not voltage-dependent. The second N in the abbreviation (SCNN1A) represents that these are NON-voltage-gated channels.
In most vertebrates, sodium ions are the major determinant of the osmolarity of the extracellular fluid.[6] ENaC allows transfer of sodium ions across the epithelial cell membrane in so-called "tight-epithelia" that have low permeability. The flow of sodium ions across epithelia affects osmolarity of the extracellular fluid. Thus, ENaC plays a central role in the regulation of body fluid and electrolyte homeostasis and consequently affects blood pressure.[7]
As ENaC is strongly inhibited by amiloride, it is also referred to as an "amiloride-sensitive sodium channel".
^Bourque CW (July 2008). "Central mechanisms of osmosensation and systemic osmoregulation". Nature Reviews. Neuroscience. 9 (7): 519–31. doi:10.1038/nrn2400. PMID18509340. S2CID205504313.
^Rossier BC, Baker ME, Studer RA (January 2015). "Epithelial sodium transport and its control by aldosterone: the story of our internal environment revisited". Physiological Reviews. 95 (1): 297–340. doi:10.1152/physrev.00011.2014. PMID25540145.
