The role of (alpha beta) protomer interaction in determining functional characteristics of red cell Na,K-ATPase

Structure-function relationships in the NA+,K+-pump

The Na,K-pump was discovered about 50 years ago. Since then there has been a methodic investigation of its structure and functional characteristics. The development of the Albers-Post model for the transport cycle was a milestone that provided the framework for detailed understanding of the transport process. The pump is composed of 2 subunits that exist in the membrane as an alphabeta heterodimer. All known enzymatic functions of the pump occur through the alpha subunit. Although necessary for activity, the complete role of the beta subunit is not understood fully. Numerous studies have established that the alphabeta protomer is the minimal functional unit needed to perform the Albers-Post reaction cycle. However, higher orders of aggregation [(alphabeta)n] are commonly detected. There is little evidence that oligomerization has functional consequence for ion transport. The Na+,K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) is a member of the P-type ATPase family of transporters. Proteins within this family have common amino acid sequence motifs that share functional characteristics and structure. Low-resolution 3-dimensional reconstruction of 2-dimensional crystal diffractions provide evidence for the similarity in tertiary structure of the alpha subunit and the Ca2+ATPase (a closely related P-type ATPase). The spatial location of the beta subunit also is obvious in these reconstructions. Recent high-resolution reconstructions from 3-dimensional crystals of the Ca2+ATPase provide structural details at the atomic level. It now is possible to interpret structurally some of the key steps in the Albers-Post reaction. Some of these high-resolution interpretations are translatable to the Na+,K+-ATPase, but a high-resolution structure of the Na,K-pump is needed for the necessary details of those aspects that are unique to this transporter.

Interaction of SDS with Na+/K+-ATPase

Because nearly all structure/function studies on Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase have been done on enzymes prepared in the presence of SDS, we have studied previously unrecognized consequences of SDS interaction with the enzyme. When the purified membrane-bound kidney enzyme was solubilized with SDS or TDS concentrations just sufficient to cause complete solubilization, but not at concentrations severalfold higher, the enzyme retained quaternary structure, exhibiting alpha,alpha-, alpha,beta-, beta,beta-, and alpha,gamma-associations as detected by chemical cross-linking. The presence of solubilized oligomers was confirmed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. This solubilized enzyme had no ATPase activity and was not phosphorylated by ATP, but it retained the ability to occlude Rb(+) and Na(+). This, and comparison of cross-linking patterns obtained with different reagents, suggested that the transmembrane domains of the enzyme are more resistant to SDS-induced unfolding than its other domains. These findings (a). indicate that the partially unfolded oligomer(s) retaining partial function is the intermediate in the SDS-induced denaturation of the native membrane enzyme having the minimum oligomeric structure of (alpha,beta,gamma)(2) and (b). suggest potential functions for Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase with intrinsically unfolded domains. Mixtures of solubilized/partially unfolded enzyme and membrane-bound enzyme exhibited cross-linking patterns and Na(+) occlusion capacities different from those of either enzyme species, suggesting that the two interact. Formation of the partially unfolded enzyme during standard purification procedure for the preparation of the membrane-bound enzyme was shown, indicating that it is necessary to ensure the separation of the partially unfolded enzyme from the membrane-bound enzyme to avoid the distortion of the properties of the latter.

Inactivation of Na,K-ATPase following Co(NH3)4ATP binding at a low affinity site in the protomeric enzyme unit

The Na(+)-dependent or E1 stages of the Na,K-ATPase reaction require a few micromolar ATP, but submillimolar concentrations are needed to accelerate the K(+)-dependent or E2 half of the cycle. Here we use Co(NH(3))(4)ATP as a tool to study ATP sites in Na,K-ATPase. The analogue inactivates the K(+) phosphatase activity (an E2 partial reaction) and the Na,K-ATPase activity in parallel, whereas ATP-[(3)H]ADP exchange (an E1 reaction) is affected less or not at all. Although the inactivation occurs as a consequence of low affinity Co(NH(3))(4)ATP binding (K(D) approximately 0.4-0.6 mm), we can also measure high affinity equilibrium binding of Co(NH(3))(4)[(3)H]ATP (K(D) = 0.1 micro m) to the native enzyme. Crucially, we find that covalent enzyme modification with fluorescein isothiocyanate (which blocks E1 reactions) causes little or no effect on the affinity of the binding step preceding Co(NH(3))(4)ATP inactivation and only a 20% decrease in maximal inactivation rate. This suggests that fluorescein isothiocyanate and Co(NH(3))(4)ATP bind within different enzyme pockets. The Co(NH(3))(4)ATP enzyme was solubilized with C(12)E(8) to a homogeneous population of alphabeta protomers, as verified by analytical ultracentrifugation; the solubilization did not increase the Na,K-ATPase activity of the Co(NH(3))(4)ATP enzyme with respect to parallel controls. This was contrary to the expectation for a hypothetical (alphabeta)(2) membrane dimer with a single ATP site per protomer, with or without fast dimer/protomer equilibrium in detergent solution. Besides, the solubilized alphabeta protomer could be directly inactivated by Co(NH(3))(4)ATP, to less than 10% of the control Na,K-ATPase activity. This suggests that the inactivation must follow Co(NH(3))(4)ATP binding at a low affinity site in every protomeric unit, thus still allowing ATP and ADP access to phosphorylation and high affinity ATP sites.

Interactions between Na,K-ATPase alpha-subunit ATP-binding domains

The reaction mechanism of the Na,K-ATPase is thought to involve a number of ligand-induced conformational changes. The specific amino acid residues responsible for binding many of the important ligands have been identified; however, details of the specific conformational changes produced by ligand binding are largely undescribed. The experiments described in this paper begin to identify interactions between domains of the Na,K-ATPase alpha-subunit that depend on the presence of particular ligands. The major cytoplasmic loop (between TM4 and TM5), which we have previously shown contains the ATP-binding domain, was overexpressed in bacteria either with a His(6) tag or as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase. We have observed that these polypeptides associate in the presence of MgATP. Incubation with [gamma-(32)P]ATP under conditions that result in phosphorylation of the full-length Na,K-ATPase did not result in (32)P incorporation into either the His(6) tag or glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. The MgATP-induced association was strongly inhibited by prior modification of the fusion proteins with fluorescein isothiocyanate or by simultaneous incubation with 10 microm eosin, indicating that the effect of MgATP is due to interactions within the nucleotide-binding domain. These data are consistent with Na,K-ATPase associating within cells via interactions in the nucleotide-binding domains. Although any functional significance of these associations for ion transport remains unresolved, they may play a role in cell function and in modulating interactions between the Na,K-ATPase and other proteins.

New insights into the role of the N terminus in conformational transitions of the Na,K-ATPase

The deletion of 32 residues from the N terminus of the alpha1 catalytic subunit of the rat Na,K-ATPase (mutant alpha1M32) shifts the E(1)/E(2) conformational equilibrium toward E(1), and the combination of this deletion with mutation E233K in the M2-M3 loop acts synergistically to shift the conformation further toward E(1) (Boxenbaum, N., Daly, S. E., Javaid, Z. Z., Lane, L. K., and Blostein, R. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 23086-23092). To delimit the region of the cytoplasmic N terminus involved in these interactions, the consequences of a series of N-terminal deletions of alpha1 beyond Delta32 were evaluated. Criteria to assess shifts in conformational equilibrium were based on effects of perturbation of the entire catalytic cycle ((i) sensitivity to vanadate inhibition, (ii) K(+) sensitivity of Na-ATPase measured at micromolar ATP, (iii) changes in K'(ATP), and (iv) catalytic turnover), as well as estimates of the rates of the conformational transitions of phospho- and dephosphoenzyme (E(1)P --> E(2)P and E(2)(K(+)) --> E(1) + K(+)). The results show that, compared with alpha1M32, the deletion of up to 40 residues (alpha1M40) further shifts the poise toward E(1). Remarkably, further deletions (mutants alpha1M46, alpha1M49, and alpha1M56) reverse the effect, such that these mutants increasingly resemble the wild type alpha1. These results suggest novel intramolecular interactions involving domains within the N terminus that impact the manner in which the N terminus/M2-M3 loop regulatory domain interacts with the M4-M5 catalytic loop to effect E(1) <--> E(2) transitions.

Ligands presumed to label high affinity and low affinity ATP binding sites do not interact in an (alpha beta)2 diprotomer in duck nasal gland Na+,K+-ATPase, nor Do the sites coexist in native enzyme

The interaction of ligands deemed to be ATP analogues with renal Na(+),K(+)-ATPase suggests that two ATP binding sites coexist on each functional unit. Previous studies in which fluorescein 5-isothiocyanate (FITC) was used to label the high affinity ATP site and 2'(3')-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)adenosine 5'-diphosphate (TNP-ADP) was used to probe the low affinity site suggested that the two sites coexist on the same alphabeta protomer. Other studies in which FITC labeled the high affinity site and erythrosin-5-isothiocyanate (ErITC) labeled the low affinity site led to the conclusion that the high and low affinity sites exist on separate interacting protomers in a functional diprotomer. We report here that at 100% inhibition of ATPase activity by FITC, each alphabeta protomer of duck nasal gland enzyme has a single bound FITC. Both TNP-ADP and ErITC interact with FITC-bound protomers, which unambiguously demonstrates that putative high and low affinity ATP sites coexist on the same protomer. In unlabeled nasal gland enzyme, TNP-ADP and ErITC inhibit both ATPase activity and p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activity, functions attributed to the putative high and low affinity ATP site, respectively, by interacting with a single site with characteristics of the high affinity ATP binding site. In FITC-labeled enzyme, TNP-ADP and ErITC inhibit p- nitrophenyl phosphatase activity but at much higher concentrations than with the unmodified enzyme. Low affinity sites do not exist on the unmodified enzyme but can be detected only after the high affinity site is modified by FITC.

Functional consequences of a posttransfection mutation in the H2-H3 cytoplasmic loop of the alpha subunit of Na,K-ATPase

During kinetic studies of mutant rat Na,K-ATPases, we identified a spontaneous mutation in the first cytoplasmic loop between transmembrane helices 2 and 3 (H2-H3 loop) which results in a functional enzyme with distinct Na,K-ATPase kinetics. The mutant cDNA contained a single G950 to A substitution, which resulted in the replacement of glutamate at 233 with a lysine (E233K). E233K and alpha1 cDNAs were transfected into HeLa cells and their kinetic behavior was compared. Transport studies carried out under physiological conditions with intact cells indicate that the E233K mutant and alpha1 have similar apparent affinities for cytoplasmic Na+ and extracellular K+. In contrast, distinct kinetic properties are observed when ATPase activity is assayed under conditions (low ATP concentration) in which the K+ deocclusion pathway of the reaction is rate-limiting. At 1 microM ATP K+ inhibits Na+-ATPase of alpha1, but activates Na+-ATPase of E233K. This distinctive behavior of E233K is due to its faster rate of formation of dephosphoenzyme (E1) from K+-occluded enzyme (E2(K)), as well as 6-fold higher affinity for ATP at the low affinity ATP binding site. A lower ratio of Vmax to maximal level of phosphoenzyme indicates that E233K has a lower catalytic turnover than alpha1. These distinct kinetics of E233K suggest a shift in its E1/E2 conformational equilibrium toward E1. Furthermore, the importance of the H2-H3 loop in coupling conformational changes to ATP hydrolysis is underscored by a marked (2 orders of magnitude) reduction in vanadate sensitivity effected by this Glu233 --> Lys mutation.

Changes in Na,K-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) concentration and Na,K-ATPase-dependent adenosine triphosphate turnover in human erythrocytes in diabetes

The concentration of Na,K-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and Na,K-ATPase-dependent adenosine triphosphate (ATP) turnover was measured in fasting blood samples of 20 subjects with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), 22 subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), and 20 nondiabetic subjects. [3H]ouabain binding was used to determine Na,K-ATPase concentration. There were 471 +/- 70 (mean +/- SD) ouabain binding sites per erythrocyte, normally distributed in the nondiabetic subjects. The number of ouabain sites per cell was lognormally distributed in the two populations of diabetic subjects. The mean of lognormal distributions of ouabain sites per cell was significantly lower in the IDDM group. The mean of the lognormal distribution for the NIDDM group was not significantly different from that of the nondiabetic subjects. Na,K-ATPase-dependent ATP turnover (molar activity) was 9,580 +/- 742 mol/mol minute (mean +/- SD) normally distributed in the nondiabetic population. A lognormal distribution was observed in the diabetic population. Means of the lognormal distributions were significantly different: 3.98 +/- 0.05 for the nondiabetic population and 3.13 +/- 0.48 for both diabetic populations. Changes in the concentration of Na,K-ATPase (ouabain sites per cell) and Na,K-ATPase-dependent ATP turnover did not correlate with hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) or with blood glucose. This would suggest that elevated glucose concentrations do not directly cause decreased Na,K-ATPase function in the diabetic erythrocyte.

Restoration of phosphorylation capacity to the dormant half of the alpha-subunits of Na+, K(+)-ATPase

Purified kidney Na+, K(+)-ATPase whose alpha-subunit is cleaved by chymotrypsin at Leu266-Ala267, loses ATPase activity but forms the phosphoenzyme intermediate (EP) from ATP. When EP formation was correlated with extent of alpha-cleavage in the course of proteolysis, total EP increased with time before it declined. The magnitude of this rise indicated doubling of the number of phosphorylation sites after cleavage. Together with previous findings, these data establish that half of the alpha-subunits of oligomeric membrane-bound enzyme are dormant and that interaction of the N-terminal domain of alpha-subunit with its phosphorylation domain causes this half-site reactivity. Evidently, disruption of this interaction by proteolysis abolishes overall activity while it opens access to phosphorylation sites of all alpha-subunits.

Tissue-specific versus isoform-specific differences in cation activation kinetics of the Na,K-ATPase

The experiments described in this report reconcile some of the apparent differences in isoform-specific kinetics of the Na,K-ATPase reported in earlier studies. Thus, tissue-specific differences in Na+ and K+ activation kinetics of Na,K-ATPase activity of the same species (rat) were observed when the same isoform was assayed in different tissues or cells. In the case of alpha1, alpha1-transfected HeLa cell, rat kidney, and axolemma membranes were compared. For alpha3, the ouabain-insensitive alpha3*-transfected HeLa cell (cf. Jewell, E. A., and Lingrel, J. B. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 16925-16930), pineal gland, and axolemma (mainly alpha3) membranes were compared. The order of apparent affinities for Na+ of alpha1 pumps was axolemma approximately rat alpha1-transfected HeLa > kidney, and for K+, kidney approximately alpha1-transfected HeLa > axolemma. For alpha3, the order of apparent affinities for Na+ was pineal gland approximately axolemma > alpha3*-transfected HeLa, and for K+, alpha3*-transfected HeLa > axolemma approximately pineal gland. In addition, the differences in apparent affinities for Na+ of either kidney alpha1 or HeLa alpha3* as compared to the same isoform in other tissues were even greater when the K+ concentration was increased. A kinetic analysis of the apparent affinities for Na+ as a function of K+ concentration indicates that isoform-specific as well as tissue-specific differences are related to the apparent affinities for both Na+ and K+, the latter acting as a competitive inhibitor at cytoplasmic Na+ activation sites. Although the nature of the tissue-specific modulation of K+/Na+ antagonism remains unknown, an analysis of the nature of the beta isoform associated with alpha1 or alpha3 using isoform-specific immunoprecipitation indicates that the presence of distinct beta subunits does not account for differences of alpha1 of kidney, axolemma, and HeLa, and of alpha3 of axolemma and HeLa; in both instances beta1 is the predominant beta isoform present or associated with either alpha1 or alpha3. However, a kinetic difference in K+/Na+ antagonism due to distinct betas may apply to alpha3 of axolemma (alpha3beta1) and pineal gland ( alpha3beta2).

A cytoplasmic region of the Na,K-ATPase alpha-subunit is necessary for specific alpha/alpha association

While most structural studies of the Na,K-ATPase support a subunit stoichiometry of one alpha-subunit to one beta-subunit, the exact quaternary structure of the Na,K-ATPase and its relevance to enzyme function is the subject of much debate. Formation of a higher order enzyme complex is supported by our previous study demonstrating specific alpha/alpha interactions among the rat Na,K-ATPase isoforms (alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 3), expressed in virally infected Sf-9 insect cells and among native alpha isoforms in rat brain (1). This detergent-resistant association was not observed in insect cells coexpressing the homologous gastric H,K-ATPase alpha-subunit, nor was it dependent on the coexpression of the beta-subunit. To delineate domains necessary for alpha/alpha assembly, a series of H,K-ATPase-Na, K-ATPase chimerase were constructed by combining the N-terminal, cytoplasmic midregion and C-terminal segments derived from the Na,K-ATPase (N) and the H,K-ATPase (H) alpha-polypeptides (HNN, HNH, NHH, NHN, and HHN). The alpha-subunit chimeras were coexpressed with the Na,K-ATPase alpha 1-subunit in Sf-9 cells using the baculovirus expression system. Specific and detergent-stable association is observed between the Na,K-ATPase alpha-subunit and the HNN and HNH chimeras, but not with the NHH, NHN, or HHN chimeras. Consistent with the Na,K-ATPase cytoplasmic domain as being necessary for alpha/alpha interactions, the full-length alpha-subunit stably associates with an alpha N-terminal deletion mutant (delta Gly2-Leu273), but not with an alpha cytoplasmic deletion mutant (delta Arg350-Pro785). In addition, the naturally occurring C-terminal truncated alpha 1 isoform, alpha 1T (delta Gly554 to C terminus), does not associated with the alpha 1-subunit in Sf-9 cells coexpressing both polypeptides. thus, a cytoplasmic region in the alpha-subunit (Gly554-Pro785) is necessary for specific alpha/alpha association. The same cytoplasmic region contains a strongly hydrophobic segment that, by analogy with oligomerization of water-soluble proteins, may form the interface of the extramembranous alpha/alpha contact site.

Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of reconstituted shark Na+,K(+)-ATPase: one phosphorylation site per alpha beta protomer

In the present investigation reconstitution of Na+,K(+)-ATPase increases the number of phosphorylation sites (EP) of solubilized enzyme from 4.2 +/- 0.3 nmol/mg to 6.9 +/- 0.6 nmol/mg. The latter figure corresponds to one phosphorylation site per alpha beta-promoter. A cholesterol content > 10 mol% in the liposome bilayer and a high extracellular [Na+] are necessary to obtain this high value. Spontaneous dephosphorylation after maximum phosphorylation in Na+ is biphasic both in solubilized enzyme and after reconstitution. The rate of dephosphorylation compares with the specific hydrolytic Na(+)-ATPase activity measured at exactly identical conditions for all three preparations assuming parallel dephosphorylation of at least two phosphointermediates. The distribution of EP-species is found to vary among the three enzyme preparation used, i.e., membrane bound, solubilized, and reconstituted Na+,K(+)-ATPase, however in all the equilibrium is strongly poised away from the E1P-form.