激活细胞膜Na^＋／H^＋交换对心肌缺血再灌注损伤的影响

在离体大鼠等容收缩心脏灌流模型上,观察激活细胞膜Ｎａ＋／Ｈ＋交换对心肌缺血后再灌注性损伤的影响。采用经典ＮＨ４Ｃｌ负荷方法以激活细胞膜Ｎａ＋／Ｈ＋交换,结果表明,激活Ｎａ＋／Ｈ＋交换加重缺血后再灌注心脏血液动力学障碍,增加冠脉流出液中乳酸脱氢酶的活性,并使心肌组织中Ｎａ＋、Ｃａ２＋超负荷及Ｋ＋丢失加重。提示细胞膜Ｎａ＋／Ｈ＋交换是心肌缺血后再灌注损伤的发病机理之一。     

培养大鼠心肌细胞缺氧与复氧时H~＋－Ca~（2＋）交换的研究

大量研究表明：心肌细胞缺氧后再复氧，可因氧反常和ｐＨ反常造成细胞内Ｃａ２＋超载。通常认为，在心肌细胞发生ｐＨ反常后，Ｈ＋－Ｎａ＋和Ｎａ＋－Ｃａ２＋交换加强是细胞内Ｃａ２＋超载的重要机制。本实验结果表明：阻断了Ｈ＋－Ｎａ＋和Ｎａ＋－Ｃａ２＋交换后，仍有部分Ｃａ２＋进入细胞，Ｃａ２＋内流量与缺氧时间成正比关系。在无Ｎａ＋溶液中也得到了同样结果，表明此时Ｃａ２＋内流是通过与Ｎａ＋无关的通路进入细胞的。进一步实验表明这种Ｃａ２＋内流与细胞膜内外ｐＨ梯度差密切相关。当胞外ｐＨ升高即胞内相对Ｈ＋浓度增加时，Ｃａ２＋内流量也增加。故推测：ｐＨ反常所致细胞内Ｃａ２＋超载的原因，除Ｈ＋－Ｎａ＋和Ｎａ＋－Ｃａ２＋交换外，尚有Ｈ＋－Ｃａ２＋交换机制。     

粉防己碱对大鼠心肌缺血再灌注时心肌ATP酶活性的影响

实验旨在观察在体大鼠短暂缺血后心肌膜ＡＴＰ酶活性的变化及粉防己碱（Ｔｅｔ）的作用。分离缺血１５ｍｉｎ、再灌注２ｈ后及在缺血再灌注前给Ｔｅｔ的大鼠心肌粗制质膜和内质网,测定质膜Ｎａ＋－Ｋ＋－ＡＴＰ酶和内质网Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性。结果表明,心肌缺血１５ｍｉｎ后二酶活性均明显降低,分别为假结扎组的６３．６％和７２．６％（Ｐ＜０．０１）,再灌注后Ｎａ＋－Ｋ＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性有所恢复,再灌注３０ｍｉｎ时为假结扎组的７２．１％（Ｐ＜０．０１）,而Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性则进一步下降,再灌注３０ｍｉｎ时为假结扎组的５０．４％（Ｐ＜０．０１）,再灌注后２ｈ二酶活性分别升高至假结扎组的８０．９％和６５．３％（Ｐ＜０．０１）。在缺血前２０ｍｉｎ分别给予Ｔｅｔ６４．２和９６．３μｍｏｌ／ｋｇ及硝苯啶（０．２３μｍｏｌ／ｋｇ）,能明显减少内质网Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性的降低。结果提示心肌膜ＡＴＰ酶活性的降低可能参与了短暂心肌缺血所致再灌注损伤的发生机制,Ｔｅｔ可减少缺血和／或再灌注时内质网Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性降低。     

培养大鼠心肌细胞缺氧与复氧时H^＋—Ca^2＋交换的研究

大量研究表明：心肌细胞缺氧后再复氧,可因氧反常和ＰＨ反常造成细胞内Ｃａ＾２＋超载。通常认为,在心肌细胞发生ＰＨ反常后,Ｈ＾＋Ｎａ＾＋－Ｃａ＾２＋交换加强是细胞内Ｃａ＾２＋超载的重要机制。本实验结果表明：阻断了Ｈ＾＋－Ｎａ＾＋－Ｃａ＾２＋交换后,仍有部分Ｃａ＾２＋进入细胞,Ｃａ＾２＋内流量与缺氧时间成正比关系。在无Ｎａ＾＋溶液中也得到了同样结果,表明此时Ｃａ＾２＋内流是通过与Ｎａ＾＋无关的通路进入细     

氟烷,七氟醚对缺血再灌注心肌功能和ATP酶活性的影响

心肌缺血再灌注过程中细胞内存在着严重的Ｃａ２＋、Ｎａ＋紊乱。Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰ酶和Ｎａ＋,Ｋ＋ＡＴＰ酶在维持细胞内外离心平衡中起着重要作用。本文用大鼠离体心脏Ｌａｎｇｅｎｄｏｒｆ模型结合缺血前后心功能指标的变化,研究氟烷、七氟醚对缺血前、缺血期、复灌...     

外源性神经节苷脂对人－肝癌培养细胞内钙的作用及其方式

本工作采用荧光探针Ｆｕｒａ－２ＡＭ观察了外源性神经节苷脂ＧＭ３和ＧＤ３对ＳＭＭＣ－７７２１人肝癌培养细胞钙的影响,证明ＧＭ３和ＧＤ３均能升高细胞内钙浓度（［Ｃａ２＋］ｉ）,但程度上有极大差异。１０ｎｍｏｌ／ｍＬＧＭ３或１．０ｎｍｏｌ／ｍＬＧＤ３可使［Ｃａ２＋］ｉ上升高是明显,与对照相比［Ｃａ２＋］ｉ分别增加２１５～２５０％和４２％。进一步用Ｖｅｒａｐａｍｉｌ阻断钙通道和内质网钙释放、去除细胞外Ｎａ＋以抑制Ｎａ＋－Ｃａ２＋交换以及去除细胞外Ｃａ２＋在无外钙内流等系统观察了ＧＭ３和ＧＤ３的作用方式,结果提示ＧＭ３升高［Ｃａ２＋］ｉ的机制是一个同时增加内质网钙释放、激活钙通道并伴有质膜Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶激活的综合结果;而ＧＤ３则主要抑制Ｎａ＋－Ｃａ２＋交换系统。     

心肌细胞内pH调节

心肌细胞具有自身的酸碱缓冲能力,并且通过Ｎａ＾＋／Ｈ＾＋交换蛋白、Ｎａ＾＋／ＨＣＯ＾－３同向转运和乳酸的跨膜运转使Ｈ＾＋外向转运,通过Ｃｌ＾－／ＨＣＯ＾－３交换使Ｈ＾＋内向转运等途径以维持细胞内生理ＰＨ,心肌细胞内Ｃａ＾２＋浓度受ＰＨ变化的影响。     

维拉帕米对骨骼肌缺血再灌注损伤保护作用的酶组织化学研究

实验选用大鼠骨骼肌缺血再灌注模型, 观察骨骼肌缺血及再灌注后酶组织化学和超微结构的变化, 并观察维拉帕米的保护作用。结果显示： 骨骼肌缺血６ｈ 时, 骨骼肌细胞ＳＤＨ、ＣＣＯ、Ｃａ２＋ －ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性呈下降趋势, 而ＬＤＨ 活性则有所增强。再灌注１２ｈ 时, 骨骼肌细胞ＳＤＨ、ＣＣＯ、Ｃａ２＋ －ＡＴＰａｓｅ 活性进一步明显下降,同时ＬＤＨ 活性亦下降明显,而应用维拉帕米能在一定程度上保护上述酶的活性。与此同时,骨骼肌超微结构的改变与其酶活性的变化相一致。因此, 本实验提示： 骨骼肌缺血再灌注可损害其能量代谢酶的活性, 而维拉帕米则有较强的保护作用。     

Nicorandil对心肌细胞静息状态及缺氧后复氧时细胞内游离钙的影响

大量实验显示Ｎｉｃｏｒａｎｄｉｌ有明显抗缺血再灌注损伤的作用。细胞内钙超载是心肌缺血再灌注损伤的主要发生机理之一,本研究旨在研究Ｎｉｃｏｒａｎｄｉｌ对静息状态下心肌细胞内Ｃａ２＋的动态作用及对缺氧后复氧时细胞内Ｃａ２＋的影响。１材料及方法１．１细胞培...     

蛋白激酶C和Na~＋－H~＋交换在ANGⅡ诱发心肌细胞肥大反应中的作用

血管紧张素（ＡＮＧ）Ⅱ在１０－１０－１０－６ｍｏｌ／Ｌ范围内剂量依赖性促进无血清培养新生大鼠心肌细胞蛋白质合成速率。蛋白激酶Ｃ（ＰＫＣ）抑制剂ｓｔａｕｒｏｓｐｏｒｉｎｅ（Ｓｔａｕ２ｎｍｏｌ／Ｌ）对心肌细胞基础状态３Ｈ－Ｌｅｕｃｉｎｅ掺入无明显影响，但Ｓｔａｕ预处理３０ｍｉｎ，则可有效阻断ＡＮＧⅡ（１μｍｏｌ／Ｌ）对细胞蛋白质合成的刺激作用；单纯应用ＰＫＣ激活剂ＰＭＡ（１μｍｏｌ／Ｌ）可使心肌细胞蛋白质合成速率增加，与对照组相比，ＰＭＡ组３Ｈ－Ｌｅｕｃｉｎｅ掺入量增加了４１．０４％。细胞Ｎａ＋－Ｈ＋交换抑制剂Ａｍｉｌｏｒｉｄｅ预处理也能阻断ＡＮＧⅡ刺激３Ｈ－Ｌｅｕｃｉｎｅ掺入细胞蛋白质的作用。以上结果提示ＰＫＣ和Ｎａ＋－Ｈ＋交换的激活，可能是ＡＮＧⅡ诱发的心肌细胞肥大反应的重要胞内信息转导机制。本工作还观察到，阻断细胞Ｎａ＋－Ｈ＋交换后并不影响由ＰＫＣ激活导致的蛋白质合成增加，提示可能存在着ＰＫＣ和Ｎａ＋－Ｈ＋交换彼此相对独立地调节心肌细胞生长的途径。     

Interrelationships among quinidine, amiloride, and lithium as inhibitors of the renal Na+-H+ exchanger

We examined the effects of quinidine, amiloride and Li+ on the kinetics of Na+-H+ exchange in microvillus membrane vesicles isolated from the rabbit renal cortex. Quinidine reversibly inhibited the initial rate of Na+-H+ exchange (I50 200 microM). The plot of 1/V versus [quinidine] was curvilinear, with Hill coefficient greater than 1.0, indicating that the drug interacts at two or more inhibitory sites or at a single site on at least two different conformations of the transporter. Quinidine decreased the Vmax for Na+-H+ exchange and increased the Km for Na+, indicating a mixed-type mechanism of inhibition. In contrast, plots of 1/V versus [amiloride] and 1/V versus [Li+] were linear, indicating single inhibitory sites; amiloride and Li+ each increased the Km for Na+ with no effect on Vmax, indicating a competitive mechanism of inhibition. Addition of Li+ increased the intercept with no change in slope of the 1/V versus [amiloride] plot, indicating that Li+ and amiloride are mutually exclusive inhibitors of Na+-H+ exchange. Addition of quinidine increased the slopes of the plots of 1/V versus [amiloride] and 1/V versus [Li+], indicating that the binding of quinidine is not mutually exclusive with the binding of amiloride and Li+. Results from this and previous studies are consistent with the concept that the inhibitor amiloride and the transportable substrates Na+, H+, Li+, and NH+4 all mutually compete for binding to a single site, the external transport site of the renal Na+-H+ exchanger. However, our findings indicate that quinidine interacts with the Na+-H+ exchanger on at least one additional site that is not shared by Na+, Li+, or amiloride.     

The Na(+)-H+ exchanger of the placental brush-border membrane is pharmacologically distinct from that of the renal brush-border membrane

We have compared the pharmacological properties of the human placental brush-border membrane Na(+)-H+ exchanger with those of the rabbit renal brush-border membrane Na(+)-H+ exchanger. The exchanger activity in both preparations was inhibited by cimetidine, clonidine, and harmaline. Cimetidine was found to be 4-5 times more potent than clonidine in inhibiting the placental Na+-H+ exchanger. However, the order of potency was reversed for the renal exchanger, in which case clonidine was 3-4 times more potent than cimetidine as an inhibitor. There was, however, no difference between the potencies of harmaline to inhibit the two exchangers. When amiloride and four of its analogs were tested as inhibitors, the Na(+)-H+ exchanger of the placental brush-border membrane exhibited greater sensitivity to inhibition by all of these compounds than the Na(+)-H+ exchanger of the renal brush-border membrane. The difference between the two exchangers was more prominent with the 5-amino-substituted amiloride derivatives than with amiloride. The greatest difference between the Ki values was for dimethylamiloride (the kidney/placenta ratio was 185), followed by ethylisopropyl amiloride, hexamethylene amiloride, and t-butyl amiloride. These results indicate that the two Na+-H+ exchangers are pharmacologically distinct.     

Extracellular ATP stimulates an amiloride-sensitive sodium influx in human lymphocytes

Extracellular ATP has been shown to increase the Na+ permeability of human lymphocytes by 3 to 12-fold. The kinetics of this ATP-induced response were studied by measuring 22Na+ influx into chronic lymphocytic leukemic lymphocytes incubated in low-sodium media without divalent cations. ATP-stimulated uptake of 22Na-ions was linear over 4 min incubation and this influx component showed a sigmoid dependence on ATP concentration. Hill analysis yielded a K1/2 of 160 microM and a n value of 2.5. The nucleotide ATP-gamma-S (1-2 mM) gave 30% of the permeability increase produced by ATP, but UTP (2 mM) and dTTP (2 mM) had no effect on 22Na influx. The amiloride analogs 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl) amiloride and 5-(N,N-hexamethylene) amiloride, which are potent inhibitors of Na(+)-H+ countertransport, abolished 72-95% of the ATP-stimulated 22Na+ influx. However, the involvement of Na(+)-H+ countertransport in the ATP-stimulated Na+ influx was excluded by three lines of evidence. Sodium influx was stimulated 7-fold by extracellular ATP but only 2.4-fold by hypertonic conditions which are known to activate Na(+)-H+ countertransport. Addition of ATP to lymphocytes produced no change in intracellular pH when these cells were suspended in isotonic NaCl media. Finally ATP caused a membrane depolarization of lymphocytes which is inconsistent with stimulation of electroneutral Na(+)-H+ exchange. These data suggest that ATP acts cooperatively to induce the formation of membrane channels which allow increased Na+ influx by a pathway which is partially inhibited by amiloride and its analogs.     

Regulation of intracellular pH in sheep cardiac Purkinje fibre: interactions among Na+, H+, and Ca2+1

Experiments were performed on sheep cardiac Purkinje fibres using pH- and sodium-selective microelectrodes, while simultaneously measuring tension, to determine if the fall in intracellular pH (pHi) following a rise in intracellular Na+ activity (aiNa) is caused by inhibition or reversal of acid extrusion on Na+-H+ exchange. A rise in aiNa was induced either by using the cardioactive steroid strophanthidin to inhibit the sarcolemmal Na+-K+ pump or by increasing the frequency of stimulation (0-4 Hz). Both of these manoeuvres led to an increase in aiNa and a decrease in pHi. Following exposure to strophanthidin, amiloride (an inhibitor of sarcolemmal Na+-H+ exchange) produced a decrease in both pHi and aiNa. These effects of amiloride increased with decreasing pHi, indicating that acid extrusion on Na+-H+ exchange is stimulated by the fall in pHi. The changes in intracellular Na+ and H+ caused by amiloride were quantitatively consistent with an electroneutral stoichiometry. The fall in pHi during strophanthidin exposure is therefore not caused by inhibition or reversal of acid extrusion Na+-H+ exchange. It is likely that the fall in pHi during a rate increase is also independent of Na+-H+ exchange. This is because (i) it has been shown previously to occur in the presence of amiloride and (ii) the calcium antagonist D600 completely abolished the stimulation-dependent fall in pHi. It is concluded that the intracellular acidosis following inhibition of the sarcolemmal Na+-K+ pump or following an increase in the rate of stimulation is secondary to a rise in intracellular calcium.     

Evidence for histidyl and carboxy groups at the active site of the human placental Na+-H+ exchanger.

The Na+-H+ exchanger of the human placental brush-border membrane was inhibited by pretreatment of the membrane vesicles with a histidyl-group-specific reagent, diethyl pyrocarbonate and with a carboxy-group-specific reagent, N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline. In both cases the inhibition was irreversible and non-competitive in nature. But, if the membrane vesicles were treated with these reagents in the presence of amiloride, cimetidine or clonidine, there was no inhibition. Since amiloride, cimetidine and clonidine all interact with the active site of the exchanger in a mutually exclusive manner, the findings provide evidence for the presence of essential histidyl and carboxy groups at or near the active site of the human placental Na+-H+ exchanger. This conclusion was further substantiated by the findings that Rose Bengal-catalysed photo-oxidation of histidine residues as well as covalent modification of carboxy residues with NN'-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide irreversibly inhibited the Na+-H+ exchanger and that amiloride protected the exchanger from inhibition caused by NN'-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide.     

Identification and purification of a renal amiloride-binding protein with properties of the Na+-H+ exchanger

The aim of this study was to identify and purify the Na+-H+ exchanger from rabbit renal brush border membranes by use of affinity chromatography. Triton-solubilized membranes were equilibrated with an affinity matrix consisting of the amiloride analogue A35 (5-N-(3-aminophenyl)amiloride) covalently coupled to Sepharose CL-4B beads through a triglycine spacer arm. The matrix was then washed extensively with buffer and sequentially eluted with buffer, buffer containing 5 mM amiloride, and 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Eluates were concentrated and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The silver-stained gel revealed a 25-kDa protein that was not visible in the initial solubilized brush border membrane extract, was not eluted from the affinity matrix by buffer alone, but was eluted with 5 mM amiloride. A subsequent elution with 1% SDS did not release any more of the 25-kDa protein, indicating that it had been completely eluted from the affinity matrix by amiloride. The presence of 5 mM amiloride during equilibration of the solubilized brush border extract with the affinity matrix completely blocked adsorption of the 25-kDa protein. The relative abundance of this protein correlated closely with Na+-H+ exchange activity when preparations of cortical brush border membrane vesicles, outer medullary brush border membrane vesicles, and cortical basolateral membrane vesicles were compared. Moreover, binding of the protein to the affinity matrix was inhibited by amiloride and amiloride analogues with a rank order identical to that for inhibition of Na+-H+ exchange activity. These findings strongly suggest that the 25-kDa protein is a structural component of the Na+-H+ exchanger.     

Heterogeneity of the Na(+)-H+ antiport systems in renal cells.

This study analyzes the differential characteristics of the Na(+)-H+ antiport systems observed in several epithelial and non-epithelial renal cell lines. Confluent monolayers of LLC-PK1A cells have a Na(+)-H+ antiport system located in the apical membrane of the cell. This system, however, is not expressed during cell proliferation or after incubation in the presence of different mitogenic agents. In contrast, confluent monolayers of MDCK4 express minimal Na(+)-H+ antiport activity in the confluent monolayer state but reach maximal antiport activity during cell proliferation or after activation of the cells by different mitogenic agents. Similar results were obtained with the renal fibroblastic cell line BHK. The system present in MDCK4 cells is localized in the basolateral membrane of the epithelial cell. In LLC-PK1A cells, an increase in the extracellular Na+ concentration produces a hyperbolic increase in the activity of the Na(+)-H+ antiporter. In MDCK4 and BHK cells, however, an increase in external Na+ produces a sigmoid activation of the system. Maximal activation of the system occur at a pHo 7.5 in LLC-PK1A cells and pHo 7.0 in MDCK4 cells. The Na(+)-H+ antiporter of LLC-PK1A cells is more sensitive to the inhibitory effect of amiloride (Ki 1.8 x 10(-7) M) than is the antiporter of MDCK4 cells (Ki 7.0 x 10(-6) M). Moreover, 5-(N-methyl-N-isobutyl)amiloride is the most effective inhibitor of Na(+)-H+ exchange in LLC-PK1A cells, but the least effective inhibitor in MDCK4 cells. Conversely, the analog, 5-(N,N-dimethyl)amiloride, is the most effective inhibitor of Na(+)-H+ exchange in MDCK4 cells, but is the least effective inhibitor in LLC-PK1A cells. These results support the hypothesis that Na(+)-H+ exchange observed in LLC-PK1A and other cell lines may represent the activity of different Na(+)-H+ antiporters.     

High affinity binding of amiloride analogs at an internal site in renal microvillus membrane vesicles.

Amiloride analogs with hydrophobic substitutions on the 5-amino nitrogen atom are relatively high affinity inhibitors of the plasma membrane Na(+)-H+ exchanger. We demonstrated that a high affinity-binding site for [3H]5-(N-methyl-N-isobutyl)amiloride ([3H]MIA) (Kd = 6.3 nM, Bmax = 1.2 pmol/mg of protein) is present in microvillus membrane vesicles but not in basolateral membrane vesicles isolated from rabbit renal cortex, in accord with the known membrane localization of the Na(+)-H+ exchanger in this tissue. The rank order potency for inhibition of microvillus membrane [3H]MIA binding by amiloride analogs was: MIA (I50 approximately 10 nM) greater than amiloride (I50 approximately 200 nM) greater than benzamil (I50 approximately 1200 nM). This correlated with a qualitatively similar rank order potency for inhibition of Na(+)-H+ exchange: MIA (I50 approximately 4 microM) greater than amiloride (I50 approximately 15 microM) greater than benzamil (I50 approximately 100 microM), but did not correlate with the rank order potency for inhibition of the organic cation-H+ exchanger in microvillus membrane vesicles: MIA approximately benzamil (I50 approximately 0.5 microM) greater than amiloride (I50 approximately 10 microM). However, tetraphenylammonium, an inhibitor of organic cation-H+ exchange, inhibited the rate of [3H]MIA binding without an effect on equilibrium [3H]MIA binding; the dissociation of bound [3H]MIA was inhibited by preloading the membrane vesicles with tetraphenylammonium. These findings indicated that high affinity [3H]MIA binding to renal microvillus membrane vesicles takes place at an internal site to which access is rate-limited by the tetraphenylammonium-sensitive organic cation transporter. Equilibrium [3H]MIA binding was inhibited by H+ but was unaffected by concentrations of Na+ or Li+ that saturate the external transport site of the Na(+)-H+ exchanger. Binding of MIA to its high affinity binding site had no effect on the rate of Na(+)-H+ exchange. This study suggests that the renal Na(+)-H+ exchanger has a high affinity internal binding site for amiloride analogs that is distinct from the external amiloride inhibitory site.     

Characterization of the mitochondrial Na+-H+ exchange. The effect of amiloride analogues

The kinetic properties and inhibitor sensitivity of the Na+-H+ exchange activity present in the inner membrane of rat heart and liver mitochondria were studied. (1) Na+-induced H+ efflux from mitochondria followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In heart mitochondria, the Km for Na+ was 24 +/- 4 mM and the Vmax was 4.5 +/- 1.4 nmol H+/mg protein per s (n = 6). Basically similar values were obtained in liver mitochondria (Km = 31 +/- 2 mM, Vmax = 5.3 +/- 0.2 nmol H+/mg protein per s, n = 4). (2) Li+ proved to be a substrate (Km = 5.9 mM, Vmax = 2.3 nmol H+/mg protein per s) and a potent competitive inhibitor with respect to Na+ (Ki approximately 0.7 mM). (3) External H+ inhibited the mitochondrial Na+-H+ exchange competitively. (4) Two benzamil derivatives of amiloride, 5-(N-4-chlorobenzyl)-N-(2',4'-dimethyl)benzamil and 3',5'-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzamil were effective inhibitors of the mitochondrial Na+-H+ exchange (50% inhibition was attained by approx. 60 microM in the presence of 15 mM Na+). (5) Three 5-amino analogues of amiloride, which are very strong Na+-H+ exchange blockers on the plasma membrane, exerted only weak inhibitory activity on the mitochondrial Na+-H+ exchange. (6) The results indicate that the mitochondrial and the plasma membrane antiporters represent distinct molecular entities.