Purification of a vanadate-sensitive ATPase from clathrin-coated vesicles of bovine brain

Clathrin-coated vesicle acidification is mediated by an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive, vanadate-resistant proton-translocating ATPase. This enzyme is a 530-kDa hetero-oligomer which catalyzes ATP-dependent proton pumping when reconstituted (Xie, X. S., and Stone, D. K. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 2492-2495). We now report the purification of a second ATPase from bovine brain clathrin-coated vesicles which is inhibited by both N-ethylmaleimide (1 mM) and vanadate (10 microM). Localization of the ATPase to clathrin-coated vesicles was demonstrated by the precipitation of ouabain-resistant, vanadate-sensitive ATPase activity with anti-clathrin antibodies. The enzyme was solubilized with 0.1% polyoxyethylene 9-lauryl ether and has been purified 700-fold to a specific activity of 42 mumol of Pi.mg of protein-1.min-1. A molecular mass of 116 kDa was determined by centrifugation in sucrose gradients prepared in H2O and D2O, by high performance liquid chromatography using gel filtration, and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis performed under reducing conditions. The ATPase is unlike any known mammalian E1E2-type ATPase in that it is not inhibited by ouabain or ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid (EGTA) and it is not activated by Na+, K+, or Ca2+.