Partial purification and properties of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase from Potamon potamios

1. The tissue distribution of the (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase in the freshwater/land crab Potamon Potamios was studied.2. Gills were found to display the highest total activity in the whole animal (47%) but the highest specific activity was detected in the heart (15.15 μmol Pi/mg protein/min.).3. All other organs tested were found to have low enzyme activity.4. The freshwater/land crab ATPase enzyme was inhibited by ouabain with a Ki of 0.5 mM.Km values for ATP, Mg²⁺ and K⁺ were 1.4, 4.0 and 1.2mM respectively. The enzyme also showed a break in the Arrhenius plot at 23°C.5. A purification method of microsomal ATPase is described involving ultracentrifugation and electrofocusing.     

Salinity dependent Na+-K+ATPase activity in gills of the euryhaline crab Chasmagnathus granulata

The occurrence and response of Na+-K+ATPase specific activity to environmental salinity changes were studied in gill extracts of all of the gills of the euryhaline crab Chasmagnathus granulata from Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). All of the gills exhibited a salinity dependent Na+-K+ATPase activity, although the pattern of response to environmental salinity was different among gills. As described in other euryhaline crabs highest Na+-K+ATPase specific activity was found in posterior gills (6 to 8), which, with exception of gill 6, increased upon acclimation to reduced salinity. However, a high increase of activity also occurred in anterior gills (1 to 5) in diluted media. Furthermore, both short and long term differential changes of Na+-K+ATPase activity occurred among the gills after the transfer of crabs to reduced salinity. The fact that variations of Na+-K+ATPase activity in the gills were concomitant with the transition from osmoconformity to ionoregulation suggests that this enzyme is a component of the branchial ionoregulatory mechanisms at the biochemical level in this crab.     

Inhibitory effects of cations on the gastric H+, K+ -ATPase. A potential-sensitive step in the K+ limb of the pump cycle

The presence of a cation inhibitory site on the dephosphoform of the H+, K+ -ATPase was confirmed by comparing the effects of K+ and NH4+ on overall activity and on phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. Inhibition of ATPase activity was pronounced at high cation/ATP ratios, but NH4+ was much less effective. At 60 mM cation, although the ATPase activity was greater in the presence of NH4+ (17.1 mumol/mg.h) as compared to K+ (5.1 mumol/mg.h), dephosphorylation of preformed phosphoenzyme was faster with K+ (2101 min-1) than with NH4+ (1401 min-1). Increasing K+ concentrations at the cytosolic face of the enzyme, at constant ATP, decreased the rate of phosphorylation from 1343 to 360 min-1 at 25 mM K+. Increasing ATP concentrations in the presence of constant K+ concentrations accelerated ATPase activity and increased the steady-state phosphoenzyme level. Therefore, inhibition by cations was due to cation stabilization of a dephospho form of the enzyme at a cytosolically accessible cation-binding site. ATP promoted cation dissociation from this site. In ion-permeable vesicles, increasing K+ concentrations, at constant ATP, activated and then inhibited ATPase activity, with a K0.5(I) of 22 mM. In intact, ion-impermeable inside-out vesicles, in the presence of valinomycin, ATPase activity increased up to 175 mM K+. Collapse of this potential by the addition of the electrogenic protonophore 3,3',4', 5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide restored the K+ inhibition of ATPase activity. Thus, the cation inhibition of the ATPase activity appears to be voltage-sensitive; and hence, its connection to the voltage sensitivity of acid secretion demonstrated in intact gastric mucosa is discussed.     

Mg2+ and ATP effects on K+ activation of the Ca2+-transport ATPase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum.

ATP and the divalent cations Mg2+ and Ca2+ regulated K+ stimulation of the Ca2+-transport ATPase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Millimolar concentrations of total ATP increased the K+-stimulated ATPase activity of the Ca2+ pump by two mechanisms. First, ATP chelated free Mg2+ and, at low ionized Mg2+ concentrations, K+ was shown to be a potent activator of ATP hydrolysis. In the absence of K+ ionized Mg2+ activated the enzyme half-maximally at approximately 1 mM, whereas in the presence of K+ the concentration of ionized Mg2+ required for half-maximal activation was reduced at least 20-fold. Second MgATP apparently interacted directly with the enzyme at a low affinity nucleotide site to facilitate K+-stimulation. With a saturating concentration of ionized Mg2+, stimulation by K+ was 2-fold, but only when the MgATP concentration was greater than 2 mM. Hill plots showed that K+ increased the concentration of MgATP required for half-maximal enzymic activation approx. 3-fold. Activation of K+-stimulated ATPase activity by Ca2+ was maximal at an ionized Ca2+ concentration of approx. 1 microM. At very high concentrations of either Ca2+ or Mg2+, basal Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity persisted, but the enzymic response to K+ was completely inhibited. The results provide further evidence that the Ca2+-transport ATPase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum has distinct sites for monovalent cations, which in turn interact allosterically with other regulatory sites on the enzyme.     

Functionally distinct classes of K+ sites on the (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase.

K+ interactions with a rat brain (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase and the associated K+-dependent nitrophenyl phosphatase activity were examined. Classes of sites for K+ were distinguished, initially, on the basis of affinity estimated by kinetic analysis in terms of KO.5 (the concentration for half-maximal activation), and by K+-accelerated enzyme inactivation by F-minus, which permits evaluation of a dissociation constant for K+, KD. Moderate-affinity sites ("alpha sites"), with a KD near 1 mM, were demonstrable for the phosphatase activity and for the "free" enzyme. High-affinity sites ("beta sites"), with a KD near 0.1 mM, were seen for the overall ATPase activity and under conditions in which enzyme phosphorylation by substrate also occurs. Further differentiation between alpha and beta sites was made in terms of (i) the characteristic changes in affinity with pH, and (ii) the efficacy of Li+ relative to K+, Rb+, Cs+, and Tl+ at these two classes of sites. Low-affinity sites ("gamma sites") through which K+ inhibits enzymatic activity were also detectable, with a KD around 140 mM. These data are incorporated into a model for the reaction sequence to accommodate both transport processes and certain K+/ATP antagonisms.     

(Na~++K~+)—ATP酶与磷脂膜的相互作用

本文研究了不同磷脂对兔肾外髓质(Na~++K~+)-ATP酶活性的影响、结果表明,DOPC、PG重组活性最高,用DMPC重组导致酶失活,酸性磷脂有利于维持该酶活性.DSC及自旋标记ESR实验结果示出(Na~++K~+)-ATP酶有选择地与酸性磷脂相互作用.     

Interaction of fluorescein isothiocyanate with the (H+ + K+)-ATPase

Fluorescein isothiocyanate was used to covalently label the gastric (H+ + K+)-ATPase. FITC treatment of the enzyme inhibited the ATPase activity while largely sparing partial reactions such as the associated p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity. ATP protected against inhibition suggesting the ligand binds at or near an ATP binding site. At 100% inhibition the stoichiometry of binding was 1.5 nmol FITC per mg Lowry protein a value corresponding to maximal phosphoenzyme formation. Binding occurred largely to a peptide of 6.2 isoelectric point, although minor labelling of a peptide of pI 5.6 was also noted. Fluorescence was quenched by K+, Rb+ and Tl+ in a dose-dependent manner, and the K0.5 values of 0.28, 0.83 and 0.025 mM correspond rather well to the values required for dephosphorylation at a luminal site. Vanadate, a known inhibitor of the gastric ATPase produced a slow Mg2+-dependent fluorescent quench. Ca2+ reversed the K+-dependent loss of fluorescence and inhibited it when added prior to K+. This may relate to the slow phosphorylation in the presence of ATP found when Ca2+ was substituted for Mg2+ and the absence of K+-dependent dephosphorylation. The results with FITC-modified gastric ATPase provide evidence for a conformational change with K+ binding to the enzyme.     

Interaction of melittin with the (Na+ + K+)ATPase: evidence for a melittin-induced conformational change

The (Na+ + K+)ATPase is inhibited by the bee venom polypeptide, melittin. KCl and NaCl protect the enzyme from melittin inhibition. Analysis of the K+ and Na+ protection against melittin inhibition suggested a kinetic model which was consistent with slowly reversible melittin binding, and mutually exclusive binding of melittin with K+ and Na+. Accordingly, in the absence of salt, the KI for melittin inhibition = 1.2 microM, and the protection by KCl occurs with a KA,KCl = 0.6 mM. The protection by NaCl occurs with a KA,NaCl = 15 mM. Melittin inhibition of enzyme activity is due to direct interactions with the (Na+ + K+)ATPase, as demonstrated by photolabeling with [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin, which labeled the alpha subunit, but not the beta subunit of the (Na+ + K+)ATPase. Melittin and KCl reduced the extent of labeling. In non-covalent binding studies using [125I]azidosalicylyl melittin, the stoichiometry of binding was 1.6 melittin per (Na+ + K+)ATPase. Ligand-induced conformational changes of FITC-labeled (Na+ + K+)ATPase were examined in the presence and absence of melittin. K+ alone or melittin alone caused a fluorescence intensity quenching consistent with formation of an E2 form of the enzyme. The NaCl-induced (E2----E1) fluorescence intensity changes were maximal when the enzyme was treated with K+. NaCl-induced fluorescence changes did not occur when the enzyme was treated with melittin in the absence of K+. However, when K+ was present before the addition of melittin, NaCl-induced fluorescence intensity increases were observed, which were dependent upon the concentration of K+ in the preincubation mixture. The results of the labeling and conformational studies support the kinetic model and suggest a mechanism for inhibition of ion pumps by (poly)peptides.     

Na+-ATPase in the gills of bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

The authors evidence a Mg2+ dependent ATPase activity stimulated by Na+ in absence of K+ in bass gill microsomes. As this stimulated ATPase shows different features from "baseline" activity measured in the absence of both Na+ and K+ ions (Mg2+-ATPase) and from 1mM ouabain sensitive (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, it has been ascribed to a distinct Na+-ATPase. In the present paper the optimal conditions for bass gill Na+-ATPase assay and the temperature dependence of the enzyme are reported. Moreover the Na+-ATPase appears to be insensitive to 1mM ouabain and 100% inhibited by 2,5mM ethacrynic acid. It is suggested a parallel diffusion of Na+- and (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and a possible physiological role of Na+ATPase in osmoregulation.     

Properties and nature of (Na+ + Mg2+)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase in the gills of the eel, angvilla anguilla (L.)

The specific activity of (Na⁺ + Mg²⁺)-dependent ATPase is three times greater in the microsomes of sea-water eels than in freshwater eels; the specific activity is one quarter of that of (Na⁺ + K⁺ + Mg²⁺)-dependent ATPase in both cases.(Na⁺ + Mg²⁺)-dependent ATPase is optimally active in a medium containing 8 mM NaCl, 4 mM MgCI₂, 4 mM ATP, pH 8.8 and at 30 °C; the enzyme is inhibited by ouabain, by NaCl concentrations > 100 mM and by treatment with urea.It is concluded that the (Na⁺ + Mg²⁺)-dependent ATPase activity of gills arises from the presence of a (Na⁺ + K⁺ + Mg²⁺)-dependent ATPase.     

Salinity adaptation of HCO3--dependent ATPase activity in the gills of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)

A bicarbonate-dependent ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) was found in microsomal preparations from blue crab gills. When the crabs were transferred to low salinity (200 mosmolal) from seawater (1000 mosmolal), the HCO3- dependent ATPase increased in all gill pairs, reaching its new steady state in 2 weeks. The greatest increase occurred in the sixth and seventh gill pairs (approx. 2.5-fold). Maximal enzyme activity was observed at an Mg2+ concentration of 2 mM and an optimal pH of 7.8. The apparent Ka for HCO3- was found to be 8.9 mM. Kinetic analysis showed that low-salinity adaptation increased the Vmax without altering the Km for ATP. When the microsomes from high-salinity crab gills were treated with detergent or assayed at different temperatures, the total enzyme activity did not reach the activity levels after adaptation to low salinity. These results suggest that the alteration of HCO3- -ATPase activity may be due to synthesis, rather than modulation of membranes or of the existing enzyme activity.     

Activation by lithium ions of the inside sodium sites in (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.

1. Purified pig kidney ATPase was incubated in 30--160 mM Tris-HCl with various monovalent cations. 130 mM LiCl stimulated a ouabain-sensitive ATP hydrolysis (about 5% of the maximal (Na+ + K) activity), whereas 160 mM Tris-HCl did not stimulate hydrolysis. Similar results were obtained with human red blood cell broken membranes. 2. In the absence of Na+ and with 130 mM LiCl, the ATPase activity as a function of KCl concentration showed an initial slight inhibition (50 micrometer KCl) followed by an activation (maximal at 0.2 mM KCl) and a further inhibition, which was total at mM KCl. In the absence of LiCl, the rate of hydrolysis was not affected by any of the KCl concentrations investigated. 3. The lithium-activation curve for ATPase activity in the absence of both Na+ and K+ had sigmoid characteristics. It also showed a marked dependence on the total LiCl + Tris-HCl concentration, being inhibited at high concentrations. This inhibition was more noticeable at low LiCl concentrations. 4. In the absence of Na+, 130 mM Li+ showed promoted phosphorylation of ATPase from 1 to 3 mM ATP in the presence of Mg2+. In enzyme treated with N-ethylmaleimide, the levels of phosphorylation in Li+-containing solutions, amounted to 40% of those in Na+- and up to 7 times of those in K+-containing solutions. 5. The total (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity was markedly inhibited at high buffer concentrations (Tris-HCl, Imidazole-HCl and tetramethylammonium-HEPES gave similar results) in cases when either the concentration of Na+ or K+ (or both) was below saturation. On the other hand, the maximal (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity was not affected (or very slightly) by the buffer concentration. 6. Under standard conditions (Tris-HCl + NaCl = 160 mM) the Na+-activation curve of Na+-ATPase had a steep rise between 0 and 2.5 mM, a fall between 2.5 and 20 mM and a further increase between 20 and 130 mM. With 30 mM Tris-HCl, the curve rose more steeply, inhibition was noticeable at 2.5 mM Na+ and was completed at 5 mM Na+. With Tris-HCl + NaCl = 280 mM, the amount of activation decreased and inhibition at intermediate Na+ concentrations was not detected.     

In vivo electrical stimulation alters sensitivity of the brain (Na+ + K+)ATPase toward inhibition by vanadate

It has recently been shown that electrical stimulation of the brain cortex in vivo blocks invasion of cortical spreading depression (SD) into the stimulated area. The effect has been interpreted as a result of activating a K+ pumping mechanism that prevents the accumulation of this ion in the extracellular space to the high levels required for SD propagation. In the present experiments (Na+ + K+)ATPase activity was determined in the electrically stimulated region of the rat brain cortex. When ATP preparations containing vanadate were used as substrate, elevation of K concentration in the assay medium from 2 to 20 mM inhibited enzyme activity in homogenates from the normal cortex but not that from homogenates of the electrically stimulated cortical region. With vanadate-free ATP (Boehringer) as a substrate, slight stimulation by 20 mM K+ has been observed in both cases. Vanadate (0.25 microM) added to the assay medium containing Boehringer ATP and 20 mM K+ inhibited ATPase activity from the normal cortex but not that from the stimulated cortical area. Electrical stimulation may activate (Na+ + K+)ATPase at least partly by diminution of its susceptibility toward the inhibitory action of vanadate.     

Effects of ATP and magnesium ions on the fluorescence of harmala alkaloids. Restrictions for the use of harmala alkaloids as fluorescent probes for (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.

1. Harmine and harmaline were investigated as potentially useful fluorescent inhibitors of (Na+ + K+) activated ATPase. 29 From spectroscopic measurements both compounds were shown to form 1 : 1 complexes with ATP, the dissociation constants being 0.65 mM and 1.83 mM for harmine and harmaline respectively. Addition of Mg2+ and enzyme further affected these equilibria. 3. Although it was possible to demonstrate a competitive effect of harmine at the sodium-loading site of the enzyme, other inhibitory effects, including inhibitions of ouabain binding and the ouabain-insensitive ATPase were found. 4. It was concluded that the harmala alkaloids can inhibit (Na+ + K+)-activated ATPase in a complex way involving both Na- and ATP-binding sites. This severely limits their usefulness as spectroscopic probes.     

Characterization of gill (Na + K)-activated adenosine triphosphatase from chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha.

(Na+K)-activated ATPase activity from gills of yearling spring chinook was examined using a new rapid assay method. Characterization of the enzyme activity was performed. Optimal activity was obtained at pH 7.2 in the presence of 240 mM NaCl, 120 mM KCl, 20 mM MgCl2 and 10 mM Na2ATP. Maximal inhibition of the enzyme was observed in the presence of 0.5 mM ouabain. Differential centrifugation indicated that 75% of the enzymatic activity was sedimented at 1000 x g. Only 8% of the activity was found in the microsomal pellet. Treatment with 0.1% sodium deoxycholate liberated activity from the 1000 x g pellet and elevated the activity. This treatment caused a loss of 20% of the original activity of the preparation. Statistical analysis of the sampling procedure for gill (Na+K)-activated ATPase activity indicated that there was small variation in the technique itself when compared to variation between the individual gill arches and between individual fish. Results indicate that for meaningful comparisons of groups of fish, the sampling of the gill arches must be standardized and a large number of individual fish must be sampled.     

Odorous chemical perturbations of (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase activities. Effects on native and lipid-substituted preparations from individual turbinals from dog olfactory tissue.

Individual turbinals from the right and left sides of dog olfactory tissue were removed and nerve-ending-particle preparations were prepared. (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase activities of the individual preparations, and the effect of several odorous compounds [including (+)- and (-)-carvone] on the (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase activities, were determined. The maximally stimulatory odorant concentration in the reaction mixture for the majority of odorants was found to be 1.0 mM. Matched pairs of left/right turbinals showed a lack of bilateral symmetry of response. (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase activities of various dog brain nerve-ending particle preparations responded only slightly to 1.0 mM odorants. The role of phospholipids in the (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase activity was found to be critical. Partial replacement of endogenous lipid with either synthetic phospholipids or extracted lipids resulted in changes in stimulation obtained with endogenous lipids alone.     

Ligand-dependent reactivity of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase with showdomycin

Showdomycin inhibited pig brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase with pseudo first-order kinetics. The rate of inhibition by showdomycin was examined in the presence of 16 combinations of four ligands, i.e., Na+, K+, Mg2+ and ATP, and was found to depend on the ligands added. Combinations of ligands were divided into five groups in terms of the magnitude of the rate constant; in the order of decreasing rate constants these were: (1) Na+ + Mg2+ + ATP, (2) Mg2+, Mg2+ + K+, K+ and none, (3) Na+ + Mg2+, Na+, K+ + Na+ and Na+ + K+ + Mg2+, (4) Mg2+ + K+ + ATP, K+ + ATP and Mg2+ + ATP, (5) K+ + Na + + ATP, Na+ + ATP, Na+ + K+ + Mg2+ + ATP and ATP. The highest rate was obtained in the presence of Na+, Mg2+ and ATP. The apparent concentrations of Na+, Mg2+ and ATP for half-maximum stimulation of inhibition (KS0.5) were 3 mM, 0.13 mM and 4 MicroM, respectively. The rate was unchanged upon further increase in Na+ concentration from 140 to 1000 mM. The rates of inhibition could be explained on the basis of the enzyme forms present, including E1, E2, ES, E1-P and E2-P, i. e., E2 has higher reactivity with showdomycin than E1, while E2-P has almost the same reactivity as E1-P. We conclude that the reaction of (Na+ + K+)- ATPase proceeds via at least four kinds of enzyme form (E1, E2, E1 . nucleotide and EP), which all have different conformations.     

Kinetics of Na+-ATPase: influence of Na+ and K+ on substrate binding and hydrolysis

An analysis of the influence of Na+ and K+ on the kinetics of Na+-ATPase in broken membrane preparations from bovine brain is presented with particular emphasis on the effect of the cations on the binding and splitting of the substrate MgATP and on the derivation of a detailed kinetic model for that interaction. It was found that the enzyme in the absence of Na+ and K+, but in the presence of 7 mM free Mg2+, at pH 7.4 (37 degrees C) exhibits an ouabain-sensitive ATPase activity. The simplest model quantitatively compatible with all the data involves two different, interconvertible (conformational) forms of the enzyme, E1 and E'1, with the following properties: The E1 form does not bind K+ but has three independent and equivalent high-affinity sites (Kd = 5.6 mM) for Na+. It binds and hydrolyzes substrate only when two or three sodium ions are bound to it. The E'1 form binds and hydrolyzes the substrate only in the absence of monovalent cations. It is competitively inhibited by K+ (Kd = 0.23 mM), and this inhibition is further enhanced by binding of Na+ to the K+-bound form at two equivalent, independent sites (Kd = 12 mM). It is suggested that the E'1 form is the Mg2+-induced conformational state of the enzyme observed by others, which differs from the usually encountered E1 and E2 forms. The model allows the calculation of ATP-binding and ADP-releasing rate constants for the E1-form for later comparison with corresponding rate constants for the (na+ + K+)-ATPase (following paper).     

The mechanism for inhibition of gastric (H+ + K+)-ATPase by omeprazole

Omeprazole was found to inhibit the K+-stimulated ATPase activity of the gastric (H+ + K+)-ATPase in parallel with the K+-stimulated p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity and the phosphoenzyme formation. The degree of inhibition of ATPase activity was directly correlated to the amount inhibitor bound to the enzyme preparation down to about 15% of the control enzyme activity. The acid-decomposed form of omeprazole, i.e. the inhibitory form, was found to react with and bind to sulfhydryl groups within the (H+ + K+)-ATPase preparation with close to a 1:1 stoichiometry. beta-Mercaptoethanol, when added beforehand and in a 10-fold excess of omeprazole, completely prevented binding of the inhibitor and its inhibition of the enzyme. In the presence of beta-mercaptoethanol two different reaction products could be detected in addition to omeprazole; the reduced form of omeprazole (H 168/22), and a product formed between beta-mercaptoethanol and a decomposition product, generated from omeprazole. Under those conditions neither inhibition nor binding was obtained, indicating that none of these three compounds was the inhibitor. Rather, the compound generated from omeprazole and reacting rapidly with either beta-mercaptoethanol or the -SH groups of the enzyme was the likely inhibitor compound. In order to reverse already established inhibition higher concentrations of beta-mercaptoethanol were needed than for protection indicating two different reaction pathways for protection and reversal by beta-mercaptoethanol. The reversal reaction was explained by a two-step reaction; in the first step the bound inhibitor was exchanged for a beta-mercaptoethanol molecule resulting in formation of compound H 168/22 and a mixed disulfide between the enzyme and beta-mercaptoethanol. In the second step, attack of another beta-mercaptoethanol molecule results in liberation of active enzyme and generation of the disulfide form of beta-mercaptoethanol. This hypothesis was substantiated by the fact that when 1 mM beta-mercaptoethanol was added to inhibited enzyme the radiolabel was partially displaced, without any change in the concentration of modified -SH groups.     

Ca2+ uptake by corpus-luteum plasma membranes. Evidence for the presence of both a Ca2+-pumping ATPase and a Ca2+-dependent nucleoside triphosphatase.

Plasma-membrane vesicles from rat corpus luteum showed an ATP-dependent uptake of Ca2+. Ca2+ was accumulated with a K1/2 (concn. giving half-maximal activity) of 0.2 microM and was released by the bivalent-cation ionophore A23187. A Ca2+-dependent phosphorylated intermediate (Mr 100,000) was detected which showed a low decomposition rate, consistent with it being the phosphorylated intermediate of the transport ATPase responsible for Ca2+ uptake. The Ca2+ uptake and the phosphorylated intermediate (E approximately P) displayed several properties that were different from those of the high-affinity Ca2+-ATPase previously observed in these membranes. Both Ca2+ uptake and E approximately P discriminated against ribonucleoside triphosphates other than ATP, whereas the ATPase split all the ribonucleoside triphosphates equally. Both Ca2+ uptake and E approximately P were sensitive to three different Hg-containing inhibitors, whereas the ATPase was inhibited much less. Ca2+ uptake required added Mg2+ (Km = 2.2 mM), whereas the ATPase required no added Mg2+. The maximum rate of Ca2+ uptake was about 400-fold less than that of ATP splitting; under different conditions, the decomposition rate of E approximately P was 1,000 times too slow to account for the ATPase activity observed. All of these features suggested that Ca2+ uptake was due to an enzyme of low activity, whose ATPase activity was not detected in the presence of the higher-specific-activity Ca2+-dependent ATPase.