Acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine in the reconstitution of ion pumps.

Acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine was compared with phosphatidylethanolamine in the reconstitution of several biological membrane activities with the following results. 1. The proton pump reconstituted with the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium and acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine was quite active. However, some differences in the kinetic properties, particularly in the decay rate, were noted between vesicles reconsituted with phosphatidylethanolamine and acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine. 2. Acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine could not replace phosphatidylethanolamine in the reconstitution of a Ca-2 plus pump with ATPase isolated from sacoplasmic reticulum. However, inclusion of suitable amounts of stearylamine or oleylamine during reconstitution yielded acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine vesicles with Ca-2 plus translocation activity comparable to that of phosphatidylethanolamine vesicles. 3. A mixture of acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine and stearylamine or oleylamine substituted for phosphatidylethanolamine in the reconstitution of mitochondrial hydrophobic proteins to form vesicles that catalyze 32-Pi-ATP exchange. Since phosphatidylcholine is also required in this system, these findings point to two functions of phosphatidylethanolamine, one related to the specific properties of its amino group, the other to a structural role of its small polar head group. A hydrophobic alkylamine can fullfill the first function, acetyl phosphatidylethanolamine the second. 4. The importance of the charge was also observed in experiments with the reconstituted rutamycin-sensitive ATPase of mitochondria. After depletion of phospholipids from the hydrophobic proteins, ATPase activity and rutamycin sensitivity were restored only if a phospholipid as well as the appropriate charge were present.     

Subunit interaction in the mitochondrial H+-translocating ATPase. The role of oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein and coupling factor 6 in ATPase binding and Pi-ATP exchange in mitochondrial membranes

Oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein, in the absence of coupling factor 6 (F6), is able to bind the ATPase to mitochondrial membranes with an apparent association constant of 10(6) M-1. The F6-dependent ATPase binding has an apparent association constant 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower than that obtained with oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein. The oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein-dependent, membrane-bound ATPase activity is sensitive to rutamycin while the F6-dependent, membrane-bound ATPase activity is insensitive to rutamycin. F1-ATPase and Type II ATPase require F6 in addition to oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein and FB to reconstitute 32Pi-ATP exchange activity in silicotungstic acid particles. This F6 requirement for the 32Pi-ATP exchange is not related to the F6 effect on the ATPase binding. The Type I ATPase and therefore the 26,500-dalton subunit associated with it requires F6 and FB to reconstitute 32Pi-ATP exchange activity in silicotungstic acid particles. Oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein can be interchanged with the 26,500-dalton ATPase binding protein in the binding of the ATPase and the 32Pi-ATP exchange.     

An ATP-driven proton pump in clathrin-coated vesicles

Clathrin containing coated vesicles prepared from bovine brain catalyzed ATP-driven proton translocation and a 32Pi-ATP exchange reaction. Both activities were measured in the presence of 5 micrograms of oligomycin/mg of protein which completely inhibited these reactions catalyzed by submitochondrial particles. Analyses performed during the purification procedure demonstrated that the oligomycin-resistant pump was concentrated and highly purified in the fractions containing coated vesicles. Moreover, vesicles precipitated by either monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against clathrin contained the H+ pump activity. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (0.5 mM) and N-ethylmaleimide (1 mM) added to the assay mixture inhibited the pump completely, whereas neither vanadate, sodium azide, efrapeptin, or mitochondrial ATPase inhibitor had an effect.     

Formation of ATP by the adenosine triphosphatase complex from spinach chloroplasts reconstituted together with bacteriorhodopsin.

The energy-linked ATPase complex has been isolated from spinach chloroplasts. This protein complex contained all the subunits of the chloroplast coupling factor (CF1) as well as several hydrophobic compoenents. When the activated complex was reconstituted with added soybean phospholipids, it catalyzed the exchange of radioactive inorganic phosphate with ATP. Sonication of the complex into proteoliposomes together with bacteriorhodopsin yield vesicles that catalyzed light-dependent ATP formation. Both the 32Pi-ATP exchange reactions and ATP formation were sensitive to uncouplers such as 3-tert-butyl-5,2'-dichloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide, bis-(hexafluoroacetonyl)acetone and carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-hydrazone, that act to dissipate a proton gradient. The energy transfer inhibitors dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, triphenyltin chloride and 2-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-4,6'-dihydroxydihydrochalcone were also effective inhibitors of both reactions.     

Activation and partial purification of the ATPase of clathrin-coated vesicles and reconstitution of the proton pump

A N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive ATPase was extracted and partially purified from clathrin-coated vesicles of bovine brain. During purification the enzyme lost activity which was restored by a purified phospholipid fraction from brain. Phosphatidylserine, but no other commercial phospholipids tested, replaced the brain lipid fraction as activator. Particles depleted of the ATPase exhibited no H+ pump activity when reconstituted with brain phospholipids by the cholate dilution procedure. H+ pump activity was restored by incubating the reconstituted vesicles with the partially purified ATPase.     

Proton translocation by ATPase and bacteriorhodopsin.

Stable membrane proteins and lipids are convenient to study biomembranes. Two stable proton translocating proteins were purified and reconstituted into vesicles capable of proton translocation. One was a thermostable ATPase (TF0-F1) of thermophilic bacterium PS3 and the other was rhodopsin of Halobacterium halobium. TF0-F1 was composed of a proton pump moiety (TF1) and a proton channel moiety (TF0). TF1 was the first membrane ATPase which was crystallized and reconstituted from its five polypeptides. Like TF0 and TF1, the rhodopsin in purple membrane was highly stable against dissociating agents, acids and alkali. Phospholipids of these biomembranes were also stable and contained no unsaturated fatty acyl groups. The molecular species of the phospholipids of PS3 were determined by mass chromatography. Measurements were made of the difference in electrochemical potential of protons (deltamicronH+) across the membrane of the reconstituted vesicles. The deltamicronH+ attained was 312 mV in TF0-F1 vesciles and was 230 mV in the rhodopsin vesicles. To conclude that electron transport components are not necessary for ATP synthesis in energy yielding biomembranes, two experiments were performed: The ATP synthesis was observed i) on acid-base treatment of TF0-F1 vesicles, and ii) on illumination of the rhodopsin-TF0-F1 vesicles.     

Proton ATPase of rat liver mitochondria. Preparation and visualization of a functional complex using the novel zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate

The proton ATPase of rat liver mitochondria has been purified by a simple procedure which involves the use of the novel, zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate to solubilize the membrane-bound complex. The purified enzyme has a high, oligomycin-sensitive ATPase activity (11.3 +/- 2.9 mumol/min/mg) in the absence of added phospholipids. It shows, in four different gel electrophoretic systems, the five bands characteristic of the F1 portion of the complex and three additional Coomassie blue-stainable bands which have apparent molecular weights of 28,000, 19,000, and 13,600. A fourth Coomassie blue-stainable component of about 10,000-12,500 daltons comigrates with the delta subunit, whereas a fifth component, detectable only by absorption at 280 nm, is observed between the dye front and the 10,000-dalton species. The enzyme complex has been reconstituted into liposomal vesicles of asolectin. Under these conditions the enzyme catalyzes an ATP-Pi exchange reaction and is capable of translocating protons in an ATP-dependent manner as assayed by quenching of 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine. Both activities are inhibited by the addition of oligomycin, uncoupler, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and cadmium. At high detergent concentration, the complex appears in negative stain electron microscopy in a dispersed state. The tripartite structure is clearly visible in monomeric, dimeric, or trimeric forms of the molecule. At the low detergent concentration, the proton ATPase tends to cluster into densely packed arrays. This represents the first report of the properties of a functionally active proton ATPase solubilized and purified in the presence of a zwitterionic detergent.     

Oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) of mitochondrial ATP synthase. The carboxyl-terminal region of OSCP is essential for the reconstitution of oligomycin-sensitive H(+)-ATPase.

Studies to establish the structure/function relationships of oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) of mitochondrial ATP synthase were carried out using genetic engineering and biochemical approaches. A full-length cDNA clone encoding OSCP was isolated from a bovine heart cDNA library, and the mature form of OSCP was expressed in Escherichia coli using plasmid expression vector pKP1500. Recombinant OSCP was found to accumulate in the cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, by virtue of which the recombinant protein could be purified to greater than 85% purity by simple low speed centrifugation of cell lysates. Recombinant OSCP was found to be indistinguishable from OSCP isolated from mitochondria with respect to (i) apparent molecular mass on sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis, (ii) immunological reactivity to anti-OSCP serum, (iii) biological activity in restoring oligomycin-sensitive ATPase and Pi-ATP exchange activities to OSCP-depleted ATP synthase complexes, and (iv) insensitivity of the biological activity to sulfhydryl-directed alkylating reagents. The amino-terminal sequence of the recombinant protein revealed that the initiating methionine was not removed by E. coli, although that apparently did not affect protein folding or its biological activity. Data on nested deletion mutations starting from the carboxyl terminus in OSCP demonstrated that, in each instance, the mutant form was expressed and the protein product was sequestered in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, similar to the wild-type form. However, none of the variants, including the one in which only the last 10 residues were deleted, was able to restore cold-stable oligomycin-sensitive ATPase or Pi-ATP exchange activity in OSCP-depleted complexes. Taken together, these data suggest that amino acid residues 181-190 (or some of the residues in this region) in the OSCP sequence may be important for OSCP-F1 interactions.     

Properties of a reconstituted calcium pump.

1. The translocation of 45Ca2+ in vesicles reconstituted with purified Ca2+ ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum and phospholipids was dependent on ATP and varied greatly with the composition of the phospholipids. 2. In contrast to sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments, the reconstituted vesicles were impermeable to 14C-labeled oxalate, 3H- or 32P-labeled ATP, or 32P-i. There was no translocation of phosphate from gamma-labeled ATP during Ca2+ uptake. These results are inconsistent with some current formulations of the mechanism of pump action. 3. Reversal of the Ca2+ pump and generation of ATP and ADP and P-i was observed when vesicles loaded with Ca2+ were exposed to ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid. 4. Experiments on the formation of phosphoenzyme with 32P-labeled ATP showed that most if not all functional ATPase molecules in the reconstituted vesicles were oriented in the same direction, as in the case of sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments.     

Purified proton conductor in proton translocating adenosine triphosphatase of a thermophilic bacterium.

1. The membrane-integrated portion (TF0) of the proton translocating ATPase complex (TF0-F1) of the thermophilic bacterium PS3 was highly purified. Its proton-conducting activity was investigated in vesicles reconstituted from TF0 and phospholipids (TF0 vesicles). 2. The rate of proton conduction through TF0 was proportional to the membrane potential imposed (6H+ uptake/s/TF0 molecule with 103 mV at pH 8.0). The pH profile of the rate revealed that a proton, not a hydroxy ion, was the true substrate conducted and that there was a monoprotic proton binding site in TF0 (pKa = 6.8). The temperature coefficient of proton conductance of TF0 showed a considerable variation depending on the phospholipids of the vesicles with respective transition temperatures. 3. Passive proton conduction through TF0 was inhibited stoichiometrically by addition of either the soluble ATPase portion (TF1) of TF0-F1, or an energy transfer inhibitor dicyclohexylcarbodiimide or an antibody against TF0. 4. The proton conductance of TF0 was concluded to represent its intrinsic activity in the original TF0-F1 complex.     

Membrane-bound adenosine triphosphatase of Escherichia coli. III. Effects of sodium azide on the enzyme functions.

1) Sodium azide and diphenyl phosphorazidate (DPPA) inhibited purified membrane-bound ATPase [coupling factor of oxidative phosphorylation; EC 3.6.1.3] of Escherichia coli non-competitively with Ki values of 39 and 51 micrometer, respectively. 2) Sodium azide and DPPA inhibited the activity of ATPase bound to the membrane as effectively as that of the purified enzyme. 3) The effects of sodium azide on succinate-dependent ATP synthesis, Pi-ATP exchange, and ATP hydrolysis reactions by the membrane vesicles were compared under the same conditions. At concentrations below 1.0 mM, sodium azide inhibited ATP hydrolysis, but Pi-ATP exchange and ATP synthesis were almost unaffected. At 10 mM sodium azide, both Pi-ATP exchange and ATP synthesis reactions were completely inhibited, probably because at this concentration, sodium azide acted as a proton-conducting uncoupler.     

Heterologous expression, purification, and biochemistry of the oligomycin sensitivity conferring protein (OSCP) from yeast.

Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae oligomycin sensitivity conferring proteins (OSCP) have been expressed in Escherichia coli. Heterologous expression results in production of a protein that is identical to yeast mature OSCP, including the absence of the initiating methionine residue. Yeast OSCP expressed in E. coli has been purified to homogeneity and it is able to reconstitute oligomycin-sensitive ATPase using purified F1- and F1/OSCP-depleted membranes (electron transport particles (ETP). Binding of F1 to ETP is dependent on the addition of OSCP. Binding studies using 35S-OSCP indicated that OSCP binds to ETP with a Kd of 200 nM and a capacity of 420 pmol/mg particle protein, whereas OSCP does not interact with F1 in the absence of ETP. These data indicate that yeast OSCP must first form a specific complex with F0, which then binds F1 forming the functional complex. To identify functional domains in yeast OSCP, two deletion mutants have been made. Antibodies directed to these deletion products do not inhibit OSCP-dependent binding of F1 to ETP. However, antibodies directed against the last one-third of OSCP greatly reduce the oligomycin sensitivity of the reconstituted ATPase. These data suggest that OSCP is involved in a functional role in energy transduction or proton translocation and serves a structural role in the yeast mitochondrial ATP synthase.     

Purification and reconstitution of the 32Pi-ATP exchange activity of bovine chromaffin granule membrane

Ghosts derived from bovine chromaffin granules have a ³²P_i-ATP exchange activity which is associated with the H⁺ pump of that membrane. This activity was low when compared to bacteria, chloroplasts or submitochondrial particles, but had similar properties (K_m for ATP and P_i, ATP/Mg²⁺ ratio, pH profile, inhibition by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and tributyltin) to the ATPase from above membranes. The ³²P_i-ATP exchange activity was solubilized by cholate/octylglucoside mixtures. The soluble extract was lipid depleted by ammonium sulfate fractionation and partially purified by sucrose gradient centrifugation. The purified preparation was reconstituted with phospholipids by freeze-thawing. The reconstituted vesicles had a ³²P_i-ATP exchange sensitive to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and trybutyltin and an ATPase with a sensitivity to the inhibitors which varied with the reconstitution conditions. The α- and β-subunits of F₁-ATPase were major components of the preparation.     

Identification of the 29,000-dalton protein and its relevance to oligomycin-sensitive 32Pi-ATP exchange in bovine heart electron transport particles

There have been several reports on the involvement of a 29,000-dalton protein in the regulation of ATP synthesis and 32Pi-ATP exchange (Zimmer, G., Mainka, L., and Heil, B. M. (1982) FEBS Lett. 150, 207-210). The present communication demonstrates that incubation of electron transport particles with 50 microM copper-o-phenanthroline results in reversible loss of 32Pi-ATP exchange but not of oligomycin-sensitive ATPase. Dependence of the inhibition on oxygen, its prevention by EDTA, ATP, or 2-mercaptoethanol, and subsequent restoration of the activity by 2-mercaptoethanol point to a thiol-disulfide interchange as the cause of inhibition. Analysis of copper-o-phenanthroline-treated samples by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis conducted under nonreducing conditions shows four major changes. There is a decrease in the staining intensity of two bands with molecular weights of 34,000 and 29,000 with concomitant appearance of two new bands with molecular weights of 28,000 and 58,000-60,000. The 34,000-dalton band is tentatively identified as the phosphate transport protein. The 28,000-dalton component is formed by intramolecular and the 58,000-60,000-dalton component by intermolecular cross-linking of the 29,000-dalton protein. Pretreatment of electron transport particles with 2 mM N-ethylmaleimide does not affect 32Pi-ATP exchange or its inhibition by copper-o-phenanthroline but prevents cross-linking of the 34,000- and 29,000-dalton proteins. Evidence is presented to demonstrate that the purified H+-ATPase preparation has a single 29,000-dalton protein, identical to the adenine nucleotide translocase, and that it is not essential for 32Pi-ATP exchange or oligomycin-sensitive ATPase.     

Components and mechanism of action of ATP-driven proton pumps.

We have studied the composition of ATP-driven proton pumps from bovine heart mitochondria and have reconstituted the oligomycin-sensitive ATPase complex from its individual components. The complex contains 9 to 10 subunits of which 5 are assembled in the soluble F1 protein, 2 are required for the attachment of F1 to the membrane and 2 form the proton channel within the membrane. With the help of information obtained from studies of the chloroplast and the bacterial proton pumps, we can tentatively assign a function to each of the subunits of the pump. The position of F1 outside of the membrane seen in electron micrographs of negatively stained preparations, does not appear to be an artifact. Evidence from immunological studies, chemical derivatizations as well as further electron microscopy (positive staining and freeze-etching), support this statement. We describe in this paper a 28 000-dalton polypeptide which has been isolated from the mitochondria membrane and is required for the reconstitution of oligomycin-sensitive ATPase and 32Pi-ATP exchange activity. We propose a mechanism of action of the proton pump in which the key energy-yielding reaction is the binding of Mg2+ to the protein. The function of the proton gradient is to displace Mg2+ from this site to permit cyclic repetition of the binding process. Essential for this scheme is the cyclic opening and closing of the proton channel. We have outlined our present approaches to test this hypothesis.     

Energy-linked transhydrogenase. Effects of valinomycin and nigericin on the ATP-driven transhydrogenase reaction catalyzed by reconstituted transhydrogenase-ATPase vesicles

Reconstituted transhydrogenase-ATPase vesicles obtained with purified beef heart transhydrogenase and oligomycin-sensitive ATPase were investigated with respect to the mode of interaction between the two proton pumps, with special reference to the relative contributions of the membrane potential and proton gradient using valinomycin and nigericin in the presence of potassium. In the absence of ionophores and at low ATP concentrations, below 20 microM, the ATPase generated a proton motive force which was predominantly due to a membrane potential, whereas at saturating concentrations of ATP the proton gradient was the predominant component. The ATP-dependence of the rate of the ATP-driven transhydrogenase reaction showed apparent Km values in the low and high ATP concentration range of about 3 and 56 microM, respectively, with a corresponding difference in Vmax of about 3-fold. It is concluded that the reconstituted transhydrogenase can utilize both a membrane potential and a proton gradient, separately or combined, where the relative contributions of these components depend on the activity of the ATPase. In the reconstituted vesicles, the maximally active transhydrogenase is apparently driven by an electrochemical proton gradient where the membrane potential and the proton gradient contribute one-third and two-thirds, respectively. The rate-dependent relative generation of a membrane potential and pH gradient presumably reflects the proton pump characteristics of the ATPase and/or buffering/permeability characteristics of the vesicles rather than the properties of the transhydrogenase per se. These results are discussed in relation to current models for transhydrogenase-linked proton translocation.     

Reconstitution of cytochrome oxidase vesicles and conferral of sensitivity to energy transfer inhibitors

Summary 1. Phospholipids and cytochrome oxidase solubilized with chotate were reconstituted either by dialysis or by dilution of the detergent. The reconstituted cytochrome oxidase vesicles oxidized ascorbate-cytochromec at a rate which was low, insensitive to energy transfer inhibitors and markedly stimulated by uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. The rate of reconstitution was dependent on pH, on the concentration of cholate and on the presence of high concentrations of monovalent ions or low concentrations of divalent ions. The integrity of the cytochrome oxidase vesicles was retained after freeze-drying, provided sucrose was present during the process. 2. Reconstitution with pure phospholipids revealed that cardiolipin was required for the marked stimulation of respiration by uncouplers. 3. Cytochrome oxidase vesicles were reconstituted in the presence of hydrophobic mitochondrial proteins which contained oligomycin-sensitive ATPase. The resulting vesicles oxidized ascorbate-cytochromec at a rapid rate which was not enhanced by uncouplers. Addition of an energy transfer inhibitor such as rutamycin resulted in a partial inhibition of respiration which was released by uncouplers. 4. Cytochrome oxidase vesicles reconstituted in the presence of phenol red were rather impermeable to protons and became very permeable on addition of uncouplers. When the reconstitution was performed in the presence of the hydrophobic proteins from mitochondria, proton translocation became partially sensitive to rutamycin. 5. These observations are consistent with some of the formulations of the chemiosmotic hypothesis.     

Efficient reconstitution of mitochondrial energy-transfer reactions from depleted membranes and F1-ATPase as a function of the amount of bound oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP)

Pig heart mitochondrial membranes depleted of F1 and OSCP by various treatments were analyzed for their content in alpha and beta subunits of F1 and in OSCP using monoclonal antibodies. Membrane treatments and conditions of rebinding of F1 and OSCP were optimized to reconstitute efficient NADH- and ATP-dependent proton fluxes, ATP synthesis and oligomycin-sensitive ATPase activity. F1 and OSCP can be rebound independently to depleted membranes but to avoid unspecific binding of F1 to depleted membranes (ASUA) which is not efficient for ATP synthesis, F1 must be rebound before the addition of OSCP. The rebinding of OSCP to depleted membranes reconstituted with F1 inhibits the ATPase activity of rebound F1, while it restores the ATP-driven proton flux measured by the quenching of ACMA fluorescence. The rebinding of OSCP also renders the ATPase activity of bound F1 sensitive to uncouplers. The rebinding of OSCP alone or F1 alone, does not modify the NADH-dependent proton flux, while the rebinding of both F1 and OSCP controls this flux, inducing an inhibition of the rate of NADH oxidation. Similarly, oligomycin, which seals the F0 channel even in the absence of F1 and OSCP, inhibits the rate of NADH oxidation. OSCP is required to adjust the fitting of F1 to F0 for a correct channelling of protons efficient for ATP synthesis. All reconstituted energy-transfer reactions reach their optimal value for the same amount of OSCP. This amount is consistent with a stoichiometry of two OSCP per F1 in the F0-F1 complex.     

Proton translocating ATPase of a thermophilic bacterium. Morphology, subunits, and chemical composition.

1. A stable membrane-bound ATPase [EC 3.6.1.3] (TF0-F1) capable of proton translocation in reconstituted vesicles was purified from the thermophilic bacterium PS3 cultured in medium containing L-[U-14C]amino acids. 2. TF0-F1 was composed of a catalytic moiety (TF1) and a hydrophobic moiety (TF0). TF1 contained 3 polypeptide chains with molecular weights of 56,000, 3 of 53,000, 1 of 32,000, 1 of 15,500, and 1 of 11,000. TF0 contained 1 chain of 19,000, 2 of 13,500, and 5 of 5,400 daltons. TF1 was dissociated into subunits much less readily than F1. 3. TF1 consisted of 95A particles arrayed in hexagonal microcrystals. TF0-F1 consisted of a sphere (TF1) and a stalk plus base (TF0) which was buried in the membrane of the proton translocating vesicles. 4. Vesicles capable of energy transformation were formed when TF1 came in contact with the surface of liposomes containing TF0. On addition of phospholipids, the helix content of TF0 increased 3-fold. The role of F0 in forming channels for protons is discussed. 5. The amino acid compositions of TF0, TF1, and TF0-F1 were compared. TF0 was not hydrophobic, despite its interaction with phospholipids. The phospholipid composition and other properties of the proton translocating vesicles were examined. Vesicles reconstituted from a mixture of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylgly-cerol, and cardiolipin in the same ratio as in the membranes had the highest activity.     

Isolation and reconstitution of the dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-sensitive proton pore of the clathrin-coated vesicle proton translocating complex

The clathrin-coated vesicle proton translocating complex is composed of a maximum of eight polypeptides. The function of the components of this system have not been defined. Proton pumping catalyzed by the reconstituted, 200-fold purified proton translocating complex of clathrin-coated vesicles is inhibited 50% at a dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD)/protein ratio of 0.66 mumol of DCCD/mg of protein. At an identical DCCD/protein ratio, the 17-kDa component of the proton pump is labeled by [14C]DCCD. Through toluene extraction, the 17-kDa subunit has been isolated from the holoenzyme. The 17-kDa polypeptide diminished proteoliposome acidification when coreconstituted with either bacteriorhodopsin or the intact clathrin-coated vesicle proton translocating ATPase. In both instances, treatment of the 17-kDa polypeptide with DCCD restored proteoliposome acidification. Moreover, the proton-conducting activity of the 17-kDa polypeptide is abolished by trypsin digestion. These results demonstrate that the 17-kDa polypeptide present in the isolated proton ATPase of clathrin-coated vesicles is a subunit which functions as a transmembranous proton pore.