Inhibition by triphenyltin chloride of a tightly-bound membrane component involved in photophosphorylation.

At very low concentrations (less than 1 muM) triphenyltin chloride inhibits ATP formation and coupled electron transport in isolated spinach chloroplasts. Basal (-Pi) and uncoupled electron transport are not affected by triphenyltin. The membrane-bount ATP in equilibrium Pi exchange and Mg2+-dependent ATPase activities of chloroplasts are also completely sensitive to triphenyltin, although the Ca2+-dependent and Mg2+-dependent ATPase activities of the isolated coupling factor protein are insensitive to triphenyltin. The light-driven proton pump in chloroplasts is stimulated (up to 60%) by low levels of triphenyltin. Indeed, the amount of triphenyltin necessary to inhibit ATP formation or stimulate proton uptake is dependent upon the amount of chloroplasts present in the reaction mixture, with an apparent stoichiometry of 2-2.5 triphenyltin molecules/100 chlorophyll molecules at 50% inhibition of ATP formation and half-maximal stimulation of proton uptake. Chloroplasts partially stripped of coupling factor by an EDTA was are no longer able to accumulate protons in the light. However, low levels of triphenyltin can effectively restore this ability. The amount of triphenyltin required for the restoration of net proton uptake is also dependent upon the amount of chloroplasts, with a stoichiometry of 4-5 triphenyltin molecules/100 chlorophyll molecules at 50% reconstitution. On the basis of this and other evidence it is concluded that triphenyltin chloride inhibits phosphorylation.Atp in equilibrium Pi exchange and membrane-bound ATPase activities in chloroplasts by specifically blocking the transport of protons through a membrane-bound carrier or channel located in a hydrophobic region of the membrane at or near the functional binding site for the coupling factor.     

Nucleotide binding sites and chemical modification of the chromaffin granule proton ATPase

The purified proton ATPase of chromaffin granules contains five different polypeptides denoted as subunits I to V in the order of decreasing molecular weights of 115,000, 72,000, 57,000, 39,000, and 17,000, respectively. The purified enzyme was reconstituted as a highly active proton pump, and the binding of N-ethylmaleimide and nucleotides to individual subunits was studied. N-Ethylmaleimide binds to subunits I, II, and IV, but inhibition of both ATPase and proton pumping activity correlated with binding to subunit II. In the presence of ADP, the saturation curve of ATP changed from hyperbolic to a sigmoid shape, suggesting that the proton ATPase is an allosteric enzyme. Upon illumination of the purified enzyme in the presence of micromolar concentrations of 8-azido-ATP, alpha-[35S]ATP, or alpha-[32P]ATP subunits I, II, and IV were labeled. However, at concentrations of alpha-[32P]ATP below 0.1 microM, subunit II was exclusively labeled in both the purified and reconstituted enzyme. This labeling was absolutely dependent on the presence of divalent cations, like Mg2+ and Mn2+, while Ca2+, Co2+, and Zn2+ had little or no effect. About 0.2 mM Mg2+ was required to saturate the reaction even in the presence of 50 nM alpha-[32P]ATP, suggesting a specific and separate Mg2+ binding site on the enzyme. Nitrate, sulfate, and thiocyanate at 100 mM or N-ethylmaleimide and 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole at 100 microM prevented the binding of the nucleotide to subunit II. The labeling of this subunit was effectively prevented by micromolar concentrations of three phosphonucleotides including those that cannot serve as substrate for the enzyme. It is concluded that a tightly bound ADP on subunit II is necessary for the activity of the enzyme.     

Boar acrosin is a two-chain molecule. Isolation and primary structure of the light chain; homology with the pro-part of other serine proteinases

Cholinergic synaptic vesicles from the electric organ of Torpedo marmorata are associated with a Mg2+-ATPase insensitive to ouabain and oligomycin. Treatment of vesicle membranes with dichloromethane releases a Mg2+-ATPase with apparent molecular mass of around 250 kDa as determined by gel filtration. The vesicular ATPase resembles the mitochondrial F1-ATPase in these properties. Gel electrophoresis of the solubilized ATPase shows however that only a single 50-kDa band is present as compared to the alpha-subunit (52 kDa) and beta-subunit (50 kDa) of electric organ mitochondrial F1-ATPase present in this range of molecular mass range. In agreement, covalent photoaffinity labelling of isolated vesicles with azido-ATP shows a 50-kDa band. Vesicle ghosts were found to accumulate [14C]methylamine in an ATP-dependent manner indicating the presence of an inwardly directed proton pump. We conclude that cholinergic vesicles contain a proton pump probably driven by the Mg2+-ATPase here described, which generates an electrochemical gradient across the vesicle membrane and is necessary for uptake and storage of acetylcholine within the vesicles.     

Distribution and structure of the vacuolar H+ ATPase in endosomes and lysosomes from LLC-PK1 cells

Vacuolar proton pumps acidify several intracellular membrane compartments in the endocytic pathway. We have examined the distribution of the vacuolar H+ ATPase in LLC-PK1 cells and the structure of the biosynthetically labeled enzyme in membrane fractions enriched for endosomes or lysosomes. LLC-PK1 cells were allowed to internalize cytochrome c-coated colloidal gold as a marker for endocytic compartments. Proton pumps were identified in these cells by staining the cells with a monoclonal antibody against the vacuolar pump detected with either immunogold or immunoperoxidase techniques. H+ ATPase labeling was seen on structures resembling endosomes and lysosomes, but not on Golgi or plasma membrane. To examine the structure of the H+ ATPase in these compartments, we labeled LLC-PK1 cells for 24 h with [35S]methionine and used a Percoll gradient to obtain fractions enriched for endosomes or lysosomes. H+ ATPase immunoprecipitated from both fractions with monoclonal anti-H+ ATPase antibodies had labeled polypeptides of 70, 56, and 31 kDa. On two-dimensional gels, a comparison of the H+ ATPase from the endosomal and lysosomal fractions revealed that the 70-, 56-, and 31-kDa subunits were similar in both fractions. The results show that the vacuolar H+ ATPase in these cells is distributed primarily in endosomes and lysosomes and that the structure of the enzyme is similar in both compartments.     

Partial resolution and reconstitution of the subunits of the clathrin-coated vesicle proton ATPase responsible for Ca2+-activated ATP hydrolysis

The clathrin-coated vesicle proton-translocating complex is composed of a maximum of eight major polypeptides. Of these potential subunits, only the 17-kDa component, which is a proton pore, has been defined functionally (Sun, S.Z., Xie, X. S., and Stone, D. K. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 14790-14794). ATPase-and proton-pumping activities of the 200-fold purified proton-translocating complex are supported by Mg2+, whereas Ca2+ will only activate ATP hydrolysis. Like Mg2+-activated ATPase activity, Ca2+-supported ATP hydrolysis is inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, NO3-, and an inhibitory antibody and is stimulated by Cl- and phosphatidylserine. Thus, Ca2+ prevents coupling of ATPase activity to vectoral proton movement, and Ca2+-activated ATPase activity is a partial reaction useful for analyzing the subunit structure required for ATP hydrolysis. The 530-kDa holoenzyme was dissociated with 3 M urea and subcomplexes, and isolated subunits were partially resolved by glycerol gradient centrifugation. No combination of these components yielded Mg2+-activated ATPase or proton pumping. Ca2+-activated ATP hydrolysis was not catalyzed by a subcomplex containing the 70- and 58-kDa subunits but was restored by recombination of the 70-, 58-, 40-, and 33-kDa polypeptides, indicating that these are subunits of the clathrin-coated vesicle proton pump which are necessary for ATP hydrolysis.     

Golgi membranes contain an electrogenic H+ pump in parallel to a chloride conductance

Rat liver Golgi vesicles were isolated by differential and density gradient centrifugation. A fraction enriched in galactosyl transferase and depleted in plasma membrane, mitochondrial, endoplasmic reticulum, and lysosomal markers was found to contain an ATP-dependent H+ pump. This proton pump was not inhibited by oligomycin but was sensitive to N-ethyl maleimide, which distinguishes it from the F0-F1 ATPase of mitochondria. GTP did not induce transport, unlike the lysosomal H+ pump. The pump was not dependent on the presence of potassium nor was it inhibited by vanadate, two of the characteristics of the gastric H+ ATPase. Addition of ATP generated a membrane potential that drove chloride uptake into the vesicles, suggesting that Golgi membranes contain a chloride conductance in parallel to an electrogenic proton pump. These results demonstrate that Golgi vesicles can form a pH difference and a membrane potential through the action of an electrogenic proton translocating ATPase.     

Mode of interaction of the single a subunit with the multimeric c subunits during the translocation of the coupling ions by F1F0 ATPases.

We have recently isolated a mutant (aK220R, aV264E, aI278N) of the Na+-translocating Escherichia coli/Propionigenium modestum ATPase hybrid with a Na+-inhibited growth phenotype on succinate. ATP hydrolysis by the reconstituted mutant ATPase was inhibited by external (N side) NaCl but not by internal (P side) NaCl. In contrast, LiCl activated the ATPase from the N side and inhibited it from the P side. A similar pattern of activation and inhibition was observed with NaCl and the ATPase from the parent strain PEF42. We conclude from these results that the binding sites for the coupling ions on the c subunits are freely accessible from the N side. Upon occupation of these sites, the ATPase becomes more active, provided that the ions can be further translocated to the P side through a channel of the a subunit. If by mutation of the a subunit this channel becomes impermeable for Na+, N side Na+ ions specifically inhibit the ATPase activity. These conclusions were corroborated by the observation that proton transport into proteoliposomes containing the mutant ATPase was abolished by N side but not by P side Na+ ions. In contrast, LiCl affected proton translocation from either side, similar to the sidedness effect of Na+ ions on H+ transport by the parent hybrid ATPase. If the ATPase carrying the mutated a subunit was incubated with 22NaCl and ATP, 1 mol 22Na+/mol enzyme was occluded. With the parent hybrid ATPase, 22Na+ occlusion was not observed. The occluded 22Na+ could be removed from its tight binding site by 20 mM LiCl, while incubation with 20 mM NaCl was without effect. Li+ but not Na+ is therefore apparently able to pass through the mutated a subunit and make the entrapped Na+ ions accessible again to the aqueous environment. These results suggest an ion translocation mechanism through F0 that in the ATP hydrolysis mode involves binding of the coupling ions from the cytoplasm to the multiple c subunits, ATP-driven rotation to bring a Na+, Li+, or H+-loaded c subunit into a contact site with the a subunit and release of the coupling ions through the a subunit channel to the periplasmic surface of the membrane.     

Characterization of the plasma membrane Mg2+-ATPase from the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has a Mg2+-dependent ATPase which is distinct from the mitochondrial Mg2+-ATPase and at the pH optimum of 5.5 has a Km for ATP of 1.7 mM and a Vmax of 0.42 mumol of ATP hydrolyzed/mg/min. At least three protein components of the crude membrane (Mr = 210,000, 160,000 and 115,000) are labeled with [gamma"32P]ATP at pH 5.5. These phosphoproteins form rapidly in the presence of Mg2+, rapidly turn over the bound phosphate when unlabeled ATP is added, and dephosphorylate after incubation in the presence of hydroxylamine. Vanadate, an inhibitor of the Mg2+-ATPase activity, blocks the phosphorylation of the 210,000- and 115,000-dalton proteins. At pH 7.0, only the 210,000- and 160,000-dalton proteins are phosphorylated. While these three phosphorylated intermediates have not been unambiguously identified as components of the Mg2+-ATPase, the finding of such phosphorylated components in association with that activity implies that this enzyme differs in mechanism from the mitochondrial proton pump and that it is similar in mechanism to the metal ion pumps ((Na+-K+)-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase) of the mammalian plasma membrane.     

Isolation of the mitochondrial F1-F0 adenosine triphosphatase by Sepharose-hexylammonium chromatography: properties and reconstitution in liposomes

Lauryl dimethylamino oxide, a zwitterionic detergent, was employed to solubilize the H+ ATPase from beef heart mitochondria. A simple preparation procedure has been devised to obtain F1-F0 based on a method described to purify F1 ATPase (M. Tuena de Gómez-Puyou and A. Gómez-Puyou, 1977, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 182, 82-86) which consists of the selective adsorption of F1 to Sepharose-hexylammonium beads. The preparation showed approximately 18 bands in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; 5 correspond to F1 subunits and the rest probably to the stalk and hydrophobic sector F0. The binding of [14C]dicyclohexylcarbodiimide to a low-molecular-weight component of this preparation was demonstrated. The F1-F0 complex was reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles which displayed ATP-Pi exchange and ATP-dependent 9-aminoacridine fluorescence quenching, both sensitive to proton channel inhibitors.     

Modulation of the activity of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase of the human erythrocyte

We previously reported that the activity of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) of the human erythrocyte membrane is inhibited by micromolar or nanomolar concentrations of cyclic AMP. Our further studies have now indicated that the inhibition of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent phosphohydrolase activity requires the participation of a membrane-associated cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and a membrane-associated protein substrate that is distinct from the ATPase itself. We have furthermore, identified a 20 kDa membrane protein which undergoes phosphorylation that is promoted by micromolar, but not millimolar, concentrations of cyclic AMP and which, when phosphorylated, undergoes dephosphorylation that is promoted by Ca2+. We suggest that this membrane component can participate in the modulation of the activity of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent ATPase of the human erythrocyte.     

Assembly of a functional F0 of the proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli

We have investigated both structural and functional assembly of the F0 portion of the Escherichia coli proton-translocating ATPase in vivo. Fractionation of E. coli minicells containing plasmids which code for parts of the unc operon shows that each of the F0 peptides a, b, and c insert into the cytoplasmic membrane independent of each other and without the polypeptides which form the F1 portion of the complex alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon. Assays of membrane energization indicate that, while formation of a functional proton channel requires the presence of all three F0 polypeptides a, b and c, they are not sufficient. Synthesis of both the alpha and beta subunits of the F1 are required for formation of a functional proton channel.     

Effect of the delta subunit on assembly and proton permeability of the F0 proton channel of Escherichia coli F1F0 ATPase.

During the assembly of the Escherichia coli proton-translocating ATPase, the subunits of F1 interact with F0 to increase the proton permeability of the transmembrane proton channel. We tested the involvement of the delta subunit in this process by partially and completely deleting uncH (delta subunit) from a plasmid carrying the genes for the F0 subunits and delta and testing the effects of those F0 plasmids on the growth of unc+ and unc mutant E. coli strains. We found that the delta subunit was required for inhibition of growth of unc+ cells. We also tested membranes isolated from unc-deleted cells containing F0 plasmids for F1-binding ability. In unc-deleted cells, these plasmids produced F0 in amounts comparable to those found in normal unc+ E. coli cells, while having only small effects on cell growth. These studies demonstrate that the delta subunit plays an important role in opening the F0 proton channel but that it does not serve as a temporary plug of F0 during assembly, as had been previously speculated (S. Pati and W. S. A. Brusilow, J. Biol. Chem. 264:2640-2644, 1989).     

Proton pump-linked Mg2+-ATPase activity in isolated rat liver lysosomes

ATPase activity in highly purified rat liver lysosome preparations was evaluated in the presence of other membrane cellular ATPase inhibitors, and compared with lysosome ATP-driven proton translocating activity. Replacement of 5 mM Mg2+ with equimolar Ca2+ brought about a 50% inhibition in divalent cation-dependent ATPase activity, and an 80% inactivation of ATP-linked lysosomal H+ pump activity. In the presence of optimal concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+, ATPase activity was similar to that seen in an Mg2+ medium. Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity was greatly inhibited (from 70 to 80%) by the platinum complexes; cis-didimethylsulfoxide dichloroplatinum(II) (CDDP) at approximately 90 microM and cis-diaminedichloroplatinum(II) at twofold higher concentrations. Less inhibition, about 30 and 45%, was obtained with N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and N-ethylmaleimide, and the maximal effect occurred in the 50-100 microM and 0.1-1.5 mM ranges, respectively. The concentration dependence of inhibition by the above drugs was determined for both proton pumping and ATPase activities, and half-maximal inhibition concentration of each activity was found at nearly similar values. A micromolar concentration of carbonylcyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP) prevented ATP from setting up a pH gradient across the lysosomal membranes, but stimulated Mg2+-ATPase activity significantly. ATPase activity in Ca2+ medium was also inhibited by CDDP and stimulated by FCCP, but both effects were two- to threefold less than those observed in Mg2+ medium. FCCP failed to stimulate ATPase activity in a CDDP-supplemented medium, thus suggesting that the same ATPase activity fraction was sensitive to both CDDP and FCCP. Mg2+-ATPase activity, like the proton pump, was anion dependent. The lowest activity was recorded in a F-medium, and increased in the order of F- less than SO2-4 less than Cl- approximately equal to Br-. The CDDP-sensitive ATPase activity observed, supported by Mg2+ and less so by Ca2+, may be related to lysosome proton pump activity.     

Properties and function of the proton-translocating adenosine triphosphatase of Clostridium perfringens.

Growth of Clostridium perfringens was inhibited by compounds which dissipate or prevent the formation of electrochemical proton gradients. Membrane vesicles prepared from this organism exhibited Mg2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity sensitive to N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Mg2+-ATPase activity was optimal of 50 degrees C, but no discrete pH optimum was observed. Adenosine triphosphate-dependent quenching of the fluorescence of the weak base quinacrine by everted membrane vesicles suggested that the Mg2+-ATPase is a proton pump capable of generating an electrochemical proton gradient. Adenosine triphosphate-dependent transport of Ca2+ by everted vesicles was sensitive to uncouplers and inhibitors of the Mg2+-ATPase.     

Respiration driven C1- uptake by submitochondrial particles

Both Mg2+ and oligomycin are required for the establishment of a membrane potential and the uptake of Cl- in submitochondrial particles prepared from rat liver. The effect of oligomycin is considered to be due to blocking of H+ conduction through exposed F0 channels of the ATPase complex whereas Mg2+ may more directly affect the anion-conducting channel.     

Role of the delta subunit in enhancing proton conduction through the F0 of the Escherichia coli F1F0 ATPase.

We studied the effect of the delta subunit of the Escherichia coli F1 ATPase on the proton permeability of the F0 proton channel synthesized and assembled in vivo. Membranes isolated from an unc deletion strain carrying a plasmid containing the genes for the F0 subunits and the delta subunit were significantly more permeable to protons than membranes isolated from the same strain carrying a plasmid containing the genes for the F0 subunits alone. This increased proton permeability could be blocked by treatment with either dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide or purified F1, both of which block proton conduction through the F0. After reconstitution with purified F1 in vitro, both membrane preparations could couple proton pumping to ATP hydrolysis. These results demonstrate that an interaction between the delta subunit and the F0 during synthesis and assembly produces a significant change in the proton permeability of the F0 proton channel.     

Stimulation of calcium pump activity in heart sarcolemma by timolol

The effects of beta-adrenergic blocking agents, timolol and atenolol (1-1000 microM), were studied on rat heart sarcolemmal ATPase and Ca2+ binding activities. Timolol, unlike atenolol, increased both Ca2+-stimulated ATPase and ATP-dependent Ca2+ binding; the maximal effects were seen at 1 microM concentration of timolol. Both timolol and atenolol did not alter the sarcolemmal Mg2+ ATPase and nonspecific Ca2+ binding activities. Sarcolemmal Ca2+-stimulated ATPase was also activated by concanavalin A (6-66 micrograms/mL) which is known to alter membrane fluidity; however, Mg2+ ATPase was unaffected by this agent. These results indicate that timolol may stimulate Ca2+ pump activity in heart sarcolemma by changing membrane fluidity in a manner similar to that of concanavalin A.     

Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity in brain coated microvesicles purified on immunosorbents

Coated microvesicle fractions isolated from ox forebrain cortex by the ultracentrifugation procedure of Pearse (1) and by the modified, less time consuming method of Keen et al (2) had comparable Ca2+ +Mg2+ dependent ATPase activities (about 9 mumol/h per mg protein). The Na+ +K+ +Mg2+ dependent ATPase activity was 3.2 mumol/h per mg (+/- 1.0, S.D., n = 3) when microvesicles were prepared according to (1) and 1.5 mumol/h per mg (+/- 1.0, S.D., n = 3) when prepared according to (2). Oligomycin, ruthenium red, and trifluoperazine, inhibitors of Ca2+ transport in mitochondria and erythrocyte membranes had no effect on Ca2+ +Mg2+ dependent ATPase from any of the preparations. As demonstrated both by ATPase assays and electron microscopy, coated microvesicles could be bound to immunosorbents prepared with poly-specific antibodies against a coated microvesicle fraction obtained by the method of Pearse (1). The binding could be inhibited by dissolved coat protein using partially purified clathrin. The fraction of coated vesicles eluted from the immunosorbent was purified relative to the starting material as judged by electron microscopy. The Ca2+ +Mg2+ ATPase activity and calmodulin content was copurified with the coated microvesicles and the specific activity of Na+ +K+ +Mg2+ ATPase was decreased. Na+ +K+ +Mg2+ dependent ATPase activity in the coated microvesicle fraction could be ascribed to membranes with the appearance of microsomes. These membranes were also bound to the immunosorbents, but the binding was not influenced by clathrin. The capacity of the immunosorbents for these membranes was less than for the coated microvesicles, resulting in a decrease of Na+ +K+ +Mg2+ dependent ATPase activity in the eluted coated microvesicle fraction. It was concluded that Ca2+ +Mg2+ ATPase activity is not a contamination from plasma membrane vesicles or mitochondrial membranes but seems to be an integral part of the coated vesicle membrane.     

Response of the adenosine triphosphatase activity of the soluble latent F1 enzyme from beef heart mitochondria to changes in Mg2+ and H+ concentrations

The coupling factor of oxidative phosphorylation from beef heart mitochondria obtained as a "latent F1," exhibits negligible levels of ATPase activity, contains stoichiometric amounts of the specific F1 inhibitor protein, and is stable to incubation at low temperature (Adolfsen, R., McClung, J.A., and Moudrianakis, E. N. (1975) Biochemistry 14, 1727-1735). Incubation of the latent F1 enzyme at 60 degrees C activates its ATPase activity. We show in this paper that regulation of the interaction of the inhibitor protein with the latent F1 enzyme can be accomplished under more physiological conditions. At 37 degrees C, variations in the proton concentration led to changes in the degree and extent of activation of the enzyme, with maximal activation rates occurring after preincubation at pH 9.6. The energy for the pH 9.6-induced activation process (12.1 kcal/mol) was similar to that reported for the dissociation of the inhibitor protein from the membrane-bound F1 enzyme in energized mitochondria (Gomez-Fernandez, J. C., and Harris, D.A. (1978) Biochem. J. 176, 967-973). The rates of activation were higher in the presence of 5 mM ATP and inhibited by the presence of Mg2+, suggesting the existence of a specific binding site for Mg2+ between the inhibitor subunit and the F1 enzyme. A model is presented in which the activation of the latent F1 enzyme is brought about by a rapid titration of positively charged amino acid residues on the inhibitor subunit, followed by a slow release of a tightly bound Mg2+ atom. This model predicts that the initial event leading to the appearance of ATP synthesis is the deprotonation of the inhibitor subunit and that the onset of ATPase activity in mitochondria is due to sequestering of the available free Mg2+.     

A high affinity Ca2+-stimulated and Mg2+-dependent ATPase in rat corpus luteum plasma membrane fractions

Plasma membrane fractions from rat corpus luteum contain two kinds of Ca2+-stimulated ATPase, one having a high affinity for Ca2+, the other a low affinity for Ca2+. The high affinity ATPase had a specific Ca2+ requirement with a K 1/2 of 0.2 to 0.3 microM; it had a Vmax of 105 nmol min-1 mg-1 and distributed, upon subcellular fractionation, with recognized plasma membrane enzymes. The properties of this enzyme indicate that it is a CA2+ extrusion pump. The low affinity pump (K 1/2 for Ca2+, about 15 microM) was nonspecific, being stimulated equally well by Ca2+ of Mg2+; its function is unknown. Although the high affinity ATPase resembled the erythrocyte Ca2+-pumping ATPase in the properties mentioned above, it differed in that it failed to respond to Mg2+ or calmodulin. The lack of response to Mg2+ was due to the enzyme's retention of endogenous Mg2+; it did, after incubation with chelators, show a Mg2+ requirement. However, we were unable to show any effect of added calmodulin or trifluoperazine. This failure may be related to the high content of tightly bound calmodulin in these membranes. Much of this calmodulin could not be extracted even by washing with 1 mM EGTA and/or 0.1% (w/v) Triton X-100. This enzyme, the erythrocyte enzyme, and the adipocyte plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase all belong to the class of Ca2+ ATPases with plasma membrane distribution and high affinity for Ca2+, indicating that they are Ca2+ extrusion pumps. However, the data indicate that tissue-specific differences exist within this class, with the enzyme from adipocytes and rat corpus luteum belonging to a subclass in which the requirement for Mg2+ and any response to calmodulin are difficult to demonstrate.