Endocytic vesicles contain a calmodulin-activated Ca2+ pump that mediates the inhibition of acidification by calcium

Endocytic vesicles isolated from rabbit reticulocytes contained an intrinsic Ca2(+)-pump activity that was dependent on ATP, activated by calmodulin and inhibited by vanadate. 45Ca2+ uptake and acidification studies indicated that acidification of the endocytic vesicles inversely correlated with the Ca2(+)-pump activity. Acidification was inhibited by externally added Ca2+ and calmodulin and activated by vanadate and EGTA. It is suggested that intravesicular Ca2+ can act as a modulator of endocytic vesicle acidification.     

Evidence that the platelet plasma membrane does not contain a (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent ATPase

The present study was designed to determine the subcellular distribution of the platelet (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase. Human platelets were surface labeled by the periodate-boro[3H]hydride method. Plasma membrane vesicles were then isolated to a purity of approx. 90% by a procedure utilizing wheat germ agglutinin affinity chromatography. These membranes were found to be 2.6-fold enriched in surface glycoproteins compared to an unfractionated vesicle fraction and almost 7-fold enriched compared to intact platelets. In contrast, the isolated plasma membranes showed a decreased specific activity of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase compared to the unfractionated vesicle fraction. This decrease in specific activity was found to be similar to that of an endoplasmic reticulum marker, glucose-6-phosphatase, and to that of a platelet inner membrane marker, phospholipase A2. We conclude, therefore, that the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase is not located in the platelet plasma membrane but is restricted to membranes of intracellular origin.     

Purification and functional properties of the DCCD-reactive proteolipid subunit of the H+-translocating ATPase from Mycobacterium phlei

Interaction of N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) with ATPase of Mycobacterium phlei membranes results in inactivation of ATPase activity. The rate of inactivation of ATPase was pseudo-first order for the initial 30-65% inactivation over a concentration range of 5-50 microM DCCD. The second-order rate constant of the DCCD-ATPase interaction was k = 8.5 X 10(5) M-1 X min(-1). The correlation between the initial binding of [14C]DCCD and 100% inactivation of ATPase activity shows 1.57 nmol DCCD bound per mg membrane protein. The proteolipid subunit of the F0F1-ATPase complex in membranes of M. phlei with which DCCD covalently reacts to inhibit ATPase was isolated by labeling with [14C]DCCD. The proteolipid was purified from the membrane in free and DCCD-modified form by extraction with chloroform/methanol and subsequent chromatography on Sephadex LH-20. The polypeptide was homogeneous on SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and has an apparent molecular weight of 8000. The purified proteolipid contains phosphatidylinositol (67%), phosphatidylethanolamine (18%) and cardiolipin (8%). Amino acid analysis indicates that glycine, alanine and leucine were present in elevated amounts, resulting in a polarity of 27%. Cysteine and tryptophan were lacking. Butanol-extracted proteolipid mediated the translocation of protons across the bilayer, in K+-loaded reconstituted liposomes, in response to a membrane potential difference induced by valinomycin. The proton translocation was inhibited by DCCD, as measured by the quenching of fluorescence of 9-aminoacridine. Studies show that vanadate inhibits the proton gradient driven by ATP hydrolysis in membrane vesicles of M. phlei by interacting with the proteolipid subunit sector of the F0F1-ATPase complex.     

K+-stimulated p-nitrophenyl phosphatase is not a partial reaction of the gastric (H+ + K+)-transporting ATPase. Evidence supporting a new model for the univalent-cation-transporting ATPase systems.

Studies with intact and lysed gastric microsomal vesicles demonstrate that there are two pNPP (p-nitrophenyl phosphate)-and one ATP-hydrolytic sites within the gastric H+, K+-ATPase [(H+ + K+)-transporting ATPase] complex. Whereas the ATPase site is located exclusively on the vesicle exterior, the pNPPase sites are distributed equally on both sides of the bilayer. Competition by ATP for the pNPPase reaction on the vesicle exterior suggests that both ATP and pNPP are hydrolysed at the same catalytic site present at the outside surface of the intact vesicles. However, a biphasic inhibition of the K+-pNPPase (K+-stimulated pNPPase) by ATP in the lysed vesicles suggest the pNPPase site of the vesicle interior to have very low affinity (Ki approximately equal to 1.2 mM) for ATP compared with the vesicle exterior (Ki approximately equal to 0.2 mM). Studies with spermine, which competes with K+ for the K+-pNPPase reaction without inhibiting the H+, K+-ATPase, suggest there are two separate K+ sites for the pNPPase reaction and another distinct K+ site for the ATPase reaction. In contrast with the K+ site for the ATPase, which is located opposite to the catalytic site across the bilayer, both the K+ and the catalytic site for the pNPPase are located on the same side. The data clearly demonstrate that the pNPPase is not a manifestation of the phosphatase step of the total H+, K+-ATPase reaction. The K+-pNPPase associated with the Na+, K+-ATPase also has properties strikingly similar to the gastric K+-pNPPase system, suggesting a resemblance in the basic operating principle of the two ion-transporting enzymes. A unified model has been proposed to explain the present data and many other observations reported in the literature for the ATPase-mediated transport of univalent cations.     

Isolation of a plasmamembrane ATPase with H+-ATPase-like properties from the marine fungusDendryphiella salina

The enzyme isolated from protoplasts ofDendryphiella salina is vanadate sensitive and azide and nitrate insensitive. It has a pH optimum of 6.7 and is stimulated threefold by 25 mM KCl. Since the fungus is known from electrophysiological studies to extrude protons and possess a proton symport for glucose, it is argued that the enzyme could be a plasmamembrane H⁺-ATPase. Some differences from what is known of the enzyme inNeurospora crassa are discussed.     

3H]phenamil binding protein of the renal epithelium Na+ channel. Purification, affinity labeling, and functional reconstitution

This paper describes a large-scale purification procedure of the amiloride binding component of the epithelium Na+ channel. [3H]Phenamil was used as a labeled ligand to follow the purification. The first two steps are identical with those previously described [Barbry, P., Chassande, O., Vigne, P., Frelin, C., Ellory, C., Cragoe, E. J., Jr., & Lazdunski, M. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 4836-4840]. A third step was a hydroxyapatite column. The purified material consisted of a homodimer of two 88-kDa proteins that migrated anomalously in SDS-PAGE to give an apparent Mr of 105,000. Deglycosylation by treatment with neuraminidase and endoglycosidase F or with neuraminidase and glycopeptidase F indicated that less than 5% of the mass of the native receptor was carbohydrate. Sedimentation analysis of the purified Na+ channel in H2O and D2O sucrose gradients and gel filtration experiments led to an estimated molecular weight of the [3H]phenamil receptor protein-detergent-phospholipid complex of 288,000 and of the native [3H]phenamil receptor protein of 158,000. [3H]Br-benzamil is another labeled derivative of amiloride that recognized binding sites that had the same pharmacological properties as [3H]phenamil binding sites and that copurified with them. Upon irradiation of kidney membranes, [3H]Br-benzamil incorporated specifically into a 185-kDa polypeptide chain under nonreducing electrophoretic conditions and a 105-kDa protein under reducing conditions. The same labeling pattern was observed at the different steps of the purification. Reconstitution of the purified phenamil receptor into large unilamellar vesicles was carried out. A low but significant phenamil- and amiloride-sensitive electrogenic Na+ transport was observed.     

The B1 subunit of the H+ATPase is a PDZ domain-binding protein. Colocalization with NHE-RF in renal B-intercalated cells

The 56-kDa B1 subunit of the vacuolar H(+)ATPase has a C-terminal DTAL amino acid motif typical of PDZ-binding proteins that associate with the PDZ protein, NHE-RF (Na(+)/H(+) exchanger regulatory factor). This B1 isoform is amplified in renal intercalated cells, which play a role in distal urinary acid-base transport. In contrast, proximal tubules express the B2 isoform that lacks the C-terminal PDZ-binding motif. Both the B1 56-kDa subunit and the 31-kDa (E) subunit of the H(+)ATPase are pulled down by glutathione S-transferase NHE-RF bound to GSH-Sepharose beads. These subunits associate in vivo as part of the cytoplasmic V1 portion of the H(+)ATPase, and the E subunit was co-immunoprecipitated from rat kidney cytosol with NHE-RF antibodies. The interaction of H(+)ATPase subunits with NHE-RF was inhibited by a peptide derived from the C terminus of the B1 but not the B2 isoform. NHE-RF colocalized with H(+)ATPase in either the apical or the basolateral region of B-type intercalated cells, whereas NHE-RF staining was undetectable in A-intercalated cells. In proximal tubules, NHE-RF was located in the apical brush border. In contrast, H(+)ATPase was concentrated in a distinct membrane domain at the base of the brush border, from which NHE-RF was absent, consistent with the expression of the truncated B2 subunit isoform in this tubule segment. The colocalization of NHE-RF and H(+)ATPase in B- but not A-intercalated cells suggests a role in generating, maintaining, or modulating the variable H(+)ATPase polarity that characterizes the B-cell phenotype.     

Presence of a potential-sensitive Na+ transport across renal brush-border membrane vesicles from rats of the Milan hypertensive strain

Sodium transport was measured in brush-border membrane vesicles prepared from kidney cortex of the Milan hypertensive strain (MHS) rats and the corresponding normotensive controls. In the presence of an outwardly directed proton gradient, 22Na was transiently accumulated in the vesicles. When a transmembrane electrical potential was imposed across membrane vesicles, both the accumulation ratio and the initial uptake were increased, indicating the presence of an electrogenic pathway for sodium in these membranes. The potential-dependent sodium uptake was significantly higher in MHS rats. Kinetic analysis give simple Michaelis Menten curves in the presence and in the absence of a membrane potential. In both conditions Jmax was significantly increased in MHS rats, whereas Km was the same for the two rat strains. Sodium uptake was inhibited by amiloride at concentrations that inhibit Na+-H+ exchange. The presence of the higher, potential-sensitive, sodium uptake in MHS is in agreement with studies on renal physiology which support the hypothesis that an increase in tubular sodium reabsorption may be the primary cause for the development of hypertension in this rat strain.     

Rabbit alveolar macrophages contain a Ca2+-sensitive, 41,000-dalton protein which reversibly blocks the "barbed" ends of actin filaments but does not sever them

A 41,000-dalton Ca2+-sensitive actin-modulating protein has been purified from rabbit alveolar macrophages using ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. On sodium dodecyl-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, this macrophage protein migrates more rapidly than actin and fails to cross-react with polyclonal anti-actin antibody. It has a Stokes radius of 3.0 nm and an isoelectric point of 6.6. In the presence of micromolar Ca2+ this 41,000-Da protein: reduces the viscosity of polymerized actin, nucleates actin filament assembly, causes a nearly instantaneous increase in fluorescence intensity of subcritical concentrations of pyrenyl-actin (estimated KD of the pyrene actin-macrophage protein complex, 5 X 10(-8) M), increases the critical concentration of actin by 0.65 microM (molar ratios of protein/actin, 1/100-1/10), blocks actin monomer depolymerization from the "barbed" filament ends, and does not sever preformed actin filaments. The ability of this protein to block filament ends is rapidly and completely inhibited by lowering free calcium ion concentration below the micromolar range.     

Structure and dynamics of a proton wire: a theoretical study of H+ translocation along the single-file water chain in the gramicidin A channel.

The rapid translocation of H+ along a chain of hydrogen-bonded water molecules, or proton wire, is thought to be an important mechanism for proton permeation through transmembrane channels. Computer simulations are used to study the properties of the proton wire formed by the single-file waters in the gramicidin A channel. The model includes the polypeptidic dimer, with 22 water molecules and one excess proton. The dissociation of the water molecules is taken into account by the "polarization model" of Stillinger and co-workers. The importance of quantum effects due to the light mass of the hydrogen nuclei is examined with the use of discretized Feynman path integral molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that the presence of an excess proton in the pore orients the single-file water molecules and affects the geometry of water-water hydrogen bonding interactions. Rather than a well-defined hydronium ion OH3+ in the single-file region, the protonated species is characterized by a strong hydrogen bond resembling that of O2H5+. The quantum dispersion of protons has a small but significant effect on the equilibrium structure of the hydrogen-bonded water chain. During classical trajectories, proton transfer between consecutive water molecules is a very fast spontaneous process that takes place in the subpicosecond time scale. The translocation along extended regions of the chain takes place neither via a totally concerted mechanism in which the donor-acceptor pattern would flip over the entire chain in a single step, nor via a succession of incoherent hops between well-defined intermediates. Rather, proton transfer in the wire is a semicollective process that results from the subtle interplay of rapid hydrogen-bond length fluctuations along the water chain. These rapid structural fluctuations of the protonated single file of waters around an average position and the slow movements of the average position of the excess proton along the channel axis occur on two very different time scales. Ultimately, it is the slow reorganization of hydrogen bonds between single-file water molecules and channel backbone carbonyl groups that, by affecting the connectivity and the dynamics of the single-file water chain, also limits the translocation of the proton across the pore.     

Down Regulated Expression of the β1 Subunit of the Big-conductance Ca^2＋ Sensitive K＋ Channel in Sphincter of Oddi Cells from Rabbits Fed with a High Cholesterol Diet

Hypercholesterolemia,which is closely related to gallbladder bile stasis,can cause sphincter ofOddi dysfunction (SOD) by increasing the tension of sphincter of Oddi (SO).Intracellular calcium ionconcentration ([Ca~(2 )]_i) could influence the tension of SO.The β1 subunit of the big-conductance Ca~(2 )sensitive K~ channel (BK_(Ca) can enhance the sensitivity of the BK_(Ca) channel to [Ca~(2 )]_i.Absence and decline ofthe BK_(Ca) channel subunit β1 could lead to many diseases.However,the relationship betweenhypercholesterolemia and the expression of β1 subunit is not well understood.In this study,we successfullyexpressed and purified the rabbit BK_(Ca) β1 subunit protein and prepared its polyclonal antibody.The specificityof the prepared antibody was determined by western blotting.A SOD rabbit model induced by a high cholesteroldiet was established and the expression of the β1 subunit of SO was determined by immunohistochemicalstaining and western blotting.Compared with the controls,our results demonstrated that hypercholesterolemiacould decrease the expression of the β1 subunit in the SO cells from rabbits.This indicates that lowerexpression of BK_(Ca) channel β1 subunit might induce SOD.     

Molecular cloning and functional analysis of a H+-dependent phosphate transporter gene from the ectomycorrhizal fungus Boletus edulis in southwest China

Phosphate transporters (PTs), as entry points for phosphorus (P) in organisms, are involved in a number of P nutrition processes such as phosphate uptake, transport, and transfer. In the study, a PT gene 1632 bp long (named BePT) was cloned, identified, and functionally characterized from Boletus edulis. BePT was expected to encode a polypeptide with 543 amino acid residues. The BePT polypeptide belonged to the major facilitator superfamily and showed a high degree of sequence identity to the Pht1 family. A topology model revealed that BePT exhibited 12 transmembrane helices, divided into two halves, and connected by a large hydrophilic loop in the middle. A yeast mutant complementation analysis suggested that BePT was a functional PT which mediated orthophosphate uptake of yeast at micromolar concentrations. Green fluorescent protein–BePT fusion proteins expressed were extensively restricted to the plasma membrane in BePT transformed yeast, and its activity was dependent on electrochemical membrane potential. In vitro, quantitative PCR confirmed that the expression of BePT was significantly upregulated at lower phosphorus availability, which may enhance phosphate uptake and transport under phosphate starvation. Our results suggest that BePT plays a key role in phosphate acquisition in the ectomycorrhizal fungus B. edulis.     

Isolation from the microsomal fraction of rat liver of a subfraction highly enriched in uncoated endocytic vesicles with high H+-ATPase activity and a 50 kDa phosphoprotein

A subcellular fraction, highly enriched in uncoated vesicles (UCV) with high H+-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.34) activity, was isolated from the crude microsomal fraction of rat liver homogenates by discontinuous sucrose gradient centrifugation. The UCV fraction, recovered at the interface of sucrose density 1.08 and 1.10 g/ml, was shown morphologically to be a mixture of small, smooth-surfaced univesicular and a few multivesicular structures. A permeable anion (e.g. chloride) was required for internal acidification, indicating an electroneutral proton pump. Specific inhibitors of anion transport (pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and 4-acetamide-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid) totally inhibit proton translocation. The proton pump activity was insensitive to oligomycin, but was completely inhibited by about 5 microM of the tridentate bathophenanthroline chelate of Fe(II). The activity was also inhibited 100% by low concentrations of the protonophore carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone, the proton conduction inhibitor N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and the ionophore monensin. The UCV fraction contained 2 proteins of Mr 50000 (major) and 54000 (minor) which were phosphorylated by an endogenous cyclic nucleotide- and Ca2+-independent protein kinase.     

Synthesis of a functional F0 sector of the Escherichia coli H+-ATPase does not require synthesis of the alpha or beta subunits of F1.

The uncB, E, F, and H genes of the Escherichia coli unc operon were cloned behind the lac promoter of plasmid pUC9, generating plasmid pBP101. These unc loci code, respectively, for the chi, omega, and psi subunits of the F0 sector and the delta subunit of the F1 sector of the H+-ATP synthase complex. Induction of expression of the four unc genes by the addition of isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside resulted in inhibition of growth. During isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside induction, the three subunits of F0 were integrated into the cytoplasmic membrane with a resultant increase in H+ permeability. A functional F0 was formed from plasmid pBP101 in a genetic background lacking all eight of the unc structural genes coding the F1F0 complex. In the unc deletion background, a reasonable correlation was observed between the amount of F0 incorporated into the membrane and the function measured, i.e., high-affinity binding of F1 and rate of F0-mediated H+ translocation. This correlation indicates that most or all of the F0 assembled in the membrane is active. Although the F0 assembled under these conditions binds F1, only partial restoration of NADH-dependent or ATP-dependent quenching of quinacrine fluorescence was observed with these membranes. Proteolysis of a fraction of the psi subunit may account for this partial deficiency. The experiments described demonstrate that a functional F0 can be assembled in vivo in E. coli strains lacking genes for the alpha, beta, gamma, and epsilon subunits of F1.     

Molecular and physiological characterisation of a 14-3-3 protein from lily pollen grains regulating the activity of the plasma membrane H+ ATPase during pollen grain germination and tube growth

A 14-3-3 protein has been cloned and sequenced from a cDNA library constructed from mRNAs of mature pollen grains of Lilium longiflorum Thunb. Monoclonal antibodies (MUP 5 or MUP 15) highly specific against 14-3-3 proteins recognised a 30-kDa protein in the cytoplasmic fraction of many various lily tissues (leaves, bulbs, stems, anther filaments, pollen grains, stigmas) and in other plants (Arabidopsis seedlings, barley recombinant 14-3-3). In addition, 14-3-3 proteins were detected in a microsomal fraction isolated from pollen grains and tubes, and the amount of membrane-bound 14-3-3 proteins as well as the amount of the plasma membrane (PM) H⁺ ATPase increased during germination of pollen grains and tube growth. No change was observed in the cytoplasmic fraction. A further increase in the amount of 14-3-3 proteins in the microsomal fraction was observed when pollen grains were incubated in germination medium containing 1 μM fusicoccin (FC) whereas the number of 14-3-3s in the cytoplasmic fraction decreased. Fusicoccin also protected membrane-bound 14-3-3 proteins from dissociation after washing with the chaotropic salt KI. Furthermore, FC stimulated the PM H⁺ ATPase activity, the germination frequency and the growth rate of pollen tubes, thus indicating that a modulation of the PM H⁺ ATPase activity by interaction with 14-3-3 proteins may regulate germination and tube growth of lily pollen. Received: 20 June 2000 / Accepted: 2 October 2000