Effect of the sodium/potassium ratio on glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase interaction with red cell vesicles

Binding of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, the membrane protein known as Band 6, causes shifts in the ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the substrate (Fossel, E.T. and Solomon, A.K. (1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 464, 82–92). We have studied the resonance shifts produced by varying the sodium/potassium ratio, at constant ionic strength, in order to examine the relationship between the cation transport system and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Alteration of the potassium concentration at the extracellular face of the vesicle affects the conformation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase at the cytoplasmic face, thus showing that a conformation change induced by a change in extracellular potassium can be transmitted across the membrane. Alterations of the sodium concentration at the cytoplasmic face also affect the enzyme conformation, whereas sodium changes at the extracellular face are without effect. In contrast, there is no sidedness difference in the effect of potassium concentrations. The half-values for these effects are like those for activation of the red cell (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase. We have also produced ionic concentration gradients across the vesicle similar to those Glynn and Lew ((1970) J. Physiol. London 207, 393–402) found to be effective in running the cation pump backwards to produce adenosine triphosphate in the human red cell. The sodium/potassium concentration dependence of this process in red cells is mimicked by ³¹P resonance shifts in the (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate/glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/inside out vesicle) system. These experiments provide strong support for the existence of a functional linkage between the membrane (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase at the cytoplasmic face.