Na,K-ATPase as A Brownian Motor: Electric Field-InducedConformational Fluctuation Leads to Uphill Pumping of Cation inthe Absence of ATP

Na,K-ATPase uses chemical bond energy of ATP to pump K⁺ into, andNa⁺ out of a cell. Both are uphill transports. During the catalyticcycle the enzyme alternates between two conformational states, E₁ andE₂. This communication describes an experiment, which employs electricfield to drive oscillation or fluctuation of enzyme conformation betweenthe E₁ and the E₂ states. It is shown that the field-inducedconformational oscillation or fluctuation leads to uphill pumping of thecation by the enzyme without consumption of ATP. Biochemical specificityof the catalysis is preserved. Data indicate that Na,K-ATPase can harvestenergy from the applied electric field to perform chemical work, and aratchet mechanism is inherent in this energy transduction process. ATheory of Electroconformational Coupling (TEC) that embodies essentialfeatures of the Brownian Ratchet successfully simulates the field-frequencyand field-amplitude optima and other features of the ion pumping activity.A four-state TEC motor can achieve high efficiency of the energytransduction, asymptotically reaching 100% under the optimal condition.Pumping by ion rectification fails to reach high efficiency. The TECconcept is also mused to understand other biological motors and engines.