The Ca2+/calmodulin binding domain of the Ca2+-ATPase linked to the Na+,K+-ATPase alters transport stoichiometry

Fast degradation of the auxiliary subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase in the plasma membrane of HeLa cells

The cell-surface expression and function of multisubunit plasma membrane proteins are regulated via interactions between catalytic subunits and auxiliary subunits. Subunit assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum is required for the cell-surface expression of the enzyme, but little is known about subunit interactions once it reaches the plasma membrane. Here we performed highly quantitative analyses of the catalytic (alpha1) and auxiliary (beta1 and beta3) subunits of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase in the HeLa cell plasma membrane using isoform-specific antibodies and a cell-surface protein labeling procedure. Our results indicate that although the beta-subunit is required for the cell-surface expression of the alpha-subunit, the plasma membrane contains more alpha-subunits than beta-subunits. Pulse-labeling and chasing of the cell-surface proteins revealed that degradation of the beta-subunits was much faster than that of the alpha1-subunit. Ubiquitylation, as well as endocytosis, was involved in the fast degradation of the beta1-subunit. Double knockdown of the beta1- and beta3-subunits by RNAi resulted in the disappearance of these beta-subunits but not the alpha1-subunit in the plasma membrane. All these results indicate that the alpha- and beta-subunits of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase are assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum, but are disassembled in the plasma membrane and undergo different degradation processes.

The Na+,K+-ATPase carrying the carboxy-terminal Ca2+/calmodulin binding domain of the Ca2+ pump has 2Na+,2K+ stoichiometry and lost charge movement in Na+/Na+ exchange

An altered ion-transport stoichiometry from 3Na+,2K+ to 2Na+,2K+ is observed in a chimeric Na+,K+ATPase, which carries the Ca2+/calmodulin binding domain (CBD) of the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase at its carboxy-terminus [Zhao et al., FEBS Lett. 408 (1997) 271-2751. The ouabain-resistant mutant of this chimera (ORalpha1-CBD) was constructed to further investigate the effect of the CBD on ion-transport properties. The ORalpha1-CBD still shows the 2Na+,2K+ stoichiometry. The loss of electrogenicity is accompanied by the disappearance of transient charge movements in the Na+/Na+ exchange mode. We conclude that the binding of the third Na+ ion, but not of the two others, in 3Na+,2K+ transport mode apparently senses the electric field, and that the voltage-dependent Na+ binding is likely to be lost in the chimera with CBD.

Significance of the glutamic acid residues Glu334, Glu959, and Glu960 of the alpha subunits of Torpedo Na+, K+ pumps for transport activity and ouabain binding

Glutamic acid residues in transmembrane segments of the alpha subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase have been discussed as possible candidates for the binding sites of the transported cations. Here we report on effects of mutations of Glu334, Glu959, and Glu960 to alanine in ouabain-sensitive (OS) as well as ouabain-resistant (OR) ATPases of Torpedo electroplax expressed in Xenopus oocytes. All mutants are incorporated to about the same extend as the wild-type ATPases into the plasma membrane. None of the mutations produces complete inhibition of transport activity as judged from measurements of 86Rb+ uptake, membrane current, and ATPase activity. After conversion of OS to OR by mutation of the bordering residues of the first extracellular loop Gln118 to Arg and Asp129 to Asn, the Km value for inhibition by ouabain increases to 59 microM. Substitution of Glu334 to Ala in the OR pump variant restores ouabain sensitivity with a Km value of 0.12 microM, which is similar to that of the endogenous Xenopus pump. After substitution of Glu960 by Ala in the OR pump, ouabain sensitivity is partially restored. The Km values for pump stimulation by external K+ appear to be reduced in the OR compared to the OS pump. Mutation of Glu959 and Glu960 to Ala has no pronounced effects on the potential-dependent Km values at external pH 7.8; only in the Glu959-mutated OR pump, the apparent Km at 0 mV is raised. We conclude that none of the mutated glutamic acid residues is essential for cation coordination, but that GIu334, and in part also Glu960, seems to be involved in preserving the ouabain-resistant conformation of the enzyme.