Improved and simplified in-gel sample application using reswelling of dry immobilized pH gradients.

A simple and inexpensive methacrylate rehydration chamber was built to accommodate ten immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips. In the chamber, entire IPG gels were used for sample application, with the protein entering the gels during their rehydration. For rehydration, commercially available or laboratory-made strips were positioned in the grooves with the gel in contact with 500 microL of sample for 6 h or overnight. This avoided the use of sample cups, eliminated precipitation at the sample application site, thus improving resolution over the entire pH range of the gels. It also allowed precise control of protein amounts and sample volumes loaded into the IPG gels, and also lowered costs of reagents during rehydration and equilibration owing to the reduced volumes. Up to 5 mg of protein can be loaded on wide IPG gels and up to 15 mg of some samples on narrow pH range gels.

Maackia amurensis agglutinin discriminates between normal and chronic leukemic human lymphocytes.

Altered glycosylations of cell surface glycoproteins often accompany malignant transformation and lectins are useful for probing these alterations. Lymphocytes exhibit characteristic surface glycoproteins which serve as markers of cell status and development. The present work was undertaken to compare, on blots, the binding characteristics of membranes isolated from normal peripheral blood lymphocytes and chronic lymphatic leukemia cells to five different lectins, from Datura stramonium, Maackia amurensis, Sambucus nigra, Galanthus nivalis and Peanut. The Maackia amurensis lectin interacted with the normal lymphocytes but showed no binding to malignant cells. Hence, we suggest the Maackia lectin may be used to differentiate normal from leukemic cells.

Normal sensitivity of Na+/K(+)-ATPase isolated from brain and kidney of spontaneously hypertensive rats to sodium, ouabain or mercury.

Genetically hypertensive rats are excellent animal models for investigating putative Na+/K(+)-ATPase alterations associated with the disease. Highly purified Na+/K(+)-ATPase preparations from these animals have not yet been examined. Na+/K(+)-ATPases of two strains of spontaneously hypertensive rats, the Milan hypertensive strain (MHS) and the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) were characterized in comparison with enzymes isolated from their matched normotensive controls; the sensitivity to Na ions as well as the shape and span of the inhibition curves for ouabain and mercury of the isolated Na+/K(+)-ATPases were compared. No functional changes between the purified 'normotensive' and 'hypertensive' Na+/K(+)-ATPases from brain and kidney were detected ruling out drastic structural alterations of the transport system in these two organs of diseased animals.

Na,K-ATPase characterized in artificial membranes. 1. Predominant conformations and ion-fluxes associated with active and inhibited states.

The Na,K-ATPase (NKA) system is the receptor for the cardioactive steroids of plant or animal origin. It is not yet known whether passive ion fluxes traverse the inactivated receptor and thereby contribute to the hormonal, pharmacological or toxic actions of these compounds. To look for putative passive ion-fluxes across the ouabain-NKA complex, we incorporated it into the artificial membrane of liposomes. Since this synthetic membrane is virtually impermeable to Na and K ions, the hypothetical ion-fluxes mediated by the NKA can be determined. E2-forms and E2-ouabain-forms of purified NKA were incorporated, in parallel, into separate liposome preparations and the permeability of the resulting E2-liposomes and E2-ouabain-liposomes to K, Na and Ca ions was compared. The E2-liposomes expressed a typical K-permeability which was not observed in the E2-ouabain-liposomes; the latter showed a slightly higher Na-permeability and a similar Ca-permeability as compared to the former. Thus, ouabain does not induce leaks for K or Ca ions in the NKA molecule.

Na,K-ATPase characterized in artificial membranes. 2. Successive measurement of ATP-driven Rb-accumulation, ouabain-blocked Rb-flux and palytoxin-induced Rb-efflux.

The Na,K-ATPase is a multifunctional system anchored in the membrane of eukaryotic cells; it is responsible for the establishment and regulation of the Na/K balance of cell and organism by a stoichiometric mechanism linking Na extrusion to K uptake and ATP hydrolysis. The receptor for cardioactive steroids such as digoxin and ouabain is located at the extracellular surface of the system. Conversely, palytoxin, the most potent animal toxin, exerts its toxic effect by creating nonspecific leaks in the cell membrane leading to K-efflux and influx of Na and Ca ions. Ouabain prevents the pore-forming action of palytoxin in cells and therefore Na,K-ATPase is suspected to be the common receptor of ouabain and palytoxin. We have developed an artificial membrane system to determine structure-function relationships and ligand interactions of purified Na,K-ATPase: two-sided, bi-directional ATP-filled liposomes. In this system, ATP-driven 86Rb accumulation, arrest of 86Rb-uptake by ouabain, and palytoxin-induced 86Rb-leak were measured successively in the same preparation. Ouabain prevented the leak when the enzyme was ouabain-sensitive (rabbit kidney) but not when it was ouabain-resistant (rat kidney). On the basis of these data in conjunction with conformational analyses, allosteric conformational competition for the ouabain-palytoxin antagonism is proposed.

Interaction of hypothalamic Na,K-ATPase inhibitor with isolated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

A ligand for the digitalis receptor located on the membrane-embedded Na,K-ATPase (NKA; EC 3.6.1.37) has been isolated from bovine hypothalamus (hypothalamic inhibitory factor; HIF) and identified as isomeric ouabain (Tymiak et al., 1993, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 90: 8189-8193). In analogy to cardioactive steroids (CS) derived from plants or from toad, HIF inhibits the Na/K-exchange process and the ATPase activity of isolated Na,K-ATPase although by a different molecular action mechanism. In the present work we show that, as plant-derived ouabain, HIF inhibits 86Rb-uptake by isolated human lymphocytes with an IC50 of about 20 nM; above this concentration HIF reduces cell viability in contrast to ouabain. The decrease in cell viability by excess HIF is accompanied by discrete morphological alterations (mitochondrial swelling) visible by transmission electron microscopy of ultra-thin sectioned peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Taken together the results show that the hypothalamic NKA inhibitor blocks NKA of isolated human lymphocytes with high potency at nanomolar concentrations without toxicity; concentrations exceeding the ones required to block 86Rb-uptake reduce cell viability, probably due to leak formation across the NKA molecule. Thus, lymphocytes constitute a potential target for HIF action and by their altered NKA status a possible messenger between the nervous and the immune system.

Interaction of radiolabelled Na,K-ATPase-liposomes with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Artificial phospholipid vesicles (liposomes) containing in their membrane about eight Na,K-ATPase (sodium pump) molecules per vesicle were incubated in the presence of [110mAg]silver nitrate to label the membrane protein; silver binds specifically to the Na,K-ATPase protein. When such silver-labelled liposomes were incubated with freshly isolated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, a large number of liposomes was found in cells as evidenced by their 110mAg content after washing them with powerful silver chelators. Thus, liposomes containing an integral membrane protein can be transferred to human peripheral blood mononuclear cells rapidly and without toxicity.

Role of cell membrane Na,K-ATPase for survival of human lymphocytes in vitro.

Lymphocytes are primordial immune cells with variable life times. Besides genetic programming, extracellular factors interacting with cell surface receptors might alter cell survival. We investigated whether the activity of the membrane-embedded Na,K-ATPase (EC3.6.1.37) or sodium pump (NKA) plays a role for cell survival since this ubiquitous system establishes the vital transmembrane Na and K gradients as well as the resulting high intracellular K/Na ratio required for macromolecule synthesis; furthermore, the system exposes an extracellular inhibitory receptors for cardioactive steroids and palytoxin. Isolated human lymphocytes were incubated in vitro and their viability assessed by exclusion of trypan blue. Various incubation conditions were compared; in RPMI-1640 medium cell viability was preserved for 30 h at 37 degrees C. Externally added ouabain, a hydrophilic cardioactive steroid, blocked the [86Rb]potassium uptake at nanomolar concentrations. Despite pump inhibition ouabain did not alter lymphocyte survival, even at 10 mM for 30 h. By contrast, the hydrophilic toxin palytoxin, the most potent animal poison described so far, killed all cells within 2 h at 10 nM; this toxin is known to act via the sodium pump and to provoke deadly cation-leaks by unmasking a channel component. Intracellular Na increased and K decreased as measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in presence of palytoxin; cell swelling was seen by electron microscopy. Ouabain protected the cells from the toxic effect of palytoxin. The results reveal a pivotal role of NKA integrity for lymphocyte survival.

Na,K-ATPase and carboxyfluorescein distinctly alter vesicle formation in vitro.

The mechanism of vesicle formation as well as the precise reasons for their stability are not known. Thus, it is necessary to simulate the process in vitro for studying its mechanism. If phospholipids are suspended in physiological solution by means of cholate and the detergent is then removed by dialysis, the phospholipids self-assemble to form unilamellar vesicles. We report here that the addition of Na,K-ATPase (an integral membrane protein) to the phospholipids changes the vesicle structure, they become larger and a multilamellar population appears. By contrast, carboxyfluorescein, a compound commonly used for labelling the aqueous vesicle compartment, produces an unexpected effect on vesicle structure by inducing complex, tore-like intravesicular multilayer formations associated with a 5-fold increase in diameter. Thus, the presence of a protein in the membrane phase or of a compound in the water phase can influence and direct vesicle formation in vitro; these model systems might give some clues to possible physicochemical or biological factors governing the formation of natural membrane structures.

Potent and reversible interaction of silver with pure Na,K-ATPase and Na,K-ATPase-liposomes.

The Na,K-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.37) is the receptor for cardioactive steroids, the only specific inhibitors known at the present time for this unique membrane bound transport system. We report here that silver is the most rapid and potent inhibitor of isolated Na,K-ATPase ever described. Inhibition of Na,K-ATPase activity by silver is immediate and strikingly distinct from other inhibitors: addition of 1 mM of cysteine or DMPS reactivates the silver blocked-enzyme immediately. The results reveal that silver interacts with Na,K-ATPase and inhibits differently by an on-off mechanism involving most likely a few critical sulfhydryl groups. Inhibition of Na-K transport by silver has been demonstrated also in an artificial membrane, e.g., in liposomes reconstituted with pure Na,K-ATPase performing active transport. Silver inhibits the active 86Rb transport mediated by the pure Na,K-ATPase molecule. The Na,K-ATPase contained in the liposomes was labeled specifically with 110mAg and appeared to bind two silver ions. Taken together, the results show that the mechanism of silver interaction with Na,K-ATPase might be different from other metals, for instance, mercury. The unique action mechanism of silver suggests a fundamental role of a few critical sulfhydryl groups for Na,K-transport.

Mercury blocks Na-K-ATPase by a ligand-dependent and reversible mechanism.

An inhibitory receptor for cardioactive steroids such as digoxin and ouabain is located at the extracellular surface of the Na-K-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) molecule. Besides cardioactive steroids, mercury is a potent inhibitor of the Na-K-ATPase activity. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), determined within 30 min at 37 degrees C at 1 microgram protein/ml, was 200 nM, despite the presence of 1 mM EDTA; the IC50 decreased with increasing protein/inhibitor ratio, and it reached 2.7 microM at 0.1 mg protein/ml and 20 microM at 1 mg protein/ml. The IC50 for Na-K-ATPase inhibition by the diuretic compound mersalyl was 4 and 5 microM for the nondiuretic p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonic acid at 0.1 mg protein/ml. The IC50 for HgCl2 inhibition was modulated by the presence of EDTA as well as by the pump ligands Mg, Na, K, and ATP. The E2 conformation of the Na-K-ATPase molecule was more sensitive to HgCl2 than the E1 conformation. The mercury antidote 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid was able to reactivate approximately 70% of the blocked enzyme. In conclusion, a metal-binding domain of the Na-K-ATPase molecule with particular high affinity for Hg(II) was described functionally in the present work. Therefore Na-K-ATPase belongs to the metal-binding proteins. Metals may modulate the cellular expression and activity of the system by interacting with its metal-binding interface.

Mercury weakens membrane anchoring of Na-K-ATPase.

The presence of circulating inhibitors able to decrease the renal Na-K-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity (natriuretic hormones) was postulated some 30 years ago. In the present work, the natriuretic inhibitor HgCl2 was selected as a model compound for the structural characterization of a possible natriuretic pathway for Na-K-ATPase modification. The structural effects of Na-K-ATPase inhibition by HgCl2 were assessed by trypsinolysis of the blocked enzyme in comparison with untreated preparations. The results show that inactivation of Na-K-ATPase by HgCl2 leads to the release of the alpha-subunit from the membrane preferentially in the E2 conformation but also in the E1 conformation. Apparently, HgCl2 weakens the membrane anchoring of the alpha-subunit, presumably by loosening the alpha-beta-subunit interaction. By this mechanism, the sensitivity of the Na-K-ATPase to extracellular drugs, hormones, and antibodies, as well as to intracellular proteases and other regulatory factors, could be altered.

Mercury inhibits Na-K-ATPase primarily at the cytoplasmic side.

The investigation of active Na-K transport inhibition by mercury is difficult to perform in a cell because of the presence of numerous other membrane and intracellular proteins modifiable by mercury. Thus purified Na-K-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) molecules performing active transport in an artificial membrane are required to demonstrate unequivocally the inhibition of active transport by mercury. We made use of a single population of Na-K-ATPase liposomes filled with ATP and Na to show mercury inhibition of active 86Rb transport mediated by both the inside-out and right-side-out pumps in the same liposome. The effect of HgCl2 on the Na-K-ATPase in cell-like and reversed orientation was measured in comparison with convallatoxin. A dilution series showed that 10 microM externally added HgCl2 inhibited the active 86Rb transport at the cytoplasmic side first; at 50 microM both pump populations were blocked, indicating either membrane permeation by HgCl2 and inhibition at the internal intracellular domains or onset of extracellular action at higher HgCl2 concentration. The results show that the metal-binding interface of Na-K-ATPase molecule is profoundly implicated in active ion transport and that the intracellular part of the Na-K-ATPase molecule presents the primary target for mercury action.

Chelation of mercury by ouabain-sensitive and ouabain-resistant renal Na,K-ATPase.

The SH-reactive HgCl2 inhibits the Na,K-ATPase activity potently in a manner antagonized only partially by EDTA or cysteine; solely dimercaprol, a dithiol antidote for mercury, blocks the HgCl2 effects entirely as confirmed also by 203Hg-binding experiments. The results reveal the presence of a chelating component in pure Na,K-ATPase with an affinity for mercury superior to EDTA. The mercury-sensitivity of the Na,K-ATPase is not related to the ouabain-sensitivity. This criterion will be useful for the distinction between ouabain-like and mercury-like inhibitors from body fluids and tissues.

Hypothalamic Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase inhibitor characterized in two-sided liposomes containing pure renal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase.

The functional characterization of putative endogenous inhibitors of the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase has been greatly hindered by spare amounts extractable from biological sources. We therefore used a miniaturized, two-sided test system consisting of ATP-filled liposomes containing dispersed, randomly oriented renal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase molecules to study effects of a low-molecular-weight, nonpeptidic Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase inhibitor extracted from bovine hypothalamus. With this test system, Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase inhibition produced by a single dose of 0.1 U (congruent to 75 fmol) of the hypothalamic inhibitory factor (HIF) as well as the membrane permeation of a single unit (approximately equal to 750 fmol) became measurable, and an estimation of the minimal number of HIF molecules per unit could be made. By a molecular mechanism involving positive cooperativity, HIF potently and completely blocked active 86Rb+ transport catalyzed by the right-side-out-oriented pump population, with an average 50% inhibitory concentration of 3.5 x 10(-8) M, indicating a roughly 30-fold higher apparent affinity than ouabain. By studying inhibition of the inside-out-oriented pump population, comparison of the membrane permeability of HIF to that of various cardiac glycosides of known hydrophobicity further indicated that HIF is not entirely ouabain-like as HIF penetrates the liposomal membrane, whereas ouabain does not. Besides the cardiac glycosides, HIF is the only compound tested thus far in the purified system that displays such striking transport inhibition. Other known or proposed endogenous Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase inhibitors, including unsaturated fatty acids, palytoxin, dehydroepiandrosterone, and vanadate, produce only partial transport inhibition even at high concentration.

Sodium transport defect of ouabain-resistant renal Na,K-ATPase.

The murine renal Na,K-ATPase is resistant to cardiac glycosides. It is not yet known however whether altered active transport is associated with the drug-resistance. To investigate this problem Na,K-ATPases were purified from the outer medulla of both rat and rabbit kidneys and reconstituted identically into liposomes. The Na-stimulation of the Na,K-ATPase activity before reconstitution and of the Na-transport after reconstitution was measured. A Na-defect inherent in the ouabain-resistant rat Na,K-ATPase was discovered indicating a link between the cardiac glycoside sensitivity and the Na-transport.

Characterization of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase-liposomes. III. Controlled activation and inhibition of symmetric pumps by timed asymmetric ATP, RbCl, and cardiac glycoside addition.

Inside-out as well as right-side-out oriented (Na+ + K+)-ATPase molecules reconstituted in liposomes are activated successively by timed asymmetric addition of ATP to the internal and external liposome compartment; this presents the first functional confirmation of the symmetric pump-orientation in cholate-dialysed preparations revealed previously by the equal distribution of intramembrane particles on the concave and convex surface of freeze-fractured (Na+ + K+)-ATPase-liposomes. The initial transport rates of the symmetrically oriented pump populations are regulated by varying the bilateral K or Rb ion concentrations; ATP, ouabain, digoxin or vanadate are used to activate or block selectively the right-side-out, inside-out or both (Na+ + K+)-ATPase populations. Finally, these liposomes of the second generation present a new tool to evaluate the membrane-permeability as well as the effects of receptor-ligands or other probes in a single preparation.

Right-side-out pumping Na,K-ATPase-liposomes: a new tool to study the enzyme's receptor function.

The technology to prepare right-side-out pumping Na,K-ATPase-liposomes is described. The 50% right-side-out oriented pumps of ATP-containing liposomes are then activated by the addition of external Rb ions, leading to a ouabain-sensitive Rb-influx which is the mirror-image of the inside-out transport. The resulting internal Rb concentration is 4 to 10 fold larger than the external concentration. Finally, the accumulated Rb ions can be extruded by driving the 50% inside-out oriented pumps by external ATP.

Preparation of Na,K-ATPase-containing liposomes with predictable transport properties by a procedure relating the Na,K-transport capacity to the ATPase activity.

A microprocedure for the preparation of Na,K-ATPase-containing liposomes with a minimal starting material (200 microgram) of purified Na,K-ATPase is presented. Phosphatidylcholine is added gradually to cholate-solubilized Na,K-ATPase of various concentrations and the lipid-induced decrease in enzyme activity is monitored. After removal of the detergent by dialysis, the transport parameters of the resulting Na,K-ATPase-liposomes are established by a microassay. By relating the transport properties to the Na,K-ATPase activity preset before dialysis, a procedure is developed which allows to prepare standardized Na,K-ATPase-liposomes with predictable transport properties.