Abstract
1. Co2+ ions can replace Mg2+ ions as co-factors for the Na+-K+ pump purified from dog kidney outer medulla. The evidence comes from (a) measurement of ouabain-sensitive Na+,K+-ATPase activity, (b) measurement of ATP-dependent 22Na uptake catalysed by the Na+-K+ pump reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles, (c) measurements of phosphorylation of the Na+-K+ pump either in the presence of ATP and sodium ions or in the presence of inorganic phosphate, and (d) measurement of occlusion of rubidium ions through the route involving phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. 2. Purified Na+,K+-ATPase incubated in the presence of ATP, Na+ ions and [60Co]CoCl2, can carry occluded Co2+ ions through a cation-exchange resin. The enzyme fails to occlude the divalent cation (i) if ADP replaces ATP, (ii) if the enzyme is heat-inactivated, (iii) if the enzyme is inactivated by treatment with fluorescein isothiocyanate, (iv) if K+ replaces Na+ in the incubation medium, (v) if Na+ ions are omitted, and (vi) if Mg2+ ions are added in a sufficient concentration. 3. The amount of occluded Co2+ ions is unaffected by pre-treatment of the Na+,K+-ATPase with oligomycin, which stabilizes the phosphoenzyme in the E1P form. 4. The addition of K+ ions to Na+,K+-ATPase that has been phosphorylated in the presence of ATP, Na+ ions and [60Co]CoCl2 releases the occluded Co2+ ions from the enzyme. Under those conditions, K+ ions accelerate the hydrolysis of the phosphoenzyme, and become occluded in the resulting dephosphoenzyme. 5. The stoichiometry of Co2+ ion occlusion is about one occluded Co2+ ion per phosphorylation site. 6. These results support the hypothesis that, in the normal working of the Na+-K+ pump, Mg2+ ions are trapped in the phosphorylated forms of the enzyme, and are released by a K+-dependent dephosphorylation reaction.