Importance for absorption of Na+ from freshwater of lysine, valine and serine substitutions in the alpha1a-isoform of Na,K-ATPase in the gills of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

In the gills of rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon, the alpha1a- and alpha1b-isoforms of Na,K-ATPase are expressed reciprocally during salt acclimation. The alpha1a-isoform is important for Na(+) uptake in freshwater, but the molecular basis for the functional differences between the two isoforms is not known. Here, three amino acid substitutions are identified in transmembrane segment 5 (TM5), TM8 and TM9 of the alpha1a-isoform compared to the alpha1b-isoform, and the functional consequences are examined by mutagenesis and molecular modeling on the crystal structures of Ca-ATPase or porcine kidney Na,K-ATPase. In TM5 of the alpha1a-isoform, a lysine substitution, Asn783 --> Lys, inserts the epsilon-amino group in cation site 1 in the E(1) form to reduce the Na(+)/ATP ratio. In the E(2) form the epsilon-amino group approaches cation site 2 to force ejection of Na(+) to the blood phase and to interfere with binding of K(+). In TM8, a Asp933 --> Val substitution further reduces K(+) binding, while a Glu961 --> Ser substitution in TM9 can prevent interaction of FXYD peptides with TM9 and alter Na(+) or K(+) affinities. Together, the three substitutions in the alpha1a-isoform of Na,K-ATPase act to promote binding of Na(+) over K(+) from the cytoplasm, to reduce the Na(+)/ATP ratio and the work done in one Na,K pump cycle of active Na(+) transport against the steep gradient from freshwater (10-100 microM: Na(+)) to blood (160 mM: Na(+)) and to inhibit binding of K(+) to allow Na(+)/H(+) rather than Na(+)/K(+) exchange.

Regulation and function of lysine-substituted Na,K pumps in salt adaptation of Artemia franciscana.

The brine shrimp Artemia thrives at extreme conditions of up to 300 g/l salt in hypersaline lakes, but the molecular aspects of this salt adaptation are not clarified. To examine the influence of salt on the expression of two isoforms of Na,K-ATPase, adult Artemia franciscana were cultured for 39 days with the microalga Dunaliella salina as fodder at increasing salt from 30 to 280 g/l. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that the abundance of mRNA of the lysine-substituted alpha(2)(KK)-subunit was very low at 30 g/l salt but rose steeply in the range of 70-200 g/l to a level at 200-280 g/l salt, similar to the abundance of the mRNA of the alpha(1)(NN)-subunit, which was insignificantly affected by increasing salt. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that Asn324Lys and Asn776Lys in the alpha(1)-subunit of pig kidney Na,K-ATPase reduced the stoichiometry of (204)Tl binding from 2 to about 1 Tl(+)(K(+)) per alpha-subunit and Na(+)-dependent phosphorylation from ATP to 25-30%. In structure models, the epsilon-amino group of Lys776 is located at cation site 1 in the E(1)P form and near cation site 2 in the E(2) conformation, while the side chain of Lys324 points away from the cation sites. Salt-induced expression of the alpha(2)(KK)-subunit Na,K-ATPase in A. franciscana may reduce the Na(+)/ATP ratio and enable the Na,K pump to extrude Na(+) against steeper gradients and, thus, contribute to salt adaptation.

Importance of Na,K-ATPase residue alpha 1-Arg544 in the segment Arg544-Asp567 for high-affinity binding of ATP, ADP, or MgATP.

To identify residues involved in ATP binding in the N-domain of the alpha1-subunit of Na,K-ATPase, mutations were directed to the segment Arg(544)-Asp(567), a beta-strand-loop-helix structure with Arg(544) positioned at the mouth of the ATP-binding pocket near the interface to the P-domain. Substitution of Arg(544) with Gln abolished high-affinity binding of free ATP, while substitution with lysine reduced ADP affinity with minor effects on ATP binding. The contribution of Arg(544) to the change in free energy of ATP binding was estimated to 6.9 kJ/mol (DeltaDeltaG(b)) from double mutations with Asp(369) and to 7.8 kJ/mol from the MgATP dependence of phosphorylation. The phosphorylation data show that binding of Mg(2+) may increase the apparent affinity of wild-type enzyme for ATP [K(1/2)(ATP) 12 nM]. Moderately reduced affinities for ATP were seen after mutations of Asp(555), Glu(556), Asp(565), or Asp(567) with DeltaDeltaG(b) approximately equals 0.5-3 kJ/mol. Mutations of Cys(549) did not affect ATP binding. In conclusion, Arg(544) is important for binding of ATP or ADP, probably by stabilizing the beta- or gamma-phosphate moieties and aligning the gamma-phosphate for interaction with the carboxylate group of Asp(369).