title: Effect of potassium ions and membrane potential on the Na-Ca-K exchanger in isolated intact bovine rod outer segments.
abstract: Two recent studies reported that Na-Ca exchange in the outer segments of tiger salamander rod photoreceptors (Cervetto, L., Lagnado, L., Perry, R. J., Robinson, D. W., and McNaughton, P. A. (1989) Nature 337, 740-743) and of bovine rod photoreceptors (Schnetkamp, P. P. M., Basu, D. K., and Szerencsei, R. T. (1989) Am. J. Physiol. 257, C153-157) requires and transports K+ in a 4Na/(1Ca+1K) stoichiometry. In this study, we have examined the effects of K+ ions and membrane potential on the kinetics of Na-Ca and Ca-Ca exchange in rod outer segments isolated from bovine retinas. The objective was to establish the ion selectivity and voltage dependence of the different cation binding sites on the Na-Ca-K exchange protein. Potassium ions activated Na-Ca exchange when present on the Ca2+ side, although the extent of activation decreased with decreasing Na+ concentration. Potassium ions inhibited Na-Ca exchange when present on the Na+ side; inhibition arose from competition between Na+ and K+ for a common single cation-binding site. Activation of Na-Ca exchange by K+ displayed a different ion selectivity than that observed for inhibition of Na-Ca exchange by K+. The results are interpreted in terms of a three-site model for the rod Na-Ca-K exchanger. The rate of forward Na-Ca exchange decreased by 1.75-fold for a 60 mV depolarization of the plasma membrane but only at lower Na+ concentrations. The rate of Ca-Ca exchange was not affected by changes in membrane potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Schnetkamp
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Szerencsei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D007700:Kinetics; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium; D002118:Calcium