The vacuolar (H+)-ATPases--nature's most versatile proton pumps.
The pH of intracellular compartments in eukaryotic cells is a carefully controlled parameter that affects many cellular processes, including intracellular membrane transport, prohormone processing and transport of neurotransmitters, as well as the entry of many viruses into cells. The transporters responsible for controlling this crucial parameter in many intracellular compartments are the vacuolar (H+)-ATPases (V-ATPases). Recent advances in our understanding of the structure and regulation of the V-ATPases, together with the mapping of human genetic defects to genes that encode V-ATPase subunits, have led to tremendous excitement in this field.
Nishi
Tsuyoshi
T
Department of Physiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Forgac
Michael
M
D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008954:Models, Biological; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D021122:Protein Subunits; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D025262:Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D021122:Protein Subunits; D025262:Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases