Quaternary organic amines inhibit Na,K pump current in a voltage-dependent manner: direct evidence of an extracellular access channel in the Na,K-ATPase.
The effects of organic quaternary amines, tetraethylammonium (TEA) chloride and benzyltriethylammonium (BTEA) chloride, on Na,K pump current were examined in rat cardiac myocytes superfused in extracellular Na(+)-free solutions and whole-cell voltage-clamped with patch electrodes containing a high Na(+)-salt solution. Extracellular application of these quaternary amines competitively inhibited extracellular K(+) (K(+)(o)) activation of Na,K pump current; however, the concentration for half maximal inhibition of Na,K pump current at 0 mV (K(0)(Q)) by BTEA, 4.0 +/- 0.3 mM, was much lower than the K(0)(Q) for TEA, 26.6 +/- 0.7 mM. Even so, the fraction of the membrane electric field dissipated during K(+)(o) activation of Na,K pump current (lambda(K)), 39 +/- 1%, was similar to lambda(K) determined in the presence of TEA (37 +/- 2%) and BTEA (35 +/- 2%), an indication that the membrane potential (V(M)) dependence for K(+)(o) activation of the Na,K pump current was unaffected by TEA and BTEA. TEA was found to inhibit the Na,K pump current in a V(M)-independent manner, i.e., inhibition of current dissipated 4 +/- 2% of the membrane electric field. In contrast, BTEA dissipated 40 +/- 5% of the membrane electric field during inhibition of Na,K pump current. Thus, BTEA inhibition of the Na,K-ATPase is V(M)-dependent. The competitive nature of inhibition as well as the similar fractions of the membrane electric field dissipated during K(+)(o)-dependent activation and BTEA-dependent inhibition of Na,K pump current suggest that BTEA inhibits the Na,K-ATPase at or very near the enzyme's K(+)(o) binding site(s) located in the membrane electric field. Given previous findings that organic quaternary amines are not occluded by the Na,K-ATPase, these data clearly demonstrate that an ion channel-like structure provides access to K(+)(o) binding sites in the enzyme.
Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 185 S. Orange Avenue. P.O. Box 1709, Newark, NJ 07101-1709, USA.
R Daniel
RD
Peluffo
Yukio
Y
Hara
Joshua R
JR
Berlin
D000818:Animals; D001679:Biogenic Amines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D045604:Extracellular Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000201:enzymology; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019789:Tetraethylammonium / Q000737:chemistry*
D001679:Biogenic Amines; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C000168:benzyltrimethylammonium; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase