Edited by Norma Allewell
The vacuolar His a large multisubunit enzyme complex found in the endomembrane system of all eukaryotic cells, where it acidifies the lumen of subcellular organelles, including lysosomes, endosomes, the Golgi apparatus, and clathrin-coated vesicles (1-4). V-ATPase function is essential for pH and ion homeostasis (2), protein trafficking, endocytosis, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) (5, 6), and Notch (7) signaling as well as hormone secretion (8) and neurotransmitter release (9). In animals, V-ATPase can also be found in the plasma membrane of polarized cells, where its proton pumping function is involved in bone remodeling, urine acidification, and sperm maturation (1). The essential nature of eukaryotic V-ATPase is highlighted by the fact that complete loss of V-ATPase activity in animals is embryonic lethal (10). On the other hand, partial loss of enzyme function (or hyperactivity) has been associated with numerous widespread human diseases, including, but not limited to, renal tubular acidosis (11), osteoporosis (12), neurodegeneration (13), male infertility (14), deafness (15), diabetes (8), and cancer (16). Furthermore, V-ATPase is targeted by pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Legionella pneumophila (17, 18) to facilitate pathogen entry and survival. Because of its essential nature and key role in so many human diseases, VATPase has been identified as a potential drug target (19 -21).V-ATPase can be divided into a soluble catalytic sector, V 1 , and a membrane-integral proton channel sector, V o (Fig. 1). In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, V 1 is composed of eight different polypeptides, AB(C)DEFGH, that are arranged in an A 3 B 3 catalytic hexamer with a central stalk made of DF and three peripheral stators (EG heterodimers), one of which binds the single-copy H subunit. The ϳ320-kDa V o contains subunits acc'c''de, which are organized in a membrane-integral "proteolipid" ring (c 8 c'c' ' (22, 23)), a membrane-bound subunit a with an integral C-terminal domain (a CT ) that is bound at the periphery of the proteolipid ring, and an N-terminal cytoplasmic domain (a NT ) that is bound to subunit d (Fig. 1). The stoichiometry, location, and function of subunit e are not known. Eukaryotic V-ATPase belongs to the family of energy-transducing rotary motor ion pumps that also includes F 1 F o -ATP synthase, archaeal A-ATPase, and bacterial A/V-like ATPase (24,25). In V-ATPase, ATP hydrolysis at three catalytic sites in the A 3 B 3 hexamer is coupled to proton translocation via rotation of V 1 subunits DF that are connected to the subunit d-proteolipid ring subcomplex of V o . Proton translocation is through two aqueous half-channels at the interface of a CT and the prote-* This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant GM058600 (to S. W.). The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Na...