The reaction mechanism of the Na,K-ATPase is thought to involve a number of ligand-induced conformational changes. The specific amino acid residues responsible for binding many of the important ligands have been identified; however, details of the specific conformational changes produced by ligand binding are largely undescribed. The experiments described in this paper begin to identify interactions between domains of the Na,K-ATPase ␣-subunit that depend on the presence of particular ligands. The major cytoplasmic loop (between TM4 and TM5), which we have previously shown contains the ATP-binding domain, was overexpressed in bacteria either with a His 6 tag or as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase. We have observed that these polypeptides associate in the presence of MgATP.
Incubation with [␥-32 P]ATP under conditions that result in phosphorylation of the full-length Na,K-ATPase did not result in 32 P incorporation into either the His 6 tag or glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. The MgATPinduced association was strongly inhibited by prior modification of the fusion proteins with fluorescein isothiocyanate or by simultaneous incubation with 10 M eosin, indicating that the effect of MgATP is due to interactions within the nucleotide-binding domain. These data are consistent with Na,K-ATPase associating within cells via interactions in the nucleotide-binding domains. Although any functional significance of these associations for ion transport remains unresolved, they may play a role in cell function and in modulating interactions between the Na,K-ATPase and other proteins.