A prominent feature of the Na,K-ATPase reaction is an ATP dependence that suggests high-and lowaffinity ATP requirements during the enzymic cycle. As only one ATP-binding domain has been identified in the a subunit and none has been identified in the (3 subunit, it has seemed likely that the apparent negative cooperativity results from subunit interactions in an (aP32 diprotomer. To test this possibility, we have examined the behavior of solubilized ap3 protomers of Na,K-ATPase down to 50 nM [y32P]ATP. Active-enzyme analytical ultracentrifugation shows that the protomer is the active species and that no oligomerization occurs during turnover. However, we find that dual ATP effects can be clearly demonstrated and that nonhydrolyzable ATP analogs can stimulate the Na,K-ATPase activity of the soluble protomer. We conclude that the apparent negative cooperativity is inherent to the ap protomer and that this should explain some of the complexities found with membrane-bound Na,KATPase and, perhaps, other P-type cation pumps.The sodium pump or Na,K-ATPase is the integral membrane enzyme that mediates the active transport of Na+ and K+ in animal cells (1). The ATP dependence of the Na,K-ATPase activity and the Na-K exchange catalyzed by the enzyme show signs of apparent negative cooperativity. LineweaverBurk plots, for instance, present a downward break (2). The high-affinity component seems to reflect the requirement of the phosphorylation step and the low-affinity effect parallels a noncatalytic acceleration of the release of occluded K+. In fact, adenosine 5'-[f3,'y-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppA), a nonphosphorylating ATP analog, can stimulate the Na,KATPase activity ofthe membrane-bound sodium pump at low ATP (3).The enzyme consists of two subunits: the a or catalytic chain, which in pig kidney has a sequence-derived molecular weight of 112,235, and the /8 chain, a glycoprotein with a protein molecular weight of 34,958 (4). By using affinity probes, one ATP binding domain has been mapped so far in the a subunit (5) and most binding studies return not more than one ATP site per a/3 protomer (1, 6, 7). In contrast, there are a number of features (6,(8)(9)(10) that strongly suggest that the sodium pump in the membrane is an oligomer of a/3 protomers, with interactions among substrate sites. For instance, Scatchard isotherms for ATP binding to the purified membrane-bound pump are curvilinear (9) but become straight lines (10) upon enzyme solubilization to defined a/3 protomers (11, 12) with dodecyloctaethyleneglycol monoether (C12E8), a nonionic detergent. Some experiments have suggested that there should be dual ATP effects not only on the oligomers but also on the protomer (3) and apparently conflicted with the single-site binding results (10). We decided, therefore, to make a careful inspection of nucleotide effects on the soluble protomer during turnover.The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordanc...