SUMMARY1. We have studied activation by Na or Rb ions of different transport modes of the Na-K pump, using phospholipid vesicles reconstituted with pig kidney Na-K-ATPase. The shape of the activation curves, sigmoid or quasi-hyperbolic, depends on the nature of the cation at the opposite surface and not on the specific mode of transport.2. ATP-dependent Na uptake into K-containing vesicles (Na-K exchange) is activated by cytoplasmic Na along a highly sigmoid curve Jn the absence of extracellular Na (Hill number, nH = 1P9). Activation displays progressively lesssigmoid curves as extracellular Na is raised to 150 mm (nH = 1-2). The maximal rate of the Na-K exchange is not affected.3. Na is not transported from the extracellular face by the pump in the presence of excess extracellular K, and the transmembrane effects of the extracellular Na are therefore 'allosteric' in nature.4. ATP-dependent Na-Na exchange (Lee & Blostein, 1980) and classical ATPplus-ADP-dependent Na-Na exchange are activated by cytoplasmic Na along hyperbolic curves. ATP-dependent Na uptake into Tris-containing vesicles is activated by cytoplasmic Na along a somewhat sigmoidal curve. affect the maximal rate of exchange. 6. Slow passive Rb fluxes through the pump observed in the absence of other pump ligands (see Karlish & Stein, 1982a) are activated by cytoplasmic Rb along a strictly hyperbolic curve with extracellular Rb, nH = 1I0 (Rb-Rb exchange), along a strongly sigmoid curve with extracellular Na, nH = 15 (Rb-Na exchange), and along lesssigmoid curves with extracellular Tris, nH = 1-24 (net Rb flux) or extracellular Li, nH = 1-2 (Rb-Li exchange). Activation of the passive Rb fluxes by extracellular Rb is hyperbolic in the presence of cytoplasmic Rb, Li or Tris but is sigmoid in the presence of cytoplasmic Na (nH = 1-36).
S. J. D. KARLISH AND W. D. STEIN7. Inhibition by cytoplasmic Na of passive Rb fluxes from the cytoplasmic to the extracellular face of the pump depends on the nature of the cation at the extracellular surface. In the presence of extracellular Na, cytoplasmic Na is a good inhibitor (half-maximal concentration, Ko.5 -0 5 mM). In the presence of extracellular Rb, K, Cs or NH4, cytoplasmic Na is a poor inhibitor (Ko.5 -10-20 mM), and an intermediate situation pertains with extracellular Tris or Li. Inhibition by extracellular Na of the passive Rb flux from the extracellular to cytoplasmic surface of the pump also depends on the nature of the cation at the cytoplasmic surface. Only with cytoplasmic Na is significant inhibition by extracellular Na observed (Ko.5 -5 mm).8. A kinetic analysis ofping-pong schemes for active Na-K exchange and for Rb-Rb exchange, in which more than one cation must be bound per cycle before transport occurs, shows that neither the conventionally used kinetic equation V = Vmax (S/(S+K))n nor the Hill equation V= VmaxSn/(Sn+K) should fit the data rigorously over wide ranges of substrate concentrations. The experimental data for cytoplasmic Na activation of Na-K exchange conform with this expectation.9. T...