Cobalt ion inhibits the Ca2+ + Mg2 +-ATPase activity of sealed sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles, of solubilized membranes and of the purified enzyme. To use Co2+ appropriately as a spectroscopic ruler to map functional sites of the Ca2+ + Mg2+-ATPase, we have carried out studies to obtain the kinetic parameters needed to define the experimental conditions to conduct the fluorimetric studies.1. The apparent Ko.5 values of inhibition of this ATPase are 1.4 mM, 4.8 mM and 9.5 mM total Co2+ at pH 8.0, 7.0 and 6.0, respectively. The inhibition by Co2+ is likely to be due to free Co2+ binding to the enzyme. Millimolar Ca2 from which we obtain a distance of 1.1 -1.9 nm between Co2+ and fluorescein located at neighbouring catalytic sites.
Co2+. ATP can be used as a substrate by this enzyme with V,,, of 2.4 f 0.2 pmol ATP hydrolyzed min-
Co2+ partially quenches, about 10The sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ + Mg2 +-ATPase uses Mg2+ . ATP as its physiological substrate and couples ATP hydrolysis to the active transport of Ca" across this membrane [l]. Binding of two Ca2+ ions to high-affinity binding sites/ATPase molecule is step that precedes Ca2+ transport to the luminal space of sarcoplasmic reticulum [l, 21. To understand better the Ca2+ transport process coupled to ATP hydrolysis requires complementary experimental information obtained by using kinetic and structural studies of this enzyme. In this regard, the location of Ca2+ and ATP binding sites relative to each other is an important issue; there is a large range of values for the distance between these sites on ATPase reported by different groups of investigators, i. e. 1 -6 nm [3 -71. Forster energy transfer between different donor/acceptor pairs of fluorescent targets selectively bound to these sites has been used to obtain these estimations. On the other hand, Xray diffraction studies [8, 91 and image processing of electron microscopy data [lo, 111 have provided evidence for an overall shape of an ATPase unit protruding about 4.0 -6.0 nm from the lipid/water interface and having a cross-sectional diameter of the cytosolic lobule of approximately 8.0-9.0 nm in its dimeric form, which is probably the predominant state in