Immunochemical evidence that the FITC-labeling site on Na+,K+-ATPase is not the ATP binding site

The covalent labeling of the alpha subunit of lamb kidney Na+,K+-ATPase by fluorescein 5'-isothiocyanate at Lys-501 has generally been assumed to occur at the ATP binding site. We have found that the peptide sequence 496HLLVMKGAPER506 serves as the antigenic determinant for monoclonal antibody M8-P1-A3. This antibody binds to both native and FITC-labeled enzyme and while this epitope undergoes ligand-induced changes these changes are not involved in either enzyme function or the E1 in equilibrium E2 conformational changes monitored by FITC-fluorescence intensity.