Energy coupling to sodium transport in frog skeletal muscle

In addition to a strophanthidin-sensitive (SS) sodium efflux, a large component of the sodium efflux in freshly isolated frog skeletal muscle is sodium-activated and strophanthidin-insensitive (SASI). The amount of metabolic energy associated with sodium movement by each of these components was measured and the coupling between sodium movement and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis in muscle was calculated. Energy production was blocked by iodoacetate and cyanide. Energy turnover was estimated from the change in creatine phosphate (CrP) and ATP contents and expressed as potential energy (PE = CrP + 2ATP). After metabolic poisoning a linear fall of PE occurred (6.3 mumol/g.h). Metabolic poisoning had no effect on the magnitude of the SS or SASI components of sodium efflux. In 2 h the sodium moved, and PE change due to the SS component was 4.35 and 1.66 mumol/g.h, respectively, which gave a coupling factor of 2.6. The amount of sodium moved by the SASI component was similar to that moved by the SS component in 2 h whereas no energy change was observed. It was, therefore, concluded that sodium movement by the SASI component requires no energy input.