Sodium-sodium exchange through the sodium pump: the roles of ATP and ADP

1. We have developed a procedure for preparing resealed red cell ghosts that contain ADP but very little ATP. 2. The procedure involves (i) lysis of the cells in a very large volume of lysing solution, (ii) resuspension of the ghosts in a small volume, (iii) the incorporation into the ghosts, before they are resealed, of the adenylate kinase inhibitor P1,P5-di(adenosine-5'-)pentaphosphate (AP5A) and of hexokinase, and (iv) the removal of traces of ATP, formed by residual adenylate kinase activity, by the addition of glucose. 3. Measurements of sodium efflux from ghosts prepared in this way show that sodium-sodium exchange through the sodium pump does not occur in the absence of ATP even if ADP is present. 4. The beta:gamma imido analogue of ATP (AMP.PNP), which is incapable of phosphorylating sodium, potassium-ATPase, cannot replace ATP in supporting sodium-sodium exchange. 5. These findings support the hypothesis that the outward movement of sodium ions through the sodium pump is associated with the transfer of a phosphoryl group from ATP to the enzyme, and that the inward movement of sodium ions through the pump is associated with the return of a phosphoryl group from the phosphoenzyme to ADP.