A high-affinity, calmodulin-sensitive (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase and associated calcium-transport pump in the Ehrlich...

A unique cytoplast preparation from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (G. V. Henius, P. C. Laris, and J. D. Woodburn (1979) Exp. Cell. Res. 121, 337-345), highly enriched in plasma membranes, was employed to characterize the high-affinity plasma membrane calcium-extrusion pump and its associated adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase). An ATP-dependent calcium-transport system which had a high affinity for free calcium (K0.5 = 0.040 +/- 0.005 microM) was identified. Two different calcium-stimulated ATPase activities were detected. One had a low (K0.5 = 136 +/- 10 microM) and the other a high (K0.5 = 0.103 +/- 0.077 microM) affinity for free calcium. The high-affinity enzyme appeared to represent the ubiquitous high-affinity plasma membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase (calcium-stimulated, magnesium-dependent ATPase) seen in normal cells. Both calcium transport and the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase were significantly stimulated by the calcium-dependent regulatory protein calmodulin, especially when endogenous activator was removed by treatment with the calcium chelator ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N'-tetraacetic acid. Other similarities between calcium transport and the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase included an insensitivity to ouabain (0.5 mM), lack of activation by potassium (20 mM), and a requirement for magnesium. These similar properties suggested that the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase represents the enzymatic basis of the high-affinity calcium pump. The calcium pump/enzyme system was inhibited by orthovanadate at comparatively high concentrations (calcium transport: K0.5 congruent to 100 microM; (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase: K0.5 greater than 100 microM). Upon Hill analysis, the tumor cell (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase failed to exhibit cooperative activation by calcium which is characteristic of the analogous enzyme in the plasma membrane of normal cells.