[3H]ouabain binding to cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells

The number of Na+ pump units (Bmax) and the equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) for ouabain as well as parameters of K+ binding to the Na+ pump were examined in in vitro-grown vascular smooth muscle cells ( VSMC ) derived from Sprague-Dawley rats. The technique to measure these variables utilizes analyses of [3H]ouabain displacement from its VSMC receptors by nonlabeled ouabain and K+. The mean values for Bmax and Kd in the cultured VSMCs were 1.95 X 10(5) receptor sites per single VSMC and 2.68 X 10(-6) M, respectively. The equilibrium dissociation constant for K+ (Ki) was 0.92 mM. K+ binding to the cultured VSMCs demonstrated positive cooperativity with a Hill coefficient (n) of 1.78.