Na+/H+ antiporter in membrane populations resolved from a renal brush border vesicle preparation

A conventional brush border membrane preparation, obtained by divalent cation precipitation of homogenates of rabbit renal cortex, was analyzed by countercurrent distribution in an aqueous dextran:polyethylene glycol two-phase system. The resulting fractions were assayed for the presence of the Na+/H+ antiporter and for a variety of biochemical marker enzymes. This analysis revealed four physically distinct membrane populations (A-D). Population A consisted of two subpopulations, A' and A", which were enriched an average of 49-fold in maltase; they were also highly enriched in alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, and Na+/H+ antiporter. On the basis of their marker contents, populations A' and A" appear to represent highly purified, functional brush border membrane vesicles. Population B was enriched twofold in NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and population C was enriched 12-fold in galactosyltransferase. Populations B and C accounted for 25% of the protein in the starting material and appear to reflect contamination of the brush border membrane preparation by subpopulations of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fragments. Population D was enriched in Na+/H+ antiporter, alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, Na-K-ATPase, and acid phosphatase but not maltase, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, galactosyltransferase, or succinate dehydrogenase. Its identity is unclear, and it might consist of a multiplicity of populations from different origins.