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Abstract:
The aim of this study was to provide further evidence for the existence of a nonmitochondrial bicarbonate-stimulated Mg2+-ATPase in brush border membranes derived from rat kidney cortex. A plasma membrane fraction rich in brush border microvilli and a mitochondrial fraction were isolated by differential centrifugation. Both fractions contain a Mg2+-ATPase activity which can be stimulated by bicarbonate. The two Mg2+-ATPases are stimulated likewise by chloride, bicarbonate, and sulfite or inhibited by oligomycin and aurovertin, though to different degrees. In contrast to these similarities, only the Mg2+-ATPase activity of the mitochondrial fraction is inhibited by atractyloside, a substance which blocks an adenine nucleotide translocator in the inner mitochondrial membrane. On the other hand, filipin, an antibiotic that complexes with cholesterol in the membranes inhibits exclusively the Mg2+-ATPase of the cholesterol-rich brush border membranes. Furthermore it could be demonstrated by the use of bromotetramisole, an inhibitor of alkaline phosphatase activity, that the Mg2+-ATPase activity in the membrane fraction is not due to the presence of the highly active alkaline phosphatase in these membranes. These results support the assumption that an intrinsic bicarbonate-stimulated Mg2+-ATPase is present in rat kidney brush border membranes.
