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Abstract

The activity of membrane proteins such as Na,K-ATPase depends strongly on the surrounding lipid environment. Interactions can be annular, depending on the physical properties of the membrane, or specific with lipids bound in pockets between transmembrane domains. This paper describes three specific lipid-protein interactions using purified recombinant Na,K-ATPase. (a) Thermal stability of the Na,K-ATPase depends crucially on a specific interaction with 18:0/18:1 phosphatidylserine (1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine; SOPS) and cholesterol, which strongly amplifies stabilization. We show here that cholesterol associates with SOPS, FXYD1, and the α subunit between trans-membrane segments αTM8 and -10 to stabilize the protein. (b) Polyunsaturated neutral lipids stimulate Na,K-ATPase turnover by >60%. A screen of the lipid specificity showed that 18:0/20:4 and 18:0/22:6 phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) are the optimal phospholipids for this effect. (c) Saturated phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, but not saturated phosphatidylserine or PE, inhibit Na,K-ATPase activity by 70-80%. This effect depends strongly on the presence of cholesterol. Analysis of the Na,K-ATPase activity and E1-E2 conformational transitions reveals the kinetic mechanisms of these effects. Both stimulatory and inhibitory lipids poise the conformational equilibrium toward E2, but their detailed mechanisms of action are different. PE accelerates the rate of E1 → E2P but does not affect E2(2K)ATP → E13NaATP, whereas sphingomyelin inhibits the rate of E2(2K)ATP → E13NaATP, with very little effect on E1 → E2P. We discuss these lipid effects in relation to recent crystal structures of Na,K-ATPase and propose that there are three separate sites for the specific lipid interactions, with potential physiological roles to regulate activity and stability of the pump.