Characterization of an ATP-driven H⁺ pump in human placental brush-border membrane vesicles

The presence of an ATP-driven H+ pump as measured by H+ uptake upon addition of ATP was not demonstrable in human placental brush-border membrane vesicles when used in their native form, owing to their right-side-out orientation. However, the presence of the H+ pump in these membranes became evident when the membrane vesicles were transiently exposed to 1% cholate, with subsequent removal of the detergent to re-form the vesicles. Apparently, cholate pretreatment reoriented the H+ pump from an inward-facing configuration to outward-facing. Consequently, H+ uptake in response to externally added ATP was easily demonstrable in these cholate-pretreated vesicles by using the delta pH indicator Acridine Orange. In addition, bafilomycin A1-sensitive ATPase activity was measurable in cholate-pretreated vesicles, but not in native intact vesicles, indicating reorientation of the H+ pump. The reoriented H+ pump was electrogenic because H+ uptake was stimulated by an inside-negative anion-diffusion potential or when the vesicles were voltage-clamped. ATP supported H+ uptake with an apparent Km of 260 microM. ITP and GTP supported the pump activity partially, whereas CTP and UTP did not. Mg2+ and Mn2+ were the most preferred bivalent cations. Co2+ and Zn2+ showed partial activity, whereas Ca2+ and Ba2+ showed little or no activity. The pump was inhibited by nanomolar concentrations of bafilomycin A1 and micromolar concentrations of N-ethylmaleimide, p-chloromercuribenzenesulphonate, NN-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide and 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, but was relatively insensitive to oligomycin, vanadate and NaN3. The inhibition by N-ethylmaleimide was protectable by ATP. It is concluded that human placental brush-border membranes possess an ATP-driven H+ pump and that, on the basis of its characteristics, it belongs to the class of vacuolar (V-type) H+ pumps.