2-Aminoperimidine, a specific inhibitor of bacterial NhaA Na(+)/H(+) antiporters.

The diuretic drug amiloride and its numerous derivatives are competitive inhibitors of mammalian Na(+)/H(+) antiporters and other eukaryotic antiporters. Most prokaryotic antiporters, including the major NhaA family of enterobacteria, are resistant to these compounds. We show that 2-aminoperimidine (AP), a guanidine-containing naphthalene derivative with some similarity to amiloride, acts as a specific inhibitor of NhaA from Escherichia coli.

Cloning, functional expression in Escherichia coli and primary characterization of a new Na+/H+ antiporter, NhaD, of Vibrio cholerae.

Vibrio cholerae is the infectious agent of the deadly diarrheal disease, cholera. Na+ ion homeostasis is believed to play a key role in both physiology and pathogenicity of this bacterium. However, molecular mechanisms of sodium exchange in V.