Rethinking the P-type ATPase problem.

There are very good reasons to stop thinking about the molecular mechanism of the P-type ion-translocating ATPases in terms of the traditional E1E2 model and to start thinking about it in more progressive ways. This makes it possible to see the ion-transport cycle as a rational series of discrete steps with well defined driving forces, including the crucial energy transduction step, where the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis is exchanged for the osmotic energy of an ion gradient. Importantly, although major enzyme conformational changes accompany each of these steps, none of them drive the energy coupling reaction.

Why we must move on from the E1E2 model for the reaction cycle of the P-type ATPases.

Recent progress regarding the structure of the Ca(2+)-translocating ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum in several conformational states, and a substantial accumulation of biochemical information about this and other P-type ATPases, have put everything in place for the final convergence of biochemistry and structure that will lead to a complete understanding of the molecular mechanism of these membrane transport enzymes. But the common paradigm used to describe the reaction cycle of the P-type ATPases, the E1E2 model, is seriously flawed, and this is hindering our progress toward this goal. In this paper, it is first shown why the E1E2 model must be discarded.

Molecular mechanism of the P-type ATPases.

The recent determination of the structure of the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum to atomic resolution in the Ca2+-bound state and to near atomic resolution in the Ca2+-free, decavanadate-bound state has paved the way for an ultimate complete understanding of the molecular mechanism of the P-type ATPases. Analysis of this new structure information together with the large amount of biochemical information about these enzymes that preceded it has produced important new revelations about how the P-type ATPases work. Most models propose that these transporters operate by a strictly conformational energy coupling mechanism in which conformational changes in the large cytoplasmic head region mechanically drive the ions to be transported from their binding sites in the transmembrane helix region 50 A away.

Domain movements of plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase: 3D structures of two states by electron cryo-microscopy.

H(+)-ATPase is a P-type ATPase that transports protons across membranes using the energy from ATP hydrolysis. This hydrolysis is coupled to a conformational change between states of the protein, in which the proton-binding site is alternately accessible to the two sides of the membrane with an altered affinity. When isolated from Neurospora crassa, H(+)-ATPase is a 600 kDa hexamer of identical 100 kDa polypeptides.

The plasma membrane proton-translocating ATPase.

Living cells require membranes and membrane transporters for the maintenance of life. After decades of biochemical scrutiny, the structures and molecular mechanisms by which membrane transporters catalyze transmembrane solute movements are beginning to be understood. The plasma membrane proton-translocating adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) is an archetype of the P-type ATPase family of membrane transporters, which are important in a wide variety of cellular processes.