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The Mechanistic Requirements Of Passive H+ Import Through The Na, K-Atpase, Kevin S. Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

This work focuses on the elucidation of the mechanism of passive proton import through the Na,K-ATPase. This enzyme uses the energy in ATP hydrolysis to exchange three intracellular Na+ for two extracellular K+ to maintain ion gradients within the cell, and while in the absence of physiological external Na+ and K+, the phosphorylated externally open (E2P) conformation passively imports protons, generating an inward current (IH). Chapter one reports on the effects of intracellular cations and nucleotides to shift the Na,K-ATPase into the E2P conformation. We identified that a combination of either internal Na+ and ATP or K+ and Pi. In …