Effects of Mg2+ ions on the plasma membrane [H+]-ATPase of Neurospora crassa. II. Kinetic studies.

The rate of ATP hydrolysis by the Neurospora plasma membrane [H+]-ATPase has been measured over a wide range of Mg2+ and ATP concentrations, and on the basis of the results, a kinetic model for the enzyme has been developed. The model includes the following three binding sites: 1) a catalytic site at which MgATP serves as the true substrate, with free ATP as a weak competitive inhibitor; 2) a high affinity site for free Mg2+, which serves to activate the enzyme with an apparent K1/2 (termed KMgA) of about 15 microM; and 3) a separate low affinity site at which Mg2+ causes mixed type inhibition, lowering the Vmax while raising the KS for MgATP at the catalytic site. The Ki for Mg2+ at the low affinity site (termed KMgI) is about 3.5 mM. The model satisfactorily explains the activity of the enzyme as Mg2+ and ATP are varied, separately and together, over a wide range. It can also account for the previously reported effects of Mg2+ and ATP on the inhibition of the Neurospora [H+]-ATPase by N-ethylmaleimide (Brooker, R. J., and Slayman, C. W. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 12051-12055; Brooker, R. J., and Slayman, C. W. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 8827-8832).