Insect resistance to plant toxins is widely assumed to have evolved in response to using defended plants as a dietary resource. We tested this hypothesis in the milkweed butterflies (Danaini) which have progressively evolved higher levels of resistance to cardenolide toxins based on amino acid substitutions of their cellular sodium-potassium pump (Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase). Using chemical, physiologic...

Vagin O, Dada LA, Tokhtaeva E, Sachs G. The Na-K-ATPase 1 1 heterodimer as a cell adhesion molecule in epithelia. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 302: C1271–C1281, 2012. First published January 25, 2012; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00456.2011.—The ion gradients generated by the Na-K-ATPase play a critical role in epithelia by driving transepithelial transport of various solutes. The efficiency of this Na-K-A...

We hypothesized that viral mediated transfer of Na 1 ,K 1 -ATPase subunit genes to alveolar epithelial cells to overexpress Na 1 ,K 1 -ATPase could increase Na 1 ,K 1 -ATPase function. We produced replication-deficient human type 5 adenoviruses that contained cytomegalovirus (CMV)-driven cDNAs for the rat a 1 and b 1 subunits of Na 1 ,K 1 -ATPase (AdMRCMV a 1 and AdMRCMV b 1 , respectively). Th...

We have shown that ouabain activates Src, resulting in subsequent tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple effectors. Here, we tested if the Na+/K+-ATPase and Src can form a functional signaling complex. In LLC-PK1 cells the Na+/K+-ATPase and Src colocalized in the plasma membrane. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis indicated that both proteins were in close proximity, suggesting a dir...

Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity in renal proximal tubule is regulated by several hormones including parathyroid hormone (PTH) and dopamine. The current experiments explore the role of Na(+)/H(+) exchanger regulatory factor 1 (NHERF-1) in dopamine-mediated regulation of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase. We measured dopamine regulation of ouabain-sensitive (86)Rb uptake and Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase α1 subunit phosphorylati...

Dopamine D1-like receptor activation causes phosphorylation and inhibition of Na,K-ATPase (Na-pump) activity in the proximal tubules, which is associated with an increase in sodium excretion. It has been shown that dopamine and SKF 38393, a D1-like receptor agonist, caused inhibition of Na,K-ATPase activity in the proximal tubules of adult (6 mo) but not of old (24 mo) Fischer 344 rats. The pre...

The transport activity of the Na,K-ATPase (a 3 Na+ for 2 K+ ion exchange) is electrogenic, whereas the closely related gastric and non-gastric H,K-ATPases perform electroneutral cation exchange. We have studied the role of a highly conserved serine residue in the fifth transmembrane segment of the Na,K-ATPase, which is replaced with a lysine in all known H,K-ATPases. Ouabain-sensitive 86Rb upta...

In simple epithelia, the distribution of ion transporting proteins between the apical or basal-lateral domains of the plasma membrane is important for determining directions of vectorial ion transport across the epithelium. In the choroid plexus, Na+,K(+)-ATPase is localized to the apical plasma membrane domain where it regulates sodium secretion and production of cerebrospinal fluid; in contra...

The Na/K-ATPase or Na, K-pump utilizes the free energy of hydrolysis of ATP to actively transport Na and K ions across mammalian cell membranes. This function underlies essentially all of mammalian cell physiology. For example, in the kidney the Na, K-pump controls body Na and K balance, extracellular volume and blood pressure. The Na/K-ATPase is the receptor of digitalis steroids used to treat...