Ion pump as molecular ratchet and effects of noise: electric activation of cation pumping by Na,K-ATPase

Na,K-ATPase is a universal ion pump of the biological cell. Under physiological conditions, it uses the γ-phosphorus bond energy of ATP during hydrolysis to pump 2 K⁺ inward and 3 Na⁺ outward; both being uphill transports. The experiment presented here demonstrates that the protein transporter can also use electric energy to fuel its pump activity. A theory of electroconformational coupling (TEC) is described and an experiment performed to verify several predictions of the model. Analysis based on the TEC model suggests that Na,K-ATPase is a Brownian ratchet. The enzyme harvests energy from the applied field by means of the field-induced conformational oscillation or fluctuation. However, high efficiency of energy transduction can only be achieved with an electric field of certain intensities, frequencies and waveforms. This property of the enzyme allows us to define an electric signal and differentiate it from electric noise on the basis of the analysis by the TEC model. Data show that electric noise alone does not induce pump activity. However, an appropriate power level of noise imposed on a signal can enhance the pump efficiency. The effect of noise on the signal transduction of Na,K-ATPase is reminiscent of the stochastic resonance phenomenon reported in other biological systems [3, 35]. The TEC model embodies many common features of enzymes and biological motors. It is potentially energy-efficient, much more so than models based on the ion-rectification mechanism. Received: 1 November 2001 / Accepted: 5 March 2002 / Published online: 22 April 2002