Kinetics of pump currents generated by the Na⁺,K⁺‐ATPase

Abstract

Purified Na+,K+-ATPase from pig kidney was attached to black lipid membranes. Pump currents of the enzyme could be measured with a time resolution of approx. 1 ms by releasing ATP from caged ATP with a UV laser flash. Analysis of the transient currents shows that a slow non-electrogenic step is followed by an electrogenic transition with a rate constant of 100 s-1 (22 degrees C). The exponential components found in the transient currents are compared to transitions in the Albers-Post scheme.