Regeneration of Cation-Transport Capacity in HeLa Cell Membranes After Specific Blockade by Ouabain

  1. Gerald L. Vaughan* and
  2. John S. Cook
  1. The University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830
  2. Carcinogenesis Program, Biology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830

Abstract

The cardiac glycoside, ouabain, inhibits alkali-cation transport in HeLa cells. It binds to 0.75 × 106 sites per cell, and the half-time for its dissociation is 16 hr. After partial blockade by ouabain, the cell generates new ouabain-binding sites, with total restoration of transport in 10% of a cell cycle(∼3 hr). This recovery requires protein synthesis and appears to be a response to altered cell-electrolyte content, since growth of cells in media with low K+ concentration enhances the titer of the transport enzyme in a fashion similar to the effect of ouabain. Totally blocked cells do not recover.

Footnotes

  • ↵ * Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. 37916.

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  1. PNAS September 1, 1972 vol. 69 no. 9 2627-2631
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