Direct estimate of 1:1 stoichiometry of K+-Cl−cotransport in rabbit erythrocytes
This work was undertaken to obtain a direct measure of the stoichiometry of Na+-independent K+-Cl−cotransport (KCC), with rabbit red blood cells as a model system. To determine whether86Rb+can be used quantitatively as a tracer for KCC,86Rb+and K+effluxes were measured in parallel after activation of KCC with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). The rate constant for NEM-stimulated K+efflux into isosmotic NaCl was smaller than that for86Rb+by a factor of 0.68 ± 0.11 (SD, n = 5). This correction factor was used in all other experiments to calculate the K+efflux from the measured86Rb+efflux. To minimize interference from the anion exchanger, extracellular Cl−was replaced with SO[Formula: see text], and 4,4′-diisothiocyanothiocyanatodihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid was present in the flux media. The membrane potential was clamped near 0 mV with the protonophore 2,4-dinitrophenol. The Cl−efflux at 25°C under these conditions is ∼100,000-fold smaller than the uninhibited Cl−/Cl−exchange flux and is stimulated ∼2-fold by NEM. The NEM-stimulated36Cl−flux is inhibited by okadaic acid and calyculin A, as expected for KCC. The ratio of the NEM-stimulated K+to Cl−efflux is 1.12 ± 0.26 (SD, n = 5). We conclude that K+-Cl−cotransport in rabbit red blood cells has a stoichiometry of 1:1.