Gastric proton pump with two occluded K+ engineered with sodium pump-mimetic mutations

The gastric H+,K+-ATPase mediates electroneutral exchange of 1H+/1K+ per ATP hydrolysed across the membrane. Previous structural analysis of the K+-occluded E2-P transition state of H+,K+-ATPase showed a single bound K+ at cation-binding site II, in marked contrast to the two K+ ions occluded at sites I and II of the closely-related Na+,K+-ATPase which mediates electrogenic 3Na+/2K+ translocation across the membrane. The molecular basis of the different K+ stoichiometry between these K+-counter-transporting pumps is elusive. We show a series of crystal structures and a cryo-EM structure of H+,K+-ATPase mutants with changes in the vicinity of site I, based on the structure of the sodium pump. Our step-wise and tailored construction of the mutants finally gave a two-K+ bound H+,K+-ATPase, achieved by five mutations, including amino acids directly coordinating K+ (Lys791Ser, Glu820Asp), indirectly contributing to cation-binding site formation (Tyr340Asn, Glu936Val), and allosterically stabilizing K+-occluded conformation (Tyr799Trp). This quintuple mutant in the K+-occluded E2-P state unambiguously shows two separate densities at the cation-binding site in its 2.6 Å resolution cryo-EM structure. These results offer new insights into how two closely-related cation pumps specify the number of K+ accommodated at their cation-binding site.

Gastric proton pump with two occluded K+ engineered with sodium pump-mimetic mutations

The gastric H+,K+-ATPase mediates electroneutral exchange of 1H+/1K+ per ATP hydrolysed across the membrane. Previous structural analysis of the K+-occluded E2-Pi form of H+,K+-ATPase showed a single bound K+ at cation-binding site II, in marked contrast to the two K+ occluded at sites I and II of the closely-related Na+,K+-ATPase which mediates electrogenic 3Na+/2K+ translocation across the membrane. The two pumps show significant differences in structure in and around Site I, but which are critical for blocking K+ binding in the gastric pump and contribute to binding in the sodium pump is unclear. We have a series of crystal structures and a cryo-EM structure of H+,K+-ATPase mutants with changes in the vicinity of site I based on the structure of the sodium pump. The number of bound Rb+, determined by its anomalous dispersion, remains one in the luminal-open E2BeF form of the Lys791Ser single mutant and Lys791Ser/Glu820Asp double mutant, mutation that could create space and may directly bind the cation. We next introduced mutations in peripheral residues Try340Asn and Glu936Val. A strong and spread-out Rb+ anomalous density observed in the quadruple mutant suggests that a certain population ATPases has two Rb+ bound. We then added gate-closing mutation Try799Trp and determined its cryo-EM structure in the occluded E2-AlF form. This quintuple mutant unambiguously has two separate densities at the cation-binding site. The step-wise construction of the K+ binding site offers new insight into how it is blocked in the one pump and constituted in the other.

A single K+-binding site in the crystal structure of the gastric proton pump

The gastric proton pump (H+,K+-ATPase), a P-type ATPase responsible for gastric acidification, mediates electro-neutral exchange of H+ and K+ coupled with ATP hydrolysis, but with an as yet undetermined transport stoichiometry. Here we show crystal structures at a resolution of 2.5 Å of the pump in the E2-P transition state, in which the counter-transporting cation is occluded. We found a single K+ bound to the cation-binding site of the H+,K+-ATPase, indicating an exchange of 1H+/1K+ per hydrolysis of one ATP molecule. This fulfills the energy requirement for the generation of a six pH unit gradient across the membrane. The structural basis of K+ recognition is resolved and supported by molecular dynamics simulations, establishing how the H+,K+-ATPase overcomes the energetic challenge to generate an H+ gradient of more than a million-fold—one of the highest cation gradients known in mammalian tissue—across the membrane.

A single K+-binding site in the crystal structure of the gastric proton pump

The gastric proton pump (H+,K+-ATPase), a P-type ATPase responsible for gastric acidification, mediates electro-neutral exchange of H+ and K+ coupled with ATP hydrolysis, but with an as yet undetermined transport stoichiometry. Here we show crystal structures at a resolution of 2.5 Å of the pump in the E2-P transition state, in which the counter-transporting cation is occluded. We found a single K+ bound to the cation-binding site of H+,K+-ATPase, indicating an exchange of 1H+/1K+ per hydrolysis of one ATP molecule. This fulfils the energy requirement for the generation of a six pH unit gradient across the membrane. The structural basis of K+recognition is resolved, supported by molecular dynamics simulations, and this establishes how H+,K+-ATPase overcomes the energetic challenge to generate an H+ gradient of more than a million-fold – the highest cation gradient known in any mammalian tissue – across the membrane.