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Protons and how they are transported by proton pumps

  • Ion Channels, Receptors and Transporters
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Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The very high mobility of protons in aqueous solutions demands special features of membrane proton transporters to sustain efficient yet regulated proton transport across biological membranes. By the use of the chemical energy of ATP, plasma-membrane-embedded ATPases extrude protons from cells of plants and fungi to generate electrochemical proton gradients. The recently published crystal structure of a plasma membrane H+-ATPase contributes to our knowledge about the mechanism of these essential enzymes. Taking the biochemical and structural data together, we are now able to describe the basic molecular components that allow the plasma membrane proton H+-ATPase to carry out proton transport against large membrane potentials. When divergent proton pumps such as the plasma membrane H+-ATPase, bacteriorhodopsin, and FOF1 ATP synthase are compared, unifying mechanistic premises for biological proton pumps emerge. Most notably, the minimal pumping apparatus of all pumps consists of a central proton acceptor/donor, a positively charged residue to control pK a changes of the proton acceptor/donor, and bound water molecules to facilitate rapid proton transport along proton wires.

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Acknowledgments

M.J.B-P. is supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the Carlsberg Foundation, B.P.P. by a Ph.D. fellowship from the Graduate School of Science at the University of Aarhus, and P.N. by a Hallas-Møller stipend from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Membrane Pumps in Cells and Disease—PUMPKIN, Danish National Research Foundation, Århus and Copenhagen, Denmark

    M. J. Buch-Pedersen, B. P. Pedersen, P. Nissen & M. G. Palmgren

  2. Plant Physiology and Anatomy Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    M. J. Buch-Pedersen, B. Veierskov & M. G. Palmgren

  3. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Aarhus, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark

    B. P. Pedersen & P. Nissen

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  1. M. J. Buch-Pedersen
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  2. B. P. Pedersen
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  3. B. Veierskov
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  4. P. Nissen
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  5. M. G. Palmgren
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Correspondence to M. G. Palmgren.

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Buch-Pedersen, M.J., Pedersen, B.P., Veierskov, B. et al. Protons and how they are transported by proton pumps. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 457, 573–579 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-008-0503-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-008-0503-8

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