Mechanism of action of "ruthenium red" compounds on Ca2+ ionophore from sarcoplasmic reticulum (Ca2+ + Mg2+)- adenosine triphosphatase and lipid bilayer.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase was previously shown to have Ca2+-dependent and -selective ionophoric activity when tested in oxidized cholesterol lipid bilayer membranes (Shamoo, A. E., and MacLennan, D. H. (1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 71, 3522). ruthenium red, a known inhibitor of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase, is found to inhibit the Ca2+-ionophoric activity associated with (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase. Furthermore, ruthenium red alone acts as an anion-selective ionophore in lipid bilayers with the the following selectivity sequence for anions: l- greater than Cl-, Br- greater than F- greater than NO3-. The PCl-/PNa+ ratio was approximately 4/l. The presence of ruthenium red in excess of Ca2+ ionophore in lipid bilayer experiments converts the cation selectivity of the bilayer due to Ca2+ ionophore into anion selectivity.