Interaction of a new fluorescent reagent with sulfhydryl groups of the (Na+ + K+)-stimulate ATPase.

The (Na+ + K+)-ATPase enzyme of rat brain microsomes can be reversibly inhibited by a new fluorescent sulfhydryl (SH) probe, dimethylaminoaphthalenecysteine-Hg+ (Dn-cys-Hg+). This reagent is more reactive than N-ethylamaleimide (MalNEt) toward membrane sulfhydryl groups. A procedure using the two SH reagents sequentially seems to permit a more selective labelling of the SH groups involved in the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase than is possible by using MalNEt alone. Brain microsomes treated by this method incorporate the fluorescent label within or near the active site of the enzyme. When the probe was bound a blue shift of its fluorescence emission maximum (from 540 to 495 nm) and a 20-fold increase in relative fluorescence occurred. This indicates that the Dn moiety is within a very non-polar region of the membrane.