Metal Fluoride Inhibition of a P-type H+ Pump

The plasma membrane H+-ATPase is a P-type ATPase responsible for establishing electrochemical gradients across the plasma membrane in fungi and plants. This essential proton pump exists in two activity states: an autoinhibited basal state with a low turnover rate and a low H+/ATP coupling ratio and an activated state in which ATP hydrolysis is tightly coupled to proton transport. Here we characterize metal fluorides as inhibitors of the fungal enzyme in both states. In contrast to findings for other P-type ATPases, inhibition of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase by metal fluorides was partly reversible, and the stability of the inhibition varied with the activation state. Thus, the stability of the ATPase inhibitor complex decreased significantly when the pump transitioned from the activated to the basal state, particularly when using beryllium fluoride, which mimics the bound phosphate in the E2P conformational state. Taken together, our results indicate that the phosphate bond of the phosphoenzyme intermediate of H+-ATPases is labile in the basal state, which may provide an explanation for the low H+/ATP coupling ratio of these pumps in the basal state. Background: Plasma membrane H+-ATPase proton pumps exist in basal and activated states. Results: Metal fluoride phosphate analogs bind weakly to the proton pump in the basal state, which has a low H+/ATP coupling ratio. Conclusion: In the basal state, the phosphoenzyme intermediate is unstable. Significance: A labile phosphoenzyme intermediate of the basal state uncouples ATP hydrolysis from H+ pumping.