A photoaffinity probe for the cardiac adenosine transporter

We have developed and utilized a photoaffinity probe to identify the adenosine transporter in cardiac sarcolemmal (SL) vesicles. The probe is an azidosalicylate derivative of adenosine made by reacting adenosine with N-hydroxysuccinimidyl-4-azidosalicylic acid (NHS-ASA). Following synthesis and radiolabeling of the probe (ASA-adenosine), 125I-ASA-adenosine was purified by high pressure liquid chromatography. Iodine-125-ASA-adenosine, upon irradiation with uv light, covalently labeled a 65 kDa protein in bovine cardiac SL vesicles. Labeling of this protein was greatly diminished in the presence of nonradiolabeled adenosine, 5′-amino adenosine, or guanosine (inhibitors of purine nucleoside transport) but not by glucose (which does not inhibit transport). We conclude that the cardiac adenosine transporter is a protein with an apparent Mr of 65 kDa.