Reconstitution of Na+/H(+)-antiporter of bovine renal brush-border membrane into proteoliposomes and detection of a 110 kDa protein cross-reactive with antibodies against a human Na+/H(+)-antiporter partial peptide in antiport-active fractions after partial fractionation.

Bovine renal brush-border membranes were solubilized by 1.6% sodium cholate. Na+/H(+)-antiporter was recovered in the supernatant after centrifugation at 160,000 x g for 1 h and was successfully reconstituted into proteoliposomes by a cholate-dialysis procedure. The reconstituted Na+/H(+)-antiporter showed a pH-gradient dependent and amiloride-sensitive 22Na+ uptake very similar to that of brush-border membrane vesicles. Factors affecting the efficiency of reconstitution as well as the stability of the solubilized antiporter at various temperatures were studied. Sodium cholate-solubilized brush-border membrane proteins were fractionated by Sephacryl S-400 and DEAE-Toyopearl chromatography, and fractions containing reconstitutively active Na+/H(+)-antiporter were identified. A 110 kDa peptide cross-reactive with a polyclonal antibody against a C-terminal peptide (22-amino acid residues) of human Na+/H(+)-antiporter was consistently found on the immunoblot of the active fractions. A closely similar peptide was also detected in human placental membranes by this antibody. These results strongly suggest that the 110 kDa protein is responsible for Na+/H(+)-antiporter activity.