Temperature-dependence of activation and inhibition of rat-brain adenosine triphosphatase activated by sodium and potassium ions.

1. The adenosine-triphosphatase activity of rat-brain microsomes was measured between 0 degrees and 37 degrees . The stimulatory effect of Na(+) plus K(+) on the Mg(2+)-dependent adenosine-triphosphatase activity decreased sharply with decreasing temperature and became negligible at 0 degrees . An Arrhenius plot drawn from the experimental data showed two discontinuities: one at about 6 degrees and the other at about 20 degrees . 2. The increment in activity induced by Na(+) plus K(+) was more sensitive to oligomycin at lower than at higher temperatures, but the opposite was observed for ouabain. The action of oligomycin showed a biphasic character, since below a certain concentration it caused slight activation of Na(+)-plus-K(+)-activated adenosine triphosphatase. 3. Where oligomycin increased the activity of the enzyme, it also enhanced the accumulation of an acid-precipitable phosphorylated compound formed through the transfer of the gamma-phosphate group of [(32)P]ATP to the enzyme system. Stimulatory concentrations of oligomycin did not interfere with K(+)-mediated dephosphorylation of the intermediate, though high concentrations of oligomycin counteracted the effect of K(+). 4. The temperature profile of K(+)-stimulated microsomal phosphatase qualitatively resembled that of microsomal adenosine triphosphatase.