Coupling between the sodium and proton gradients in respiring Escherichia coli cells measured by 23Na and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance.

The relationship between the steady-state sodium gradient (delta pNa) and the protonmotive force developed by endogenously respiring Escherichia coli cells has been studied quantitatively, using 23Na NMR for measurement of intracellular and extracellular sodium concentrations, 31P NMR for measurement of intracellular and extracellular pH, and tetraphenylphosphonium distribution for measurement of membrane potential. At constant protonmotive force, the sodium concentration gradient was independent of extracellular concentrations over the measured range of 4-285 mM, indicating that intracellular sodium concentration is not regulated. The magnitude of delta pNa was measured as a function of the composition and magnitude of the protonmotive force. At external pH values below 7.2, delta pNa was parallel to delta pH but showed no simple relationship to the membrane potential; above pH 7.2 the parallel relationship began to diverge, with delta pH continuing to decrease but delta pNa starting to level off or increase. Although plots of delta pNa versus delta pH had slopes of close to 1, the value of delta pNa consistently exceeded that of delta pH by approximately 0.4 units, indicating a partially electrogenic character to the putative H+/Na+ antiport. The apparent stoichiometry was 1.13 +/- 0.01 at external pH below 7.2. The possible significance of this nonintegral stoichiometry is discussed according to a model in which two distinct integral stoichiometries (possibly 1H+/1Na+ and 2H+/1Na+) are available with some relative probability; the model predicts futile cycling of sodium ions and a dissipative proton current. In the course of this study, we discovered that the magnitude of the pH gradient developed by the cells was osmolarity-dependent, yielding steady-state intracellular pH values that varied from 7.1 at 100 mosm to 7.7 at 800 mosm.