Interaction of (Na+,K+)-ATPases and digitalis genins. A general model for inhibitory activity.

Previous models of digitalis genin interaction with the (Na+,K+)-ATPase system (the putative receptor for such drugs) were deficient in explaining the (Na+,K+)-ATPase inhibitory activity of a number of digitalis genin analogues. With rat brain (Na+,K+)-ATPase we observed that the C-17 side chain carbonyl (C = O) oxygen distance of a given genin in relation to its position in the reference compound digitoxigenin was the primary determinant of its biological activity. With a number of genin analogues, we observed a strict correlation of this structural parameter with its binding site compatibility as well as inhibitory potency with respect to the (Na+,K+)-ATPase. In every case the correlation to inhibition data was obtained using a minimum energy conformation for the genin structure. The general applicability of that model is now proposed based on the following observations. The carbonyl oxygen position versus the biological activity relationship fully holds with (Na+,K+)-ATPase preparations from other tissues and species and also when different binding conditions are used for the enzyme genin interaction. The relationship is equally valid for the K+-p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activity. Correlations of the data obtained under these various conditions provide further support for this relationship and for the concept that altered affinities of the enzyme for a given genin under different binding conditions reflect conformational variations of a single binding site.