Absence of cooperativity for MgATP and verapamil effects on the ATPase activity of P-glycoprotein containing membrane vesicles.

Purified membrane vesicles were prepared from Chinese Hamster lung fibroblasts expressing high amounts of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which is responsible for the multidrug resistance. P-gp ATPase activity, characterized in the presence or absence of verapamil, had a Michaelian behavior for its MgATP dependence. Thus only one MgATP molecule should be sufficient for the catalytic cycle. With increasing verapamil concentrations, a bell-shape curve was observed for ATPase activity, with half-activation and -inhibition concentrations of 1.2 microM and 490 microM, respectively. No cooperativity for verapamil was detected. These results strongly suggest that P-gp functions as an active transporter, with a coupling stoichiometry of one MgATP molecule hydrolysed for one verapamil molecule transported.