The Na+,K+ pump continues to cause surprise
Vilsen, B.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 170(21): 1821-1823
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1603-6824 PMID: 18492448 Document Number: 627448
This article provides an overview of news about the Na+,K+ pump, an indispensable enzyme whose protein structure has been described in a recent article in Nature, 50 years after its discovery. In combination with mutational analysis, the structure reveals the binding pocket for the K+ ions and the regulation of Na+ transport by a strategically located C-terminus of the protein. Focus is also on the pathophysiology of two neurological disorders, familial hemiplegic migraine and rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism, recently shown to be caused by mutations in the Na+,K+-ATPase.