Na,K-ATPase α1 and β-subunits show distinct localizations in the nervous tissue of the large milkweed bug
Herbertz M, Harder S, Schlüter H and others. Cell and tissue research, March 2022.
Read the paper Free to read · doi:10.1007/s00441-022-03580-6
What this paper is about
The large milkweed bug carries four versions of the sodium-potassium pump's alpha subunit, and resistance to cardenolides trades off against how well each one pumps ions.
This study mapped where each subunit sits in nervous tissue, which is where that trade-off matters most.
Summarised here from the abstract below. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
The Na,K-ATPase (NKA) is an essential ion transporter and signaling molecule in all animal tissues and believed to consist at least one α and one ß-subunit to form a functional enzyme. In the large milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, adaptation to dietary cardiac glycosides (CGs), which can fatally block the NKA, has resulted in gene duplications leading to four α1-subunits. These differ in sensitivity to CGs, but resistance trades off against ion pumping activity, thus influencing the α1-subunits' suitability for specific tissues. Besides, O. fasciatus possesses four different ß-subunits that can alter the NKA's kinetics and should play an essential role in the formation of cellular junctions.Proteomic analyses revealed the distribution and composition of α1/ß-complexes in the nervous tissue of O. fasciatus. The highly CG-resistant, but less active α1B and the highly active, but less resistant α1C predominated in the nervous tissue and co-occurred with ß2 and ß3, partly forming larger complexes than just heterodimers. Immunohistochemical analyses provided a fine scale resolution of the subunits' distribution in different morphological structures of the nervous tissue. This may suggest that α1 as well as ß-subunits occur in isolation without the other subunit, which contradicts the present understanding that the two types of subunits have to associate to form functional complexes. An isolated occurrence was especially prominent for ß3 and βx, the enigmatic fourth and N-terminally largely truncated ß-subunit. We hypothesize that dimerization of these ß-subunits plays a role in cell-cell contacts.
Abstract reproduced from the published paper, which is licensed CC BY. Copyright remains with the authors.
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title = {Na,K-ATPase α1 and β-subunits show distinct localizations in the nervous tissue of the large milkweed bug (listing)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/research/na-k-atpase-1-and-subunits-show-distinct-localizations-2022/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}