Abstract
Sarcolemmal membrane fraction from canine ventricle was isolated from the discarded pellet after the first homogenization in the isolation procedure of sarcoplasmic reticulum (Method 1) and the protein yield, purity, and sidedness of this preparation were compared to those of sarcolemmal fraction prepared by method of Lee et al. (Method 2) and a slight modification of original protocol of Jones et al. (Method 3). Method 1 differed from Method 2 essentially only in that vigorous homogenization was carried out by omnimixer and homogenization medium containing 30mM Tris-maleate was used in the first step. The sarcolemmal fraction was enriched from 45 to 50 and 29-fold in [$^3H$] ouabain, [$^3H$] DHA, [$^3H$] QNB binding and $Na^+$, $K^+$-ATPase activity, respectively, compared to homogenate. Total $Na^+$, $K^+$-ATPase activity of highly sarcolemma enriched fraction was 144.6$\pm$16.4$\mu\textrm{mol}$ Pi/mg protein/hr, which was about 85%, of total ATPase activity, and the yield of the preparation was 15.7 mg protein per 100g of starting ventricular tissue. The sarcolemmal preparation supported $^{45}Ca^{2+}$-uptake in the presence of ATP but this uptake was not dependent on oxalate. Sarcolemmal $Na^+$, $K^+$-ATPase activity and detectable [$^3H$] ouabain binding were increased about 32% and 35%, respectively, by pretreatment of sarcolemmal fraction with optimal concentration of sodium dodecylsulfate (0.3-0.4mg/mg protein), suggesting that this preparation contained about 24% of sealed rightside-out vesicles, 26% of sealed inside-out vesicles, and 5001o of freely permeable (leaky) form. This procedure showed the highest protein yield and leaky population, compared to Method 2 and 3. On the other hand, sarcolemmal fraction prepared by Method 2 and 3 showed low value in protein yield but comtained high population of inside-out (46%) and rightside-out (49%) vesicles, respectively, compared to present procedure (Method 1). The results indicate that vigorous homogenization decreases the population of sealed sarcolemmal vesicles but increases the sarcolemmal protein yield per gram tissue and that this procedure is available for further purification of sarcolemmal fraction and for the receptor binding study of sarcolemma.