Abstract
Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$ exchange is the major pathway of Ca$^2+$
efflux during excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle.
The Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$ exchanger is present in cardiac transverse
tubules with an apparent high density (Frank, J.S., Mottino, G.,
Reid, D., Molday, R. S., and Philipson, K.D. (1992) J. Cell Biol.
117, 337-345). The mechanism for this localization is unknown but
may involve interactions with the cytoskeleton. In the present study,
we examined the interaction of the Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$ exchanger
with the cytoskeletal protein ankyrin. On immunoblots of isolated
canine cardiac sarcolemma, an antibody raised against purified rabbit
red blood cell-ankyrin (RBC-ankyrin) recognized a 220-kDa protein,
which is the same size as RBC-ankyrin. Alkaline extraction of sarcolemma
removed this protein. The Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$ exchange protein,
purified from recombinant baculovirus-infected insect cells, bound
125I-labeled-RBC-ankyrin with a KD of 42 +/- 3 nm. 125I-RBC-ankyrin
was co-precipitated by antibodies to the Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$ exchanger
after preincubation with solubilized cardiac sarcolemma. Myocardial
ankyrin could be localized to both surface and T-tubular sarcolemma
by immunofluorescence techniques. These results demonstrate that
the cardiac Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$ exchanger binds ankyrin with high
affinity. This interaction may be important for localizing the Na$^+$-Ca$^2+$
exchanger to specific domains of the sarcolemma.
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