PubMed1977
1. The resting heat production rate (E) of soleus muscles from young rats and brown adipose tissue from adult rats was measured by means of a perfusable heat flux microcalorimeter in the absence and presence of ouabain. In the soleus muscle, the acute response of E to ouabain was compared with the ouabain-suppressible components of 22Na-efflux and 42K-influx. 2. In standard Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer, ouabain (10(-3)M) induced an immediate but transient decrease in E of around 5%. Both in muscle and adipose tissue this was followed by a progressive rise in heat production rate. 3. When the medium was enriched with Mg (10 mM), ouabain produced a sustained decrease in E of the same magnitude as in the standard medium and the secondary rise was less marked or abolished. Under these conditions, in the soleus muscle, ouabain inhibited E by 5% (i.e. by 1-76 +/- 0-22 mcal.g wet wt.-1.min-1), 22Na-efflux by 58% (0-187 +/- 0-013 micronmole. g wet wt.-1.min-1) and 42K-influx by 34% (0-132 +/- 0-028 micronmole. g wet wt.-1.min-1). 4. When the muscles were loaded with Na by pre-incubation in K-free Mg-enriched medium, the addition of K (3mM) induced an immediate ouabain-suppressible increase in E of 2-98 +/- 0-33 mcal. g wet wt.-1.min-1 and a concomitant stimulation of 22Na-efflux of 0-388 +/- 0-136 micronmole. g wet wt.-1.min-1. 5. Maximum Na/ATP ratios for the active Na-K transport process were computed, with no assumption as to the in vivo free energy of ATP hydrolysis. These were 2-1, 1-9 and 2-3 under the conditions described in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) respectively. 6. The calculated reversible thermodynamic work associated with active Na-K transport corresponded to 34% of the measured ouabain-induced decrease in E. On the premise that the maximum efficiency of the cellular energy conservation processes is 65%, this estimate indicates that the minimum energetic efficiency of ATP utilization by the active Na-K transport process in mammalian muscle is 52%.