Abstract
Active ion–transport is the pivotal mechanism to maintain ion gradients across the biological membranes.Elucidation on its mechanism has started just after the discovery of Na+/K+–ATPase on the club nerve plasma mem-brane at 1957. Many ion–transporting ATPases including Ca2+–ATPase, H+/K+–ATPase and H+–ATPase, have beendiscovered and the membrane is now recognized asthe site of energy transduction. Studies on the mechanism of ionpump require wide-ranging methods, i.e. biochemical, molecular biological, electrophysiological and biophysicaltechniques. This review summarizes advances in the mechanism of Na+/K+–ATPase and the research methodsemployed.
