Effect of hydrolytic enzymes and protein-modifying reagents on gonadotropin receptors in bovine corpus luteum cell membranes

Preincubation of membranes with various concentrations of pronase, trypsin, lipase, phospholipase A from Vipera russelli and from Crotalus durissus terrificus, phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus and from Clostridium welchii, acetic anhydride, 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene and tetranitromethane resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of ¹²⁵I-labeled human choriogonadotropin binding. At the submaximal concentrations of enzymes and at both submaximal and maximal concentrations of protein-modifying reagents, the losses were always greater with ¹²⁵I-labeled human choriogonadotropin than with ¹²⁵I-labeled human lutropin. The inhibition of binding was a consequence of changes in the membranes rather than changes in the hormone caused by the agents being carried over to the final incubation. Inhibition of binding was non-competitive and irreversible.In untreated membranes, the ¹²⁵I-labeled human choriogonadotropin binding was homogenous (K_d = 1.7 · 10^?10 M; N = 60 fmol/mg protein). Treatment of membranes with various enzymes and protein-modifying reagents except tetranitromethane resulted in heterogeneous binding. The number of available high affinity receptors was greatly reduced in every case. However, the affinity of these sites were either unchangedd (trypsin, lipase, phospholipase A from V. russelli, dinitrofluorobenzene and the tetranitromethane) or decreased (pronase and acetic anhydride). the newly appeared second receptor site had a K_d which varied from 3.2 · 10^?10 to 7.1 · 10^?9d M depending on the agent used, and the receptor numbers were low in all cases except acetic anhydride.Receptor occupancy conferred the receptors with marked protection against various hydrolytic enzymes, dinitrofluorobenzene and tetranitromethane. These data suggest the inhibition of binding by the above agents was primarily a consequence of changes in the receptor molecules themselves.