A 26 kd calcium binding protein from bovine rod outer segments as modulator of photoreceptor guanylate cyclase.

The resynthesis of cGMP in vertebrate photoreceptors by guanylate cyclase is one of the key events leading to the reopening of cGMP-gated channels after photoexcitation. Guanylate cyclase activity in vertebrate rod outer segments is dependent on the free calcium concentration. The basal activity of the enzyme observed at high concentrations of free calcium (greater than 0.5 microM) increases when the free calcium concentration is lowered into the nanomolar range (less than 0.1 microM). This effect of calcium is known to be mediated by a soluble calcium-sensitive protein in a highly cooperative way. We here show that this soluble protein, i.e. the modulator of photoreceptor guanylate cyclase, is a 26 kd protein. Reconstitution of the purified 26 kd protein with washed rod outer segment membranes containing guanylate cyclase revealed a 3- to 4-fold increase of cyclase activity when the free calcium concentration was lowered in the physiological range from 0.5 microM to 4 nM. Guanylate cyclase in whole rod outer segments was stimulated 10-fold in the same calcium range. The activation process in the reconstituted system was similar to the one in the native rod outer segment preparation, it showed a high cooperativity with a Hill coefficient n between 1.4 and 3.5. The half-maximal activation occurred between 110 and 220 nM free calcium. The molar ratio of the modulator to rhodopsin is 1:76 +/- 32. The protein is a calcium binding protein as detected with 45Ca autoradiography. Partial amino acid sequence analysis revealed a 60% homology to visinin from chicken cones.     

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate phospholipase C in bovine rod outer segments

Preparations of rod outer segments from cattle retinas contained soluble and particulate phospholipase C activities which hydrolyzed phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and the other phosphoinositides. Ca2+ was required for PIP2 hydrolysis, but high (greater than 300 microM) concentrations were inhibitory. Mg2+ and spermine at low concentrations stimulated the particulate activity but inhibited the soluble. Mn2+ inhibited both. High (greater than 100 microM) concentrations of the nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue guanylyl beta,gamma-methylenediphosphonate inhibited PIP2 hydrolysis by both the soluble and particulate activities, but guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S), fluoride, and cholera and pertussis toxins were without effect. Overall phospholipase C activity in ROS was unaffected by light. Evidence was found for multiple forms of the enzyme, requiring isolation and separate characterization before ruling out regulation by light or G-protein.     

Light and gtp effects on the turbidity of frog visual membrane suspensions

Summary The time course of turbidity changes of frog visual membranes, dependent on osmotic shocks, on light and on nucleotide substrates or effectors of enzyme activities, were measured as absorption changes in a rapid mixing stopped-flow spectrophotometer.As a result of studies on different preparations, it is concluded that light can cause both rapid (within 50 msec) and slow (within 90 sec) changes in the turbidity of visual membranes, not associated with permeability changes, and that they are affected by GTP or its analog guanyl-5-yl imidodiphosphate; however, the light and GTP effects are lost when a water soluble fraction containing the light-sensitive enzyme cGMP-phosphodiesterase, is removed from the rod outer segments membranes.It is suggested that the fast light and GTP-sensitive response is related to the activation of cGMP-phosphodiesterase.Abbreviation used ROS rod outer segments     

Preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to several frog rod outer segment proteins

Monoclonal antibodies to proteins important in phototransduction in the frog rod outer segment have been obtained. These include 6 different antibodies to rhodopsin, 50 to a guanine nucleotide binding protein (G-protein; 40,000 daltons), and 2 to cytoplasmic proteins. The antigens used were Percoll-purified rod outer segments, a rod outer segment soluble protein fraction, or a soluble plus peripheral membrane protein fraction. Antibodies were assayed by solid phase assay using a fluorogenic detection system. Proteins to which antibodies bound were assayed on Western blots, and the sensitivities of three different detection systems were compared. Most antibodies bound to only one rod outer segment protein band on Western blots. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated binding of both anti-rhodopsin and anti-G-protein to isolated frog rod outer segments. Antibodies were purified from either culture supernatants or ascites fluid on protein A affinity columns. Two purified anti-G-protein antibodies have binding affinities to 125I-labeled G-protein of less than 10(-6) M-1. Of 11 antibodies to frog or bovine G-protein tested in solid phase and Western blot assays, all bind to the alpha rather than the beta or gamma subunits. Procedures developed here are being used in preparing other antibodies that affect reactions in the phototransduction pathway.     

Polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis in response to light stimulation of rat and chick retina and retinal rod outer segments

Phosphoinositides of chick and rat retina were labelled with [3H]inositol. Exposure of retinal preparations to light for 30 s caused loss of labelled phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and to a smaller extent of the other phosphoinositides. Similar light-induced changes were seen when rod outer segment preparations were used and, when these were illuminated in calcium-free media, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate was the only lipid affected. No inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate was seen after either 30 s or 5 s of illumination of retina or 30 s illumination of rod outer segments. It is concluded that this compound plays no direct part in vertebrate photoreceptor light transduction, though phosphoinositide metabolism might relate to adaptation mechanisms.     

Protein phosphorylation in rod outer segments from bovine retina: cyclic nucleotide-activated protein kinase and its endogenous substrate.

Protein kinase activity of isolated rod outer segments from bovine retinas is activated by cGMP when in a soluble form, and it is cyclic nucleotide independent when associated with the rod outer segment membranes. The soluble protein kinase phosphorylates in a cyclic nucleotide-dependent manner only a single endogenous protein with an apparent molecular weight of 30,000 daltons. The 30,000-dalton phosphoprotein is localized specifically in the visual cells of the retina. It is proposed that the light-induced changes in cGMP levels that occur in rod outer segments $\text{in vivo}$ are linked by the cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase to alterations in the content of the 30,000-dalton phosphoprotein.     

The effect of α tocopherol,all-trans retinol and retinyl palmitate on the non enzymatic lipid peroxidation of rod outer segments

The effect of tocopherol, all-trans retinol and retinyl palmitate on the non enzymatic lipid peroxidation induced by ascorbate-Fe²⁺ of rod outer segment membranes isolated from bovine retina was examined. The inhibition of light emission (maximal induced chemiluminescence) by tocopherol, all-trans retinol and retinyl palmitate was concentration dependent. All trans retinol showed a substantial degree of inhibition against ascorbate-Fe²⁺ induced lipid peroxidation in rod outer segment membranes that was 10 times higher than the observed in the presence of either tocopherol or retinyl palmitate. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation of rod outer segment membranes by tocopherol and retinyl palmitate was almost linear for up to 0,5 mol vitamin/mg membrane protein, whereas all-trans retinol showed linearity up to 0,1 mol vitamin/mg membrane protein. Incubation of rod outer segments with increasing amounts of low molecular weight cytosolic proteins carrying 1-[¹⁴C] linoleic acid, [³H] retinyl palmitate or [³H] all-trans retinol during the lipid peroxidation process produced a net transfer of ligand from soluble protein to membranes. Linoleic acid was 4 times more effectively transferred to rod outer segment membranes than all-trans retinol or retinyl palmitate. Incubation of rod outer segments with delipidated low molecular weight cytosolic proteins produced inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The inhibitory effect was increased when the soluble retinal protein fraction containing a tocopherol was used. These data provide strong support for the role of all-trans retinol as the major retinal antioxidant and open the way for many fruitful studies on the interaction and precise roles of low molecular weight cytosolic retinal proteins involved in the binding of antioxidant hydrophobic compounds with rod outer segments.     

Endogenous phosphorylation of retinal photoreceptor outer segment proteins by calcium phospholipid-dependent protein kinase

A calcium phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (C-kinase) activity was detected in the soluble fraction of rod outer segments (ROS) of the bovine retina. The enzyme required calcium, phosphatidylserine (PS) and diacylglycerol for maximal activity. In the presence of calcium and PS, C-kinase endogenously phosphorylated proteins with molecular weights of 95,000, 91,000, 31,000, 21,000, 19,000, 18,000, 16,000, 14,000 and 11,000. Addition of diolein in the reaction mixture further enhanced the endogenous phosphorylation of these proteins. Retinal was found to inhibit the phosphorylation of endogenous proteins by C-kinase in a concentration dependent manner. Half-maximal inhibition of enzyme activity was obtained at a retinal concentration of about 12μM. These results suggest that calcium, phospholipids and the C-kinase enzyme may play an important role in the functional regulation of rod photoreceptors and, with retinal, perhaps in the visual process as well.     

Phosphatidic acid and polyphosphoinositide metabolism in rod outer segments. Differential role of soluble and peripheral proteins.

The phosphorylation of endogenous diacylglycerol (DAG) and phosphoinositides by [tau-32P]ATP was studied in bovine rod outer segments (ROS) selectively depleted of soluble or peripheral and soluble proteins by treatment with moderate (100 mM) or low (5 mM) ionic strength medium, respectively. DAG kinase activity was similar in bleached and non-bleached ROS extracted with 100 mM medium, and amounted to 70% of that observed in the corresponding non-extracted ROS. Phosphatidic acid (PtdH) labelling in ROS extracted in the dark with low ionic strength medium was markedly lower than in those extracted in light. Thus, even when a major proportion of DAG kinase was associated to the membrane, a soluble form also occurred. Most of the membrane-bound fraction behaved as a peripherally associated protein, its binding to the membrane being modified by light. Ir ROS extracted at moderate ionic strength the labelling of inositides was similar to that in non-extracted ROS. A marked enhancement in polyphosphoinositide labelling was observed in ROS extracted in the dark with low ionic strength. Alkaline treatment of ROS also produced inhibition of polyphosphoinositide phosphorylation. A peripheral form of a type C phospholipase, or a peripheral protein-mediated activation of a particulate form thereof, is suggested. Labelled polyphosphoinositides were more actively hydrolyzed in the light and in the dark plus GTP tau S than in the dark-incubated membranes. The results of phosphorylation experiments in membranes where differential extraction of the alpha subunit of transducin was carried out suggest that alpha and beta tau subunits may play opposite modulating roles in PtdH and polyphosphoinositide metabolism.     

Biosynthesis of retinal phospholipids: incorporation of radioactivity from labeled phosphorylcholine and cytidine diphosphate choline

Phosphorylcholine-1,2-(14)C and choline-1,2-(14)C-labeled cytidine diphosphate choline are incorporated into lecithin by whole homogenates and particulate fractions of rat retina with optimal incorporation of label by the microsomal fraction. The soluble fraction contains a factor(s) which stimulates incorporation of label with release of inorganic phosphate. Mg(++) is required for optimal incorporation of intermediates into lecithin in the presence of added diglycerides; without added diglycerides, incorporation of phosphorylcholine or cytidine diphosphate choline was moderately stimulated by preincubating the system in the absence of Mg(++) with added phosphatidic acid and by adding this mixture to fresh enzyme and the complete incubation mixture (including Mg(++)). The results show that the retina is capable of de novo synthesis of phosphatides and suggest that the rod outer segments depend on the pigment epithelium and(or) the inner rod segments for a source of phospholipids. Coenzyme A and ATP added to whole homogenate of retina did not significantly increase the incorporation of CDP-choline-1,2-(14)C into lecithin but slightly increased the radioactivity found in lysolecithin and sphingomyelin. Rats with hereditary retinitis pigmentosa have an abnormally high lipid phosphorus content of the retina, but they do not incorporate labeled CDP-choline into lecithin of retina at a higher rate than do normal animals.     

Activation of bovine rod outer segment phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate phospholipase C by calmodulin antagonists does not depend on calmodulin.

Calmodulin antagonists stimulated phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate phospholipase C in soluble and particulate fractions of bovine rod outer segments. Antagonists tested include trifluoperazine, melittin, calmidazolium, compound 48/80, W-13 [N-(4-aminobutyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide], and W-7 [N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide]. All were effective, but W-7 was chosen for further characterization of the effect, which was most pronounced in the soluble fraction. Phospholipase C activity in the soluble fraction did not increase linearly with the quality of enzyme assayed, suggesting the presence of an endogenous inhibitor or an inhibitory self-association of the enzyme. W-7 appeared to counteract this inhibition, resulting in a linear activity-quantity relationship. Stimulation by W-7 was therefore largest when large amounts of crude enzyme were assayed and small or nil when small amounts were assayed. The effect of W-7 was also dependent on [Ca2+], with half-maximal stimulation occurring between 0.1 and 1 microM. W-7 and W-13 were much more effective than their nonchlorinated analogues W-5 and W-12 at increasing phospholipase C activity. While this pattern of effectiveness is typical of calmodulin-mediated processes, the absence of any effect by added calmodulin and the retention of W-7 sensitivity by purified CaM-free enzyme argue against regulation by CaM. Octyl glucoside, a nonionic detergent, mimicked some of the effects of CaM antagonists, suggesting that the antagonists act by interfering with protein-protein interactions. It appears likely that CaM antagonists prevent an inhibitory multimerization or aggregation of at least one form of ROS phospholipase C.     

Topography of the rhodopsin molecule. Identification of the domain phosphorylated.

Studies on the light-stimulated phosphorylation of rod outer segments by [gamma-32P]ATP showed that although nearly 1 mol of [32P]phosphate was incorporated/mol of total opsin, only a small fraction of the molecules were phosphorylated, and these contained at least 2-3 mol of phosphate/mol. Rod outer segments containing the phosphorylated opsin were incubated with 11-cis-retinal to generate phosphorylated rhodopsin and then digested with papain to produce a cleaved complex comprising three fragments, heavy (H), medium (M) and light (L). It was shown that L-fragment of apparent mol.wt. 6000 contained all the phosphorylation sites. This suggests that one specific domain of rhodopsin is susceptible to multiple phosphorylation.     

The delta subunit of type 6 phosphodiesterase reduces light-induced cGMP hydrolysis in rod outer segments

The delta subunit of the rod photoreceptor PDE has previously been shown to copurify with the soluble form of the enzyme and to solubilize the membrane-bound form (). To determine the physiological effect of the delta subunit on the light response of bovine rod outer segments, we measured the real time accumulation of the products of cGMP hydrolysis in a preparation of permeablized rod outer segments. The addition of delta subunit GST fusion protein (delta-GST) to this preparation caused a reduction in the maximal rate of cGMP hydrolysis in response to light. The maximal reduction of the light response was about 80%, and the half-maximal effect occurred at 385 nm delta subunit. Several experiments suggest that this effect was not due to the effects of delta-GST on transducin or rhodopsin kinase. Immunoblots demonstrated that exogenous delta-GST solubilized the majority of the PDE in ROS but did not affect the solubility of transducin. Therefore, changes in the solubility of transducin cannot account for the effects of delta-GST in the pH assay. The reduction in cGMP hydrolysis was independent of ATP, which indicates that it was not due to effects of delta-GST on rhodopsin kinase. In addition to the effect on cGMP hydrolysis, the delta-GST fusion protein slowed the turn-off of the system. This is probably due, at least in part, to an observed reduction in the GTPase rate of transducin in the presence of delta-GST. These results demonstrate that delta-GST can modify the activity of the phototransduction cascade in preparations of broken rod outer segments, probably due to a functional uncoupling of the transducin to PDE step of the signal transduction cascade and suggest that the delta subunit may play a similar role in the intact outer segment.     

Interleukin-1α (IL-1α) production by alveolar macrophages in patients with acute lung diseases: the influence of zinc supplementation

In vertebrate retina, rod outer segment is the site of visual transduction. The inward cationic current in the dark-adapted outer segment is regulated by cyclic GMP. A light flash on the outer segment activates a cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase resulting in rapid hydrolysis of the cyclic nucleotide which in turn causes a decrease in the dark current. Restoration of the dark current requires inactivation of the phosphodiesterase and synthesis of cyclic GMP. The latter is accomplished by the enzyme guanylate cyclase which catalyzes the formation of cyclic GMP from GTP. Therefore, factors regulating the cyclase activity play a critcal role in visual transduction. But regulation of the cyclase by some of these factors — phosphodiesterase, ATP, the soluble proteins and metal cofactors (Mg and Mn) — is controversial. The availability of different types of cyclase preparations, dark-adapted rod outer segments with fully inhibited phosphodiesterase activity, partially purified cyclase without PDE contamination, cloned rod outer segment cyclase free of other rod outer segment proteins, permitted us to address these controversial issues. The results show that ATP inhibits the basal cyclase activity but enhances the stimulation of the enzyme by soluble activator, that cyclase can be activated in the dark at low calcium concentrations under conditions where phosphodiesterase activity is fully suppressed, and that greater activity is observed with manganese as cofactor than magnesium. These results provide a better understanding of the controls on cyclase activity in rod outer segments and suggest how regulation of this cyclase by ATP differs from that of other known membrane guanylate cyclases.This work was supported by the grants from the National Institutes of Health (EY07158, EY 05230, EY 10828, NS 23744) and the equipment grant from Pennsylvania Lions Eye Research Foundation.     

Subcellular localization of tubulin in chick retina

Tubulin was measured through [3H]colchicine-binding in membrane and soluble components of chick retinal subcellular fractions. Total tubulin content was concentrated in the synaptosomal and rod outer segment fractions. Although in total retinal homogenate only 20% of total tubulin was associated to the membrane, in synaptosomes and photoreceptor outer segments, up to 50% of tubulin was bound to the membrane fraction. Results raise the possibility of tubulin participation in transmembrane phenomena which are common to transmitter release and photoexcitation.     

Influence of light and calcium on guanosine 5'-triphosphate in isolated frog rod outer segments.

Frog rod outer segments contain approximately 0.25 mol of GTP and 0.25 mol of ATP per mol of rhodopsin 3 min after their isolation from the retina. UTP and CTP are present at 10-fold and 100-fold lower levels, respectively. Concentrations of GTP and ATP decline in parallel over the next 4 min to reach relatively stable levels of 0.1 mol per mol of rhodopsin. Illumination reduces the concentration of endogenous GTP but not ATP. This light-induced decrease in GTP can be as large as 70% and has a half-time of 7 s. GTP is reduced to steady intermediate levels during extended illumination of intermediate intensity, but partially returns to its dark-adapted level after brief illumination. The magnitude of the decrease increases as a linear function of the logarithm of continuous light intensity at levels which bleach between 5 X 10(2) and 5 X 10(6) rhodopsin molecules/outer segment per second. This exceeds the range of intensities over which illumination causes decreases in the cyclic GMP content and permeability of isolated outer segments (Woodruff and Bownds. 1979. J. Gen. Physiol. 73:629-653). Thus, over 4 log units of light intensity, a sensitivity control mechanism functions to make extended illumination less effective in stimulating a GTP decrease. GTP levels in dark-adapted outer segments are sensitive to changes in calcium concentration in the suspending medium. If the external calcium concentration is reduced to 10(-8) M, GTP concentration is lowered to the same level caused by saturating illumination, and the GTP remaining is no longer light-sensitive. Lowering calcium concentration to intermediate levels between 10(-6) and 10(-8) M reduces GTP to stable intermediate levels, and the GTP remaining can be reduced by light. Restoration of millimolar calcium drives synthesis of GTP, but not of ATP, and GTP lability towards illumination is again observed. These calcium-induced changes in GTP are diminished by the addition of the divalent cation ionophore A23187. Lowering or raising magnesium levels does not influence the GTP concentration. These data raise the possibility that light activates either a calcium transport mechanism driven by the hydrolysis of GTP, or some other calcium-sensitive GTPase activity of unknown function. Known light-dependent reactions involving cyclic nucleotide transformations and rhodopsin phosphorylation appear to account for only a small fraction of the light-induced GTP decrease.     

Recoverin and rhodopsin kinase activity in detergent-resistant membrane rafts from rod outer segments

Cholesterol-rich membranes or detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) have recently been isolated from bovine rod outer segments and were shown to contain several signaling proteins such as, for example, transducin and its effector, cGMP-phosphodiesterase PDE6. Here we report the presence of rhodopsin kinase and recoverin in DRMs that were isolated in either light or dark conditions at high and low Ca2+ concentrations. Inhibition of rhodopsin kinase activity by recoverin was more effective in DRMs than in the initial rod outer segment membranes. Furthermore, the Ca2+ sensitivity of rhodopsin kinase inhibition in DRMs was shifted to lower free Ca2+ concentration in comparison with the initial rod outer segment membranes (IC50=0.76 microm in DRMs and 1.91 microm in rod outer segments). We relate this effect to the high cholesterol content of DRMs because manipulating the cholesterol content of rod outer segment membranes by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin yielded a similar shift of the Ca2+-dependent dose-response curve of rhodopsin kinase inhibition. Furthermore, a high cholesterol content in the membranes also increased the ratio of the membrane-bound form of recoverin to its cytoplasmic free form. These data suggest that the Ca2+-dependent feedback loop that involves recoverin is spatially heterogeneous in the rod cell.     

Phosphatidyl inositol 4,5-bisphosphate-specific phospholipase C in bovine rod outer segment membranes.

Polyphosphoinositide-specific phosphodiesterase (phospholipase C) activity against phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate has been examined in disrupted bovine retinal rod outer segments. The enzyme was strictly modulated by free calcium ion concentration and maximally activated at 10(-5) M Ca2+ (91 +/- 4 nmoles phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate hydrolyzed/min/mg of protein). Guanine nucleotides did not affect in vitro phospholipase C activity either in the presence or absence of light, carbachol or epinephrine. The pH optimum at 10(-5) M Ca2+ in the presence of sodium deoxycholate was 6.5. The enzyme of bovine rod outer segments was concluded to be indirectly regulated by the phototransduction events.     

A soluble form of bovine rod photoreceptor phosphodiesterase has a novel 15-kDa subunit

A substantial fraction (20-30%) of the bovine rod outer segment phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity is not associated with outer segment membranes prepared with buffers of moderate ionic strength; this PDE activity appears to represent a distinct, soluble isozyme. Although this PDE isozyme can be demonstrated to be present in sealed rod outer segments, it is discarded from most standard rod outer segment preparations. A method was developed that allowed the rapid purification of the soluble rod PDE by 2600-fold, to apparent homogeneity, using a monoclonal antibody column (ROS-1a). The soluble rod PDE isozyme has a novel Mr = 15,000 subunit (delta) in addition to subunits of Mr = 88,000 (alpha sol), 84,000 (beta sol), and 11,000 (gamma sol). The delta subunit comigrates with and may be identical to the cone PDE 15-kDa subunit. The small subunits of the soluble rod PDE and the membrane-associated rod PDE were isolated by reverse-phase chromatography. The gamma sol subunit was a potent inhibitor of trypsin-activated rod PDE, inhibiting 50% of 1 pM PDE activity at a concentration of 11 pM. This concentration was similar to that observed for the gamma subunit of the membrane-associated rod PDE. The purified delta subunit did not appear to affect PDE activity; this subunit was, however, unusually difficult to keep in solution. All of the kinetic and physical properties of the soluble rod PDE tested thus far are similar to those of the membrane-associated form, except for the presence of the delta subunit, suggesting that this unique subunit could mediate the solubility of the soluble rod PDE and the cone PDE in the intact photoreceptor.     

Binding of the delta subunit to rod phosphodiesterase catalytic subunits requires methylated, prenylated C-termini of the catalytic subunits

PDE6 (type 6 phosphodiesterase) from rod outer segments consists of two types of catalytic subunits, alpha and beta; two inhibitory gamma subunits; and one or more delta subunits found only on the soluble form of the enzyme. About 70% of the phosphodiesterase activity found in rod outer segments is membrane-bound, and is thought to be anchored to the membrane through C-terminal prenyl groups. The recombinant delta subunit has been shown to solubilize the membrane-bound form of the enzyme. This paper describes the site and mechanism of this interaction in more detail. In isolated rod outer segments, the delta subunit was found exclusively in the soluble fraction, and about 30% of it did not coimmunoprecipitate with the catalytic subunits. The delta subunit that was bound to the catalytic subunits dissociated slowly, with a half-life of about 3.5 h. To determine whether the site of this strong binding was the C-termini of the phosphodiesterase catalytic subunits, peptides corresponding to the C-terminal ends of the alpha and beta subunits were synthesized. Micromolar concentrations of these peptides blocked the phosphodiesterase/delta subunit interaction. Interestingly, this blockade only occurred if the peptides were both prenylated and methylated. These results suggested that a major site of interaction of the delta subunit is the methylated, prenylated C-terminus of the phosphodiesterase catalytic subunits. To determine whether the catalytic subunits of the full-length enzyme are methylated in situ when bound to the delta subunit, we labeled rod outer segments with a tritiated methyl donor. Soluble phosphodiesterase from these rod outer segments was more highly methylated (4.5 +/- 0.3-fold) than the membrane-bound phosphodiesterase, suggesting that the delta subunit bound preferentially to the methylated enzyme in the outer segment. Together these results suggest that the delta subunit/phosphodiesterase catalytic subunit interaction may be regulated by the C-terminal methylation of the catalytic subunits.