Electron microscopic visualization of the arrangement of the two protein components of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.

The information obtained by electron microscopic examination of highly purified membrane preparations of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase after freeze-fracturing or negative staining suggests the following conclusions. The catalytic 100 000 dalton protein component penetrates with its greater 'globular' mass the plasma membrane and protudes with its smaller mass from the protoplasmic surface by a stalked knob carrying the catalytic centre. The 40 000 dalton glycoprotein component is anchored in the membrane interior by a non-pom the outer membrane surface forming a surface coat of ill-definable substructure.     

Anion transport across the erythrocyte membrane, in situ proteolysis of band 3 protein, and cross-linking of proteolytic fragments by 4,4'-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonate.

Extracellular chymotrypsin cleaves the 95 000 dalton protein that migrates in band 3 of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electropherograms of the erythrocyte membrane into fragments of 60 000 and 35 000 daltons, but not further. Minor components of band 3 that remain at the original 95 000 dalton location may be eluted from the membrane by 0.1 N NaOH, indicating that, in contrast to the major component and the chymotryptic fragments, they are not integral membrane constituents. Incubation at neutral pH of chymotrypsinized erythrocytes with the bifunctional anion transport inhibitor 4,4'-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid results in covalent binding of that inhibitor primarily to the 60 000 dalton fragment and some cross-linking of the 60 000 dalton fragment with the 35 000 dalton fragment. Increasing the pH to 9.5 leads to a cross-linking of virtually all of the pairs of chymotryptic fragments and thus to a reconstitution of band 3 with its typical diffuse appearance in the 95 000 dalton region of the SDS-polyacrylamide gels. This indicates that (1) each integral 95 000 dalton protein molecule is capable of binding at least one 4,4'-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid molecule; (2) the 35 000 dalton fragment, though it is only weakly stained with Coomassie blue, is present in an amount that is equimolar with that of the 60 000 dalton fragment. Since the number of 4,4'-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid binding sites on the protein in band 3/cell is known to be close to the number of band 3 molecules/cell, it is suggested that the cross-linking takes place at a region of the band 3 molecule that is involved in the control of anion transport, Like chymotrypsin, papain digests the band 3 protein from the outer membrane surface. Unlike chymotrypsin, however, papain digestion results in an inhibition of anion exchange. Papain produces a major fragment of 60 000 daltons that differs from the major chymotryptic fragment by at most six amino acid residues. The only detectable difference between the noninhibitory action of chymotrypsin and the inhibitory action of papain on the band 3 protein is that papain is capable of partially digesting the 35000 dalton fragment. No reconstitution of band 3 by cross-linking of the fragments with 4,4'-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid can be achieved. Since the 35 000 dalton fragment reacts with one of the two reactive groups of 4,4'-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid and is also susceptible to digestion by the inhibitory papain, we suggest that a portion of this peptide participates, together with a portion of the 60 000 dalton fragment, in the control anion transport.     

Anion transport across the erythrocyte membrane,in situ proteolysis of band 3 protein,and cross-linking of proteolytic fragments by 4,4′-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonate

Extracellular chymotrypsin cleaves the 95 000 dalton protein that migrates in band 3 of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electropherograms of the erythrocyte membrane into fragments of 60 000 and 35 000 daltons, but not further. Minor components of band 3 that remain at the original 95 000 dalton location may be eluted from the membrane by 0.1 N NaOH, indicating that, in contrast to the major component and the chymotryptic fragments, they are not integral membrane constituents.Incubation at neutral pH of chymotrypsinized erythrocytes with the bifunctional anion transport inhibitor 4,4′-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid results in covalent binding of that inhibitor primarily to the 60 000 dalton fragment and some cross-linking of the 60 000 dalton fragment with the 35 000 dalton fragment. Increasing the pH to 9.5 leads to a crosslinking of virtually all of the pairs of chymotryptic fragments and thus to a reconstitution of band 3 with its typical diffuse appearance in the 95 000 dalton region of the SDS-polyacrylamide gels. This indicates that (1) each integral 95 000 dalton protein molecule is capable of binding at least one 4,4′-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid molecule; (2) the 35 000 dalton fragment, though it is only weakly stained with Coomassie blue, is present in an amount that is equimolar with that of the 60 000 dalton fragment. Since the number of 4,4′-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid binding sites on the protein in band 3/cell is known to be close to the number of band 3 molecules/cell, it is suggested that the cross-linking takes place at a region of the band 3 molecule that is involved in the control of anion transport.Like chymotrypsin, papain digests the band 3 protein from the outer membrane surface. Unlike chymotrypsin, however, papain digestion results in an inhibition of anion exchange. Papain produces a major fragment of 60 000 daltons that differs from the major chymotryptic fragment by at most six amino acid residues. The only detectable difference between the non-inhibitory action of chymotrypsin and the inhibitory action of papain on the band 3 protein is that papain is capable of partially digesting the 35000 dalton fragment. No reconstitution of band 3 by cross-linking of the fragments with 4,4′-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid can be achieved. Since the 35 000 dalton fragment reacts with one of the two reactive groups of 4,4′-diisothiocyano dihydrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid and is also susceptible to digestion by the inhibitory papain, we suggest that a portion of this peptide participates, together with a portion of the 60 000 dalton fragment, in the control of anion transport.     

Partial characterization of protein kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation of low molecular weight proteins in purified preparations of pigeon heart sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Pigeon heart microsomes contain three minor size protein kinase substrates of minimal molecular weights of 22 000, 15 000, and 11500, as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When the microsomes were partially loaded with calcium oxalate and subjected to rate zonal and isopycnic centrifugations in sucrose density gradient columns, the 22 000 and the 15 000 dalton proteins settled in the heaviest fraction, which was composed mainly of vesicles of sarcoplasmic reticular membranes; the 11 500 dalton protein was concentrated in the lightest fractions, which consisted chiefly of vesicles of sarcolemmal origin. During incubation of the membrane fractions with Mg [gamma-32P]ATP significant amounts of 32P were incorporated into all these proteins. Incorporation of 32P into the 15 000 dalton protein was moderately and 32P incorporation into the 22 000 dalton protein was markedly enhanced in the presence of exogenous soluble cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and cyclic AMP. The phosphorylation of the three proteins was virtually unaffected by Ca2+ concentrations up to 0.1 mM and by ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethyl-ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid in the absence of added Ca2+. Phosphorylation of the 22 000 and the 11 500 dalton proteins occurred mainly at serine residues. In the 15 000 dalton protein threonine residues were the main site of endogenous phosphorylation. Nearly equal amounts of [32P]-phosphate were incorporated into threonine and serine residues of this protein, when phosphorylation was supported by exogenous cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and cyclic AMP. The 15 000 dalton protein could be removed from its membrane attachment by extraction with an acidic chloroform/methanol mixture. This step opens the way for the purification of this membrane-bound protein kinase substrate.     

Partial characterization of protein kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation of low molecular weight proteins in purified preparations of pigeon heart sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum

Pigeon heart microsomes contain three minor size protein kinase substrates of minimal molecular weights of 22 000, 15 000, and 11 500, as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When the microsomes were partially loaded with calcium oxalate and subjected to rate zonal and isopynic centrifugations in sucrose density gradient columns, the 22 000 and the 15 000 dalton proteins settled in the heaviest fraction, which was composed mainly of vesicles of sarcoplasmic reticular membranes; the 11 500 dalton protein was concentrated in the lightest fractions, which consisted chiefly of vesicles of sarcolemmal origin. During incubation of the membrane fractions with Mg[γ-³²P]ATP significant amounts of ³²P were incorporated into all these proteins. Incorporation of ³²P into the 15 000 dalton protein was moderately and ³²P incorporation into the 22 000 dalton protein was markedly enhanced in the presence of exogenous soluble cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and cyclic AMP. The phosphorylation of the three proteins was virtually unaffected by CA²⁺ concentrations up to 0.1 mM and by ethyleneglycol-bis(β-aminoethylether)-N,N′-tetraacetic acid in the absence of added Ca²⁺.Phosphorylation of the 22 000 and the 11 500 dalton proteins occurred mainly at serine residues. In the 15 000 dalton protein threonine residues were the main site of endogenous phosphorylation. Nearly equal amounts of [³²P]-phosphate were incorporated into threonine and serine residues of this protein when phosphorylation was supported by exogenous cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and cyclic AMP.The 15 000 dalton protein could be removed from its membrane attachment by extraction with an acidic chloroform/methanol mixture. This step opens the way for the purification of this membrane-bound protein kinase substrate.     

Electron microscopic visualization of the arrangement of the two protein components of (Na + K)-ATPase

The information obtained by electron microscopic examination of highly purified membrane preparations of (Na⁺ + K⁺)-ATPase after freeze-fracturing or negative staining suggests the following conclusions. The catalytic 100 000 dalton protein component penetrates with its greater ‘globular’ mass the plasma membrane and protudes with its smaller mass from the protoplasmic surface by a stalked knob carrying the catalytic centre. The 40 000 dalton glycoprotein component is anchored in the membrane interior by a non-polar ‘fibrous’ side chain, whereas its major polar mass projects from the outer membrane surface forming a surface coat of ill-definable substructure.     

Proteolytic dissection of band 3, the predominant transmembrane polypeptide of the human erythrocyte membrane.

Band 3 is the major, membrane-spanning, approximately90 000 dalton polypeptide of the human erythrocyte membrane. To facilitate the analysis of its structural integration into the membrane, we have cleaved this protein in situ into large fragments and ascertained their disposition. Digestion of intact cells with chymotrypsin yielded band 3 fragments with apparent molecular weights of 38 000 and 55 000. Both fragments resisted elution by NaOH and acetic acid, suggesting that they are anchored in the apolar core of the membrane. Both pieces communicate with the extracellular space, and the 55 000 dalton species extends to the cytoplasmic surface as well. Digestion of unsealed ghosts with chymotrypsin produced a hydrophobic 17 000 dalton species, a segment of the 55 000 dalton fragment, which spans and is firmly anchored in the core of the membrane. Trypsin and papain at low concentration generated integral band 3 fragments of 52 000 daltons and released major band 3 fragments of less than or equal to 41 000 daltons from the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. The latter water-soluble polypeptides remained associated in discrete complexes which retained the capacity to bind glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. An interchain disulfide bond, which can be induced only at the cytoplasmic surface, cross-linked intact band 3, and certain of its water-soluble fragments. Finally, fragments of 23 000 daltons were generated from the innersurface domain by reacting disulfide-linked band 3 dimers with cyanide or reduced polypeptides with 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoate. A provisional ordering of these fragments is proposed.     

H-ATPase Activity from Storage Tissue of Beta vulgaris: IV. N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide Binding and Inhibition of the Plasma Membrane H-ATPase

The molecular weight and isoelectric point of the plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase from red beet storage tissue were determined using N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) and a H⁺-ATPase antibody. When plasma membrane vesicles were incubated with 20 micromolar [¹⁴C]-DCCD at 0°C, a single 97,000 dalton protein was visualized on a fluorograph of a sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel. A close correlation between [¹⁴C]DCCD labeling of the 97,000 dalton protein and the extent of ATPase inhibition over a range of DCCD concentration suggests that this 97,000 dalton protein is a component of the plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase. An antibody raised against the plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase of Neurospora crassa cross-reacted with the 97,000 dalton DCCD-binding protein, further supporting the identity of this protein. Immunoblots of two-dimensional gels of red beet plasma membrane vesicles indicated the isoelectric point of the H⁺-ATPase to be 6.5.     

Adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate-dependent phosphorylation of a 6000 and A 22000 dalton protein from cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum

In canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum, adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP)-dependent protein kinase specifically phosphorylates two proteins, as seen by sodium dodecyl sulfate-slab gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. One protein has a molecular weight ranging between 22 000 and 24 000 daltons and has previously been identified and named phospholamban (Tada, M., Kirchberger, M.A. and Katz, A.M. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 2640–2647). The other protein that the ³²P label incorporates into has a molecular weight of approximately 6000. Like the 22 000 dalton protein, the 6000 dalton protein has characteristic of phosphoester bonding. The time-dependent course of phosphorylation shows that initially the ³²P label is incorporated more rapidly into the 22 000 dalton protein than the 6000 dalton protein, with both proteins reaching a steady-state level of phosphorylation after 10 min of incubation. When both protein kinase and cyclic AMP are eliminated from the incubation medium, both the 22 000 and the 6000 dalton protein are still phosphorylated but only to about a quarter of the activity found when cyclic AMP and protein kinase are included in the incubation mixture. The addition of phosphodiesterase completely eliminates the phosphorylation of both proteins. Treating the microsomes with trypsin prevents subsequent phosphorylation of either protein. Phosphorylating the microsomes first, then treating with trypsin, renders both the 22 000 and the 6000 dalton proteins resistant to even prolonged trypsin attack. Unphosphorylated, both proteins are solubilized by a very low concentration of deoxycholate. After phosphorylation the proteins cannot be solubilized by deoxycholate. Phosphorylation appears to alter greatly the physical properties of these proteins.Control experiments exclude the possibility that a lipid is being phosphorylated. After phosphorylation, the phosphorylated 22 000 dalton protein is separated from the 6000 dalton protein by proteolipid extraction. After first treating the microsomes with methanol, the 22 000 dalton protein is then soluble in acidified chloroform/methanol, while the 6000 dalton protein remains insoluble. The finding that both proteins have much different biochemical properties when phosphorylated than when not, may be relevant in how they regulate calcium transport in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.     

Photoaffinity labeling of three renal cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate-binding proteins.

Evidence is presented for the presence of multiple cyclic AMP binding components in the plasma membrane and cytosol fractions of porcine renal cortex and medulla. N6-(Ethyl-2-diazomalonyl)-3',5'-adenosine monophosphate, a photoaffinity label for cyclic AMP binding sites, exhibits non-covalent binding characteristics similar to cyclic AMP in membrane and soluble fractions. Binding data for either compound to the plasma membrane fraction yields biphasic Scatchard plots while triphasic plots are obtained with the dialyzed cytosol. When covalently labeled fractions are separated on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the cyclic AMP photoaffinity label is found on 49 000 and 130 000 dalton components in each kidney fraction. DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration chromatography of the labeled cortical cytosol fraction establishes that the three components suggested by the binding data correspond to two 49 000 dalton species and a 130 000 component. The 49 000 species have higher affinities for cyclic AMP than the 130 000 component (Ka(1) = 2.0 . 10(9), Ka(2) = 1.7 . 10(8), Ka(3) = 1.0 . 10(7)). The 49 000 components are associated with protein kinase activity while the 130 000 component does not exhibit protein kinase, adenosine deaminase, or cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity. Immunologic results and effects of phosphorylation and cyclic GMP on cyclic AMP binding further suggest that the 49 000 components are regulatory subunits of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases. Cyclic AMP binding to the 130 000 component is markedly inhibited by adenosine and adenine nucleotides, but not cyclic GMP. Thus, this component may reflect an aspect of adenosine control or metabolism which may or may not be a cyclic AMP-related cellular function.     

Anion transport in relation to proteolytic dissection of band 3 protein

Sulfate efflux was measured in inside-out vesicles obtained from human red cells. Inhibition was observed in vesicles derived from cells pretreated with DIDS (4,4′-diisothiocyano-2,2′-stilbene disulfonate) or after addition of dipyridamole to the vesicles, both agents being specific and potent inhibitors of anion transport in cells. Trypsinization of the cytoplasmic side of the membrane in order to release a 40 000 dalton fragment from band 3 (the purported anion transport protein) had no effect on sulfate efflux. Further degradation of band 3 to a 17 000 dalton segment, by trypsinization of inside-out vesicles derived from cells that had been pretreated with chymotrypsin, also showed little reduction in transport activity. Furthermore, such vesicles derived from DIDS pretreated cells were inhibited by over 90%. In DIDS-treated cells, the agent is highly localized in band 3. In trypsinized inside-out vesicles, it is largely found in a 55 000 fragment and in trypsinized vesicles derived from cells pretreated with chymotrypsin it is largely located in the 17 000 fragment. The data suggest that both the anion transport and inhibitor binding sites are located in a 17 000 transmembrane segment of band 3.     

Synthesis,glycosylation and rapid secretion of a glycoprotein by Achlya a primitive eucaryote

Achlya ambisexualis, a water mold, secretes several glycoproteins during exponential growth. Among these is a major protein of 39 000 daltons (protein A-39) which is secreted very rapidly. Protein A-39 is detected among the soluble cellular proteins labeled for 5 min. However, after longer labeling times, an additional 95 000 dalton glycoprotein was immunoprecipitated from among the cytoplasmic proteins by antiserum against protein A-39. This antiserum reacted with a single 37 000 dalton protein from the in vitro translation products of poly(A)-containing RNA in a wheat germ cell-free system which is cleaved to a faster moving component in the presence of dog pancreatic membranes. Immunoprecipitated, chain-completion products of polysomes also show a 37 000 dalton peptide which does not bind to lectins, indicating absence of co-translational cleavage and glycosylation.Tunicamycin inhibits the appearance of the 95 000 dalton protein. Several immunoprecipitable proteins, including protein A-39, having sizes identical to the secretory proteins accumulate in the cytoplasm in the presence of this inhibitor. A short pulse with [³H]glucosamine followed by a chase showed that incorporation in protein A-39 increases while that in 95 000 dalton protein is decreasing. These results suggest that the 95 000 dalton glycoprotein may serve as a glycosyl donor to secretory protein A-39.     

Genetic control of the serum concentration of an H-2-antigen-like polypeptide chain

Mouse serum contains a protein complex consisting of at least three polypeptide chains. One of the chains with an approximate molecular weight of 40 000 is similar to the heavy chain of normal H-2 antigens. The serum concentration of this 40 000 dalton chain is under genetic control. Formal genetic analyses in B10.M and B10.S mice, their F₁ progeny and in backcrosses show that there are two codominantly expressed alleles at a single locus regulating the serum concentration. Measurements of the 40 000 dalton chain in recombinant mice suggest that the controlling locus is situated to the right of theS region.     

Hormone-induced phosphorylation of a 16000 Dalton polypeptide following meiosis reinitiation in starfish oocytes

In vitro phosphorylation of endogenous proteins is increased in homogenates prepared from 1-methyladenine-treated starfish oocytes when compared with control oocytes, although addition of the hormone to homogenates from control oocytes has no such effect. Following hormonal stimulation the best endogenous substrate is by far a 16 000 dalton (D) protein, the content of which also seems to increase, perhaps through proteolysis of a 21 000 D precursor. cAMP-dependent protein kinases are not involved in either basal or hormone-stimulated phosphorylations, as demonstrated by the lack of effect of either cAMP or of the heat-stable inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase on the extent of phosphorylation of individual endogenous substrates. Addition of 0.1 mM Ca²⁺ decreases to some extent the protein kinase activity in starfish homogenates and specifically suppresses the phosphorylation of a 40 000 D membrane protein. Starfish oocytes appear to contain myosin light chain kinase activity, as shown by the ability of homogenates to catalyse phosphorylation of exogenous 20 000 D myosin light chains.     

CAP binding proteins associated with the nucleus.

Cap binding proteins of HeLa cells were identified by photo-affinity labelling using the cap analogue gamma-[32P]-[4-(benzoyl-phenyl)methylamido]-7-methylguanosine-5'- triphosphate. Photoreaction with whole cell homogenates resulted in specific labelling of five major polypeptides. The small molecular weight polypeptide appeared to be identical to the 24 000 to 26 000 dalton cap binding protein previously identified in initiation factors. A cap binding protein of 37 000 dalton was found in initiation factors as well as in preparations of crude nuclei. It was released from nuclei by washing with buffer of moderate salt concentration. Three high molecular weight cap binding proteins (approximately 120 000, approximately 89 000, approximately 80 000 dalton) were found in the nuclear fraction and were only partly released upon nuclease digestion and high salt extraction.     

Characteristics and conversion of high molecular weight forms of renin in plasma and their incomplete activation by the current acid treatment.

Two distinctly different high molecular weight forms of renin are present in mouse plasma in addition to the well-recognized active 40 000 dalton form. The biggest form has a molecular weight of about 800 000, and is stable in 4 M urea, but can be converted to the active 40 000 dalton form, by storage, exposure to acid and limited proteolysis. The 70 000 dalton form can be activated by acid and limited proteolysis. However, the 70 000 dalton form does not change molecular weight with activation. By measuring renin, not only by its enzymatic activity, but also by the direct radioimmunoassay for the renin molecule, which measures enzymatically active as well as inactive renin, it was found that both forms were activated but neither of them completely. The validity of the currently used term "total" renin as the enzymatic renin activity after acid activation, is, therefore, questionable. The quantitative significance of this must await methods which can ensure complete conversion or activation of the high molecular weight forms of renin in plasma.     

Phosphorylation of a 100 000 dalton component and its relationship to calcium transport in sarcoplasmic reticulum from rabbit skeletal muscle

Sarcomplasmic reticulum from rabbit fast skeletal muscle contains intrinsic protein kinase activity (ATP:protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) and a substrate. The protein kinase activity was Mg2+ dependent and could also phosphorylate exogenous protein substrates. Autophosphorylation of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles was not stimulated by cyclic AMP, neither was it inhibited by the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor protein. The phosphorylated membranes had the characteristics of a protein with a phosphoester bond. An average of 73 pmol Pi/mg protein were incorporated in 10 min at 30 degrees C. Addition of exogenous cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase increased the endogenous level of phosphorylation by 25-100%. Sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane phosphorylation, mediated by either endogenous cyclic AMP-independent or exogenous cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, occurred on a 100 000 dalton protein and both enzyme activities resulted in enhanced calcium uptake and Ca2+-dependent ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3), in a manner similar to cardiac microsomal preparations. Regulation of Ca2+ transport in skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum may be mediated by phosphorylation of a 100 000 dalton component of these membranes.     

The effects of deoxycholate and trypsin on the cross-linking of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins.

Dithiobis (succinimidyl propionate) has been used to cross-link sarcoplasmic reticulum microsome proteins. Although the 100,000 dalton calcium stimulated ATPase and the 60,000 dalton calcium-binding protein calsequestrin were readily cross-linked to form homopolymers, no heteropolymer formation between these two proteins were detected. The 90,000 dalton protein A1 which is always observed in our preparations appeared to preferrentially form dimers on cross-linking. When calsequestrin was solubilized using 0.1 mg deoxycholate/mg protein, this protein was not cross-linked even at dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) concentrations ten times those used to cross-link this protein in the intact membrane. In a similar manner the deoxycholate-solubilized ATPase (0.5 mg deoxycholate/mg protein) was not cross-linked by dithiobis (succinimidyl propionate). These results suggest that the state of aggregation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins may be modified when solubilized in detergents such as deoxycholate. When the 100,000 dalton ATPase polypeptide was cleaved with trypsin to two fragments with molecular weights of approximately 55,000, these could be readily cross-linked. The fragments were capable of forming polymers with either other 55,000 dalton fragments or with the 100,000 dalton ATPase. The 29,000 and 22,000 dalton fragments, produced by further tryptic cleavage of the 55,000 dalton fragments, were not cross-linked at dithiobis (succinimidyl propionate) concentrations which readily cross-linked the 55,000 dalton fragments. Thus tryptic cleavage of the ATPase to fragments smaller than 55,000 dalton altered associations made by the ATPase in the membrane.     

Spectrin as a stabilizer of the phospholipid asymmetry in the human erythrocyte membrane

After treatment of intact human erythrocytes with SH-oxidizing agents (e.g. tetrathionate and diamide) phospholipase A₂ cleaves approx. 30% of the phosphatidylserine and 50% of the phosphatidylethanolamine without causing hemolysis (Haest, C.W.M. and Deuticke, B. (1976) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 436, 353–365). These phospholipids are scarcely hydrolysed in fresh erythrocytes and are assumed to be located in the inner lipid layer of the membrane (Verkleij, A.J., Zwaal, R.F.A., Roelofsen, B., Comfurius, P., Kastelijn, D. and van Deenen, L.L.M. (1973) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 323, 178–193). The enhancement of the phospholipid cleavage is now shown to be accompanied by a 50% decrease of the membrane SH-groups and a cross-linking of spectrin, located at the inner surface of the membrane, to oligomers of < 10⁶ dalton.Blocking approx. 10% of the membrane SH groups with N-ethylmaleimide suppresses both the polymerization of spectrin and the enhancement of the phospholipid cleavage. N-Ethylmaleimide, under these conditions, reacts with three SH groups per molecule of spectrin, 0.7 SH groups per major intrinsic 100 000 dalton protein (band 3) and 1.1 SH groups per molecule of an extrinsic protein of 72 000 daltons (band 4.2). Blocking studies with iodoacetamide demonstrate that the SH groups of the 100 000-dalton protein are not involved in the effects of the SH-oxidizing agents.It is suggested that a release of constraints imposed by spectrin enables phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine to move from the inner to the outer lipid layer of the erythrocyte membrane and that spectrin, in the native erythrocyte, stabilizes the orientation of these phospholipids to the inner surface of the membrane.     

Protein phosphorylation in peroxisomes

The possible presence of phosphorylated proteins in peroxisomes was studied in hepatocytes from nafenopin-treated and normal rats. A 63 kDa phosphorylated protein was consistently and exclusively found in the membrane of peroxisomes from hepatocytes incubated in the presence of 32P-phosphate. The peroxisomes were isolated in metrizamide isopycnic gradients of postnuclear supernatants and were subfractionated by alkaline extraction to separate the membrane and the matrix proteins. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, autoradiography and densitometry were employed to characterize the proteins. The 63 kDa membrane protein copurifies with peroxisomes in metrizamide gradients and apparently can be phosphorylated, in purified peroxisomes, with ATP and catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase.