Modulation of testicular galactolipid sulphotransferase activity by phosphorylation. Stimulation of enzyme activity in vitro by an endogenous kinase.

Evidence is presented for a testicular protein kinase activity capable of stimulating the activity in vitro of a partially purified preparation of the testicular galactolipid sulphotransferase. This enzyme is responsible for the synthesis of the major mammalian testicular glycolipid, sulphogalactosylglycerol, and is an early marker of differentiation during spermatogenesis. This stimulatory activity has been separated by affinity chromatography, using 3',5'-ADP-agarose, from both the detergent-solubilized microsomes (microsomal fractions) and the soluble fraction of the testicular homogenate. The stimulator was eluted from the affinity matrix by either a salt, or, more selectively, a cyclic AMP gradient. Thus this matrix can function as an analogue of 3',5'-cyclic AMP. The activity of the sulphotransferase stimulator was ATP-dependent and coincident with protein kinase activity. Sulphotransferase activity was also stimulated in the presence of commercial preparations of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and stimulation was prevented in the presence of kinase inhibitors. Our results suggest that sulphogalactolipid biosynthesis is regulated by a phosphorylation process during spermatogenesis. In addition, our results suggest that affinity chromatography on 3',5'-ADP-agarose may provide a general method for the purification of cyclic AMP-dependent kinases.     

Activity of protein kinase dependent on adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate and of its thermostable protein inhibitor in rat hepatoma (HTC) cells. Unlikely role in the permissive action of glucocorticoids.

Normal expression of a variety of hormonal effects which depend on cyclic AMP (adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate) requires the presence of glucocorticoids. Our hypothesis was that glucocorticoids control directly or indirectly the activity of cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase. This has been investigated in cultured hepatoma (HTC) cells in which N6,O2'-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-monophosphate increases the activity of tyrosine transaminase only after glucocorticoid treatment. In these cells, we have determined the concentration and half-life of protein kinase, the sensitivity of this enzyme in vitro to cyclic AMP and to its thermostable protein inhibitor, the state of dissociation of protein kinase holoenzyme in vivo and its sensitivity, in the intact cell, to dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-monophosphate and to the inhibitor diamide, and we have also determined the concentration of endogenous thermostable protein inhibitor of protein kinase. None of these parameters were influenced by glucocorticoids under conditions where these hormones stimulate the activity of tyrosine transaminase and restore sensitivity to dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-monophosphate. It is concluded that the permissive action of glucocorticoids probably results from a control of cyclic-AMP-dependent processes exerted at a level beyond the protein kinase system.     

Identification and solubilization of a cAMP-independent protein kinase from mouse L-cell smooth membranes

1. Smooth membranes have been prepared from mouse L-cells and found to contain an endogenous protein kinase activity. 2. The enzyme(s) responsible for this activity use ATP, but no other nucleoside triphosphates, to phosphorylate endogenous membrane proteins as well as exogenously-added protein substrates such as phosvitin and casein. 3. Mg2+ is required for enzyme activity, maximal activity is observed at pH 7.5-8.0 and the kinase is not dependent on, or stimulated by, cyclic 3'-5' AMP. 4. The kinase activity is not decreased by the Walsh heat-stable inhibitor of cyclic 3'-5' AMP-dependent protein kinases. 5. Fifty percent or more of the membrane-associated kinase activity can be solubilized by extracting membranes with buffer containing 0.6 M NaCl. 6. The solubilized enzyme resembles the membrane-associated activity in its Mg2+ requirement, pH optimum and independence of cyclic 3'-5' AMP. 7. Phosvitin and casein are better exogenous substrates than histones or protamine for phosphorylation by the enzyme in either the membrane-associated or solubilized state.     

Comparison of mode of activation of guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent and adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinases from silkworm.

Guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic GMP)-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase G) partially purified from silkworm pupae was selectively activated by cyclic GMP at lower concentrations. Nevertheless, the enzyme seemed to differ from adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A) with respect to the mode of response to cyclic nucleotides. The catalytic activity and cyclic GMP-binding activity were not dissociated by cyclic GMP in a manner similar to that described for protein kinase A. The enzyme was not inhibited by regulatory subunit of protein kinase A nor by protein inhibitor. A sulfhydryl compound such as 2-mercaptoethanol or glutathione was essential for the activation by cyclic GMP, and an extraordinary high concentration of either Mg2+ (100 mM) or Mn2+ (25 mM) was needed for maximal stimulation by cyclic GMP. A polyamine such as spermine, spermidine, or putrescine could substitute partly for the cation. Kinetic analysis indicated that Km for ATP was decreased whereas Ka for cyclic GMP was increased significantly at high concentrations of the cation. The effect of the cation to decrease Km for ATP was not evident in the absence of a sulfhydryl compound. These characteristics of protein kinase G described above were not observed for protein kinase A which was obtained from the same organism.     

Partial purification and properties of a cyclic 3',5'-AMP-independent protein kinase from rat liver.

1. A cyclic 3',5'-AMP-independent protein kinase (ATP : protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) from rat liver cytosol was partially purified and characterized. Purification by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, DEAE-cellulose, Bio Gel A-0.5 m and cellulose phosphate chromatography increased the specific activity about 700-fold. 2. An endogenous protein substrate was closely associated with the protein kinase and was not separable from this enzyme up to the cellulose phosphate stage. After phosphorylation, chromatography with Bio Gel A-0.5 m partially separated this endogenous phosphoprotein from the enzyme activity; this dissociation had no apparent effect on kinase activity with casein or phosvitin as substrates, or on the apparent molecular weight of the enzyme (approx. 158,000). 3. This protein kinase with casein, phosvitin, or the endogenous substrate was totally insensitive to the thiol reagents, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), iodoacetamide, and N-ethylmaleimide. The enzyme was also unaffected by cyclic 3',5'-AMP, heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor, and the regulatory subunit of a cyclic 3',5'-AMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Evidence for a role of sulfhydryl groups in catalytic activity and subunit interaction of the cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase from silkworm.

Guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase (ATP:protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) has been isolated from silkworm pupal fat body (Bombyx mori) which is devoid of any adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase. The enzyme displayed catalytic properties which were roughly similar to those described for adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase. This similarity has been found in substrate specificity, optimal Mg2+ dependency, polyamines effects and the lack of dependency upon sulfhydryl compound for activation by cyclic GMP. Treatment of the enzyme with sulfhydryl reagents, N-ethylmaleimide or p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, inhibited the catalytic activity as well as the dissociation of the binding and catalytic activities as shown by means of sucrose-density gradient ultracentrifugation. In the presence of cyclic GMP or histone, the disulfide-linked structure did not dissociate into separate subunits nor did it migrate as the holoenzyme but sedimented as an intermediate form carrying both binding and catalytic activities.     

A cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent histone kinase from pig brain. Purification and some properties of the enzyme.

A cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent histone kinase (ATP: protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) was isolated from pig brain. The enzyme has been purified 1140-fold; it is homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration. The estimated molecular weight of the enzyme is 120 000. Histone kinase dissociates into a catalytic subunit and a regulatory one (molecular weights 40 000 and 90 000, respectively). The catalytic subunit has been obtained in homogeneous state as evidenced by sodium dodecylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. At all purification steps, enzymatic activity is stimulated 5-fold by cyclic AMP. An apparent Km value for cyclic AMP is about 3.3 - 10- minus 7 M. In the presence of cyclic AMP(5 - 10- minus 6 M), the Km value for ATP and F1 histone were 1.2 - 10- minus five and 3 - 10- minus 5 M, respectively. Optimum pH value for histone kinase is 6.5, its isoelectric point is situated at pH 4.6. The purified enzyme displays high specificity for the lysine-rich and moderately lysine-rich histones F1, F2a2 and F2b. Arginine-rich histones and other known protein substrates for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases (casein, Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, etc.) are extremely poor substrates for this enzyme.     

Cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinase and the phosphorylation of endogenous proteins of retinal rod outer segments.

Cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinase has been extracted wiht Tris or Lubrol PX from purified rod outer segments (ROS) of bovine retina. The activity of the enzyme is unaffected by light but is stimulated by either cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) or cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP). Most of the solubilized enzyme elutes from DEAE-cellulose with about 0.18 M NaCl (type II protein kinase). An endogenous 30,000 molecular weight protein of the soluble fraction of ROS as well as exogenous histone are phosphorylated by the protein kinase in a cyclic nucleotide dependent manner. The Tris-extracted enzyme can be reassociated in the presence of Mg2+ with ROS membranes that are depleted of protein kinase activity. The reassociated protein kinase is insensitive to exogenous cyclic nucleotides, and it catalyzes the phosphorylation of the membrane protein, bleached rhodopsin. While the soluble and membrane-associated protein kinases may be interchangeable, they appear to be modulated by different biological signals; soluble protein kinase activity is increased by cyclic nucleotides whereas membrane-bound activity is enhanced when rhodopsin is bleached by light.     

Changes in cyclic AMP-dependent protein dinase activity in Tetrahymena pyriformis during the growth cycle.

An adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase II (ATP:protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) was partially purified from the cytosol fraction of an exponentially growing culture of Tetrahymena pyriformis. Protein kinase II represented approximately 90% of the cytosolic protein kinase activity. The enzyme had a high degree of substrate specificity for calf thymus and Tetrahymena histones as compared to casein, protamine and phosvitin. The enzyme incorporated the terminal phosphate of ATP into serine and threonine residues of all the histone fractions. The apparent Km of the enzyme for adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) was 1-10-minus 8 M. Protein kinase II was also activated by other cyclic nucleotides with apparent Km values in the range 2.k-10-minus 6 M. Ther specific activity of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase of Tetrahymena decreases markedly from initial high values during the transition from the lag to early log phase of growth. This is followed by a shrp increase in the activity of the enzyme as the log phase of growth progresses. The specific activity of the enzyme increases rapidly during the heat-induced synchronization of Tetrahymena cells. The capacity for rapid phosphorylation of multiple classed of organelle-specific phosphoproteins and the level of cyclic AMP were maximal in Tetrahymena during the earliest phase of growth. These results demonstrate that the cell cycle of Tetrahymena may be coordinated by marked variations in the level of cyclic AMP which in turn regulate the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Purification and properties of a virion protein kinase.

The protein kinase associated with virions of frog virus 3 was purified to apparent homogeneity by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The enzyme protein appeared as a single polypeptide of molecular weight 50,000 to 55,000 as determined by gel filtration, glycerol gradient sedimentation, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and comprised approximately 0.4% of the total virion protein. The activity was classified as a cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase as it was not effected by cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate, cyclic guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate, or inhibited by a cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase inhibitor protein, and utilized GTP as well as ATP as a phosphate donor. The greatest rates of phosphorylation were obtained with acidic phosphoprotein substrates such as casein or phosvitin, although potential physiological substrates for this activity included specific virion polypeptides of frog virus.     

Nuclear protein-kinase activity in perfused rat liver stimulated with dibutyryl-adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate.

Cytoplasmic and nuclear protein kinase activities from perfused rat liver have been studied in response to dibutyryl-adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate added at a concentration that stimulates hepatic gluconeogenesis (100 muM). Total nuclear protein kinase, as assayed using a mixed histone fraction as phosphate acceptor, is increased by 5-fold within 8 min of the addition of cyclic nucleotide to the perfusate. In contrast the total cytoplasmic protein kinase activity is decreased to 50% of the control value. The protein substrate specificity of the protein kinase that is present in the nucleus in response to dibutyryl-adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate stimulation is similar to that of cytoplasmic, adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent, protein kinase but is distinct from that of the enzyme(s) present in control nuclei. The predominant species to protein kinase from stimulated nuclei has a sedimentation constant of 3.9 S. This value is identical to that of the catalytic subunit of cytoplasmic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase. These data suggest that some of the effects of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate on nuclear events may be mediated through its interaction with the inactive protein kinase holoenzyme in the cytoplasm and the subsequent redistribution of the active catalytic subunits generated by this interaction.     

Inhibition of the glycogen phosphorylase system during ochratoxicosis in chickens.

Graded doses of ochratoxin A incorporated into the diet (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 micrograms/g) of broiler chickens significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited activity of protein kinase, the initiator enzyme of the glycogen phosphorylase system, in the livers at all dose levels. Only the highest dose, 8.0 micrograms/g, significantly reduced the total activity of phosphorylase kinase, which is activated by protein kinase. The total activity of phosphorylase, which is activated by phosphorylase kinase, was unaltered by ochratoxin A at any level. Additon of ochratoxin A to liver extracts control birds inhibited protein kinase but not phosphorylase kinase. When added to extracts of livers from control birds, cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate stimulated protein kinase but not phosphorylase kinase. The cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate had no effect when added to extracts from birds fed ochratoxin A. These results suggest that ochratoxin A affects primarily the cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase which initiates the enzymatic cascade leading to glycogenolysis. Furthermore, these results conform an earlier assignment on morphological criteria of the glycogenosis of ochratoxicosis as a type X glycogen storage disease.     

Coordinate regulation of adenylate cyclase, protein kinase, and specific enzyme synthesis by cholera toxin in hormonally unresponsive hepatoma cells

Since none of the hormones which activate adenylate cyclase in other tissues have been found to activate adenylate cyclase or to induce tyrosine aminotransferase in cultured Reuber hepatoma cells (H35), despite the stimulatory effects of cyclic AMP derivatives on the latter enzyme, we tested the ability of cholera toxin to influence these processes. At low concentrations cholera toxin was found to mimic the ability of cyclic AMP derivatives to selectively stimulate the synthesis of the aminotransferase. Adenylate cyclase and protein kinase activity were also enhanced, but only after a lag period as in other systems. Specific phosphorylation of endogenous H₁ histone was also shown to be increased by cholera toxin treatment. The increase in tyrosine aminotransferase activity is due to an increase in de novo synthesis as shown by radiolabeling experiments utilizing specific immunoprecipitation. The activity of another soluble enzyme induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP, PEP carboxykinase, was also stimulated by exposure of H35 cells to cholera toxin. Combinations of cholera toxin and dexamethasone led to greater than additive increases in the activity of both the aminotransferase and carboxykinase. Close coupling of cyclic AMP production with protein kinase activation and enzyme induction was suggested by the observation that the ED₅₀ values for the stimulation of adenylate cyclase, cyclic AMP production, protein kinase, and tyrosine aminotransferase activities were found to be the same (5–7 ng/ml) within experimental error. The results indicate that the adenylate cyclase system in H35 cells is functionally responsive and they support the suggestion that activation of protein kinase is functionally linked to induction of specific enzymes.     

Purification and general properties of guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase from guinea pig fetal lung.

Guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic GMP)-dependent protein kinase was purified from the guinea pig fetal lung, a tissue shown to be the richest in this enzyme in all mammalian sources examined, and its general properties studied. The enzyme was purified 150-fold from crude extract by steps of pH 5.4 isoelectric precipitation, Sephadex G-200 filtration, hydroxylapatite treatment and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The purified enzyme, free from contamination with adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP)-dependent protein kinase, had a specific activity at least equivalent to 600-fold purification of the enzyme from the adult lung. The pulmonary enzyme exhibited an absolute requirement of protein kinase modulator (prepared from various mammalian tissues with an exception of skeletal muscle) for its activity. Inhibitor protein of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase purified from rabbit skeletal muscle could not stimulate nor inhibit the cyclic GMP target enzyme, indicating the factors from mammalian sources regulating the two classes of protein kinases may not be the same. The enzyme had Ka values of 1.3 times 10(-8) and 3.3 times 10(-8) M for 8-bromo cyclic GMP and cyclic GMP, respectively, compared to 3.0 times 10(-6) M for cyclic AMP. Cyclic GMP lowered the Km of the enzyme for ATP from 6.3 times 10(-5) M in its absence to 2.1 times 10(-5) M in its presence, accompanied by an approximate doubling of the Vmax. The molecular weight of the enzyme (assayed by its catalytic and cyclic GMP-binding abilities) was estimated to be 123,000, corresponding to a sedimendation coefficient of 7.06 S, by means of sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. The cyclic GMP-dependent enzyme required Mg2+ and Co2+ for its activity with optimal concentrations of about 30 and 0.7 mM, respectively. The maximal activity seen in the presence of Mg2+, however, was nearly twice as high as that seen in the presence of Co2+. Histones were generally effective substrates for the enzyme, whereas protamine, casein, phosvitin, phosphorylase kinase, and activator protein of phosphodiesterase were not. The cyclic GMP-dependent enzyme exhibited a greater affinity for histones than did the cyclic AMP-dependent enzyme in the presence of Mg2+.     

Purification and characterization of Novikoff ascites tumor protein kinase.

A protein kinase, designed KII, has been purified 5000-fold from Novikoff ascites tumor cells. The purification procedure also allows for the purification of a second major protein kinase, designated KI, as well as RNA polymerase I and II. Purified KII has a sedimentation constant of 7.6 S and a Stokes radius of 39 A, suggesting a molecular weight of about 122000. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the enzyme in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate suggests the enzyme is composed of subunits of molecular weights 44 000, 40 000, and 26 000 present in a molar ratio of 1:1:2. Incubation of the enzyme alone in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP results in the phosphorylation of the 26 000-dalton subunit. Protein kinase II actively phosphorylates phosvitin, casein, and nonhistone chromosomal proteins but does not phosphorylate basic proteins such as histones or protamine to an appreciable extent. Km values of 3.6 micron for ATP and 6.5 micronM for GTP were determined in the presence of 4mM Mg2+. The enzyme is neither stimulated by cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate or cyclic guanosine 3', 5'-monophosphate nor inhibited by the regulatory subunit of rabbit muscle protein kinase. Its activity is stimulated by KCl at concentrations below 0.2 M and inhibited by higher concentrations.     

Characterization of protein kinases from bovine parotid glands. The effect of tolbutamide and its derivative on these partially purified enzymes.

1. Four fractions of protein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37) activity (Peak IH, IIH, IIIC and IVC) have been resolved and partially purified from the 100 000 X g supernatant fraction of bovine parotid glands by DEAE-cellulose and phosphocellulose chromatographies. 2. The protein kinases of Peak IH and IIH were adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) -dependent and had similar enzymic properties. The enzyme activities of Peak IIIC and IVC were cyclic-AMP independent, but there were some distinct differences between their properties. The protein kinase in Peak IIIC was activated by 0.2 M NaCl or KCl and phosphorylated casein preferentially as the substrate, utilizing only ATP as a phosphate donor. On the other hand, the protein kinase in Peak IVC was inhibited by univalent salts and preferred phosvitin to casein, utilizing either ATP or GTP as a phosphate donor. 3. Tolbutamide increased the Km value for ATP and the dissociation constant for cyclic AMP, resulting in the inhibition of cyclic-AMP dependent protein kinase activity in the presence of cyclic AMP. Tolbtamide and its carboxy derivative, 1-butyl-3-p-carboxyphenylsulfonylurea, exerted almost no inhibitory effect on either the cyclic-AMP dependent protein kinase activities in the absence of cyclic AMP or on the cyclic-AMP independent protein kinase activities.     

Protein kinases of retinal rod outer segments: identification and partial characterization of cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinase and rhodopsin kinase

Protein kinase activity of dark-adapted bovine rod outer segments is partitioned by centrifugation into soluble and membrane-bound fractions. The soluble kinases are separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography into three peaks of activity, which can be classified by substrate specificity and cyclic nucleotide dependence into two categories. One peak of protein kinase activity has the characteristics reported for rhodopsin kinase (category one); it phosphorylates only bleached rhodopsin, and its activity is not affected by light, exogenous adenosine cyclic 3',5'--monophosphate (cAMP), guanosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP), or a protein kinase inhibitor from skeletal muscle. Rhodopsin kinase has an apparent molecular weight of 68 000. The second category of kinase includes two peaks of activity which are stimulated severalfold by cAMP or cGMP but not by light. These protein kinases phosphorylate soluble proteins including histones and a protein kinase substrate prepared from rat intestine but not rhodopsin. The two peaks elute from DEAE-cellulose with 0.09 and 0.20 M KCl, suggesting that they are similar respectively to type I and type II cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinases that have been characterized in other tissues. The activity of type I kinase is variable and much less than that of the type II enzyme; its molecular weight was not determined. The type II protein kinase has an apparent molecular weight of 165 000. This study confirms that different protein kinase enzymes catalyze selectively the phosphorylation of bleached rhodopsin and soluble proteins, and it repudiates the speculation in a previous publication [Farber, D. B., Brown, B. M., & Lolley, R. N. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 370-378] that a single protein kinase might catalyze both phosphorylation reactions.     

Liver phosphorylase b kinase. Cyclic-AMP-mediated activation and properties of the partially purified rat-liver enzyme.

Phosphorylase b kinase was extensively purified from rat liver. It was located in a form which could be activated 20--30-fold by a preincubation with adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and ATP-Mg. This activation was time-dependent, and was paralleled by a simultaneous incorporation of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP into two polypeptides which comigrated in sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis with the alpha and beta subunits of rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase b kinase. The liver enzyme was eluted from Sepharose 4B and Bio-Gel A-50m columns at the same place as muscle phosphorylase b kinase, which is indicative of a molecular weight of 1.3 x 10(6). After activation, the most purified liver preparation had a specific activity about 10-fold less than the homogeneous muscle enzyme at pH 8.2. The inactive enzyme form had a pronounced pH optimum around pH 6.0, whereas the activated form was mostly active above neutral pH. The activation of the enzyme reduced the Km for its substrate phosphorylase b severalfold. Liver phosphorylase b kinase was shown to be partially dependent on Ca2+ ions for its activity: addition of 0.5 mM [ethylenebis-(oxoethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid (EGTA) to the phosphorylase b kinase assay increased the Km for phosphorylase b about twofold for both the inactive and the activated form of liver phosphorylase b kinase, but affected the V of the inactive species only.     

Hepatic pyruvate kinase. Regulation by glucagon, cyclic adenosine 3'-5'-monophosphate, and insulin in the perfused rat liver.

A reversible interconversion of two kinetically distinct forms of hepatic pyruvate kinase regulated by glucagon and insulin is demonstrated in the perfused rat liver. The regulation does not involve the total enzyme content of the liver, but rather results in a modulation of the substrate dependence. The forms of pyruvate kinase in liver homogenates are distinguished by measurements of the ratio of the enzyme activity at a subsaturating concentration of P-enolpyruvate (1.3 mM) to the activity at a saturating concentration of this substrate (6.6 mM). A low ratio form of pyruvate kinase (ratio between 0.1 and 0.2) is obtained from livers perfused with 10(-7) M glucagon or 0.1 mM adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP). A high ratio form of the enzyme is obtained from livers perfused with no hormone (ratio = 0.35 to 0.45). The regulation of pyruvate kinase by glucagon and cyclic AMP occurs within 2 min following the hormone addition to the liver. Insulin (22 milliunits/ml) counteracts the inhibition of pyruvate kinase caused by 5 X 10(-11) M glucagon, but has only a slight influence on the enzyme properties in the absence of the hyperglycemic hormone. The low ratio form of pyruvate kinase obtained from livers perfused with glucagon or cyclic AMP is unstable in liver extracts and will revert to a high ratio form within 10 min at 37 degrees or within a few hours at 0 degrees. Pyruvate kinase is quantitatively precipitated from liver supernatants with 2.5 M ammonium sulfate. This precipitation stabilizes the enzyme and preserves the kinetically distinguishable forms. The kinetic properties of the two forms of rat hepatic pyruvate kinase are examined using ammonium sulfate precipitates from the perfused rat liver. At pH 7.5 the high ratio form of the enzyme has [S]0.5 = 1.6 +/- 0.2 mM P-enolpyruvate (n = 8). The low ratio form of enzyme from livers perfused with glucagon or cyclic AMP has [S]0.5 = 2.5 +/- 0.4 mM P-enolpyruvate (n = 8). The modification of pyruvate kinase induced by glucagon does not alter the dependence of the enzyme activity on ADP (Km is approximately 0.5 mM ADP for both forms of the enzyme). Both forms are allosterically modulated by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, L-alanine, and ATP. The changes in the kinetic properties of hepatic pyruvate kinase which follow treating the perfused rat liver with glucagon or cyclic AMP are consistent with the changes observed in the enzyme properties upon phosphorylation in vitro by a clyclic AMP-stimulated protein kinase (Ljungstr?m, O., Hjelmquist, G. and Engstr?m, L. (1974) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 358, 289--298). However, other factors also influence the enzyme activity in a similar manner and it remains to be demonstrated that the regulation of hepatic pyruvate kinase by glucagon and cyclic AMP in vivo involes a phosphorylation.     

Self-phosphorylation of cyclic guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase from bovine lung. Effect of cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate, cyclic guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate and histone.

Incubation of purified cyclic guanosine 3':5'-monophospate-dependent protein kinase with [gamma-32P]ATP and Mg2+ led to formation of one 32P-labeled protein, Mr = 75,000, which corresponded to the single protein band detected after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. When electrophoresis was performed without detergent, the labeled protein coincided with the position of cGMP-dependent protein kinase activity. Phosphorylation was enhanced severalfold by either histone or cAMP and was inhibited by the addition of cGMP. Low concentrations of cGMP blocked the stimulatory effects of cAMP or histone (or both). Since neither cAMP-dependent protein kinase nor cGMP-dependent phosphoprotein phosphatase activities were detected in the purified enzyme, we concluded that the cGMP-dependent protein kinase is a substrate for its own phosphotransferase activity and that other protein substrates (histone) and cyclic nucleotides modulate the process of self-phosphorylation.