The hydrolysis of cholesterol esters in plasma lipoproteins by hormone-sensitive cholesterol esterase from adipose tissue.

Adipose tissue contains a high level of neutral esterase active against emulsions of cholesteryl oleate. The present studies show that this enzyme can also effectively hydrolyze the cholesterol esters in native rat plasma high density lipoproteins (HDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL). The hydrolysis of lipoprotein cholesterol esters by a pH 5.2 isoelectric precipitate fraction from the freshly prepared 100,000 X g supernatant of chicken adipose tissue was low, but increased more than 50-fold on activation with cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Rat adipose tissue homogenates were also very active against lipoprotein cholesterol esters, hydrolyzing as much as 60% of the total labeled cholesterol ester in HDL or LDL in 1 h. Activity was optimal at pH 7 and very low at pH 4. No protease activity was detected at pH 7 and, since assays were done in 2 mM EDTA, phospholipase A activity was presumably negligible. The results show that hormone-sensitive cholesterol esterase of adipose tissue has ready access to the neutral lipid core of plasma lipoproteins, either because the enzyme penetrates the polar shell or because the cholesterol ester in the core is exposed, at least intermittently, to allow enzyme-substrate complex formation. Whether or not this enzyme activity plays a role in lipoprotein degradation by adipose tissue remains to be determined.     

Studies on cholesterol esterase in rat adipose tissue: comparison of substrates and regulation of the activity

Efficiency of substrates for cholesterol esterase (EC 3.1.1.13) assay, and regulation of the activity were investigated in rat epididymal adipose tissue. The activity in the supernatant was activated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, cyclic AMP, ATP and Mg2+, both with micellar and liposomal substrates. However, the micellar substrate was more suitable for the assay than the liposomal with respect to Vmax and Km. Thus, the micellar substrate was employed. Pretreatment of the supernatant with exogenous cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase enhanced the activity dose dependently, whereas that with cyclic AMP decreased the activity slightly. The cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity in the assay mixture was within the range which can cause changes in cholesterol esterase activity. These results suggest that the amount of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, rather than the cyclic AMP level, plays an important role in the regulation of cholesterol esterase in tissues with a high cholesterol esterase activity relative to the kinase activity, such as in adipose tissue.     

Activation of myocardial neutral triglyceride lipase and neutral cholesterol esterase by cAMP-dependent protein kinase

Lipolysis of intracellular triglycerides in the heart has been shown to be regulated by hormones. However, activation of myocardial triglyceride lipase in a cell-free system has not been directly demonstrated. In the present studies, initial attempts to demonstrate cAMP-dependent activation of triglyceride lipase using the 1,000 X g supernatant fraction (S1) of mouse heart homogenate were unsuccessful, presumably due to the masking effects of high levels of lipoprotein lipase activity even when assayed at pH 7.4 and in the absence of apolipoprotein C-II. Myocardial lipoprotein lipase in the 40,000 X g supernatant fraction was then removed by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The lipoprotein lipase-free fractions were shown to contain neutral triglyceride lipase and neutral cholesterol esterase of about equal activities. The triglyceride lipase and cholesterol esterase activities fell progressively during preincubation in the presence of 5 mM Mg2+. Additions of cAMP and ATP resulted in 40-70% activation of both triglyceride lipase and cholesterol esterase. The activation was blocked by protein kinase inhibitor and was restored by the addition of exogenous cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Since lipoprotein lipase has no activity toward cholesteryl oleate, activation of cholesterol esterase in untreated S1 was readily demonstrable. Both triglyceride lipase and cholesterol esterase activities were present in homogenates prepared from isolated rat heart myocytes. We conclude that the myocardium contains a hormone-sensitive lipase that is regulated in a fashion similar to that of the adipose tissue enzyme.     

In vitro activation of a soluble cholesterol esterase from bovine adrenals by a cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

Properties and partial purification of the bovine adrenal cholesterol esterase from the 100000 X g supernatant fraction were investigated. Variations of the enzyme activity with time-dependent (enzymatic) and time-dependent (non enzymatic) effects have been demonstrated. Mg2 has been proved to inhibit the enzyme activity by a non-enzymatic effect in 50mM Tris/HCl buffer, pH 7.4. A time-dependent inactivation of the cholesterol esterase has been observed in the same buffer. The enzyme could be protected from this enzymatic inactivation by its substrate, cholesterol oleate. cAMP, ATP and Mg2 cuase a time-dependent stimulation of the enzyme in 50mM Tris/HCl buffer, pH 7.4. This result suggests that corticotropin activates the soluble cholesterol esterase from bovine adrenals via cAMP-dependent protein kinase. This view is strengthened by the incorporation of 32P radioactivity from [gamma-32P] ATP into the protein fraction of the 100,000 X g supernatant. The protein-bound 32P radioactivity could be co-purified with the enzyme activity during the partial purification of the soluble cholesterol esterase.     

Inhibition of the reversible deactivation of chicken adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase by heat-stable proteins from adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.

The reversible deactivation of chicken adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase is catalyzed by a lipase phosphatase. Heat-stable protein preparations from rat epididymal fat pads, chicken adipose tissue, and rabbit skeletal muscle inhibited lipase phosphatase activity. Phosphatase inhibitor preparations from rat adipose tissue did not inhibit the protein kinase-catalyzed activation of hormone-sensitive lipase, whereas inhibitor preparations from rabbit skeletal muscle were contaminated with protein kinase inhibitor.     

Activation of chicken adipose tissue diglyceride lipase by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and its deactivation by purified protein phosphatase.

Diglyceride lipase of chicken adipose tissue was found to be activated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase to the same extent as hormone-sensitive triglyceride lipase (3-to 10-fold) when lipase assays were carried out in buffers of low ionic strength. Sodium phosphate (50 mM) or sodium chloride (100 mM) preferentially enhanced the basal (nonactivated) form of diglyceride lipase, which minimized the apparent activation by protein kinase. The activated diglyceride lipase was readily deactivated by a pure protein phosphatase from bovine heart (MW 35,000) and the deactivated enzyme was then reactivated by protein kinase.     

Enzymes regulating glycogen metabolism in swine subcutaneous adipose tissue. I. Phosphorylase and phosphorylase phosphatase.

Glycogen phosphorylase from swine adipose tissue was purified nearly 700-fold using ethanol precipitation, DEAE-cellulose adsorption, AMP-agarose affinity chromatography, and agarose gel filtration. The purified enzyme migrated as one major and several minor components during polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Activity was associated with the major component and at least one of the minor components. The molecular weight of the disaggregated, reduced, and alkylated enzyme, estimated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis performed in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, was 90,000. Stability of the purified enzyme was considerably increased in the presence of AMP. The isoelectric pH of the enzyme in crude homogenates was 6.3. The sedimentation coefficient of the purified enzyme (7.9 S) and that in crude homogenates (7.3 S) was determined by sucrose density gradient sedimentation. Optimal pH for activity was between pH 6.5 and 7.1. Apparent Km values for glycogen and inorganic phosphate were 0.9 mg/ml and 6.6 mM, respectively. The Ka for AMP was 0.21 mM. Enzyme activity was increased by K2SO4, KF, KCl, and MgCl2 and decreased by NaCl, Na2SO4, D-glucose, and ATP. Inhibition by glucose was noncompetitive with the activator AMP; inhibition by ATP was partially competitive with AMP. The purified enzyme was activated by incubation with skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase. Enzyme in crude homogenates was activated by the addition of MgCl2 and ATP; activation was not blocked by addition of protein kinase inhibitor, suggesting that phosphorylase kinase in homogenates of swine adipose tissue is present largely in an activated form. Deactivation of phosphorylase a by phosphorylase phosphatase was studied using enzyme purified approximately 200-fold from swine adipose tissue by ethanol precipitation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, and gel filtration. The Km of the adipose tissue phosphatase for skeletal muscle phosphorylase a was 6 muM. The purified swine adipose tissue phosphorylase, labeled with 32-P, was inactivated and dephosphorylated by the adipose tissue phosphatase. Dephosphorylation of both skeletal muscle and adipose tissue substrates was inhibited by AMP and glucose reversed this inhibition. Several lines of evidence suggest that AMP inhibition was due to an action on the substrate rather than on the enzyme. We have previously reported that the system for phosphorylase activation in rat fat cells differs in some important characteristics from that in skeletal muscle. However, both swine fat phosphorylase and phosphorylase phosphatase have major properties very similar to those described for the enzymes from skeletal muscle.     

Reversible protein kinase activation of hormone-sensitive lipase from chicken adipose tissue

Hormone-sensitive lipase partially purified from adipose tissue of laying hens was markedly activated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Activation was approximately 4-fold (ranging up to as great as 10-fold) compared with the much lower degree of activation obtained with analogous preparations from rat and human adipose tissues (59 and 86%, respectively). The partially purified preparations contained adequate endogenous protein kinase activity to effect complete activation with addition of cyclic AMP, ATP, and Mg(2+). Activation was blocked by protein kinase inhibitor (from rabbit skeletal muscle) but could be restored fully by addition of excess exogenous protein kinase (from bovine skeletal muscle). The fully activated lipase was slowly deactivated by dialysis at 4 degrees C and then rapidly and almost fully reactivated by addition of cyclic AMP and ATP-Mg(2+). Reactivation was blocked by protein kinase inhibitor. This deactivation-reactivation cycle was rapid at 23 degrees C with dialysis against charcoal and could be demonstrated repeatedly using a single preparation. The reversible deactivation of protein kinase-activated enzyme is presumed to reflect the action of a lipase phosphatase. Lipase prepared from tissue previously exposed to glucagon yielded a much smaller degree of activation than lipase prepared from tissue not exposed to the lipolytic hormone, indicating that the physiological hormone-induced activation is probably similar to or identical with the protein kinase activation demonstrated in the cell-free preparations. Under the conditions of assay used, the partially purified lipase fraction contained diglyceride, monoglyceride, and lipoprotein lipase activities. However, treatment with cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase had virtually no effect on these lipase activities.     

Regulation of neutral cholesteryl esterase in arterial smooth muscle cells: stimulation by agonists of adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase

Cultured arterial smooth muscle cells have been found to contain an activatable neutral cholesteryl esterase (EC 3.1.1.13). This enzyme is similar to that previously described in adipose tissue, adrenal cortex, and aortic homogenates. Although both the lysosomal (acid) and cytoplasmic (neutral) cholesteryl esterases were activated two- to threefold by the addition of 100 microM dibutyryl cyclic AMP, only neutral cholesteryl esterase was responsive to 100 microM dibutyryl cyclic AMP, 10 mM MgATP, and 50 micrograms/ml exogenous protein kinase when added together. Protein kinase inhibitor (10 micrograms/ml) reversed the action of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase; deactivation of neutral cholesteryl esterase was also shown to occur with 50 micrograms/ml phosphoprotein phosphatase. In addition, 0.2 microM prostacyclin, 50 microM forskolin, and an agonist of the beta-adrenergic receptor, 5 microM isoproterenol, significantly stimulated intracellular cyclic AMP accumulation and activated cholesteryl esterase in arterial smooth muscle cells. The data indicate that neutral cholesteryl esterase in arterial smooth muscle cells can be modulated by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation system involving the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase-phosphoprotein phosphatase. Regulation of cholesteryl esterase by this mechanism may affect lipid accumulation in these arterial cells.     

Hormone-sensitive lipase of adipose tissue.

Some physiologic aspects of the mobilization and fate of free fatty acids are reviewed. The molecular mechanism of the activation of hormone-sensitive lipase in adipose tissue is then discussed. Recent evidence established that hormone-sensitive lipase, concerned with fat mobilization, is both functionally and immunochemically distinct from lipoprotein lipase, concerned with uptake of plasma triglycerides. Lipoprotein lipase activity is not altered by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. The latter enzyme enhances not only triglyceride hydrolase but also monoglyceride, diglyceride and cholesterol ester hydrolase activities in chicken adipose tissue. Finally, it is shown that the activation of all four acyl hydrolases is reversible, the deactivation being magnesium-dependent. Protein phosphatase fractions from heart and liver active against phosphorylase a can reversibly deactivate adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase, implying a low degree of substrate specificity for lipase phosphatase.     

Expression of biologically active hormone-sensitive lipase in mammalian (COS) cells.

cDNAs encoding rat adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase were expressed in COS cells, under the control of the SV40 promoter to half the level in rat adipocytes, the richest native source of the enzyme. A cDNA lacking most of the long 5'-untranslated region of the full-length rat hormone-sensitive lipase cDNA was, with regard to the lipase activity, on the average 70% more efficiently expressed that the full-length cDNA. The recombinant protein was almost identical to hormone-sensitive lipase of rat adipose tissue with respect to specific activity, susceptibility to inhibitors, molecular size, phosphorylation and activation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. The described eukaryotic expression system will allow analysis of effects of amino acid substitutions introduced into the lipase molecule by site-directed mutagenesis.     

Activation of hormone-sensitive lipase in extracts of adipose tissue

Rat adipose tissue was homogenized in 0.154 m KCl, and the supernatant fluid, obtained after centrifugation at 15,000 g, was extracted with benzene to remove triglycerides. Most of the lipase activity in the extracted fluid was precipitated with ammonium sulfate between 15 and 40% saturation. The specific activity of the lipase in this fraction was about three times that in the benzene-extracted supernatant fluid. The specific activity of the monoglyceride esterase was increased to a lesser extent. Lipase activity in the benzene-extracted fluid and in the ammonium sulfate fraction was increased 15-45% by incubation with 0.3 mm ATP, 10 mm MgCl(2), and 0.03 mm cyclic AMP for 10 min before assay. None of these compounds alone or in combinations of two was as effective as all three together. The specific activity of the 15-40% ammonium sulfate fraction prepared from fat cells exposed to epinephrine and glucagon was greater than that from portions of the same cell pool not exposed to hormones. In addition, the already elevated lipase activity in preparations from hormone-treated cells was not enhanced by incubation with ATP, MgCl(2), and cyclic AMP. Thus, it seems probable that the lipase activity in the ammonium sulfate fractions represents, at least in part, hormone-sensitive lipase.     

Role of phosphoprotein phosphatases in reversible deactivation of chicken adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase.

The reversible deactivation of chicken adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase alpha(previously activated with Mg2+ ATP and adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate) required Mg2+ and was inhibited by phosphate. These results are consistent with the assumption that deactivation of the protein kinase-activated enzyme is catalyzed by a lipase phosphatase. Cholesterol ester is catalyzed by a lipase phosphatase. Cholesterol ester hydrolase similarly was activated and reversibly deactivated. The activity of endogenous lipase phosphatase in pH 5.2 precipitate fractions was reduced, and in some cases eliminated, by incubation at 50 degrees for 20 min in buffer containing 20% glycerol. Heating at 50 degrees greatly increased the apparent percentage activation of triglyceride and cholesterol ester hydrolases but this was due to a selective decrease in basal (nonactivated) hydrolase activities. Essentially all endogenous lipase phosphatase could be removed by treatment of the pH 5.2 precipitate fraction with ATP-Sepharose affinity gel. The addition of a partially purified preparation of rat liver phosphorylase phosphatase deactivated triglyceride and cholesterol ester hydrolases. The deactivation process was concentration, 5 mM) and was inhibited by 5 mM phosphate and by phosphorylase alpha. Reversible deactivation of hormone-sensitive lipase alpha was also observed with crude prepa- and by phosphorylase alpha. Reversible deactivation of hormone-sensitive lipas alpha was also observed with crude preparations of phosphoprotein phosphatases from rat and turkey hearts, and from rat epididymal fat pads. Thus, hormone-sensitive lipase is deactivated by a variety of phosphoprotein phosphatases from different tissues and different species, implying a low degree of specificity for the deactivating system.     

Activation of hormone-sensitive lipase from adipose tissue by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase

Lipase activation requiring cyclic-3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate and ATP was demonstrated in crude fractions of human adipose tissue homogenates. Activation was totally blocked by addition of the specific protein kinase inhibitor. Levels of endogenous protein kinase were adequate to support clear-cut activation but in partially purified preparations addition of exogenous (rabbit muscle) kinase further enhanced activation. When tissue was treated with epinephrine prior to homogenization the degree of activation in partially purified fractions was distinctly reduced. The mechanism of activation of hormone-sensitive lipase in human adipose tissue is thus shown, like that in rat adipose tissue, to be linked to a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activities of pig coronary arteries.

Most (85% or more) of the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (3' :5' -cyclic-AMP 5'-nucleotidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.17) activity of pig coronary arteries was found in the 40 000 times g supernatant fraction of homogenates of the intima plus media layer. Chromatography of the soluble fraction of this layer on DEAE-cellulose resolved two phosphodiesterase activities and a heat stable, non-dializable activator. Peak I activity had apparent Km values of 2-4 muM for cyclic GMP and 40-100 muM for cyclic AMP. Peak II activity was relatively specific for cyclic AMP and exhibited apparent negatively cooperative behavior. Peak I but not peak II activity could be stimulated 3-8-fold by the addition of the boiled activator fraction or a boiled crude supernatant fraction. Cyclic AMP hydrolysis by peak I or peak II was more rapid in the presence of Mn-2+ than Mg-2+, but the latter promoted hydrolysis of cyclic GMP by peak I more effectively than did Mn-2+ in the presence of activator. In the absence of added metals, ethylene bis(oxyethylenenitriol)tetra-acetic acid (EGTA) and EDTA both inhibited hydrolysis of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP by phosphodiesterase activities in the supernatant fraction and in peak I, but EDTA produced more complete inhibition at lower concentrations than did EGTA. Imidazole (1 muM to 10 mM) had virtually no effect on the hydrolysis of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP catalyzed by either of the two separated peaks or by total phosphodiesterase activities in crude supernatant or particulate fractions.     

Activatable cholesterol esterase and triacylglycerol lipase activities of rat adrenal and their relationship.

Activatable cholesterol esterase and triacylglycerol lipase of rat adrenal were 58-69% recovered in the 100 000 X g supernatant fraction. Activatable triacylglycerol lipase activity was differentiated from the activity of acid lipase and lipoprotein lipase also found in this fraction. Cholesterol esterase was activated 39.7 +/- 13.6% (S.D.) and triacylglycerol lipase 11.9 +/- 2.9% in a reaction dependent on ATP, cyclic AMP, and protein kinase. The two activities were shown by differential inhibition by an organophosphate, and by partial separation on salting out, to be largely due to separate enzymes. The two enzymes bound tightly to substrate emulsions with quantitatively similar distribution between competing emulsions, suggesting concerted binding. Coinciding gel filtration patterns reinforced, The hypothesis of a lipase complex. Cholesterol esterase comprised a major component of higher apparent Km for substrate and molecular weight 3-10(5)-6-10(5) by gel filtration and a minor component of lower apparent Km and heterogeneous molecular weight above 1 million, which was found mostly in complex and lipid.     

Triglyceride, diglyceride, monoglyceride, and cholesterol ester hydrolases in chicken adipose tissue activated by adenosine 3':5'-Monophosphate-dependent protein kinase. Chromatographic resolution and immunochemical differentiation from lipoprotein lipase.

Hormone-sensitive lipase and cholesterol ester hydrolase of chicken adipose tissue were markedly activated by adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (on the average, 235 to 275%; occasionally as much as 1000%). Diglyceride and monoglyceride hydrolases were also activated, but to a lesser extent (60 to 87%). The activation of all four hydrolases was inhibited by protein kinase inhibitor and reversed by the addition of exogenous protein kinase. Following activation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, all four hydrolases were deactivated in a Mg2+-dependent reaction and then reactivated to or near initial levels on incubation with cAMP and Mg2+-ATP. The reversible deactivation is assumed to reflect activity of one or more protein phosphatases. The maximum activation obtainable for the four hydrolases decreased when the tissue had been previously exposed to glucagon, indicating that the glucagon-induced activation was probably similar to or identical with the activation demonstrated in cell-free preparations. The pH optima for the four hydrolase activities were similar (7.13 to 7.38). Although the absolute activities and relative degrees of kinase activation differed according to the particular emulsified substrates used, the results do not rule out the possibility that all four hydrolase activities are referable to a single hormone-sensitive hydrolase. Hormone-sensitive acyl hydrolases were separated from lipoprotein lipase by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Lipoprotein lipase was active against triolein, diolein, and monoolein, but not cholesterol oleate. Incubation of lipoprotein lipase with exogenous protein kinase, cAMP, and Mg2+ATP had no effect on any of the three hydrolase activities. Lipoprotein lipase was further purified to homogeneity and used to prepare antiserum in rabbits. The immunoglobin G fraction from these antisera completely inhibited lipoprotein lipase eluted from heparin-Sepharose columns. However, the hormone-sensitive hydrolase activities (not retained on heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography) were not inhibited by anti-lipoprotein lipase immunoglobin G, and anti-lopoprotein lipase immunoglobin G did not affect the activation process in crude fractions. Thus, hormone-sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase, functionally distinct enzymes, have been physically resolved and immunochemically distinguished. Apparently lipoprotein lipase activity is not regulated, at least directly, by cAMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Several agents and pathways regulate lipolysis in adipocytes

Adipose tissue is the only tissue capable of hydrolyzing its stores of triacylglycerol (TAG) and of mobilizing fatty acids and glycerol in the bloodstream so that they can be used by other tissues. The full hydrolysis of TAG depends on the activity of three enzymes, adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and monoacylglycerol lipase, each of which possesses a distinct regulatory mechanism. Although more is known about HSL than about the other two enzymes, it has recently been shown that HLS and ATGL can be activated simultaneously, such that the mechanism that enables HSL to access the surface of lipid droplets also permits the stimulation of ATGL. The classical pathway of lipolysis activation in adipocytes is cAMP-dependent. The production of cAMP is modulated by G-protein-coupled receptors of the Gs/Gi family and cAMP degradation is regulated by phosphodiesterase. However, other pathways that activate TAG hydrolysis are currently under investigation. Lipolysis can also be started by G-protein-coupled receptors of the Gq family, through molecular mechanisms that involve phospholipase C, calmodulin and protein kinase C. There is also evidence that increased lipolytic activity in adipocytes occurs after stimulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway or after cGMP accumulation and activation of protein kinase G. Several agents contribute to the control of lipolysis in adipocytes by modulating the activity of HSL and ATGL. In this review, we have summarized the signalling pathways activated by several agents involved in the regulation of TAG hydrolysis in adipocytes.     

Activation of the particulate low Km phosphodiesterase of adipocytes by addition of cAMP-dependent protein kinase

The purified catalytic subunit (C) of cAMP-dependent protein kinase produced a 2-fold activation of the low Km phosphodiesterase in crude microsomes (P-2 pellet) of rat adipocytes. This activation was C subunit concentration-dependent, ATP-dependent, blocked by a specific peptide inhibitor, and lost if the C subunit was first heat denatured. The concentration of ATP necessary for half-maximal activation of the low Km phosphodiesterase was 4.50 +/- 1.1 microM, which was nearly the same as the known Km of C subunit for ATP (3.1 microM) using other substrates. The concentration of C subunit producing half-maximal activation of phosphodiesterase was 0.22 +/- 0.04 microM, slightly less than the measured concentration of total C subunit in adipocytes (0.45 microM). The activation of the low Km phosphodiesterase by C subunit was specific, since on an equimolar basis, myosin light chain kinase, cGMP-dependent protein kinase, or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II did not activate the enzyme. The percent stimulation of phosphodiesterase by C subunit was about the same as that produced by incubation of adipocytes with a cAMP analog, and the enzyme first activated in vivo with the analog was not activated to the same extent (on a percentage basis) by in vitro treatment with C subunit. Treatment of the crude microsomes with trypsin resulted in transfer of phosphodiesterase catalytic activity from the particulate to the supernatant fraction, but the enzyme in the supernatant was minimally activated by C subunit, suggesting either loss or dislocation of the regulatory component. The C subunit-mediated activation of phosphodiesterase was preserved after either transfer of phosphodiesterase activity to the supernatant fraction by nonionic detergents or partial purification of the transferred enzyme. The present findings are consistent with the suggestion that protein kinase regulates the concentration of cAMP through phosphodiesterase activation and provide direct evidence that the mechanism of activation involves phosphorylation.     

Excitation-secretion coupling in exocrine glands. Properties of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and adenylate cyclase from the submaxillary gland and pancreas.

1. The cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase in homogenates of the submaxillary gland and pancreas was found to be associated mainly with the 300,000 times g supernatant fraction. A Lineweaver-Burk plot showed a high-affinity (Km app. = 1.6 muM) and a low-affinity (Km app. greater than 100muM) component for the cyclic AMP substrate. The enzyme was magnesium dependent, and strongly inhibited by papaverine, theophylline and caffeine. Cyclic GMP inhibited cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, but only in concentrations greatly exceeding that of the cyclic AMP. Calcium did not alter the activity of the enzyme. The activity of the submaxillary cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase was not influenced by noradrenaline, dopamine, histamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine or gamma-amino butyric acid, and that of the pancreatic enzyme by acetylcholine, pancreozymin or secretin. 2. Adenylate cyclases from guinea-pig submaxillary gland and cat pancreas are particulate enzymes. The highest specific activity was recovered from the 1500 times g pellet. Guineo-pig submaxillary adenylate cyclase was activated by fluoride, noradrenaline, isoprenaline and adrenaline. The noradrenaline activation was blocked by the beta-adrenoceptor blocker, propranolol, but not by the alphs-adrenoceptor blocker, phentolamine. Neither acetylcholine nor carbachol had any effect on the adenylate cyclase activity. The apparent Km value for the 10- minus 4 M noradrenaline activated adenylate cyclase activity was completely aboliched by 5 mM calcium. Cat pancreatic adenylate cyclase was clearly and consistently activated by secretin, but not by pancreozymin or carbachol.