A derivative of bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid is a new and potential calmodulin antagonist

A new derivative of bisbenzylisoquinoline (berbamine type): 0-(4-ethoxylbutyl) berbamine (EBB) was found to possess powerful and specific calmodulin (CaM) inhibitory properties. It inhibited CaM-stimulated Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase in human erythrocyte membrane with IC50 value of 0.35 microM compared to that of 60 microM of berbamine. CaM-independent basal Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase, Na+-K+-ATPase and Mg2+-ATPase were not effect at 1.0 microM of EBB at which CaM-dependent Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase was already potently inhibited. The inhibition of CaM-dependent Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase was competitive with respect to CaM. Higher amount of CaM reversed the inhibition caused by higher concentration of EBB. Using dansyl-CaM (D-CaM), it was shown that EBB binds directly to CaM and caused a conformational change of CaM polypeptide chain. From fluorescence titration curve we obtained evidence that in the presence of Ca2+, CaM has two specific binding sites for EBB and additional unspecific binding sites. The Ca2+-dependent binding sites of EBB on CaM were novel region different from the binding sites for TFP.     

Erythrocyte cytosolic free Ca2+ and plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase activity in cystic fibrosis

The properties of the Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase of erythrocyte membranes from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) were extensively compared to that of healthy controls. Following removal of an endogenous membrane inhibitor of the ATPase, activation of the enzyme by Ca2+, calmodulin, limited tryptic digestion or oleic acid, as well as inhibition by trifluoperazine, were studied. The only properties found to be significantly different (CF cells vs controls) were calmodulin-stimulated peak activity (90 vs 101, P less than 0.02) and trypsin-activated peak activity (92 vs 102, P less than 0.02). No significant difference could be measured in the steady-state Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of CF and control erythrocyte membranes indicating similar numbers of enzyme molecules per cell. The functional state of Ca2+ homeostasis in intact erythrocytes was investigated by measuring the resting cytosolic free Ca2+ levels using quin-2. Both CF and control erythrocytes maintained cytosolic free Ca2+ between 20 to 30 nM. Addition of 50 uM trifluoperazine resulted in an increase in erythrocyte cytosolic free Ca2+ to about 50 nM in both CF and control cells. Estimates of erythrocyte membrane permeability using the steady-state uptake of 45Ca into intact erythrocytes revealed no differences between CF and control cells. These results confirm that there is a small decrease in the calmodulin-stimulated activity of the erythrocyte Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase in CF. However, this deficit is apparently not large enough to impair the ability of the CF erythrocyte to maintain normal resting levels of cytosolic free Ca2+.     

Activation of an islet cell plasma membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase by calmodulin and Ca-EGTA

Islet cell plasma membranes contain a calcium-stimulated and magnesium-dependent ATPase (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase) which requires calmodulin for maximum enzyme activity (Kotagal, N., Patke, C., Landt, M., McDonald, J., Colca, J., Lacy, P., and McDaniel, M. (1982) FEBS Lett. 137, 249-252). Investigations indicated that exogenously added calmodulin increases the velocity and decreases the Km for Ca2+ of the high affinity (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase. These studies routinely employed the chelator ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) to maintain Ca2+ concentrations in the submicromolar range. During the course of these investigations, it was found unexpectedly that increasing the concentrations of EGTA (0.1-4 mM) and total calcium in the media, while maintaining constant free Ca2+ levels, increased the velocity of the high affinity (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase. The free calcium concentrations under these conditions were verified by a calcium-sensitive electrode. The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase maximally activated by 2-4 mM EGTA was not further stimulated by calmodulin, whereas camodulin stimulation increased as the concentration of EGTA in the media was decreased. A similar enhancement by Ca-EGTA was observed on active calcium transport by the plasma membrane-enriched fraction. Moreover, Ca-EGTA had a negligible effect on both active calcium transport as well as Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity by the islet cell endoplasmic reticulum, processes which are not stimulated by calmodulin. The results indicate that stimulation by Ca-EGTA may be used to differentiate calcium transport systems by these subcellular organelles. Furthermore, the concentration of EGTA routinely employed to maintain free Ca2+ levels may itself obscure effects of calmodulin and other physiological agents on calcium-dependent activities.     

Characterization of the Ca2+- and Mg2+-Dependent ATPases in Electrophorus Electroplax Microsomes

Electrophorus electroplax microsomes were examined for Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity. In addition to the previously reported low-affinity ATPase, a high-affinity (Ca2+,Mg2+)-ATPase was found. At low ATP and Mg2+ concentrations (200 microM or less), the high-affinity (Ca2+,Mg2+)-ATPase exhibits an activity of 18 nmol Pi mg-1 min-1 with 0.58 microM Ca2+. At higher ATP concentrations (3 mM), the low-affinity Ca2+-ATPase predominates, with an activity of 28 nmol Pi mg-1 min-1 with 1 mM Ca2+. In addition, Mg2+ can also activate the low-affinity ATPase (18 nmol Pi mg-1 min-1). The high-affinity ATPase hydrolyzes ATP at a greater rate than it does GTP, ITP, or UTP and is insensitive to ouabain, oligomycin, or dicyclohexylcarbodiimide inhibition. The high-affinity enzyme is inhibited by vanadate, trifluoperazine, and N-ethylmaleimide. Added calmodulin does not significantly stimulate enzyme activity; rinsing the microsomes with EGTA does not confer calmodulin sensitivity. Thus the high-affinity ATPase from electroplax microsomes is similar to the (Ca2+,Mg2+)-ATPase reported to be associated with Ca2+ transport, based on its affinity for calcium and its response to inhibitors. The low-affinity enzyme hydrolyzes all tested nucleoside triphosphates, as well as diphosphates, but not AMP. Vanadate and N-ethylmaleimide do not inhibit the low-affinity enzymes. The low-affinity enzyme reflects a nonspecific nucleoside triphosphatase, probably an ectoenzyme.     

Ca2+-stimulated, Mg2+-dependent ATPase in bovine thyroid plasma membranes

An isolated plasma membrane fraction from bovine thyroid glands contained a Ca2+-stimulated, Mg2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase ((Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase) activity which was purified in parallel to (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and adenylate cyclase. The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity was maximally stimulated by approx. 200 microM added calcium in the presence of approx. 200 microM EGTA (69.7 +/- 5.2 nmol/mg protein per min). In EGTA-washed membranes, the enzyme was stimulated by calmodulin and inhibited by trifluoperazine.     

A monoclonal antibody to the calmodulin-binding (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent ATPase from pig stomach smooth muscle inhibits plasmalemmal (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent ATPase activity.

A monoclonal antibody (2B3) directed against the calmodulin-binding (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-dependent ATPase from pig stomach smooth muscle was prepared. This antibody reacts with a 130,000-Mr protein that co-migrates on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis with the calmodulin-binding (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase purified from smooth muscle by calmodulin affinity chromatography. The antibody causes partial inhibition of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity in plasma membranes from pig stomach smooth muscle, in pig erythrocytes and human erythrocytes. It appears to be directed against a specific functionally important site of the plasmalemmal Ca2+-transport ATPase and acts as a competitive inhibitor of ATP binding. Binding of the antibody does not change the Km of the ATPase for Ca2+ and its inhibitory effect is not altered by the presence of calmodulin. No inhibition of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity or of the oxalate-stimulated Ca2+ uptake was observed in a pig smooth-muscle vesicle preparation enriched in endoplasmic reticulum. These results confirm the existence in smooth muscle of two different types of Ca2+-transport ATPase: a calmodulin-binding (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase located in the plasma membrane and a second one confined to the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Decrease of apparent calmodulin affinity of erythrocyte (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase at low Ca2+ concentrations

The calmodulin activation of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) in human erythrocyte membranes was studied in the range of 1 nM to 40 microM of purified calmodulin. The apparent calmodulin-affinity of the ATPase was strongly dependent on Ca2+ and decreased approx. 1000-times when the Ca2+ concentration was reduced from 112 to 0.5 microM. The data of calmodulin (Z) activation were analyzed by the aid of a kinetic enzyme model which suggests that 1 molecule of calmodulin binds per ATPase unit and that the affinities of the calcium-calmodulin complexes (CaiZ) decreases in the order of Ca3Z greater than Ca4Z greater than Ca2Z greater than or equal to CaZ. Furthermore, calmodulin dissociates from the calmodulin-saturated Ca2+-ATPase in the range of 10(-7)-10(-6) M Ca2+, even at a calmodulin concentration of 5 microM. The apparent concentration of calmodulin in the erythrocyte cytosol was determined to be 3 to 5 microM, corresponding to 50-80-times the cellular concentration of Ca2+-ATPase, estimated to be approx. 10 nmol/h membrane protein. We therefore conclude that most of the calmodulin is dissociated from the Ca2+-transport ATPase in erythrocytes at the prevailing Ca2+ concentration (probably 10(-7)-10(-8) M) in vivo, and that the calmodulin-binding and subsequent activation of the Ca2+-ATPase requires that the Ca2+ concentration rises to 10(-6)-10(-5) M.     

The effect of calmodulin on the interaction of carbodiimides with the purified human erythrocyte (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase

The activity of the solubilized and purified (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase from human erythrocyte membranes was inhibited by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in a concentration-dependent manner. The carbodiimide prevented formation of the phosphorylated intermediate during the catalytic cycle of the enzyme. Treatment of the enzyme with N,N'-dicyclohexyl[14C]carbodiimide resulted in the formation of a 14C-labelled polypeptide corresponding to the enzyme monomer (molecular weight 136,000). The tryptic fragmentation of this 14C-labelled enzyme resulted in the formation of three major 14C-labelled fragments with molecular weights of 58,000, 36,500 and 23,000, the latter two probably representing transmembrane and calmodulin-binding domains of the enzyme, respectively. In the absence of calmodulin, 6.7 molecules of N,N'-dicyclohexyl[14C]carbodiimide covalently bound to each molecule of Ca2+-ATPase; in the presence of calmodulin, the number of molecules of carbodiimide bound was 13.1. The binding of N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide to the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase greatly reduced its ability to bind to a calmodulin-agarose gel.     

The calmodulin-stimulated (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase in hemoglobin S erythrocyte membranes: effects of sickling and oxidative agents

A decrease in the reactivity of erythrocyte membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase to calmodulin stimulation has been observed in aging red cells and in various types of hemolytic anemias, particularly in sickle red cell membranes. Unlike the aging process, the defect in the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase from SS red blood cells is not secondary to a decrease in calmodulin activity and is already present in the least dense SS red blood cells separated on a discontinuous density gradient. Deoxygenated AS red cells were forced to sickle by lowering the pH, raising the osmolarity of the buffer (sickling pulse). Under these conditions an inhibition of the calmodulin-stimulated enzyme was observed only if several cycles of oxygenation/deoxygenation were applied. No alteration of the enzyme could be detected after submitting AS red blood cells to other conditions or in AA red blood cells submitted to the same treatments. This suggests that oxidative processes are involved in the alterations of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity. Treatment of membranes from AA erythrocytes by thiol group reagents and malondialdehyde, a by-product of auto-oxidation of membrane unsaturated lipids and a cross-linking agent of cytoskeletal proteins, led to a partial inhibition of the calmodulin-stimulated (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase. We postulate that the hyperproduction of free radicals described in the SS red blood cells and involved in the destabilization of the membrane may be also responsible for the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase failure.     

An endogenous inhibitor protein of synaptic plasma membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase

An inhibitor protein of synaptic plasma membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase was purified to apparent homogeneity from rat cerebrum by a molecular weight cut followed by chromatography of cytosol proteins with molecular weights between 10 000 and 3500 on DEAE-Sephadex at pH 5.2. The inhibitor could be partially inactivated by proteinases and dithiothreitol, but was heat-stable. Gel filtration gave a molecular weight of about 6000. Like the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase inhibitor protein isolated from erythrocytes, the inhibitor from brain contains a characteristic high proportion of glutamic acid (36%) and glycine (37%) residues. Synaptic plasma membrane Mg2+-ATPase and microsomal membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase did not respond to the inhibitor. Synaptic plasma membrane and erythrocyte membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPases, however, were affected. Inhibitory influence on synaptic membrane (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase was reversible, since inhibition could be relieved upon removal of inhibitor from saturable sites on the membrane. The inhibitor is not a calmodulin-binding protein, since the concentration of calmodulin for half-maximal activation of the ATPase was unaffected by its presence. Mode of inhibition of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase by the inhibitor was non-competitive.     

Inhibition of red cell Ca2+-ATPase by vanadate

1. The Mg2+- plus Ca2+-dependent ATPase (Ca2+-ATPase) in human red cell membranes is susceptible to inhibition by low concentrations of vanadate. 2. Several natural activators of Ca2+-ATPase (Mg2+, K+, Na+ and calmodulin) modify inhibition by increasing the apparent affinity of the enzyme for vanadate. 3. Among the ligands tests, K+, in combination with Mg2+, had the most pronounced effect on inhibition by vanadate. 4. Under conditions optimal for inhibition of Ca2+-ATPase, the K 1/2 for vanadate was 1.5 microM and inhibition was nearly complete at saturating vanadate concentrations. 5. There are similarities between the kinetics of inhibition of red cell Ca2+-ATPase and (Na+ + K+)-ATPase prepared from a variety of sources; however, (Na+ + K+)-ATPase is approx. 3 times more sensitive to inhibition by vanadate.     

Sickle-cell membrane-bound (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase: activation by 3,4-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-benzopyran-6-butyric acid, a novel antisickling agent

The effects of 3,4-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-benzopyran-6-butyric acid (DBA), an antisickling agent, on the rates of Ca2+-dependent ATP hydrolysis by the human red cell (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase, have been studied in membranes (normal and sickle-cell) stripped of endogenous calmodulin. The activity of the enzyme is increased by DBA in a manner which is dependent on both the concentrations of DBA and Ca2+. At 37 degrees C, the normal red cell (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity is stimulated maximally by 133% in the presence of 1 mM DBA and 0.2 mM CaCl2, while the sickle-cell enzyme is stimulated maximally by 81% in the presence of 0.5 mM DBA and 0.2 mM CaCl2. The stimulation of the enzyme in both systems is antagonized by increasing the CaCl2 concentration in the medium to 0.5 mM, in contrast to the well established mode of activation by the modulator protein, calmodulin. This suggests that the two effectors, DBA and calmodulin, probably act by different mechanisms. From our present observations, we suggest that the antisickling effect of DBA may be connected with the mobilization of calcium within red cells.     

Ca2+-ATPase activity in pancreatic acinar plasma membranes. Regulation by calmodulin and acidic phospholipids

A high degree of ATP hydrolytic activity present in purified rat pancreatic acinar cells was localized to plasma membranes. This activity was stimulated almost equally by Mg2+ or Ca2+. Kinetic analysis revealed that the enzyme had a higher affinity for Ca2+ (Kd = 1.73 microM) than Mg2+ (Kd = 2.98 microM) but a similar maximal rate of activity. A comparison of substrate requirements revealed very similar profiles for the Mg2+- and Ca2+-stimulated activities. Combinations of saturating concentrations of Mg2+ or Ca2+ produced the same degree of maximal activity. Investigation of the partial reactions of the ATPase activity revealed two phosphoprotein intermediates (Mr = 115,000 and 130,000) in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+. A significant stimulation of the Ca2+-ATPase activity by calmodulin was observed (Kd = 0.7 microM). Calmodulin increased the Ca2+-sensitivity of this enzyme system; Mg2+ appeared to be required for this effect. The Ca2+-ATPase activity was also stimulated by acidic phospholipids. Using an 125I-labeled calmodulin gel overlay technique, calmodulin was shown to bind in a Ca2+-dependent fashion to 133,000- and 230,000-dalton proteins present in the plasma membrane-enriched fraction. Under conditions that favor Ca2+-dependent kinase activity, calmodulin enhanced the phosphorylation of a 30,000- and 19,000-dalton protein. The major ATP hydrolytic activity in pancreatic acinar plasma membranes was present as an ectoenzyme.     

A Ca2(+)-activated, Mg2(+)-dependent ATPase with high affinities for both Ca2+ and Mg2+ in vascular smooth muscle microsomes: comparison with plasma membrane Ca2(+)-pump ATPase

A Ca2(+)-ATPase with a high affinity for free Ca2+ (apparent Km of 0.13 microM) was found and characterized in membrane fractions from porcine aortic and coronary artery smooth muscles in comparison with the plasma membrane Ca2(+)-pump ATPase purified from porcine aorta by calmodulin affinity chromatography. The activity of the high-affinity Ca2(+)-ATPase became enriched in a plasma membrane-enriched fraction, suggesting its localization in the plasma membrane. The enzyme was fully active in the absence of exogenously added Mg2+, but required a minute amount of Mg2+ for its activity as evidenced by the findings that it was fully active in the presence of 0.1 microM free Mg2+ but lost the activity in a reaction mixture containing trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid as a divalent cation chelator which has, unlike EGTA, high affinities for both Ca2+ and Mg2+. It was able to utilize a variety of nucleoside di- and triphosphates as substrates, such as ADP, GDP, ATP, GTP, CTP, and UTP, showing a broad substrate specificity. The activity of the enzyme was not modified by calmodulin (5, 10 micrograms/ml). Trifluoperazine, a calmodulin antagonist, had a partial inhibitory effect on the activity at 30 to 240 microM, but this inhibition could not be reproduced by a more specific calmodulin antagonist, W-7, indicating that this inhibition by trifluoperazine was not specific. Furthermore, the high-affinity Ca2(+)-ATPase activity was not modified either by low concentrations (0.5-9 microM) of vanadate or by 1-100 microM p-chloromercuribenzoic acid. Cyclic GMP, nitroglycerin, and nicorandil did not have any effect on the enzyme activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Target sizes of human erythrocyte membrane Ca2+-ATPase and Mg2+-ATPase activities in the presence and absence of calmodulin

We have investigated the subunit structure of Ca2+-transport ATPase in human erythrocyte membranes using radiation inactivation analysis. All inactivation data were linear on a semilog plot down to at least 20% of the control activity. We found a target size for the calmodulin-dependent Ca2+-ATPase activity of 331 kDa, consistent with the presence of this enzyme as a dimer in calmodulin-depleted ghosts. Membranes which had been saturated with calmodulin before irradiation yield a a similar size of 317 kDa, implying that activation of Ca2+-transport ATPase by calmodulin does not involve significant change in oligomeric structure. Basal (calmodulin-independent) Ca2+-ATPase activity corresponded to a size of 290 kDa, suggesting that this activity resides in the same, or similar-sized, complex as the calmodulin-dependent activity. Mg2+-ATPase activity, however, was found to reside in a smaller complex of 224 kDa, which proved to be statistically distinct from the target size of Ca2+-ATPase activity. It would appear that Mg2+-ATPase is a distinct entity whose function is likely unrelated to the Ca2+-transport ATPase.     

The effect of Mg2+ on hepatic microsomal Ca2+ and Sr2+ transport

The ATP-dependent uptake of Ca2+ by rat liver microsomal fraction is dependent upon Mg2+. Studies of the Mg2+ requirement of the underlying microsomal Ca2+-ATPase have been hampered by the presence of a large basal Mg2+-ATPase activity. We have examined the effect of various Mg2+ concentrations on Mg2+-ATPase activity, Ca2+ uptake, Ca2+-ATPase activity and microsomal phosphoprotein formation. Both Mg2+-ATPase activity and Ca2+ uptake were markedly stimulated by increasing Mg2+ concentration. However, the Ca2+-ATPase activity, measured concomitantly with Ca2+ uptake, was apparently unaffected by changes in the Mg2+ concentration. In order to examine the apparent paradox of Mg2+ stimulation of Ca2+ uptake but not of Ca2+-ATPase activity, we examined the formation of the Ca2+-ATPase phosphoenzyme intermediate and formation of a Mg2+-dependent phosphoprotein, which we have proposed to be an attribute of the Mg2+-ATPase activity. We found that Ca2+ apparently inhibited formation of the Mg2+-dependent phosphoprotein both in the absence and presence of exogenous Mg2+. This suggests that Ca2+ may inhibit (at least partially) the Mg2+-ATPase activity. However, inclusion of the Ca2+ inhibition of Mg2+-ATPase activity in the calculation of Ca2+-ATPase activity reveals that this effect is insufficient to totally account for the stimulation of Ca2+ uptake by Mg2+. This suggests that Mg2+, in addition to stimulation of Ca2+-ATPase activity, may have a direct stimulatory effect on Ca2+ uptake in an as yet undefined fashion. In an effort to further examine the effect of Mg2+ on the microsomal Ca2+ transport system of rat liver, the interaction of this system with Sr2+ was examined. Sr2+ was sequestered into an A23187-releasable space in an ATP-dependent manner by rat liver microsomal fraction. The uptake of Sr2+ was similar to that of Ca2+ in terms of both rate and extent. A Sr2+-dependent ATPase activity was associated with the Sr2+ uptake. Sr2+ promoted formation of a phosphoprotein which was hydroxylamine-labile and base-labile. This phosphoprotein was indistinguishable from the Ca2+-dependent ATPase phosphoenzyme intermediate. Sr2+ uptake was markedly stimulated by exogenous Mg2+, but the Sr2+-dependent ATPase activity was unaffected by increasing Mg2+ concentrations. Sr2+ uptake and Sr2+-dependent ATPase activity were concomitantly inhibited by sodium vanadate. In contrast to Ca2+, Sr2+ had no effect on Mg2+-dependent phosphoprotein formation. Taken together, these data indicate that Mg2+ stimulated Ca2+ and Sr2+ transport by increasing the Ca2+ (Sr2+)/ATP ratio.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Effect of calmodulin on myometrial cell membrane Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase activity

Myometrium cell plasma membrane Ca2+, Mg(2+)-ATPase purified by an affinity chromatography on calmodulin-sepharose 4B is calmodulin-dependent enzyme. Concentration of calmodulin required for half-maximal activation of enzyme was about 26 nM. By unlike to the enzymes originated from other tissues sensitivity to the calmodulin of the myometrial sarcolemma Ca(2+)-transporting ATPase was lower: calmodulin increased Vmax of ATPase about 1.25-fold, the apparent constant of the activation of enzyme by Ca2+ failed to alter independently on the phospholipid presenting at the enzyme isolation.     

Action of long-chain fatty acids in vitro on Ca2+-stimulatable, Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity in human red cell membranes.

Human red cell membrane Ca2+-stimulatable, Mg2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (Ca2+-ATPase) activity and its response to thyroid hormone have been studied following exposure of membranes in vitro to specific long-chain fatty acids. Basal enzyme activity (no added thyroid hormone) was significantly decreased by additions of 10(-9)-10(-4) M-stearic (18:0) and oleic (18:1 cis-9) acids. Methyl oleate and elaidic (18:1 trans-9), palmitic (16:0) and lauric (12:0) acids at 10(-6) and 10(-4) M were not inhibitory, nor were arachidonic (20:4) and linolenic (18:3) acids. Myristic acid (14:0) was inhibitory only at 10(-4) M. Thus, chain length of 18 carbon atoms and anionic charge were the principal determinants of inhibitory activity. Introduction of a cis-9 double bond (oleic acid) did not alter the inhibitory activity of the 18-carbon moiety (stearic acid), but the trans-9 elaidic acid did not cause enzyme inhibition. While the predominant effect of fatty acids on erythrocyte Ca2+-ATPase in situ is inhibition of basal activity, elaidic, linoleic (18:2) and palmitoleic (16:1) acids at 10(-6) and 10(-4) M stimulated the enzyme. Methyl elaidate was not stimulatory. These structure-activity relationships differ from those described for fatty acids and purified red cell Ca2+-ATPase reconstituted in liposomes. Thyroid hormone stimulation of Ca2+-ATPase was significantly decreased by stearic and oleic acids (10(-9)-10(-4) M), but also by elaidic, linoleic, palmitoleic and myristic acids. Arachidonic, palmitic and lauric acids were ineffective, as were the methyl esters of oleic and elaidic acids. Thus, inhibition of the iodothyronine effect on Ca2+-ATPase by fatty acids has similar, but not identical, structure-activity relationships to those for basal enzyme activity. To examine mechanisms for these fatty acid effects, we studied the action of oleic and stearic acids on responsiveness of the enzyme to purified calmodulin, the Ca2+-binding activator protein for Ca2+-ATPase. Oleic and stearic acids (10(-9)-10(-4) M) progressively inhibited, but did not abolish, enzyme stimulation by calmodulin (10(-9) M). Double-reciprocal analysis of the effect of oleic acid on calmodulin stimulation indicated noncompetitive inhibition. Addition of calmodulin to membranes in the presence of equimolar oleic acid restored basal enzyme activity. Oleic acid also reduced 125I-calmodulin binding to membranes, but had no effect on the binding of [125I]T4 by ghosts. The mechanism of the decrease by long chain fatty acids of Ca2+-ATPase activity in situ in human red cell ghosts thus is calmodulin-dependent and involves reduction in membrane binding of calmodulin.     

A high-affinity plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase in Dictyostelium discoideum: its relation to cAMP-induced Ca2+ fluxes

Chemotactic stimulation of Dictyostelium discoideum induces an uptake of Ca2+ by the cells followed by a release of Ca2+. In this study we investigated the mechanism of Ca2+ release and found that it was inhibited by La3+, Cd2+ and azide. Ca2+ release occurred in the absence of external Na+, indicating that an Na+/Ca2+ exchange was not involved. Plasma membranes contained high- and low-affinity ATPase activities. Apparent K0.5 values were 8 microM for the major Mg2+-ATPase and 1.1 microM for the high-affinity Ca2+-ATPase, respectively. The Mg2+-ATPase activity was inhibited by elevated concentrations of Ca2+, whereas both Ca2+-ATPases were active in the absence of added Mg2+. The activities of the Ca2+-ATPases were not modified by calmodulin. The high-affinity Ca2+-ATPase was competitively inhibited by La3+ and Cd2+; we suggest that this high-affinity enzyme mediates the release of Ca2+ from D. discoideum cells.     

Allosteric modulation of Leishmania donovani plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase by endogenous calmodulin.

The plasma membrane of the human pathogen Leishmania donovani possesses a high-affinity transmembrane Ca(2+)-ATPase that has its catalytic site oriented toward the cytoplasmic milieu (Ghosh, J., Ray, M., Sarkar, S., and Bhaduri, A. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 11345-11351). When the enzyme is studied in its more authentic, physiologically relevant, membrane-associated form, it exhibits pronounced sigmoidal kinetics with Ca2+ (K0.5 approximately 700 nM) in a trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid buffering system that effectively complexes all available Mg2+. Addition of exogenous Mg2+ (60 microM) completely abolishes sigmoidicity and establishes strictly hyperbolic kinetics, and the Km for Ca2+ reduces to 100 nM. Mg2+ can be replaced by heterologous calmodulin. The exclusive dependence of the enzyme on only Ca2+ for its activity and its positive allosteric modulation by Mg2+ distinguish this enzyme from other well-characterized plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPases. Employing this Ca(2+)-ATPase as the assay system, a soluble endogenous activating protein factor was purified that, by several criteria, corresponds to authentic calmodulin. The parasite calmodulin shifts the kinetics to hyperbolic kinetics, increases the Vmax 2-fold, and most important lowers the Km (approximately 100 nM) to a physiological level. The interaction with endogenous calmodulin thus converts the enzyme from a totally inactive to a fully active state.