GTP but not GDP analogues promote association of ADP-ribosylation factors, 20-kDa protein activators of cholera toxin, with phospholipids and PC-12 cell membranes.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are a family of approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins initially identified by their ability to enhance cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity in the presence of GTP. ARFs have been purified from both membrane and cytosolic fractions. ARF purified from bovine brain cytosol requires phospholipid plus detergent for high affinity guanine nucleotide binding and for optimal enhancement of cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. The phospholipid requirements, combined with a putative role for ARF in vesicular transport, suggested that the soluble protein might interact reversibly with membranes. A polyclonal antibody against purified bovine ARF (sARF II) was used to detect ARF by immunoblot in membrane and soluble fractions from rat pheochromocytoma (PC-12) cell homogenates. ARF was predominantly cytosolic but increased in membranes during incubation of homogenates with nonhydrolyzable GTP analogues guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), guanylyl-(beta gamma-imido)-diphosphate, and guanylyl-(beta gamma-methylene)-diphosphate, and to a lesser extent, adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate). GTP, GDP, GMP, and ATP were inactive. Cytosolic ARF similarly associated with added phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, or cardiolipin in GTP gamma S-dependent fashion. ARF binding to phosphatidylserine was reversible and coincident with stimulation of cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. These observations may reflect a mechanism by which ARF could cycle between soluble and membrane compartments in vivo.     

Stimulation of choleragen enzymatic activities by GTP and two soluble proteins purified from bovine brain

Choleragen (cholera toxin) activates adenylate cyclase by catalyzing ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding protein. It was recently found (Tsai, S.-C., Noda, M., Adamik, R., Moss, J., and Vaughan, M. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 84, 5139-5142) that a bovine brain membrane protein known as ADP-ribosylation factor or ARF, which enhances ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, also increases the GTP-dependent NAD:arginine and NAD:protein ADP-ribosyltransferase, NAD glycohydrolase, and auto-ADP-ribosylation activities of choleragen. We report here the purification and characterization of two soluble proteins from bovine brain that similarly enhance the Gs alpha-dependent and independent ADP-ribose transfer reactions catalyzed by toxin. Like membrane ARF, both soluble factors are 19-kDA proteins dependent on GTP or GTP analogues for activity. Maximal ARF effects were observed at a molar ratio of less than 2:1, ARF/toxin A subunit. Dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine was necessary for optimal ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha but inhibited auto-ADP-ribosylation of the choleragen A1 subunit and NAD:agmatine ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. It appears that the soluble factors directly activate choleragen in a GTP-dependent fashion. The relationships of the ARF proteins to the ras oncogene products and to the family of guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins that includes Gs alpha remains to be determined.     

ADP-ribosylation factors: a family of ∼20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that activate cholera toxin

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) comprise a family of 20 kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that were discovered as one of several cofactors required in cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of G_s, the guanine nucleotide-binding protein responsible for stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, and was subsequently found to enhance all cholera toxin-catalyzed reactions and to directly interact with, and activate the toxin. ARF is dependent on GTP or its analogues for activity, binds GTP with high affinity in the presence of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/cholate and contains consensus sequences for GTP-binding and hydrolysis. Six mammalian family members have been identified which have been classified into three groups (Class I, II, and III) based on size, deduced amino acid sequence identity, phylogenetic analysis and gene structure. ARFs are ubiquitous among eukaryotes, with a deduced amino acid sequence that is highly conserved across diverse species. They have recently been shown to associate with phospholipid and Golgi membranes in a GTP-dependent manner and are involved in regulating vesicular transport.Abbreviations ARF ADP-ribosylation factor - sARF I and sARF II soluble ADP-ribosylation factors purified from bovine brain - mARF purified membrane-associated ARF - hARF human ARF - bARF bovine ARF - yARF yeast ARF - ARF bacterially-expressed recombinant ARF - gARF Giardia ARF - dARF Drosophila ARF - G protein guanine nucleotide-binding protein - G_s G protein responsible for stimulation of adenylyl cyclase - GTPS guanosine-5-O-(3-thio-triphosphate) - CIAI cholera toxin A1 subunit - DMPC dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate     

Effects of phospholipid and GTP on recombinant ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs). Molecular basis for differences in requirements for activity of mammalian ARFs.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are highly conserved approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that were first identified based on their ability to stimulate the cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha and thus activate adenylyl cyclase. Proteins with ARF activity have been characterized from different mammalian tissues and exhibited different requirements for activity, stability, and phospholipid. Based on molecular cloning and mRNA distribution, at least six mammalian ARFs, which fall into three classes, have been identified. To test whether individual ARFs might have different requirements for optimal activity, as judged by their ability to enhance cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, four ARFs from classes I, II, and III were produced as recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli and characterized. Recombinant bovine ARF 2 (rARF 2) and human ARF 3 (rARF 3) (class I), human ARF 5 (rARF 5, class II), and human ARF 6 (rARF 6, class III) differed in the effects of phospholipid and detergent on their ability to enhance cholera toxin activity; rARFs 2, 3, and 5 required dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and cholate, whereas rARF 6 did not require phospholipid/detergent for activity. Further characterization of two of the more divergent ARFs (ARFs 2 and 6) showed that both exhibited guanosine 5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate binding which was enhanced by DMPC/cholate. In the transferase assay, rARF 2 required approximately 4 microM GTP for half-maximal stimulation of toxin activity, whereas rARF 6 required 0.05 microM GTP. rARF 6 exhibited a delay in activation of toxin not detected with rARF 2 that may be related to a requirement for guanine nucleotide exchange and/or GTP binding. These findings are consistent with the conclusion that the highly conserved members of the ARF family have different requirements for optimal activity.     

The protein cofactor necessary for ADP-ribosylation of Gs by cholera toxin is itself a GTP binding protein

A membrane-bound protein cofactor (ARF) is required for the cholera toxin-dependent ADP-ribosylation of the stimulatory regulatory component (Gs) of adenylate cyclase. Improved methods for the purification of ARF from bovine brain are described. ARF has a high-affinity binding site for guanine nucleotides. Binding of GTP or GTP gamma S to ARF is necessary for the activity of the cofactor; GDP X ARF does not support ADP-ribosylation of Gs. Although the protein as purified contains stoichiometric amounts of GDP, GTPase activity of isolated ARF was not detected. Cholera toxin-dependent activation of adenylate cyclase thus requires two guanine nucleotide binding proteins.     

Guanine nucleotide dependent formation of a complex between choleragen (cholera toxin) a subunit and bovine brain ADP-ribosylation factor

Cholera toxin activates adenylyl cyclase by catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein of the cyclase system. This toxin-catalyzed reaction, as well as the ADP-ribosylation of guanidino compounds and auto-ADP-ribosylation of the toxin A1 protein (CTA1), is stimulated, in the presence of GTP (or GTP analogue), by 19-21-kDa proteins, termed ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. These proteins directly activate CTA1 in a reaction enhanced by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC)/cholate. To determine whether ARF stimulation of ADP-ribosylation is associated with formation of a toxin-ARF complex, these proteins were incubated with guanine nucleotides and/or detergents and then subjected to gel permeation chromatography. An active ARF-toxin complex was observed in the presence of SDS and GTP gamma S [guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate)] but not GDP beta S [guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate)]. Only a fraction of the ARF was capable of complex formation. The substrate specificities of complexed and noncomplexed CTA differed; complexed CTA exhibited markedly enhanced auto-ADP-ribosylation. In the presence of GTP gamma S and DMPC/cholate, an ARF-CTA complex was not detected. A GTP gamma S-dependent ARF aggregate was observed, however, exhibiting a different substrate specificity from monomeric ARF. These studies support the hypothesis that in the presence of guanine nucleotide and either SDS or DMPC/cholate, ARF and toxin exist as multiple species which exhibit different substrate specificities.     

Activation of cholera toxin and Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxins by ADP-ribosylation factors, a family of 20 kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins

Cholera toxin and Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxins are responsible, in part, for the symptomatology of cholera and traveller's diarrhoea, respectively. Effects of the toxins result from ADP-ribosylation of regulatory guanine nucleotide-binding (G) proteins; the ADP-ribosylated G protein is stabilized in an activated state, resulting in prolonged effects on its target. Toxin-catalysed ADP-ribosylation is stimulated in vitro by a family of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, c. 20 kDa, termed ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. In the presence of GTP, but not GDP or adenine analogues, ARFs serve as allosteric activators of the toxin. The effects are amplified by certain phospholipids and detergents which promote guanine nucleotide binding. Six different mammalian ARF genes have been identified. They encode highly conserved, ubiquitous proteins of 175 to 181 amino acids, containing consensus domains responsible for guanine nucleotide binding. Differences in amino acid sequences are localized near the amino terminus and in the carboxy half of the protein. Although the physiological functions of ARFs have not been precisely defined, their immunological localization to the Golgi is consistent with a role in the regulated orderly movement of newly synthesized proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum, through the Golgi system to their ultimate destination.     

Nucleotide binding and cofactor activities of purified bovine brain and bacterially expressed ADP-ribosylation factor

The ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) is a member of the small molecular weight GTP-binding protein family and serves as the cofactor in the cholera toxin-catalyzed activation of the stimulatory regulatory subunit (Gs) of adenylate cyclase. Bovine Arf1 has been expressed at high levels and purified from bacteria. The recombinant Arf1 was compared with purified bovine brain Arf and shown to be nearly identical with respect to immunoblotting, guanine nucleotide binding, GTP hydrolysis, and cholera toxin cofactor activities. The only known chemical difference between the recombinant and brain proteins is the lack of myristic acid at the amino terminus of the expressed protein. The preparation of nucleotide-free Arf1 has allowed a more accurate determination of the binding constants for guanine nucleotides and revealed a significantly higher affinity for GDP than was previously determined. The effect of magnesium ions on nucleotide affinities was also determined and found to be quite different for the different guanine nucleotides. We have shown that GDP binds to the protein in the absence of magnesium, while GTP or guanosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) can only bind to Arf1 in the presence of nanomolar (or higher) levels of the free metal. This characterization of the nucleotide binding and the ability to produce large amounts of a single species of ARF with full retention of a range of activities should greatly facilitate subsequent studies on the structure and function of ARF.     

Differential expression during development of ADP-ribosylation factors, 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding protein activators of cholera toxin

Cholera toxin exerts its effects on cells in large part through the ADP-ribosylation of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins. Toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation is enhanced by approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins termed ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), which are allosteric activators of the toxin catalytic unit. Rabbit antiserum against a purified bovine brain ARF (sARF II) reacted on immunoblots with two approximately 20-kDa ARF-like proteins (sARF I and II) in tissue extracts from bovine, rat, frog, and chicken. Levels of ARF were higher in brain than in non-neural tissues. In rat brain, on the second postnatal day, amounts of sARF I and II were similar. By the 10th postnatal day and thereafter, sARF II predominated. Relative levels of ARF determined by immunoreactivity were in agreement with levels assessed in functional assays of cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. Based on nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of human and bovine cDNAs, there appear to be at least six different ARF-like genes. Northern blots of rat brain poly(A)+ RNA were hybridized with cDNA and oligonucleotide probes specific for each of the human and bovine ARF genes. From the second to the 27th postnatal day, ARF 3 mRNA increased, whereas mRNAs for ARFs 2 and 4 decreased; and those for ARFs 1, 5, and 6 were apparently unchanged. Partial amino acid sequence of sARF II is consistent with it being either the ARF 1 or 3 gene product. The developmental changes in rat brain ARF parallel neuronal maturation and synapse formation.     

Mechanism of activation of cholera toxin by ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF): both low- and high-affinity interactions of ARF with guanine nucleotides promote toxin activation

Activation of adenylyl cyclase by cholera toxin A subunit (CT-A) results from the ADP-ribosylation of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein (GS alpha). This process requires GTP and an endogenous guanine nucleotide binding protein known as ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF). One membrane (mARF) and two soluble forms (sARF I and sARF II) of ARF have been purified from bovine brain. Because the conditions reported to enhance the binding of guanine nucleotides by ARF differ from those observed to promote optimal activity, we sought to characterize the determinants influencing the functional interaction of guanine nucleotides with ARF. High-affinity GTP binding by sARF II (apparent KD of approximately 70 nM) required Mg2+, DMPC, and sodium cholate. sARF II, in DMPC/cholate, also enhanced CT-A ADP-ribosyltransferase activity (apparent EC50 for GTP of approximately 50 nM), although there was a delay before achievement of a maximal rate of sARF II stimulated toxin activity. The delay was abolished by incubation of sARF II with GTP at 30 degrees C before initiation of the assay. In contrast, a maximal rate of activation of toxin by sARF II, in 0.003% SDS, occurred without delay (apparent EC50 for GTP of approximately 5 microM). High-affinity GTP binding by sARF II was not detectable in SDS. Enhancement of CT-A ADP-ribosyltransferase activity by sARF II, therefore, can occur under conditions in which sARF II exhibits either a relatively low affinity or a relatively high affinity for GTP. The interaction of GTP with ARF under these conditions may reflect ways in which intracellular membrane and cytosolic environments modulate GTP-mediated activation of ARF.     

ADP-ribosylation of a 21-24 kDa eukaryotic protein(s) by C3, a novel botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase, is regulated by guanine nucleotide.

Besides botulinum C2 toxin, Clostridium botulinum type C produces another ADP-ribosyltransferase, which we termed 'C3'. ADP-ribosyltransferase C3 has a molecular mass of 25 kDa and modifies 21-24 kDa protein(s) in platelet and brain membranes. C3 was about 1000 times more potent than botulinum C1 toxin in ADP-ribosylation of membrane proteins. C3-catalysed ADP-ribosylation of the 21-24 kDa protein(s) was decreased by stable guanosine triphosphates, with the potency order GTP[S] much greater than p[NH]ppG greater than p[CH2]ppG. GTP[S] inhibited the ADP-ribosylation caused by C3 by maximally 70-80%, with half-maximal and maximal effects occurring at 0.3 and 10 microM-GTP[S] respectively. The concomitant addition of GTP decreased the inhibitory effect of GTP[S]. GTP[S]-induced inhibition of ADP-ribosylation was resistant to washing of pretreated platelet membranes. The data suggest that the novel botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase C3 modifies eukaryotic 21-24 kDa guanine nucleotide-binding protein(s).     

Cholera toxin action on rabbit corpus luteum membranes: effects on adenylyl cyclase activity and adenosine diphospho-ribosylation of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory component

Cholera toxin elicited 5- to 7-fold stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity. Half-maximal activation was at 4.42 micrograms/ml cholera toxin. Cholera toxin-mediated activation was time dependent. At 0.1 mM ATP, both guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) were required for cholera toxin activation of luteal adenylyl cyclase. The concentrations of GTP and NAD+ required for half-maximal activation were 1 and 200 microM, respectively. The GTP requirement could be eliminated by increasing the ATP concentration to 1.0 mM. Guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) [GDP beta S] did not support cholera toxin activation of the luteal enzyme. Cholera toxin treatment increased GTP-stimulated activity, did not significantly alter guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate [GMP-P(NH)P]-stimulated activity, and depressed NaF-stimulated activity. Furthermore, toxin treatment resulted in a 3.4-fold reduction in the Kact values for ovine luteinizing hormone (oLH) to activate adenylyl cyclase. A similar reduction in Kact values for oLH was obtained when concentration-effect curves performed in the presence of GMP-P(NH)P were compared to those performed in the presence of GTP. In addition, luteal membranes treated with cholera toxin and [32P]NAD+ were subjected to autoradiographic analysis following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This treatment resulted in the [32P] adenosine diphospho (ADP)-ribosylation of a 45,000-dalton protein doublet, corresponding to the alpha subunit of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory component (Ns). As with activation of adenylyl cyclase activity, cholera toxin-specific [32P] ADP-ribosylation was time dependent and increased with increasing concentrations of cholera toxin. GTP, GMP-P(NH)P, and NaF, but not GDP beta S, were capable of supporting [32P] ADP-ribosylation of the protein doublet. oLH did not alter the ability of cholera toxin to ADP-ribosylate the protein activation of luteal adenylyl cyclase activity is due to the ADP-ribosylation of the alpha subunit of Ns and the concomitant inhibition of a GTPase associated with adenylyl cyclase.     

Effects of guanine nucleotides on cholera toxin catalyzed ADP-ribosylation in rat adipocyte plasma membranes

ADP-ribosylation of rat adipocyte plasma membrane proteins was investigated following incubation of membranes with [alpha-32P]NAD and cholera toxin in the presence and absence of various guanine nucleotides. In membranes incubated without guanine nucleotides, cholera toxin induced incorporation of 32P into three discrete proteins of 48, 45, and 41 kDa. In membranes containing 100 microM GTP or GDP, toxin-catalyzed incorporation of 32P into the 41-kDa protein was inhibited. GMP and Gpp(NH)p (100 microM) allowed moderate incorporation of 32P into the 41-kDa protein. Toxin-catalyzed labeling of all proteins was rapid, reaching maximal levels between 5 and 10 min. Toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of the 48- and 45-kDa proteins was stimulated by GTP, reaching maximal levels at 10(-5) M GTP. Inhibition of toxin-dependent labeling of the 41-kDa protein required GTP concentrations above 10(-7) M with complete inhibition occurring between 10(-5) and 10(-4) M GTP. Cholera toxin catalyzed ADP-ribosylation was increased up to 2-fold in membranes supplemented with adipocyte cytosol. These results indicate that cholera toxin catalyzes ADP-ribosylation of three distinct adipocyte plasma membrane proteins, each of which is regulated by the amount and type of added guanine nucleotides.     

Induction of meiotic maturation in Xenopus oocytes by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate

Fully grown Xenopus oocytes are physiologically arrested at the G2/prophase border of the first meiotic division. Addition in vitro of progesterone or insulin causes release of the G2/prophase block and stimulates meiotic cell division of the oocyte, leading to maturation of the oocyte into an unfertilized egg. The possibility that the products of polyphosphoinositide breakdown, diacylglycerol and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3-, are involved in oocyte maturation was investigated. Microinjection of IP3 into oocytes just prior to addition of progesterone or insulin accelerated the rate of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) by up to 25%. Half-maximal acceleration occurred at an intracellular IP3 concentration of 1 microM. Treatment of oocytes with the diacylglycerol analog and tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) induced GVBD in the absence of hormone. Half-maximal induction of GVBD occurred with 150 nM TPA and was blocked by pretreatment of oocytes with 10 nM cholera toxin. Microinjection of highly purified protein kinase C from rat brain into oocytes did not induce maturation but markedly accelerated the rate of insulin-induced oocyte maturation. However, injection of the enzyme had no effect on progesterone action. In oocytes with a basal intracellular pH below 7.6, TPA increased intracellular pH, but GVBD occurred with TPA in Na-substituted medium. Neomycin, a putative inhibitor of polyphosphoinositide breakdown, reversibly inhibited insulin- but not progesterone-induced maturation. Half-maximal inhibition occurred at 1.6 mM neomycin. These results indicate that protein kinase C is capable of regulating oocyte maturation in Xenopus.     

Evidence for a rabbit luteal ADP-ribosyltransferase activity which appears to be capable of activating adenylyl cyclase.

1. An ADP-ribosyltransferase activity which appears to be capable of activating adenylyl cyclase was identified in a plasma membrane fraction from rabbit corpora lutea and partially characterized by comparing the properties of the luteal transferase with those of cholera toxin. 2. Incubation of luteal membranes in the presence of GTP and varying concentrations of NAD resulted in concentration-dependent increases in adenylyl cyclase activity. 3. Stimulation of adenylyl cyclase by NAD and cholera toxin plus NAD was observed in the presence of GTP but not in the presence of guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) or guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate. 4. NAD or cholera toxin plus NAD reduced the Kact values for luteinizing hormone to activate adenylyl cyclase 3- to 3.5-fold. 5. NAD or cholera toxin plus NAD increased the extent to which cholate extracts from luteal membranes were able to reconstitute adenylyl cyclase activity in S49 cyc- mouse lymphoma membranes. 6. It was necessary to add ADP-ribose and arginine to the incubation mixture in order to demonstrate cholera toxin-specific ADP-ribosylation of a protein corresponding to the alpha subunit of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory component (alpha Gs). 7. Treatment of luteal membranes with NAD prior to incubation in the presence of [32P]NAD plus cholera toxin resulted in reduced labeling of alpha Gs. 8. Endogenous ADP-ribosylation of alpha Gs was enhanced by Mg but was not altered by guanine nucleotide, NaF or luteinizing hormone and was inhibited by cAMP. 9. Incubation of luteal membranes in the presence of [32P]ADP-ribose in the absence and presence of cholera toxin did not result in the labeling of any membrane proteins.     

Mechanism of cholera toxin activation by a guanine nucleotide-dependent 19 kDa protein

Cholera toxin causes the devastating diarrheal syndrome characteristic of cholera by catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, a GTP-binding regulatory protein, resulting in activation of adenylyl cyclase. ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha is enhanced by 19 kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins known as ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. We investigated the effects of agents known to alter toxin-catalyzed activation of adenylyl cyclase on the stimulation of toxin- and toxin subunit-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha and other substrates by an ADP-ribosylation factor purified from a soluble fraction of bovine brain (sARF II). In the presence of GTP, sARF II enhanced activity of both the toxin catalytic unit and a reduced and alkylated fragment ('A1'), as a result of an increase in substrate affinity with no significant effects on Vmax. Activation of toxin was independent of Gs alpha and was stimulated 4-fold by sodium dodecyl sulfate, but abolished by Triton X-100. sARF II therefore serves as a direct allosteric activator of the A1 protein and may thus amplify the pathological effects of cholera toxin.     

Characterization of transducin from bovine retinal rod outer segments. Mechanism and effects of cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation

Transducin, a guanine nucleotide-binding protein consisting of two subunits (T alpha and T beta gamma), mediates the signal coupling between rhodopsin and a membrane-bound cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase in retinal rod outer segments. The T alpha subunit is an activator of the phosphodiesterase, and the function of the T beta gamma subunit is to physically link T alpha with photolyzed rhodopsin. In this study, the mechanism of cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of T alpha has been examined in a reconstituted system consisting of purified transducin and stripped rod outer segment membranes. Limited proteolysis of the labeled T alpha with trypsin indicated that the inserted ADP-ribose is located exclusively on a single proteolytic fragment with an apparent molecular weight of 23,000. Maximal incorporation of ADP-ribose was achieved when guanosine 5'-(beta, gamma-imido)triphosphate (Gpp(NH)p) and T beta gamma were present at concentrations equal to that of T alpha and when rhodopsin was continuously irradiated with visible light in the 400-500 nm region. The stimulating effect of illumination was related to the direct interaction of the retinal chromophore with opsin. These findings strongly suggest that a transient protein complex consisting of T alpha X Gpp(NH)p, T beta gamma, and a photointermediate of rhodopsin is the required substrate for cholera toxin. Single turnover kinetic measurements demonstrated that the ADP-ribosylation of T alpha coincided with the appearance of a population of transducin molecules having a very slow rate of GTP hydrolysis. The hydrolysis rate of the bound GTP for this population was 1.1 X 10(-3)/s, which was 22-fold slower than the rate for the unmodified transducin.     

Mechanism of inhibition of transducin guanosine triphosphatase activity by vanadate

The visual excitation system of the retinal rod outer segments and the hormone-sensitive adenylate cyclase complex are regulated through guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, transducin in the former and inhibitory and stimulatory regulatory components, Gi and Gs, in the latter. These proteins are functionally and structurally similar; all are heterotrimers composed of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits and exhibit guanosine triphosphatase activity stimulated by light-activated rhodopsin or the agonist-receptor complex. Adenylate cyclase can be stimulated by vanadate, which, like NaF, probably acts through Gs. Effects of vanadate on the function of a guanine nucleotide-binding protein were investigated in a reconstituted model system consisting of purified transducin subunits (T alpha, T beta gamma) and rhodopsin in phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Vanadate (decameric) inhibited [3H]GTP binding to T alpha and noncompetitively inhibited GTP hydrolysis in a concentration-dependent manner with maximal inhibition of approximately 90% at 3-5 mM. Vanadate also inhibited release of bound GDP but did not affect the rate of hydrolysis of bound GTP (single turnover rate), indicating that vanadate did not interfere with the intrinsic GTPase activity of T alpha. Binding of T alpha to rhodopsin and the ADP-ribosylation of T alpha by pertussis toxin, both of which are enhanced in the presence of T beta gamma, were inhibited by vanadate. These findings are consistent with the conclusion that vanadate can cause the dissociation of T alpha from T beta gamma, resulting in the inhibition of GDP-GTP exchange and thereby GTP hydrolysis. Adenylate cyclase activation could result from a similar effect of vanadate on Gs.