Control of phosphorylase kinase in the isolated glycogen particle by Ca2+-Mg2+ synergistic activation and cAMP-dependent phosphorylation

The isolated glycogen particle provides a means to examine the regulation of glycogen metabolism with the components organized in a functional cellular complex. With this system, we have studied the control of phosphorylase kinase activation by Ca2+ and cAMP. Contrary to a previous report (Heilmeyer, L. M. G., Jr., Meyer, F., Haschke, R. H., and Fisher, E. H. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 245, 6649-6656), phosphorylase kinase became activated during incubation of the glycogen particle with MgATP2- and Ca2+. Part of this activation could be attributed to the action of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase; however, it was not possible to quantitatively correlate activation with phosphorylation in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ due to a large, but uncertain, contribution of synergistic activation caused by these ions. This latter activation had properties similar to those described by King and Carlson (King, M. M., and Carlson, G. M. (1980) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 209, 517-523) with the purified enzyme, and its occurrence also explains why phosphorylase kinase activation in the glycogen particle was not observed previously. The cAMP-dependent activation of phosphorylase kinase in the glycogen particle has been characterized. It occurred in a similar manner when either the cAMP-dependent protein kinase or cAMP was added, thus indicating that the phosphorylation sites of phosphorylase kinase complexed in the glycogen particle were accessible to endogenous or exogenous enzyme. In the glycogen particle, both the alpha and beta subunits were phosphorylated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, but the alpha subunit dephosphorylation appeared to be preferentially regulated by Ca2+. The activity of phosphorylase kinase in the glycogen particle is regulated by the phosphorylation of both the alpha and beta subunits.     

Control by phosphorylation

The two examples of phospho and dephospho proteins for which structural data were previously available (glycogen phosphorylase and isocitrate dehydrogenase) demonstrated two different mechanisms for control. In glycogen phosphorylase, activation by phosphorylation results in long-range allosteric changes. In isocitrate dehydrogenase, inhibition by phosphorylation is achieved by an electrostatic blocking mechanism with no conformational changes. During the past year, the structures of the phospho and dephospho forms of two more proteins, the cell cycle protein kinase CDK2 and yeast glycogen phosphorylase, have been determined. The new results highlight the importance of the phosphoamino acids both in the organization of local regions of protein structure through phosphate—arginine interactions and in the promotion of long-range conformational responses.     

Regulation of yeast glycogen phosphorylase by the cyclin-dependent protein kinase Pho85p

Yeast accumulate glycogen in response to nutrient limitation. The key enzymes of glycogen synthesis and degradation, glycogen synthase, and phosphorylase, are regulated by reversible phosphorylation. Phosphorylation inactivates glycogen synthase but activates phosphorylase. The kinases and phosphatases that control glycogen synthase are well characterized whilst the enzymes modifying phosphorylase are poorly defined. Here, we show that the cyclin-dependent protein kinase, Pho85p, which we have previously found to regulate glycogen synthase also controls the phosphorylation state of phosphorylase.     

Regulation of the activity of rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase by glycogen

The effects of glycogen on the non-activated and activated forms of phosphorylase kinase were studied. It was found that in the presence of glycogen the activity of non-activated kinase at pH 6.8 and 8.2 and that of the activated (in the course of phosphorylation) form are enhanced. The degree of activation depends on glycogen concentration. At saturating concentrations, this enzyme activity increases 2-3-fold; the enzyme affinity for the protein substrate, phosphorylase b, also shows an increase. The polysaccharide has no effect on the activity of phosphorylase kinase stimulated by limited proteolysis. In the presence of glycogen, the rate of autocatalytic phosphorylation of the enzyme is increased. Glycogen stabilizes the enzyme activity upon dilution. The experimental results suggest that the polysaccharide directly affects the phosphorylase kinase molecule. The maximal binding was shown to occur at the enzyme/polysaccharide ratio of 1:10 (w/w) in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+.     

Electrostatic effects in the control of glycogen phosphorylase by phosphorylation.

Electrostatic effects are important in the initial activation mechanism of glycogen phosphorylase by phosphorylation. Analysis of the electrostatic surface potential of glycogen phosphorylase with the program GRASP shows that in the unphosphorylated state, the N-terminal 20 residues, which include a number of basic amino acids, are located close to a position on the surface of the molecule that is highly acidic. Upon phosphorylation by phosphorylase kinase at Ser 14, the N-terminal residues change their position and conformation so that the Ser-P is directed away from the acidic patch and to an intersubunit site where 2 arginines bind the phosphate. This recognition site is created through tertiary and quaternary structural changes that accompany the activation mechanism.     

Purification and crystallization of glycogen phosphorylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Glycogen phosphorylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is activated by the covalent phosphorylation of a single threonine residue in the N terminus of the protein. We have hypothesized that the structural features that effect activation must be distinct from those characterized in rabbit muscle phosphorylase because the two enzymes have unrelated phosphorylation sites located in dissimilar protein contexts. To understand this potentially novel mechanism of activation by phosphorylation, we require information at atomic resolution of the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated forms of the enzyme. To this end, we have purified, characterized and crystallized glycogen phosphorylase from S. cerevisiae. The enzyme was isolated from a phosphorylase-deficient strain harboring a multicopy plasmid containing the phosphorylase gene under the control of its own promoter. One liter of cultured cells yields 12 mg of crystallizable material. The purified protein was not phosphorylated and had an activity of 4.7 units/mg in the presence of saturating amounts of substrate. Yeast phosphorylase was crystallized in four different crystal forms, only one of which is suitable for diffraction studies at high resolution. The latter belongs to space group P4(1)2(1)2 with unit cell constants of a = 161.1 A and c = 175.5 A Based on the density of the crystals, the solvent content is 49.7%, indicating that the asymmetric unit contains the functional dimer of yeast phosphorylase.     

The glycogenic action of protein targeting to glycogen in hepatocytes involves multiple mechanisms including phosphorylase inactivation and glycogen synthase translocation

Expression of the glycogen-targeting protein PTG promotes glycogen synthase activation and glycogen storage in various cell types. In this study, we tested the contribution of phosphorylase inactivation to the glycogenic action of PTG in hepatocytes by using a selective inhibitor of phosphorylase (CP-91149) that causes dephosphorylation of phosphorylase a and sequential activation of glycogen synthase. Similar to CP-91194, graded expression of PTG caused a concentration-dependent inactivation of phosphorylase and activation of glycogen synthase. The latter was partially counter-acted by the expression of muscle phosphorylase and was not additive with the activation by CP-91149, indicating that it is in part secondary to the inactivation of phosphorylase. PTG expression caused greater stimulation of glycogen synthesis and translocation of glycogen synthase than CP-91149, and the translocation of synthase could not be explained by accumulation of glycogen, supporting an additional role for glycogen synthase translocation in the glycogenic action of PTG. The effects of PTG expression on glycogen synthase and glycogen synthesis were additive with the effects of glucokinase expression, confirming the complementary roles of depletion of phosphorylase a (a negative modulator) and elevated glucose 6-phosphate (a positive modulator) in potentiating the activation of glycogen synthase. PTG expression mimicked the inactivation of phosphorylase caused by high glucose and counteracted the activation caused by glucagon. The latter suggests a possible additional role for PTG on phosphorylase kinase inactivation.     

Inactivation of phosphorylase is a major component of the mechanism by which insulin stimulates hepatic glycogen synthesis.

Multiple signalling pathways are involved in the mechanism by which insulin stimulates hepatic glycogen synthesis. In this study we used selective inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) and an allosteric inhibitor of phosphorylase (CP-91149) that causes dephosphorylation of phosphorylase a, to determine the relative contributions of inactivation of GSK-3 and dephosphorylation of phosphorylase a as alternative pathways in the stimulation of glycogen synthesis by insulin in hepatocytes. GSK-3 inhibitors (SB-216763 and Li+) caused a greater activation of glycogen synthase than insulin (90% vs. 40%) but a smaller stimulation of glycogen synthesis (30% vs. 150%). The contribution of GSK-3 inactivation to insulin stimulation of glycogen synthesis was estimated to be less than 20%. Dephosphorylation of phosphorylase a with CP-91149 caused activation of glycogen synthase and translocation of the protein from a soluble to a particulate fraction and mimicked the stimulation of glycogen synthesis by insulin. The stimulation of glycogen synthesis by phosphorylase inactivation cannot be explained by either inhibition of glycogen degradation or activation of glycogen synthase alone and suggests an additional role for translocation of synthase. Titrations with the phosphorylase inactivator showed that stimulation of glycogen synthesis by insulin can be largely accounted for by inactivation of phosphorylase over a wide range of activities of phosphorylase a. We conclude that a signalling pathway involving dephosphorylation of phosphorylase a leading to both activation and translocation of glycogen synthase is a critical component of the mechanism by which insulin stimulates hepatic glycogen synthesis. Selective inactivation of phosphorylase can mimic insulin stimulation of hepatic glycogen synthesis.     

Apparent activation of the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase by pp60v-src. Identification of an activity like that of glycogen synthase kinase 3 in immunoaffinity purified pp60v-src preparations

Immunoaffinity purified pp60v-src was found to activate the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase in the presence of MgATP. Although preliminary evidence suggested that phosphorylation of the inhibitor-2 subunit on tyrosine residues was responsible for the activation, preincubation of the pp60v-src preparation at 41 degrees C resulted in a rapid loss of its protein kinase activities towards both casein and inhibitor-2 while its ability to activate the protein phosphatase complex was relatively insensitive to this treatment. This result demonstrated that pp60v-src was not responsible for activation of the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase. A protein kinase activity which phosphorylated glycogen synthase on serine residues was detected in the pp60v-src preparation. The protein kinase was active in the presence of inhibitors of phosphorylase kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 5/casein kinase II, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase. It is, therefore, likely that activation of the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase resulted from the presence of a glycogen synthase kinase 3 like activity in the pp60v-src preparation. Our results illustrate the importance of applying multiple criteria to link the phosphorylation of a protein with an observed change in its activity.     

Activation of endogenous phosphorylase kinase in liver glycogen pellet by cAMP-dependent protein kinase

Liver glycogen phosphorylase associated with the glycogen pellet was activated by a MgATP-dependent process. This activation was reduced by 90% by ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, not affected by the inhibitor of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, and increased 2.5-fold by the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Low levels of free Ca2+ (8 x 10(-8) M) completely prevented the effects of the chelator. The activation of phosphorylase by MgATP was shown not to be due to formation of AMP. DEAE-cellulose chromatography of the glycogen pellet separated phosphorylase from phosphorylase kinase. The isolated phosphorylase was no longer activated by MgATP in the presence or absence of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The isolated phosphorylase kinase phosphorylated and activated skeletal muscle phosphorylase b and the activation was increased 2- to 3-fold by the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Mixing the isolated phosphorylase and phosphorylase kinase together restored the effects of MgATP and the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase on phosphorylase activity. These findings demonstrate that the phosphorylase kinase associated with liver glycogen has regulatory features similar to those of muscle phosphorylase kinase.     

Conformational changes associated with transient activation of phosphorylase in glycogen particles. Studies using activity, electron-spin-resonance and phosphorus-nuclear-magnetic-resonance measurements.

1. Calcium-dependent transient phosphorylation of phorphorylase b has been monitored in a rabbit muscle glycogen particle fraction. Using a phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance assay, the changes in concentrations of small phosphate-containing metabolites associated with this event have been measured. In addition, the conformation of phosphorylase has been monitored during transient activation by observing changes in the electron spin resonance signal from added spin-labelled phosphorylase. 2. The transient activation was associated with a loss of glucose-6-phosphate from phosphorylase b; newly formed phosphorylase a binds the nucleotides ADP, AMP, or IMP. Because of the fast interconversion of these nucleotides the species bound to phosphorylase a change throughout the process. 3. Lowering the [Mg2+] : [Ca2+] ratio during transient activation causes accumulation of ADP. Electron spin resonance data from spin-labelled phosphorylase shows that, under these conditions, ADP binding to phosphorylase a is potentiated. 4. Calcium-dependent activation in the glycogen particle fraction is compared to the activation of phosphorylase in vivo.     

Cellular regulation by protein phosphorylation

A historical account of the discovery of reversible protein phosphorylation is presented. This process was uncovered in the mid 1950s in a study undertaken with Edwin G. Krebs to elucidate the complex hormonal regulation of skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase. Contrary to the known activation of this enzyme by AMP which serves as an allosteric effector, its hormonal regulation results from a phosphorylation of the protein by phosphorylase kinase following the activation of the latter by Ca²⁺ and ATP. The study led to the establishment of the first hormonal cascade of successive enzymatic reactions, kinases acting on kinases, initiated by cAMP discovered by Earl Sutherland. It also showed how two different physiological processes, carbohydrate metabolism and muscle contraction, could be regulated in concert.     

Structural and functional characterization of the Drosophila glycogen phosphorylase gene

We identified a P element insertional mutant of the Drosophila glycogen phosphorylase (DGPH) gene. Glycogen phosphorylase protein concentration and enzyme activity are decreased while glycogen content is increased in flies homozygous for the mutant allele. The DGPH gene has been cloned and sequenced; its open reading frame codes for a protein of 844 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 97 kDa. Comparison of the conceptual amino acid sequence of the Drosophila glycogen phosphorylase with glycogen phosphorylase sequences from other organisms shows a high degree of homology to mammalian enzymes. All the residues of the allosteric effector binding sites, the active site, and the site of phosphorylation are exactly conserved, but some of the residues of the glycogen storage site are not.     

Evidence for the coordinate control of activity of liver glycogen synthase and phosphorylase by a single protein phosphatase.

Homogeneous rabbit liver phosphorylase phosphatase (Brandt, H., Capulong, Z. L., and Lee, E. Y. C. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 8038-8044) also dephosphorylates glycogen synthase b. During purification, phosphorylase phosphatase and glycogen synthase phosphatase co-purified with a constant ratio of activities. The two activities co-migrated on disc gel electrophoresis. Both substrates competed with each other for the phosphatase, and both phosphatase activities were inhibited by lysine ethyl ester. It is concluded that liver phosphorylase phosphatase and glycogen synthase phosphatase have a common identity and that coordinate regulation of the phosphatase-catalyzed activation of glycogen synthase and inactivation of phosphorylase occurs in vivo. This provides a parallel and opposing mechanism to that mediated by adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase, which coordinately inactivates glycogen synthase and, via phosphorylase kinase, activates phosphorylase. Maximal glycogen synthase phosphatase activity was observed near neutrality. Mg2+ and glucose-6-P activated the glycogen synthase phosphatase reaction and this activation was pH-dependent. The Km for glycogen synthase b was 0.12 muM.     

Reciprocal regulation of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase by insulin involving phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and protein phosphatase-1 in HepG2 cells

The effect of insulin on glycogen synthesis and key enzymes of glycogen metabolism, glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase, was studied in HepG2 cells. Insulin stimulated glycogen synthesis 1.83-3.30 fold depending on insulin concentration in the medium. Insulin caused a maximum of 65% decrease in glycogen phosphorylase 'a' and 110% increase in glycogen synthase activities in 5 min. Although significant changes in enzyme activities were observed with as low as 0.5 nM insulin level, the maximum effects were observed with 100 nM insulin. There was a significant inverse correlation between activities of glycogen phosphorylase 'a' and glycogen synthase 'a' (R² = 0.66, p < 0.001). Addition of 30 mM glucose caused a decrease in phosphorylase 'a' activity in the absence of insulin and this effect was additive with insulin up to 10 nM concentration. The inactivation of phosphorylase 'a' by insulin was prevented by wortmannin and rapamycin but not by PD98059. The activation of glycogen synthase by insulin was prevented by wortmannin but not by PD98059 or rapamycin. In fact, PD98059 slightly stimulated glycogen synthase activation by insulin. Under these experimental conditions, insulin decreased glycogen synthase kinase-3 activity by 30-50% and activated more than 4-fold particulate protein phosphatase-1 activity and 1.9-fold protein kinase B activity; changes in all of these enzyme activities were abolished by wortmannin. The inactivation of GSK-3 and activation of PKB by insulin were associated with their phosphorylation and this was also reversed by wortmannin. The addition of protein phosphatase-1 inhibitors, okadaic acid and calyculin A, completely abolished the effects of insulin on both enzymes. These data suggest that stimulation of glycogen synthase by insulin in HepG2 cells is mediated through the PI-3 kinase pathway by activating PKB and PP-1G and inactivating GSK-3. On the other hand, inactivation of phosphorylase by insulin is mediated through the PI-3 kinase pathway involving a rapamycin-sensitive p70^s6k and PP-1G. These experiments demonstrate that insulin regulates glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase through (i) a common signaling pathway at least up to PI-3 kinase and bifurcates downstream and (ii) that PP-1 activity is essential for the effect of insulin.     

Functional specificity of guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent and adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinases from silkworm.

Adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase partially purified from silkworm pupae shows identical functional activities with those of mammalian protein kinases; the insect and mammalian kinases are completely exchangeable in the phosphorylation of muscle glycogen phosphorylase kinase and glycogen synthetase resulting in the activation and inactivation of the respective enzymes. In contrast, guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase obtained from the same organism is totally inactive in this role and phosphorylates different, mainly seryl and some threonyl, residues of acceptor proteins. Substrates of the latter kinase intimately involved in the regulation of biological processes have remained unknown.     

Apparent activation of the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase by pp60v-src identification of an activity like that of glycogen synthase kinase 3 in immunoaffinity purified pp60v-src preparations

Immunoaffinity purified pp60^v-src was found to activate the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase in the presence of MgATP. Although preliminary evidence suggested that phosphorylation of the inhibitor-2 subunit on tyrosine residues was responsible for the activation, preincubation of the pp60^v-src preparation at 41°C resulted in a rapid loss of its protein kinase activities towards both casein and inhibitor-2 while its ability to activate the protein phosphatase complex was relatively insensitive to this treatment. This result demonstrated that pp60^v-src was not responsible for activation of the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase. A protein kinase activity which phosphorylated glycogen synthase on serine residues was detected in the pp60^v-src preparation. The protein kinase was active in the presence of inhibitors of phosphorylase kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 5/casein kinase II, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase. It is, therefore, likely that activation of the MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase resulted from the presence of a glycogen synthase kinase 3 like activity in the pp60^v-src preparation. Our results illustrate the importance of applying multiple criteria to link the phosphorylation of a protein with an observed change in its activity.     

Role of protein kinase C in the regulation of rat liver glycogen synthase

Rat liver glycogen synthase was phosphorylated by purified protein kinase C in a Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent fashion to 1-1.4 mol PO4/subunit. Analysis of the 32P-labeled tryptic peptides derived from the phosphorylated synthase by isoelectric focusing and two-dimensional peptide mapping revealed the presence of a major radioactive peptide. The sites in liver synthase phosphorylated by protein kinase C appears to be different from those phosphorylated by other kinases. Prior phosphorylation of the synthase by protein kinase C has no significant effect on the subsequent phosphorylation by glycogen synthase (casein) kinase-1 or kinase Fa, but prevents the synthase from further phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, phosphorylase kinase, or casein kinase-2. Additive phosphorylation of liver glycogen synthase can be observed by the combination of protein kinase C with the former set of kinases but not with the latter. Phosphorylation of liver synthase by protein kinase C alone did not cause an inactivation nor did the combination of this kinase with glycogen synthase (casein) kinase-1 or kinase Fa produce a synergistic effect on the inactivation of the synthase. Based on these findings we conclude that the phorbol ester-induced inactivation of glycogen synthase previously observed in hepatocytes cannot be accounted for entirely by the activation of protein kinase C.     

Ganglioside-modulated protein phosphorylation in muscle. Activation of phosphorylase b kinase by gangliosides

Gangliosides have profound effects on protein phosphorylation in skeletal muscle. Addition of GT1b to guinea pig muscle extract stimulated the phosphorylation of a 98-kDa protein 4-8-fold. In contrast, Ca2+ stimulated the phosphorylation of this protein and two other proteins with apparent Mr of 107,000 and 145,000, respectively. Addition of GT1b in the presence of Ca2+ further enhanced the phosphorylation of the 98-kDa protein but completely inhibited the phosphorylation of both the 107- and the 145-kDa proteins. The nature of the ganglioside-modulated 98-kDa protein has been characterized. Results on the pH activity profiles and the requirements of Ca2+ for phosphorylation suggest that this phosphoprotein may correspond to glycogen phosphorylase. Phosphorylation of purified rabbit muscle phosphorylase b by nonactivated phosphorylase kinase was stimulated by GT1b. This stimulation was in part due to an activation of the kinase activity. Autophosphorylation of highly purified phosphorylase kinase was increased 4-10-fold in the presence of GT1b. Polysialogangliosides were more potent than monosialogangliosides in stimulating the autocatalytic activity, whereas asialo-GM1, colominic acid, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and phosphatidylserine were ineffective. The effects of gangliosides were dose-dependent. At physiological pH, the concentrations of GT1b required for half-maximal stimulation of the autophosphorylation of phosphorylase kinase were 6.4 microM in the absence of Ca2+ and 1.3 microM when the divalent cation was present. These findings suggest that gangliosides may play a role as biomodulators in the regulation of glycogenolysis in muscle.