Amphiphilic cationic drugs and phospholipids influence the activities of beta-galactosidase and beta-glucosidase from liver lysosomal fraction of untreated rats

The influence of amphiphilic drugs and phospholipids on the activities of beta-galactosidase and beta-glucosidase from liver lysosomal fractions of untreated rats, isolated by affinity chromatography using castor bean lectins, was studied in vitro. Chloroquine (93 microM) inhibited beta-galactosidase activity by about 30%, while O,O'-bis(diethylaminoethyl)hexestrol showed no inhibitory effect. Neutral phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin) inhibited the enzyme slightly, while the enzyme activity was drastically reduced in the presence of acidic phospholipids (phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, bis-(monoacylglycero)phosphate). Lysosomal beta-glucosidase was strongly inhibited by chloroquine and O,O'-bis(diethylaminoethyl)-hexestrol. The neutral phospholipids showed only a moderate inhibitory effect, whereas the acidic phospholipids were stimulators. Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate was by far the best stimulating compound.     

Quantitative profiling of Arabidopsis polar glycerolipids in response to phosphorus starvation. Roles of phospholipases D zeta1 and D zeta2 in phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis and digalactosyldiacylglycerol accumulation in phosphorus-starved plants

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient that often limits plant growth and development. Under phosphorus-limited conditions, plants undergo substantial alterations in membrane lipid composition to cope with phosphorus deficiency. To characterize the changes in lipid species and to identify enzymes involved in plant response to phosphorus starvation, 140 molecular species of polar glycerolipids were quantitatively profiled in rosettes and roots of wild-type Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and phospholipase D knockout mutants pld zeta1, pld zeta2, and pld zeta1 pld zeta2. In response to phosphorus starvation, the concentration of phospholipids was decreased and that of galactolipids was increased. Phospholipid lost in phosphorus-starved Arabidopsis rosettes was replaced by an equal amount of galactolipid. The concentration of phospholipid lost in roots was much greater than in rosettes. Disruption of both PLD zeta1 and PLD zeta2 function resulted in a smaller decrease in phosphatidylcholine and a smaller increase in digalactosyldiacylglycerol in phosphorus-starved roots. The results suggest that hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine by PLD zetas during phosphorus starvation contributes to the supply of inorganic phosphorus for cell metabolism and diacylglycerol moieties for galactolipid synthesis.     

Membrane lipids regulate ganglioside GM2 catabolism and GM2 activator protein activity

Ganglioside GM2 is the major lysosomal storage compound of Tay-Sachs disease. It also accumulates in Niemann-Pick disease types A and B with primary storage of SM and with cholesterol in type C. Reconstitution of GM2 catabolism with β-hexosaminidase A and GM2 activator protein (GM2AP) at uncharged liposomal surfaces carrying GM2 as substrate generated only a physiologically irrelevant catabolic rate, even at pH 4.2. However, incorporation of anionic phospholipids into the GM2 carrying liposomes stimulated GM2 hydrolysis more than 10-fold, while the incorporation of plasma membrane stabilizing lipids (SM and cholesterol) generated a strong inhibition of GM2 hydrolysis, even in the presence of anionic phospholipids. Mobilization of membrane lipids by GM2AP was also inhibited in the presence of cholesterol or SM, as revealed by surface plasmon resonance studies. These lipids also reduced the interliposomal transfer rate of 2-NBD-GM1 by GM2AP, as observed in assays using Förster resonance energy transfer. Our data raise major concerns about the usage of recombinant His-tagged GM2AP compared with untagged protein. The former binds more strongly to anionic GM2-carrying liposomal surfaces, increases GM2 hydrolysis, and accelerates intermembrane transfer of 2-NBD-GM1, but does not mobilize membrane lipids.     

Purification and properties of a phospholipase C that has high activity toward sphingomyelin from Aspergillus saitoi

An enzyme hydrolyzing sphingomyelin was purified from extracts of solid cultures of Aspergillus saitoi 7041 by fractionation with isopropanol followed by successive column chromatographies on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B, butyl-Toyopearl 650 M, and phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B. The preparation of purified enzyme was homogeneous and had an activity increased 81-fold over that of the isopropanol fraction. The yield was about 65%. The molecular weight was estimated to be 54,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis. The enzyme solution had a violet color and contained iron atoms. The enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to N-acylsphingosine and phosphorylcholine. The optimum pH for hydrolytic activity was around 3.5. The Km values for sphingomyelin and 2-hexadecanoylamino-4-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine were 0.11 and 0.33 mM, respectively. The enzyme also catalyzed the hydrolysis of other phospholipids; the order of its hydrolytic activity at a substrate concentration of 2.5 mM was phosphatidylcholine greater than or equal to sphingomyelin = phosphatidylethanolamine = lysophosphatidylethanolamine greater than phosphatidyl DL-glycerol = phosphatidyl L-serine greater than phosphatidylinositol. From these results, this enzyme appears to be a new type of phospholipase C(phosphatidylcholine cholinephosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.3).     

Acid sphingomyelinase from human urine: purification and characterization

Acid sphingomyelinase (sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase, EC 3.1.4.12) was purified from human urine in the presence of 0.1% Nonidet P-40. The activity could be enriched 23,000-fold by sequential chromatography on octyl-Sepharose, concanavalin A-Sepharose, blue Sepharose and DEAE-cellulose. The last purification step yielded an enzyme preparation with a specific activity of about 2.5 mmol sphingomyelin cleaved/h per mg protein and with a yield of about 3%. Purified sphingomyelinase appeared to be homogeneous in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular mass of 70 kDa. In the presence of 0.08% (w/v) sodium taurodeoxycholate the preparation showed phosphodiesterase activity toward sphingomyelin, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol. These activities co-purified during the entire purification procedure, indicating that the acid sphingomyelinase hydrolyses not only sphingomyelin but also the other two phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol. Addition of 100 microM tripalmitoylglycerol to the assay system (which contains 100 microM sphingomyelin) instead of detergent, stimulated the reaction about 20-fold compared to an assay which did not contain detergents, thus offering a very sensitive and efficient system for the assay of sphingomyelinase in a system free of detergents. Sphingomyelin degradation was strongly inhibited by phosphatidylinositol 4',5'-bisphosphate, adenosine 3',5'-diphosphate and adenine-9-beta-D-arabinofuranoside 5'-monophosphate (50% inhibition at inhibitor concentrations of 1-5 microM).     

Asymmetry of the phospholipid bilayer of rat liver endoplasmic reticulum

The phospholipids of intact microsomal membranes were hydrolysed 50% by phospholipase C of Clostridium welchii, without loss of the secretory protein contents of the vesicle, which are therefore not permeable to the phospholipase. Phospholipids extracted from microsomes and dispersed by sonication were hydrolysed rapidly by phospholipase C-Cl. welchii with the exception of phosphatidylinositol. Assuming that only the phospholipids of the outside of the bilayer of the microsomal membrane are hydrolysed in intact vesicles, the composition of this leaflet was calculated as 84% phosphatidylcholine, 8% phosphatidylethanolamine, 9% sphingomyelin and 4% phosphatidylserine, and that of the inner leaflet 28% phosphatidylcholine, 37% phosphatidylethanolamine, 6% phosphatidylserine and 5% sphingomyelin. Microsomal vesicles were opened and their contents released in part by incubation with deoxycholate (0.098%) lysophosphatidylcholine (0.005%) or treatment with the French pressure cell. Under these conditions, hydrolysis of the phospholipids by phospholipase C-Cl. welchii was increased and this was mainly due to increased hydrolysis of those phospholipids assigned to the inner leaflet of the bilayer, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine. Phospholipase A₂ of bee venom and phospholipase C of Bacillus cereus caused rapid loss of vesicle contents and complete hydrolysis of the membrane phospholipids, with the exception of sphingomyelin which is not hydrolysed by the former enzyme.     

Permeability and integrity properties of lecithin-sphingomyelin liposomes.

The properties of multibilayered liposomes formed from mixtures of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine in varying mole ratio (all containing one mole dicetylphosphate per 10 moles of phospholipids) have been studied. The principal findings are: (1) Over the range 0 to 1 mole fraction sphingomyelin the liposomes exhibit multibilayer structure as visualized by electron microscopy using negative staining. (2) The two phospholipids differ in their interaction with dicetylphosphate in a bilayer structure. In mixtures of the two the effect of sphingomyelin is dominant. (3) The ability of sphingomyelin to form osmotically active liposomes depends on its fatty acid's composition. (4) Liposomes of all mole fractions of sphingomyelin are osmotically active if the C24: 1 fatty acid content of sphingomyelin exceeds 10% of the total acyl residues. The degree of osmotic activity, however, depends upon the molar ratio between the two phospholipids. The highest initial rate of water permeability was found for lecithin liposomes. The maximal change of volume by osmotic gradients was obtained for liposomes composed of 1:1 lecithin to sphingomyelin (mole ratio). (5) Permeability to glucose increased with increasing lecithin mole fraction. (6) Liposomes composed of 1:1 lecithin to sphingomyelin have the largest aqueous volume per mole of phospholipid as measured by glucose trapping. (7) The osmotic fragility of liposomes made of sphingomyelin is higher than for those made of lecithin but the highest osmotic fragility was obtained for liposomes containing lecithin and sphingomyelin in 1:1 molar ratio. (8) When the temperature is abruptly lowered to about 2 degrees C, lipsomes formed from phosphatidylcholine release about 20% of trapped glucose during a transient increase in permeability. Liposomes containing 0.5 mole fraction sphingomyelin release about 30% of the trapped glucose under these conditions. Liposomes composed of sphingomyelin alone do not exhibit this phenomenon.     

Lipid asymmetry in rabbit small intestinal brush border membrane as probed by an intrinsic phospholipid exchange protein.

All classes of phospholipids present in brush border membrane are exchanged in a 1:1 ratio for egg phosphatidylcholine when brush border membrane vesicles from rabbit small intestine are incubated with small unilamellar vesicles of egg phosphatidylcholine. The exchange reaction exhibits biphasic kinetics similar to those of the hydrolysis of brush border membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2 and sphingomyelinase C. In both reactions there is an initial fast phase followed by a markedly slower one. The phospholipid exchange appears to be catalyzed by intrinsic brush border membrane protein(s), while the digestion by phospholipases is mediated by externally added enzymes. From a comparison of the kinetics of phospholipid exchange and phospholipid hydrolysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: Both sets of experiments indicate the presence of two phospholipid pools differing in the rate of phospholipid exchange and hydrolysis. Except for sphingomyelin, the size of the two phospholipid pools derived from phospholipid exchange is in good agreement with that derived from phospholipid hydrolysis. This is the main finding of this work, and on the basis of this result the two lipid pools are tentatively assigned to phospholipid molecules located on the outer and inner layer of the brush border membrane. The slow rate of phospholipid exchange reflects the rate of transverse or flip-flop movement of phospholipids. The half-time of this motion is approximately 8 h for isoelectric (neutral) phospholipids such as phosphatidylethanolamine and approximately 80 h for negatively charged phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol. Isoelectric phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine) are preferentially located on the inner (cytoplasmic) side (to about 70%) while the negatively charged phospholipids are more evenly distributed: 55-60% are located on the inner side.     

Enzymic hydrolysis of sphingomyelin by rat liver

1. An enzyme that hydrolyses sphingomyelin to ceramide (N-acylsphingosine) and phosphorylcholine was isolated from rat liver. 2. The enzyme is particle-bound (mitochondria or lysosomes) and can be solubilized by ultrasonic treatment and freezing and thawing. 3. It has been partially purified by precipitation at pH5.2, neutralization and ammonium sulphate fractionation. 4. The enzyme is activated by Triton X-100 (0.2%) or low concentrations of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (0.02%), higher concentration being inhibitory. 5. The optimum pH is 5-5.5. 6. Of synthetic substrates tested, the erythro isomers of dl-trans-2-N-palmitoyl-1-O-phosphorylcholinesphingosine or dihydrosphingosine were hydrolysed at a rate similar to the natural compound. The threo isomer was hydrolysed much more slowly. The enzyme had little activity on lecithin. 7. The split products of the hydrolysis have little inhibitory effect.     

Inhibition of phospholipase D by amphiphysins

Two distinct proteins inhibiting phospholipase D (PLD) activity in rat brain cytosol were previously purified and identified as synaptojanin and AP180, which are specific to nerve terminals and associate with the clathrin coat. Two additional PLD-inhibitory proteins have now been purified and identified as the amphiphysins I and II, which forms a heterodimer that also associates with the clathrin coat. Bacterially expressed recombinant amphiphysins inhibited both PLD1 and PLD2 isozymes in vitro with a potency similar to that of brain amphiphysin (median inhibitory concentration of approximately 15 nm). Expressions of either amphiphysin in COS-7 cells reduced activity of endogenous PLD as well as exogenously expressed PLD1 and PLD2. Coprecipitation experiments suggested that the inhibitory effect of amphiphysins results from their direct interaction with PLDs. The NH(2) terminus of amphiphysin I was critical for both inhibition of and binding to PLD. Phosphatidic acid formed by signal-induced PLD is thought to be required for the assembly of clathrin-coated vesicles during endocytosis. Thus, the inhibition of PLD by amphiphysins, synaptojanin, and AP180 might play an important role in synaptic vesicle trafficking.     

Role of group IIa and group V secretory phospholipases A(2) in the metabolism of lipoproteins. Substrate specificities of the enzymes and the regulation of their activities by sphingomyelin

Although many isoforms of secretory phospholipases A(2) (sPLA(2)) are known to be secreted by various inflammatory cells, and are present in plasma, their role in lipoprotein metabolism is unknown. We studied the in vitro hydrolysis of lipoprotein phospholipids by group IIa and group V sPLA(2), two structurally related enzymes with differing phospholipid specificities. The group V sPLA(2) was about 30 times more efficient than the group IIa enzyme in the hydrolysis of lipoprotein phosphatidylcholine (PC), and both enzymes were more active on high density liporotein (HDL) than on low density lipoprotein (LDL). The lower activity on LDL appears to be due to the higher sphingomyelin (SPH) concentration in this lipoprotein. PC hydrolysis in lipoproteins was stimulated significantly by enzymatic depletion of their SPH. The hydrolysis of PC in liposomes was inhibited by the incorporation of SPH, and this inhibition was reversed by treatment with sphingomyelinase. The incorporation of ceramide, on the other hand, stimulated the sPLA(2) activity significantly. Unlike most sPLA(2), which show no fatty acid preference, group V sPLA(2) released disproportionately more linoleate, and less arachidonate from lipoproteins. These studies show that group V sPLA(2) is physiologically more important than group IIa enzyme in lipoprotein metabolism, that the sPLA(2) activities are regulated by sphingomyelin and ceramide, and that the pathological effects of sPLA(2) may not be mediated through stimulation of eicosanoid synthesis.     

Changes in phosoholipid susceptibility toward phospholipases induced by ATP depletion in avian and amphibian erythrocyte membranes.

About half of the sphingomyelin content of fresh and ATP-depleted chicken erythrocytes is hydrolysed by sphingomyelinase. Removal of spingomyelin exposes the rest of the membrane phospholipids to hydrolysis by phospholipase C only in ATP-depleted but not in fresh cells. Addition of both sphinogomyelinase and phospholipase C to ATP-depleted cells causes about 60-70 percent hydrolysis of the total phospholipids accompanied by extensive (90 percent) hemolysis. The phospholipids of toad erythrocytes are partially available to phospholipase C activity in fresh cells (17-25 percent hydrolysis) without prior sphingomyelinase treatment. However, in ATP-depleted toad cells phospholipase C hydrolyses 66 percent of phospholipids and causes extensive lysis. Treatment of either fresh or ATP-depleted toad erythrocytes by sphingomyelinase together with phospholipase C induces hydrolysis of most of the phospholipds with complete lysis. Restoration of ATP to ATP-depleted cells endows them with resistance to the attack of phospholipase C. The correlation between changes in ATP level and membrane organization as revealed by increased susceptibility toward phospholipases is discussed.     

Lovastatin reversed the enhanced sphingomyelin caused by 27-hydroxycholesterol in cultured vascular endothelial cells

Statins have pleiotropic properties which are involved in inhibiting the thrombogenic response. In this study, the effects of lovastatin on two phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, were studied in cultured endothelial cells in the presence of an oxysterol, 27-hydroxycholesterol. After the cells were cultured with 50 nM of lovastatin for 60 h, lovastatin was found to decrease the incorporation of [³H]choline into phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, inhibited CTP: phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CT) activity without altering the activity of sphingomyelin synthase and neutral sphingomyelinase. And lovastatin was not found to have a direct inhibitive effect on activity of CT. Exogenous mevalonic acid or cholesterol reversed the reduction of cholesterol concentration that was caused by lovastatin, but had no significant effect on the diminished [³H]sphingomyelin by lovastatin. The increase of [³H]sphingomyelin by 27-hydroxycholesterol was not detected in the presence of lovastatin. These findings suggest that (1) lovastatin can reduce sphingomyelin content by means of inhibiting phosphatidylcholine synthesis; and (2) The decrease in sphingomyelin is not related to the diminished cholesterol concentration or mevalonate-derived intermediates. This inhibitive effect of lovastatin on sphingomyelin may benefit cellular calcification caused by sphingomyelin.     

Hydrolysis of di- and trisialo gangliosides in micellar and liposomal dispersion by bacterial neuraminidases

The hydrolysis of di- and trisialo gangliosides by bacterial neuraminidases was investigated. Slow rates of hydrolysis were obtained with micellar dispersions of the pure gangliosides; the rates increased considerably with mixtures of ganglioside and phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine or sphingomyelin. The greatest rates of hydrolysis were obtained with mixtures containing 5-10 mol% ganglioside and 90-95% phospholipid. With the aid of the nonpenetrating reagent trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, it was ascertained that this mixture consisted of sealed, unilamellar vesicles in which the ganglioside was distributed symmetrically between the two layers of the liposome. When the relative proportion of the ganglioside was increased, the dispersions contained liposomes admixed with micelles of ganglioside and phospholipid. The rates of hydrolysis of the ganglioside could be correlated with the percentage of sealed vesicles in each mixture. Experiments in which another ganglioside (GM1) or cholesterol was incorporated into the mixed dispersions further supported this conclusion. It is suggested that the rate of hydrolysis is affected predominantly by interactions between the carbohydrate chains of ganglioside molecules. The data emphasize that ganglioside metabolism can be best studied when the latter are part of biological or model membranes.     

Differential degradation of extraplastidic and plastidic lipids during freezing and post-freezing recovery in Arabidopsis thaliana

Changes in membrane lipid composition play important roles in plant adaptation to and survival after freezing. Plant response to cold and freezing involves three distinct phases: cold acclimation, freezing, and post-freezing recovery. Considerable progress has been made toward understanding lipid changes during cold acclimation and freezing, but little is known about lipid alteration during post-freezing recovery. We previously showed that phospholipase D (PLD) is involved in lipid hydrolysis and Arabidopsis thaliana freezing tolerance. This study was undertaken to determine how lipid species change during post-freezing recovery and to determine the effect of two PLDs, PLDalpha1 and PLDdelta, on lipid changes during post-freezing recovery. During post-freezing recovery, hydrolysis of plastidic lipids, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and plastidic phosphatidylglycerol, is the most prominent change. In contrast, during freezing, hydrolysis of extraplastidic phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, occurs. Suppression of PLDalpha1 decreased phospholipid hydrolysis and phosphatidic acid production in both the freezing and post-freezing phases, whereas ablation of PLDdelta increased lipid hydrolysis and phosphatidic acid production during post-freezing recovery. Thus, distinctly different changes in lipid hydrolysis occur in freezing and post-freezing recovery. The presence of PLDalpha1 correlates with phospholipid hydrolysis in both freezing and post-freezing phases, whereas the presence of PLDdelta correlates with reduced lipid hydrolysis during post-freezing recovery. These data suggest a negative role for PLDalpha1 and a positive role for PLDdelta in freezing tolerance.     

Acidic phospholipids, unsaturated fatty acids, and limited proteolysis mimic the effect of calmodulin on the purified erythrocyte Ca2+ - ATPase

The purified Ca2+-pumping ATPase of human erythrocyte membranes (Niggli, V., Adunyah, E. S., Penniston, J. T., and Carafoli, E. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 395-401) can be stimulated, in the absence of calmodulin, by other treatments. 1. A variety of acidic phospholipids (phosphatidylserine, cardiolipin, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidic acid) stimulate the Vmax and decrease the Km (Ca2+) of the isolated enzyme to the same extent as calmodulin. Unsaturated fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acid) have the same effect as phospholipids but at lower concentrations. Neutral phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and phosphatidylethanolamine) have no effect on the enzyme. The minimal proportion of acidic phospholipids in the environment of the enzyme necessary for full stimulation is about 40%. 2. The isolated enzyme, after reconstitution in phosphatidylcholine liposomes in the absence of calmodulin, can be activated by limited proteolysis. The trypsinized enzyme has the same high Vmax and high affinity for Ca2+ of the enzyme in the presence of calmodulin.     

Action of phospholipase C (Bacillus cereus) on isolated myelin sheath preparations

The action of phospholipase C (Bacillus cereus) on the phospholipids of myelin sheath preparations has been investigated. With freshly isolated bovine brain myelin about 40% of the total phospholipid could be hydrolyzed by this enzyme. With bovine spinal cord myelin the phospholipid seemed more resistant to attack whereas the opposite was the case with myelin from guinea-pig brain or rat brain. With fresh bovine brain myelin, phosphatidylcholine and the ethanolamine-containing phospholipids were the main targets for the enzyme with lesser extents of hydrolysis occurring with phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin. The effect of exposing bovine brain myelin to structural perturbants prior to enzyme digestion indicated that trypsin pretreatment had no significant effect, whereas marked enhancement of the extent of phospholipid hydrolysis occurred following lyophilization + rehydration, or pretreatment of myelin with HCl, Triton TX-100/ammonium acetate or deoxycholate. The effect of myelin pretreatment on the degradation of the individual phospholipid classes was also studied.     

Certain phosphorylated sugars can prevent the mRNA-induced inhibition of Met-tRNA f Met binding to initiation factor eIF-2

When mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells were induced to differentiate into macrophages by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), phospholipids and gangliosides of the cells changed markedly. The amounts of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol per mg protein increased 30%, 20% and 30%, respectively, during differentiation, but the others, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin, did not increase significantly. Three species of gangliosides constituted of major portions of gangliosides in M1 cells. Several-fold increase in monosialoganglioside GM1 was observed in the LPS-treated cells with a concomitant decrease in disialogangliosides. Based upon the treatment with sialidase, this GM1 was identified to be GM1b, which was recently found in rat ascites hepatoma cells and human erythrocyte membranes.     

Biosynthesis of GM1b and similar neolactoseries gangliosides by a partially purified chicken skeletal muscle sialyltransferase. Effect of sphingomyelin and acetylcholine

An alpha 2----3 glycolipid galactosyl sialyltransferase (SAT3/4) has been partially purified from embryonic chicken skeletal muscle. It is preserved in 50 mM Hepes buffer (pH 6.8) containing 1% Triton CF-54 and 20% glycerol at -70 degrees C for a period of 6 months without loss of activity. The SAT3+4 preparation transfers sialic acid to nLcOse4Cer, nLcOse6Cer and GgOse4Cer with respective Km values of 1.4, 0.83 and 0.45 mM. The activity is stimulated 2-3-fold at high substrate concentration and 6-8-fold at low substrate concentration; 0.01 and 0.005 mumol for asialo GM1 and 0.025 and 0.01 mumol for other glycolipids in the presence of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM) at an optimum concentration 0.75%. A higher concentration is inhibitory. SM from chicken muscle is more effective than that from bovine brain and the stimulation is qualitatively proportional to that of the saturated fatty acyl content of SM. Free fatty acids (palmitic and stearic), their sodium salts, other choline compounds including choline chloride, phosphorylcholine and acetylcholine either do not have any effect or are inhibitory. Acetylcholine, even in the presence of SM and PC, is strongly inhibitory (70%).     

Evidence for and characterization of Ca2+ binding to the catalytic region of Arabidopsis thaliana phospholipase Dbeta

Most types of plant phospholipase D (PLD) require Ca(2+) for activity, but how Ca(2+) affects PLD activity is not well understood. We reported previously that Ca(2+) binds to the regulatory C2 domain that occurs in the N terminus of the Ca(2+)-requiring PLDs. Using Arabidopsis thaliana PLDbeta and C2-deleted PLDbeta (PLDbetacat), we now show that Ca(2+) also interacts with the catalytic regions of PLD. PLDbetacat exhibited Ca(2+)-dependent activity, was much less active, and required a higher level of Ca(2+) than the full-length PLDbeta. Ca(2+) binding of the proteins was stimulated by phospholipids; phosphatidylserine was the most effective among those tested. Scatchard plot analysis of Ca(2+) binding data yielded an estimate of 3.6 high affinity (K(d) = 29 mum) binding sites on PLDbeta. The Ca(2+)-PLDbetacat interaction increased the affinity of the protein for the activator, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, but not for the substrate, phosphatidylcholine. This is in contrast to the effect of Ca(2+) binding to the C2 domain, which stimulates phosphatidylcholine binding but inhibits phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate binding of the domain. These results demonstrate the contrasting and complementary effects of the Ca(2+)- and lipid-binding properties of the C2 and catalytic domains of plant PLD and provide insight into the mechanism by which Ca(2+) regulates PLD activity.