The insulin-like growth factor II receptor is phosphorylated by a tyrosine kinase in adipocyte plasma membranes

Incorporation of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP into tyrosine residues of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II receptor was observed in a Triton X-100-insoluble fraction of rat adipocyte plasma membranes. IGF-II receptor phosphorylation proceeded to a stoichiometry of approximately 0.5 mol of phosphate/IGF-II binding site after 10 min of incubation at 4 degrees C. A Km for ATP of 6 microM was calculated for this phosphorylation reaction. Addition of IGF-II caused an approximately 2-fold increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of the IGF-II receptor in this preparation. In contrast, phosphorylation of angiotensin II by the Triton X-100 washed membranes was not stimulated by IGF-II. Incubation of purified receptor immobilized on IGF-II agarose or of receptor-enriched low density microsomal membranes with [gamma-32P]ATP did not result in appreciable incorporation of [32P]phosphate into the IGF-II receptor nor into exogenous substrates. These data suggest that the IGF-II receptor is not a tyrosine protein kinase capable of autophosphorylation but that it is a substrate for a tyrosine protein kinase endogenous to the adipocyte plasma membrane. The stimulatory effect of IGF-II on the tyrosine phosphorylation of its receptor may be due to a conformational change which converts the receptor to a better substrate for this tyrosine kinase.     

A tyrosine kinase related to pp60c-src is associated with membranes of Electrophorus electricus electric organ

A tyrosine-specific protein kinase immunologically related to pp60c-src, the cellular homolog of the Rous sarcoma virus-transforming protein, was expressed at elevated levels in the electric organ of the electric eel Electrophorus electricus. The electric organ kinase phosphorylated antibodies reactive with pp60c-src at tyrosine residues in immune complex protein kinase assays and was associated with electric organ membranes enriched in acetylcholine receptors. The protein recognized by anti-pp60c-src antibodies was phosphorylated in endogenous membrane phosphorylation reactions and was shown to have a relative molecular mass of 57 kDa by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In immune complex protein kinase assays the 57-kDa protein was phosphorylated at threonine by a distinct threonine kinase from the electric organ. The tyrosine kinase was purified 844-fold from electric organ membranes by chromatography on omega-aminohexyl agarose, phosphocellulose, and casein-Sepharose. Threonine kinase activity in immunoprecipitates was not observed in the tyrosine kinase fractions after the first step. Incubation of the casein Sepharose fraction with [gamma-32P]ATP-Mn2+ in solution resulted in phosphorylation of only the 57-kDa protein. Phosphorylation occurred solely at tyrosine, suggesting that the kinase is capable of autophosphorylation. The structural and functional properties of the 57-kDa electric organ kinase indicate that the 57-kDa electric organ protein is a member of the src subfamily of tyrosine kinases and is closely related to pp60c-src.     

Membrane Skeletal Proteins and Their Integral Membrane Protein Anchors are Targets for Tyrosine and Threonine Kinases in Euglena

ABSTRACT. Proteins of the membrane skeleton of Euglena gracilis were extensively phosphorylated in vivo and in vitro after incubation with [³²P]-orthophosphate or γ-[³²P] ATP. Endogenous protein threonine/serine activity phosphorylated the major membrane skeletal proteins (articulins) and the putative integral membrane protein (IP39) anchor for articulins. The latter was also the major target for endogenous protein tyrosine kinase activity. A cytoplasmic domain of IP39 was specifically phosphorylated, and removal of this domain with papain eliminated the radiolabeled phosphoamino acids and eliminated or radically shifted the PI of the multiple isoforms of IP39. In gel kinase assays IP39 autophosphorylated and a 25 kDa protein which does not autophosphorylate was identified as a threonine/serine (casein) kinase. Plasma membranes from the membrane skeletal protein complex contained threonine/serine (casein) kinase activity, and cross-linking experiments suggested that IP39 was the likely source for this membrane activity. pH optima, cation requirements and heparin sensitivity of the detergent solubilized membrane activity were determined. Together these results suggest that protein kinases may be important modulators of protein assembly and function of the membrane skeleton of these protistan cells.     

Occurrence of phosphorylated proteins and kinase activity in coconut tissues cultured in vitro in a mediumthat induces somatic embryogenesis

The presence of tyrosine kinase and tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins was investigated in coconut tissues cultured in vitro. In order to study this phenomenon, plumular explants were taken from mature zygotic embryos and cultured in a medium that induces somatic embryogenesis. Immunoblot analyses of soluble proteins of coconut cultured tissues with a recombinant monoclonal antibody against phosphotyrosine detected protein bands with molecular masses ranging from 170 to 27 kDa. The highest response was exhibited by plumule-forming callus, which decreased both in number and intensity of bands with a longer time of in vitro culture. The specific immunodetection was corroborated by incubating the membranes with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody in the presence of 1 mM phosphotyrosine. Tyrosine phosphorylated proteins was also suggested by the presence of phosphoproteins resistant to alkaline treatment. In plumule, plumular callus and callus with globular embryos and shoots, a 41-kDa protein remained phosphorylated after alkaline treatment. In plumule, most [³²P]-proteins remained phosphorylated after alkaline treatment. Phosphoaminoacid analysis in protein hydrolysates from [³²P]-labelled 41-kDa protein showed the presence of [³²P]-tyrosine and [³²P]-threonine. Evaluation of tyrosine kinase activity in these tissues by the use of RR-SRC, a synthetic peptide substrate (derived from the amino acid sequence surrounding the phosphorylation site), showed that the activity was highest in plumule forming callus and initial explant, whereas in other tissues, tyrosine kinase activity decreased to values close to zero. Genistein, a specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor, diminished the ability of soluble extracts from coconut tissues cultured in vitro to incorporate ³²P into RR-SRC. These results suggest the presence of tyrosine phosphorylated proteins and tyrosine kinase activity in coconut tissues that have been cultured in vitro.     

Autophosphorylation and autoactivation of spleen protein tyrosine kinase

Incubation of a highly purified bovine spleen protein tyrosine kinase with [gamma-32P]ATP and Mg2+ resulted in a gradual radioactive labeling of the protein kinase (50 kDa) with no change in the protein kinase activity toward angiotensin II. On the other hand, treatment of the protein tyrosine kinase with an immobilized alkaline phosphatase caused essentially complete loss in the kinase activity, which could be restored by incubation of the enzyme with ATP and Mg2+. By using the alkaline phosphatase-treated kinase, time courses of the protein phosphorylation and the enzyme activation were demonstrated to correlate closely. These results indicate that this protein tyrosine kinase relies on autophosphorylation for activity and that the purified enzyme usually exists in a fully phosphorylated state. The radioactive labeling of the purified kinase during incubation with [gamma-32P]ATP resulted from a phosphate exchange reaction: the exchange of [gamma-32P]phosphate of ATP with the protein bound phosphate as previously suggested (Kong, S.K., and Wang, J.H. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 2597-2603). It could be shown that the autophosphorylation of phosphatase-treated tyrosine kinase was strongly inhibited by the substrate angiotensin II, whereas the exchange reaction carried out with untreated tyrosine kinase was not. Autophosphorylation is suggested to be an intermolecular reaction since its initial rate is proportional to the square of the protein concentration.     

A phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase binds to platelet-derived growth factor receptors through a specific receptor sequence containing phosphotyrosine.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulates autophosphorylation of the PDGF receptor and association of the receptor with several cytoplasmic molecules, including phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3 kinase). In this study we examined the association of PI3 kinase with immunoprecipitated autophosphorylated PDGF receptor in vitro. The PI3 kinase from cell lysates bound to the wild-type receptor but not to a mutant receptor that had a deletion of the kinase insert region. A protein of an apparent size of 85 kDa bound to the receptor, consistent with previous observations that a protein of this size is associated with PI3 kinase activity. In addition, 110- and 74-kDa proteins bound to the phosphorylated receptor. Dephosphorylated receptors lost the ability to bind PI3 kinase activity as well as the 85-kDa protein. A 20-amino-acid peptide composed of a sequence in the kinase insert region that included one of the autophosphorylation sites of the receptor (tyrosine 719) as well as a nearby tyrosine (Y708) blocked the binding of PI3 kinase to the receptor, but only when the peptide was phosphorylated on tyrosine residues. A scrambled version of the peptide did not block PI3 kinase binding to the receptor even when it was phosphorylated on tyrosine. These tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides did not block binding of phospholipase C-gamma or GTPase-activating protein to the receptor. In separate experiments (receptor blots), soluble radiolabeled receptor bound specifically to an 85-kDa protein present in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-fractionated 3T3 cell lysates that were transferred to nitrocellulose paper. The binding was blocked by the same tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides that prevented binding of PI3 kinase activity to immobilized receptors. These findings show that the PDGF receptor binds directly to an 85-kDa protein and to a PI3 kinase activity through specific sequences in the kinase insert region. The association of a 110-kDa protein with the receptor also involve these sequences, suggesting that this protein may be a subunit of the PI3 kinase. Phosphotyrosine is an essential structure required for the interactions of these proteins with the PDGF receptor.     

Plasma membrane protein kinase activity in normal and Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chick embryo fibroblasts.

A preliminary study has been carried out to investigate the effect of Rous sarcoma virus transformation on plasma membrane protein kinase activity in chick embryo fibroblasts. Enzyme activity was measured using an in vitro phosphorylation method employing [gamma-32P]ATP with isolated plasma membranes serving as the source of both protein kinase and protein substrate. In general, the enzymatic properties observed were similar to those of other known protein kinases. However, for maximal activity a marked dependence on high Mg2+ concentrations was noted. Evidence was obtained which showed that cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases were present in membranes from normal cells, but none could be measured in preparations from transformed cells. In addition, transformation appeared to result in a slight increase in basal plasma membrane protein kinase activity.     

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation during meiotic divisions of starfish oocytes.

We have used an antibody specific for phosphotyrosine to investigate protein phosphorylation on tyrosine during hormone-induced maturation of starfish oocytes. Analysis of immunoprecipitates from cortices of in vivo labeled Marthasterias glacialis oocytes revealed the presence of labeled phosphotyrosine-containing proteins only after hormone addition. Six major phosphoproteins of 195, 155, 100, 85, 45, and 35 kDa were detected. Total activity in immunoprecipitates increased until first polar body emission and was greatly reduced upon completion of meiosis but some proteins exhibited different kinetics. The labeling of the 155-kDa protein reached a maximum at germinal vesicle breakdown, while the 35-kDa appeared later and disappeared after polar body emission. Similar results were obtained with Asterias rubens oocytes. In vitro phosphorylation of cortices showed that tyrosine kinase activity is a major protein kinase activity in this fraction, the main endogenous substrate being a 68-kDa protein. The proteins phosphorylated on tyrosine in vitro were almost similar in extracts from oocytes treated or not with the hormone.     

Endogenous phosphorylation of proteins and phosphatidylinositol in the plasma membranes of a human astrocytoma

Incubation of plasma membrane preparations from several tissues with [gamma-32P]ATP resulted in the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol as well as of proteins. The presence of an active phosphatidylinositol kinase in these membranes was indicated by equal or greater incorporation of 32P into phosphatidylinositol phosphate than into proteins. Phosphorylation of endogenous protein and lipid substrates by protein and phosphatidylinositol kinases in the plasma membranes of a human astrocytoma was investigated in detail. Maximal protein phosphorylation required the presence of Nonidet-P40 and phosphatase inhibitors (vanadate or fluoride). The rate of protein phosphorylation was greater with Mg2+ than with Mn2+, and phosphoserine accounted for 60% of the radioactivity incorporated into proteins. In the presence of Mn2+, phosphorylation of tyrosine was increased and was equal to that of serine phosphorylation (40%). With one exception, the overall pattern of phosphorylated proteins was similar with either Mg2+ or Mn2+. Maximal phosphatidylinositol phosphorylation of the astrocytoma plasma membranes also required detergent and phosphatase inhibitors. However, the enzymatic characteristics of lipid phosphorylation differed from those of protein phosphorylation with respect to divalent cation activation, ATP dependence, and sensitivity to inhibition by p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate, quercetin, and nucleoside derivatives. These results suggest that phosphorylation of plasma membrane proteins and phosphatidylinositol is catalyzed by different enzymes. The fact that membrane preparations exhibited phosphatidylinositol kinase activity almost 100,000 times greater than that exhibited by the purified tyrosine kinase of ros gene would exclude this and similar oncogene proteins from making a significant contribution to the overall phosphatidylinositol phosphorylation of cell membranes.     

Epidermal growth factor stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of specific proteins in permeabilized human fibroblasts

We have investigated the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity in quiescent cultures of diploid human fibroblasts that have a well characterized mitogenic response to EGF. We developed a method of permeabilizing cells with digitonin or other agents that permitted the rapid labeling of cellular proteins with exogenously added [gamma-32P]ATP while allowing only about 25% of marker cytosolic enzymes to escape from the cells. When phosphatases were inhibited with zinc and vanadate, EGF induced up to 8-fold stimulation of the incorporation of radioactivity from [gamma-32P]ATP into a 35-kDa band on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. Alkali treatment of gels showed that EGF stimulated the phosphorylation of bands with apparent molecular masses of 170, 45, 35, 26, 22, and 21 kDa. Phosphoamino acid analysis was performed on the 170- and 35-kDa bands and revealed that the EGF-stimulated phosphorylation was on tyrosyl residues. The 35-kDa band was resolved into four spots by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The most acidic form was the most prominent and it was precipitated by an antiserum against a 35-kDa protein from A-431 cells; heretofore, this protein has only been reported to be phosphorylated in an EGF-dependent manner by A-431 membranes in vitro (Fava, R. A., and Cohen, S. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 2636-2645). This antiserum also precipitated a 35-kDa phospho-protein from extracts of intact [32P]orthophosphate-labeled fibroblasts which was phosphorylated on tyrosine in an EGF-dependent manner. None of the forms of the 35-kDa phosphoproteins labeled in permeabilized cells were immunologically related to the 34-kDa protein that is a substrate for the tyrosyl kinase encoded by Rous sarcoma virus. Other mitogens (serum, insulin, platelet-derived growth factor, and thrombin) did not detectably stimulate phosphorylation in permeabilized cells.     

Evidence of protein-tyrosine kinase activity in the bacterium Acinetobacter calcoaceticus

Protein phosphorylation was investigated in the bacterium Acinetobacter calcoaceticus both in vivo and in vitro. In cells grown with [32P]orthophosphate, several radioactive phosphoproteins were detected by gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. These proteins were shown to contain phosphoserine, phosphothreonine, and a relatively large proportion of phosphotyrosine residues. Incubation of cellular extracts with [gamma-32P] ATP also resulted in the phosphorylation of several proteins. At least four of them, namely an 81-kDa protein, were modified at tyrosine. No protein labeling occurred when extracts were incubated with [gamma-32P] ATP or [14C]ATP. Moreover, phosphoproteins were insensitive to snake venom phosphodiesterase. All together these results indicate that A. calcoaceticus harbors different protein kinases including a protein-tyrosine kinase activity. Further analysis of this activity showed that it has little, if any, functional similarity with eukaryotic protein-tyrosine kinases.     

Plasma membrane protein kinase activity in normal and Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chick embryo fibroblasts

A preliminary study has been carried out to investigate the effect of Rous sarcoma virus transformation on plasma membrane protein kinase activity in chick embryo fibroblasts. Enzyme activity was measured using an in vitro phosphorylation method employing [γ-³²P]ATP with isolated plasma membranes serving as the source of both protein kinase and protein substrate. In general, the enzymatic properties observed were similar to those of other known protein kinases. However, for maximal activity a marked dependence on high Mg²⁺ concentrations was noted. Evidence was obtained which showed that cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases were present in membranes from normal cells, but none could be measured in preparations from transformed cells. In addition, transformation appeared to result in a slight increase in basal plasma membrane protein kinase activity.     

cAMP-dependent protein kinase stimulates epidermal growth factor-dependent phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptors

Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-dependent transfer of radiolabeled phosphate from [gamma-32P]ATP to 160-kDa EGF receptor solubilized from human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cell surface membranes was stimulated up to 3-fold by addition of 3',5'-cAMP and purified cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Phosphorylation of EGF receptors was stimulated to the same extent when cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit was substituted for 3',5'-cAMP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that the extent of phosphorylation of EGF receptor at tyrosine residues was the same regardless of whether cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit was present in or omitted from the system. Increased EGF receptor phosphorylation occurring in response to cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit was accounted for by phosphorylation at serine or threonine residues. In samples phosphorylated in the presence of cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, phosphate was present in tyrosine, serine, and threonine in a ratio of 32:60:8. Two-dimensional mapping of radiolabeled phosphopeptides produced from EGF receptors by digestion with trypsin revealed the generation of one additional major phosphoserine-containing peptide when cAMP-dependent protein kinase was present with EGF in the EGF receptor kinase system. Degradation of 160-kDa EGF receptors to a 145-kDa form by purified Ca2+-activated neutral protease produced a 145-kDa fragment with phosphoserine content increased over that present initially in the 160-kDa precursor.     

Identification and characterization of tyrosine kinase activity associated with mitochondrial outer membrane in sarcoma 180 cells

Tyrosine protein kinase activity has been detected in the mitochondrial fraction purified from sarcoma 180 tumor cells. Following hypotonic disruption of mitochondria, tyrosine kinase activity appeared to cosediment with monamine oxidase, marker enzyme of mitochondrial outer membrane; meanwhile, serine and threonine kinases were found to be associated with the inner membrane and matrix of mitochondria. Mitochondrial tyrosine kinase(s) showed thermosensitivity and Mn2+ dependence, useful properties for its characterization and separation from tyrosine kinases associated with other particulate fraction and from serine and threonine kinases associated with mitochondria. Following in vitro incubation of mitochondria with labelled ATP as substrate and analysis by PAGE, a complex pattern of phosphotyrosine containing proteins with a major band of 50-55 kilodaltons resulted.     

Redox dependence of the blue-light-induced phosphorylation of a 100-kDa protein on isolated plasma membranes from tips of coleoptiles

A blue-light-induced rapid phosphorylation of a 100-kDa protein localized in plasma membranes of phototropically sensitive tips of maize (Zea mays L.) coleoptiles was studied. Since, under in-vivo conditions or in a crude homogenate of tips, cytosolic ATP is the phosphate donor for the light-induced phosphorylation of this protein, a subsequent in-vitro phosphorylation by [³²P]ATP is prevented. However, in-vitro irradiation of microsomal membranes isolated from non-irradiated tips followed by a 1-min incubation with [³²P]ATP resulted in a strong phosphorylation (labelling) of the 100-kDa plasma-membrane protein. This process was saturated by a 7-s light pulse (200 μmol photons·m^?2·s^?1). In the absence of [³²P]ATP the capacity for in-vitro phosphorylation of the 100-kDa protein after a 30-s light pulse declined slowly within 60 min but could be reconstituted by a new light pulse in the presence of reducing compounds. Moreover, when plasma membranes which had been stored frozen were used, reducing compounds such as NADH, NADPH, ascorbate, glutathione or dithiotreithol enhanced the light-triggered in-vitro phosphorylation. These compounds were unable to elicit or enhance the phosphorylation in the dark. It is suggested that the transfer of (blue-light) excited electrons from the chromophore moiety of the receptor to the target (either the 100-kDa protein or the protein kinase itself) is facilitated when reducing compounds instantly eliminate the positive charge generated at the chromophore. The transferred electrons could finally alter the redox state and-or the conformation of either the 100-kDa protein, rendering it susceptible to the action of a protein kinase, or the protein kinase which would then be capable of phospho-rylating the 100-kDa protein.     

Properties of a blue-light-absorbing photoreceptor kinase localized in the plasma membrane of the coleoptile tip region

The blue-light-sensing apical part of coleoptiles of grasses is responsible for the first positive phototropic bending reaction of this organ. The photoreceptor responsible has been shown to be localized to the plasma membrane (PM) of this tip region. An approximately 100-kDa protein moiety of this receptor is rapidly phosphorylated upon irradiation. Properties of this protein kinase reaction were studied in vitro by using PMs from the maize (Zea mays L.) coleoptile tip region: (i) The substrate for the blue-light-triggered phosphorylation of the 100-kDa protein was found to be ATP as well as GTP. However, the affinity of the involved protein kinase for the substrate GTP was lower than for ATP. (ii) Experiments were undertaken to find out whether a photoreceptor moiety acts as an autophosphorylating protein kinase or whether the photoreceptor protein, when activated by light, becomes the target of an extrinsic protein kinase. Two studied extrinsic protein kinases (50 and 55 kDa) of the coleoptile tip were found not to be involved in the lightdependent protein phosphorylation. The degree of phosphorylation of the 100-kDa protein on isolated plasma membranes upon irradiation at 0 °C was scarcely different from a reaction at 30 °C, in contrast to the background protein phosphorylations which decreased with decreasing temperature. This result points to an autophosphorylation mechanism at the receptor. (iii) In mixing experiments, solubilized membranes from maize coleoptiles were irradiated and added to unirradiated membrane proteins from pea (Pisum sativum L.) epicotyls followed by addition of [-³²P]ATP. Unirradiated proteins from pea were not phosphorylated by light-activated (autophosphorylatable) maize protein kinases. (iv) It is suggested that the blue-light-sensitive photoreceptor localized to the PM of the phototropically active tip region of coleoptiles has an autophosphorylatable kinase domain which is able to use ATP or GTP as substrate.Abbreviation PM plasma membrane The author is deeply indebted to Mrs Elke Stransky for her excellent technical assistance and performance of the experiments.     

Tyrosine and Serine Phosphorylation of Dystrophin and the 58-kDa Protein in the Postsynaptic Membrane of Torpedo Electric Organ

Abstract: Dystrophin associates with a 58-kDa and an 87-kDa protein in the postsynaptic membrane of the Torpedo electric organ. We have previously shown that the 87-kDa protein is a major phosphotyrosine-containing protein in these membranes. Immunoprecipitation of the 87-kDa protein from phosphorylated postsynaptic membranes results in coimmunoprecipitation of additional phosphoproteins. These phosphoproteins are identified as dystrophin and the 58-kDa protein. Monoclonal antibodies to dystrophin and the 58-kDa protein immunoprecipitate phosphorylated forms of these proteins from postsynaptic membranes phosphorylated in vitro. Phosphoamino acid analysis reveals that dystrophin and the 58-kDa protein are phosphorylated on serine and tyrosine residues. In addition, both dystrophin and the 58-kDa protein are shown to be phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in vivo. These results suggest that the synaptic function of dystrophin and its associated proteins, the 58-kDa and 87-kDa proteins, may be modulated by tyrosine and serine protein Phosphorylation.     

The tyrosine-phosphorylated hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor receptor associates with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

The receptor for hepatocyte growth factor, also known as scatter factor (HGF/SF), has recently been identified as the 190-kDa heterodimeric tyrosine kinase encoded by the MET proto-oncogene (p190MET). The signaling pathway(s) triggered by HGF/SF are unknown. In A549 cells, a lung epithelial cell line, nanomolar concentrations of HGF/SF induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the p190MET receptor. The autophosphorylated receptor coprecipitated with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) activity. In GTL16 cells, a cell line derived from a gastric carcinoma, the p190MET receptor, overexpressed and constitutively phosphorylated on tyrosine, coprecipitated with PI 3-kinase activity and with the 85-kDa PI 3-kinase subunit. In these cells activation of protein kinase C or the increase of intracellular [Ca2+] inhibits tyrosine phosphorylation of the p190MET receptor as well as the association with both PI 3-kinase activity and the 85-kDa subunit of the enzyme. In an in vitro assay, tyrosine phosphorylation of the immobilized p190MET receptor was required for binding of PI 3-kinase from cell lysates. These data strongly suggest that the signaling pathway activated by the HGF/SF receptor includes generation of D-3-phosphorylated inositol phospholipids.     

Chloroplast phosphoproteins: phosphorylation of a 12-kDa stromal protein by the redox-controlled kinase of thylakoid membranes

Activation of the redox-controlled protein kinase of thylakoid membranes is detectable in vivo by measuring radioisotope incorporation into the light-harvesting Chl a/b protein and four photosystem II proteins (8.3, 32, 34, and 44 kDa). In normal barley leaves, the kinase is active under both aerobic and anaerobic (N2) conditions, but in the Chl b-less chlorina f2 mutant it is active only under anaerobic conditions. The responsiveness of this enzyme in the mutant to changes in the gas phase has been exploited to distinguish its protein substrates from those of other leaf protein kinases. Most of the soluble phosphoproteins of normal and mutant leaves (including a conspicuously labeled 67-kDa polypeptide) are labeled equally under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, indicating that they are not substrates of the redox-controlled protein kinase. The major exception is a 12-kDa phosphoprotein, which is labeled in the mutant only under anaerobic conditions. The 67- and 12-kDa phosphoproteins are located in the chloroplast and are labeled when isolated organelles are incubated with [32P]orthophosphate in the light. When thylakoids and stroma are prepared from chloroplasts and are incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP in vitro, the 12-kDa protein is phosphorylated in the thylakoid preparation and then released from the membranes into the medium. The electron transport inhibitor diuron blocks activation of the redox-controlled kinase and prevents phosphorylation of the 12-kDa protein, which is thus the first example of a soluble protein to be phosphorylated by the thylakoid-bound protein kinase. The 67-kDa protein is phosphorylated by a distinct stromal kinase whose activity is not sensitive to diuron.     

Cyclic AMP- and Ca2(+)-dependent protein kinases in Plasmodium falciparum

The cyclic AMP- and Ca2(+)-dependent protein kinase activities of Plasmodium falciparum were partially characterized after purification of parasites from host erythrocytes by N2 cavitation and Percoll gradient centrifugation. Proteins of molecular weights 80, 54, 51, and 31.5 kDa were phosphorylated in a cAMP-dependent manner in cytosolic extracts of isolated P. falciparum. Cytosolic extracts also contained cAMP-dependent histone II-A kinase activity with an average Vmax of 131.1 pmol/32P/min/mg protein and a Km for cAMP of 85nM. Upon photoaffinity labeling with [32P]-8-N3-cAMP, a 53-kDa protein was specifically labeled in parasite cytosol. A metabolically labeled protein of the same molecular weight was identified by cAMP-agarose affinity chromatography. The 53-kDa protein cochromatographed with cAMP-dependent histone II-A kinase activity on DEAE-cellulose, suggesting that it is the regulatory subunit of the kinase. Ca2(+)-dependent phosphorylation of proteins of molecular weights 195, 158, 51, 47.5, and 15 kDa was demonstrated in a membrane fraction from parasites free of the erythrocyte membrane. This activity was not stimulated by either calmodulin or phospholipid plus diacylglycerol and was absent from the membranes of uninfected erythrocytes. Of several exogenous substrates tested, none were found to be a substrate for this Ca2(+)-dependent kinase. Both cAMP- and Ca2(+)-dependent kinases phosphorylated serine and threonine residues.