Changes in content and cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of specific proteins in granulosa cells of preantral and preovulatory ovarian follicles and in corpora lutea

The responsiveness of granulosa cells to the gonadotropins and cAMP increases as ovarian follicles mature. To determine if this change in response might be related to either the content or cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of specific proteins, we labeled proteins in 30,000 X g supernatant fractions (cytosol) with [gamma-32P] ATP in the presence or absence of cAMP. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we observed that granulosa cells of preantral follicles exhibited low amounts of cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of two proteins with apparent molecular weights of 54,000-56,000 and 43,000. Using [32P]8-N3cAMP and photoaffinity labeling procedures, the Mr = 54,000-56,000 protein was identified as RII, the regulatory subunit of type II protein kinase. Polychromatic silver staining, as well as the photoaffinity labeling, revealed that RII exists in three forms, each of which was also labeled by [gamma-32P] ATP. Based on the relative isoelectric points and specific silver staining of highly purified actin and phosphorylated actin, the Mr = 43,000 protein has been provisionally identified as actin. Five proteins (Mr = 37,500, 27,500, 22,500, 19,000, and 15,000), in addition to RII and actin, were phosphorylated in cytosol of granulosa cells from preovulatory follicles. By adding increasing concentrations of exogenous catalytic subunit to the cytosols, we demonstrated that the content, as well as the phosphorylation of these proteins, was increased selectively in granulosa cells of antral follicles. By using hypophysectomized rats, we demonstrated that these five proteins are induced by follitropin (FSH). Because they were not present in cytosols of thecal cells or corpora lutea, they appear to be specific markers for granulosa cells. The content and phosphorylation of RII was also dramatically increased in cytosols of granulosa cells from antral follicles, whereas that of actin remained unchanged. These observations indicate that granulosa cell differentiation involves regulation by FSH of specific proteins which are substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Thus, FSH and cAMP appear to regulate the intracellular content and phosphorylation of a cAMP response system in granulosa cells. The extent to which RII and the five specific phosphoproteins themselves regulate granulosa cell responsiveness remains to be determined.     

Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase isozymes of bovine epididymal spermatozoa: evidence against the existence of an ectokinase

By using ethidium bromide fluorescence to measure cellular permeability and the photoaffinity probe, 8-azido-[32P] cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), to label cAMP-dependent protein kinases, washed bovine epididymal spermatozoa were examined for the presence of "ectokinases" on the sperm surface. In washed, intact spermatozoa, three proteins of Mr 49,000, 54,000, and 56,000 specifically bound 8-azido-[32P] cAMP. The Mr 49,000 protein corresponded to the type I regulatory subunit while the Mr 56,000 and 54,000 proteins comigrated with phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms, respectively, of type IIA regulatory subunit of bovine heart. The addition of Nonidet P-40 (0.1%) increased the radioactive labeling of all three proteins and caused the appearance of a cAMP binding protein of Mr 40,000, which was likely a proteolytic fragment of the regulatory subunit. Although these data could support the concept of a surface location for regulatory subunits in spermatozoa, it was necessary to determine if the appearance of cAMP binding sites was correlated with the loss of membrane integrity. A population of washed epididymal spermatozoa appeared to contain 10-20% damaged cells based on ethidium bromide fluorescence. The same population of cells also had 10-20% of the regulatory subunits of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase accessible to labeling with the cyclic AMP photoaffinity probe. When spermatozoa were sonicated for increasing lengths of time, ethidium bromide fluorescence was found to be related directly to the relative amount of regulatory subunit labeling by the probe. It is suggested that the major apparent cAMP-dependent "ectokinases" in sperm represent artifacts resulting from cellular damage.     

Resolution of the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated cAMP-binding proteins of bovine cardiac muscle by affinity labeling and two-dimensional electrophoresis.

The photoaffinity label 8-azido[32P]adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP) was used to analyze both the cAMP-binding component of the purified cAMP-dependent protein kinase, and the cAMP-binding proteins present in crude tissue extracts of bovine cardiac muscle. 8-Azido-cyclic [32P]AMP reacted specifically and in stoichiometric amounts with the cAMP-binding proteins of bovine cardiac muscle. Upon phosphorylation, the purified cAMP-binding protein from bovine cardiac muscle changed its electrophoretic mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels from an apparent molecular weight of 54,000 to an apparent molecular weight of 56,000. In tissue extracts of bovine cardiac muscle, most of the 8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP was incorporated into a protein band with an apparent molecular weight of 56,000 which shifted to 54,000 upon treatment with a phosphoprotein phosphatase. Thus a substantial amount of the cAMP-binding protein appeared to be in the phosphorylated form. Autoradiograms following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of both the pure and impure cAMP-binding proteins labeled with 8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP revealed another binding component with a molecular weight of 52,000 which incorporated 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP without changing its electrophoretic mobility. Limited proteolysis of the 56,000- and 52,000-dalton proteins labeled with 32P from either [gamma-32P]ATP.Mg2+ or 8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP showed patterns indicating homology. On the other hand, peptide maps of the major 8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP-labeled proteins from tissue extracts of bovine cardiac muscle (Mr = 56,000) and rabbit skeletal muscle (Mr = 48,000) displayed completely different patterns as expected for the cAMP-binding components of types II and I protein kinases. Both phospho- and dephospho-cAMP-binding components from the purified bovine cardiac muscle protein kinase were also resolved by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide slab gels containing 8 M urea. The phosphorylated forms labeled with 32P from either [gamma-32P]ATP or 8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP migrated as a doublet with a pI of 5.35. The 8-azido-cyclic [32P]AMP-labeled dephosphorylated form also migrated as a doublet with a pI of 5.40. The phosphorylated and dephosphorylated cAMP-binding proteins migrated with molecular weights of 56,000 and 54,000, respectively, following a second dimension electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The lower molecular weight cAMP-binding component (Mr = 52,000) was also apparent in these gels. Similar experiments with the cAMP-binding proteins present in tissue extracts of bovine cardiac muscle indicate that they are predominantly in the phosphorylated form.     

Cross-reaction of a plant protein kinase with antiserum raised against a sequence from bovine brain protein kinase C regulatory sub-unit

The partly purified calcium-dependent, phospholipid-activated protein kinase from A. tricolor seedlings contains three major protein species (Mr = 84,500, 65,000 and 40,000) which cross-react with antiserum raised against the regulatory domain of bovine brain protein kinase C. Two of these species (Mr = 84,500 and 40,000) were phosphorylated when the preparation was incubated with [gamma-32P] ATP. It is suggested that the three cross-reacting proteins correspond to native enzyme, partly proteolysed enzyme and regulatory sub-unit respectively.     

Characterization of the major phosphoprotein and its kinase on the surface of the rat adipocyte

Intact rat fat cells exposed to 12.5 microM [gamma-32P]ATP incorporate label into specific proteins within minutes. By solubilizing the reaction mixture with SDS which by passes the subcellular fractionation steps, the labeled proteins can be identified in autoradiographs of SDS-PAGE gels. The most prominently labeled protein has an Mr of 42,000. Localization of this component to the cell surface can be made on the basis of inhibition of phosphorylation by addition of a protein derived from the rat brain with protein kinase inhibitory property, susceptibility of the phosphorylated protein to tryptic digestion, whereas the unphosphorylated protein is unaffected by digestion with trypsin (15 min), inhibition of phosphorylation of this protein after brief exposure to melittin, and the consistent observation that more label is associated with the 42,000 Mr band in homogenates and permeabilized cells than in comparable numbers of intact cells exposed to the same amount of label. A 42,000 Mr phosphoprotein is also present in mitochondria which is most likely the alpha subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase. To rule out the possibility that the cell surface protein might be a mitochondrial contaminant from broken cells, 32Pi-labeled and [gamma-32P]ATP-labeled cells were solubilized with Triton and chromatographed on a rabbit anti-pyruvate dehydrogenase antibody-Sepharose 4B column. A single labeled peak was detected upon elution of the bound fraction only in the 32Pi-labeled sample, and not in the [gamma-32P]ATP-labeled sample. Subcellular fractionation studies of intact cells labeled with [gamma-32P]ATP showed differences in the recovery of phosphoproteins of 42,000 Mr depending on whether a continuous sucrose gradient (27.6-54.1%, g/ml) or a discontinuous sucrose gradient (16, 35 and 48%, g/ml) was used. Phosphoproteins of 42,000 Mr were located in the mitochondrial and membrane fractions collected by discontinuous sucrose gradient separation, whereas a phosphoprotein of 42,000 Mr was found primarily in the mitochondrial fraction after continuous sucrose gradient separation. By 5'-nucleotidase activity measurements, the latter approach appears to result in the isolation of a heavy fragment of the plasma membrane with the mitochondrial light fraction which is 42,000 in Mr and labeled. Finally, comparison of the autoradiographs of two-dimensional (2D) gels (isoelectric focusing followed by 10% SDS-PAGE) show different isoelectric points for 42,000 Mr components in [gamma-32P]ATP- and 32Pi-labeled cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Effect of growth hormone on protein phosphorylation in isolated rat hepatocytes

Hepatocytes from male rats were incubated with [32P]Pi for 40 min at 37 degrees C, thereby equilibrating the cellular ATP pool with 32P. Subsequent exposure to bovine growth hormone for 10 additional min did not change the specific activity of cellular [gamma-32P]ATP. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis or chromatofocusing followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to fractionate phosphoproteins solubilized from control or hormone-stimulated cells. Stimulation of hepatocytes with 5 nM growth hormone for 10 min at 37 degrees C affected the phosphorylation of a number of proteins including an Mr 46,000 species of pI 4.7 whose phosphorylation was augmented (2.65 +/- 0.50)-fold. A significant fraction of the maximal effect of growth hormone on phosphorylation of the Mr 46,000 species was elicited by 1-5% receptor occupancy. Bovine growth hormone, which binds to somatogenic receptors with great specificity, or recombinant human growth hormone, which is not contaminated with other hormones, affected phosphorylation of hepatic proteins similarly. The Mr 46,000 phosphoprotein was isolated in a fraction enriched in cytosol after centrifugation of cellular homogenates. Phosphorylation of the Mr 46,000 phosphoprotein was also increased (1.75 +/- 0.35)-fold and (2.15 +/- 0.50)-fold by insulin and glucagon, respectively. These observations are consistent with the possibility that selective changes in the phosphorylation state of cellular proteins may mediate growth hormone actions in cells.     

Epidermal growth factor and epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent phosphorylation of a Mr = 34,000 protein substrate for pp60src

A Mr = 34,000 protein present in the 100,000 X g supernatant fraction from A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells is the major radiolabeled phosphate acceptor from [gamma-32P]ATP in a cell-free system requiring epidermal growth factor (EGF) and EGF receptor kinase. This protein is immunoprecipitated by IgG directed against avian Mr = 34,000 cellular substrate for pp60src. Phosphoamino acid analysis of the Mr = 34,000 protein labeled with 32Pi from [gamma-32P]ATP in a cell-free system requiring EGF and EGF receptor kinase yielded radiolabeled phosphotyrosine with no detectable radioactivity in phosphoserine or phosphothreonine.     

Protein phosphorylation in rat mammary acini and in cytosol preparations in vitro. Phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase is unaffected by cyclic AMP.

Phosphorylation of soluble proteins in rat mammary acinar cells was investigated. When phosphorylation proceeded in intact cells, in the presence of [32P]Pi, the major non-casein phosphoproteins, including acetyl-CoA carboxylase, were unresponsive to incubation conditions that caused major increases in the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP. The overall 32P specific radioactivity (c.p.m./microgram of protein) of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, assessed after affinity purification of the enzyme with avidin-Sepharose, was unchanged by incubation under such conditions. Furthermore, the distribution of 32P among tryptic phosphopeptides of the enzyme, resolved by reversed-phase h.p.l.c., was not altered by cyclic AMP-increasing treatments of the acinar cells. When cytosol fractions were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP, some phosphoproteins responded to the addition of micromolar concentrations of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or cyclic AMP by undergoing an enhancement of phosphate incorporation. In these experiments in vitro, protein phosphatase activity did not make a major contribution to the net phosphorylation of individual phosphoproteins, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase was not prominent among the phosphoproteins identified after short (less than 1 min) incubations of cytosols with [gamma-32P]ATP. The resistance of protein phosphorylation to variations in the cyclic AMP concentration in intact mammary epithelial cells, demonstrated by this work, is one of several mechanisms that ensure the pleiotropic refractoriness of those cells to agents which normally cause a stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in hormone-sensitive cells.     

Identification of initiation factors and ribosome-associated phosphoproteins by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

A two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis procedure has been used to identify initiation factors rapidly in the high-salt-wash fraction from reticulocyte ribosomes. Initiation factors are identified by relative mobility and by co-electrophoresis with purified factors. A creatine phosphate/ATP/GTP/Pi exchange system is described which has been used to maintain [gamma-32P]ATP and [gamma-32P]GTP at constant specific activity in the cell-free protein-synthesizing system. Phosphorylated proteins associated with the protein-synthesizing complex have been identified using a combination of the two procedures. The salt-wash fraction contains eight major phosphorylated proteins and a number of minor ones. Two phosphorylated proteins are observed to comigrate with two of the three subunits of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2), the initiation factor involved in binding Met-tRNAf onto the 40-S subunit and promoting dissociation of 80-S ribosomes. eIF-4B, one of the proteins involved in binding mRNA to 40-S subunits is also phosphorylated. The remainder of phosphorylated proteins in the high-salt-wash fraction are not previously characterized initiation factors and have not been identified further. Two of the six phosphoproteins associated with the salt-washed ribosomes comigrate with ribosomal proteins; one is the major phosphorylated protein in 40-S ribosomal subunits, the other is an acidic protein.     

Depolarization-Dependent Protein Phosphorylation in Rat Cortical Synaptosomes: Characterization of Active Protein Kinases by Phosphopeptide Analysis of Substrates

Depolarization of synaptosomes is known to cause a calcium-dependent increase in the phosphorylation of a number of proteins. It was the aim of this study to determine which protein kinases are activated on depolarization by analyzing the incorporation of 32Pi into synaptosomal phosphoproteins and phosphopeptides. The following well-characterized phosphoproteins were chosen for study: phosphoprotein "87K," synapsin Ia and Ib, phosphoproteins IIIa and IIIb, the catalytic subunits of calmodulin kinase II, and the B-50 protein. Each was initially identified as a phosphoprotein in lysed synaptosomes after incubation with [gamma-32P]ATP. Mobility on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels and phosphorylation by specific protein kinases were the primary criteria used for identification. A technique was developed that allowed simultaneous analysis of the phosphopeptides derived from all of these proteins. Phosphopeptides were characterized in lysed synaptosomes after activating cyclic AMP-, calmodulin-, and phospholipid-stimulated protein kinases in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP. Phosphoproteins labelled in intact synaptosomes after incubation with 32Pi were then compared with those seen after ATP-labelling of lysed synaptosomes. As expected from previous work, phosphoprotein "87K," and synapsin Ia and Ib were labelled, but for the first time, phosphoproteins IIIa, IIIb, and the B-50 protein were identified as being labelled in intact synaptosomes; the calmodulin kinase II subunits were hardly phosphorylated. From a comparison of the phosphopeptide profiles it was found that cyclic AMP-, calmodulin-, and phospholipid-stimulated protein kinases are all active in intact synaptosomes and their activity is dependent on extrasynaptosomal calcium. The activation of cyclic AMP-stimulated protein kinases in intact synaptosomes was confirmed by the addition of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and theophylline which specifically increased the labelling of phosphopeptides in synapsin Ia and Ib and in phosphoproteins IIIa and IIIb. On depolarization of intact synaptosomes, a number of phosphopeptides showed increased labelling and the pattern suggested that cyclic AMP-, calmodulin-, and phospholipid-stimulated protein kinases were all activated. No new peptides were phosphorylated, suggesting that depolarization simply increased the activity of already active protein kinases and that there was no depolarization-specific increase in protein phosphorylation.     

Phosphoprotein phosphatase inhibits flagellar movement of Triton models of sea urchin spermatozoa

Phosphoprotein phosphatase prepared from bovine cardiac muscle was used to study the roles of axonemal phosphoproteins in the flagellar motility of sea urchin spermatozoa. When isolated axonemes were incubated with cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, gamma-[32P]ATP and cyclic AMP, more than 15 polypeptides were phosphorylated. Most were dephosphorylated by treatment with phosphoprotein phosphatase. When Triton models of sea urchin spermatozoa were treated with phosphoprotein phosphatase followed by an addition of ATP, the flagellar motility of the models was drastically reduced in comparison with that of the untreated models. The motility of the phosphatase-treated Triton models was partially restored by an addition of cyclic AMP and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. These data give strong support to the idea that the motility of eukaryotic flagella is controlled by a protein phosphorylation-dephosphorylation system.     

Protein phosphorylation during 1-methyladenine-induced maturation of Asterias oocytes

Maturation was induced in Asterias oocytes with 1-methyladenine (1-MA) at a final concentration of 2 microM. At 5, 10, and 30 min of treatment, oocytes were homogenized and the cytosolic fraction was prepared. The cytosol was incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP and [gamma-32P]GTP. The phosphorylated proteins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the radioactivity in the gels was determined by autoradiography. The cytosol prepared from 1-MA-treated oocytes incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP showed a marked increase in the radiolabeling of proteins with estimated molecular weights of 70,000 and 62,000 Da. With [gamma-32P]GTP a 56,000-Da protein showed increased radiolabeling. The present finding suggests that an early biochemical event of 1-MA-induced oocyte maturation in Asterias is the stimulation of phosphorylation of specific proteins.     

Characterization of specific differences in protein phosphorylation of the plasma membrane and the endoplasmic reticulum of mouse fibroblasts.

Endogenous phosphorylation was studied with highly purified fractions of the plasma membrane and the endoplasmic reticulum of SV40-transformed mouse fibroblasts using [gamma-32P]ATP and [gamma-32P]GTP as precursors. With ATP maximum overall incorporation of 32P into both membrane fractions occurred at pH 7.8 in the presence of 10 mM MgCl2 after incubation for 1 min. GTP could be utilized only by the plasma membrane fraction showing maximum incorporation of 32P at pH 7.8 and 10 mM MgCl2 after incubation for 3 min. The pattern of phosphoproteins of the plasma membrane is represented by more than 15 proteins whereas the endoplasmic reticulum essentially contained only one phosphorylated component of 35 000 molecular weight. The comparison of ATP- and GTP-specific phosphorylation of the plasma membrane revealed GTP to be a less efficient precursor yielding a similar phosphoprotein pattern with one significant difference: the GTP-specific main component exhibited a molecular weight of about 100 000 and the ATP-specific main component a molecular weight of 110 000. The relative distribution of individual phosphoproteins in the pattern of the plasma membrane was dependent on pH but not on MgCl2 concentration or time of incubation. Increasing concentrations of plasma membrane protein altered the patterns of phosphoproteins dramatically: At high protein concentrations the ATP-specific main component (Mr = 110 000) was no more phosphorylated whereas with GTP the main component Mr = 100 000 was essentially the sole phosphorylated protein.     

Extracellular phosphorylation in the parasite, Leishmania major

Intact promastigotes or cell-free extracts of the parasite Leishmania major were labelled with adenosine 5'[gamma-32P]-triphosphate (ATP). This resulted in the identification of eleven phosphoproteins. [gamma-32P]ATP incorporation into endogenous and exogenous substrates was insensitive to most of the commonly used protein kinase inhibitors and activators indicating that the leishmanial enzyme(s) may represent a new class of kinase(s). In addition, exogenous substrate specificity was inconsistent with the preferences of second messenger-dependent protein kinases. Cyclic AMP had differential effects on phosphorylation in intact cells and lysates. The majority of kinase activity could be attributed to an externally oriented membrane-associated protein kinase(s), as no specific cytosolic phosphoproteins were found and intact cells phosphorylated exogenous substrates. Labelled ATP did not cross the membrane and [alpha-32P]ATP was an unsuitable substrate for the phosphorylation activity. The ectokinase activity on live Leishmania exhibited a different substrate preference when compared to the protein kinase activity in the particulate fraction, suggesting that more than one protein kinase may be present in L. major. Three serine-labelled phosphoproteins were specifically released into the medium. The presence of an ecto-kinase and these released phosphoproteins may play a significant role in host-parasite interactions.     

The regulatory subunit of neural cAMP-dependent protein kinase II represents a unique gene product

Although the major form of soluble cAMP-dependent protein kinase in bovine cerebral cortex can be classified as a type II kinase, the regulatory subunit (RII) can be distinguished from RII found in other tissues such as heart. Heart and brain RII were distinguished qualitatively by autophosphorylation followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The mobility of dephosphorylated heart RII shifted from an apparent Mr of 55,000 to 57,000 following autophosphorylation. In contrast, when RII purified from brain was autophosphorylated with [gamma-32P]ATP, two radiolabeled bands were visualized, a minor band (less than or equal to 20%) which migrated with an Mr of 57,000 similar to the heart protein and a band with Mr = 55,000 which did not shift its mobility in response to autophosphorylation. Brain RII was further distinguished from heart RII on the basis of cAMP binding. Millipore filtration and equilibrium dialysis indicated that 2 mol of cAMP bound/mol of RII in contrast to 4 mol/mol with heart RII. Immunological differences were also apparent. Radioimmunoassays using monoclonal antibodies to RII showed that the brain protein had less than 4% of the cross-reactivity of heart RII. Both immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation using monoclonal as well as serum antibodies established that the cross-reactivity in phosphorylated brain RII was associated exclusively with the 57,000 component that behaved like heart RII. The lack of cross-reactivity of neural RII with two different monoclonal antibodies targeted the hinge region of RII as an area where structural differences might be anticipated, and comparative sequence analysis of this region definitively established that the major form of RII in brain is a unique gene product from the RII expressed in heart.     

The enzymatic preparation of [alpha-(32)P]nucleoside triphosphates, cyclic [32P] AMP, and cyclic [32P] GMP.

A method has been developed for the enzymatic preparation of alpha-(32)P-labeled ribo- and deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, cyclic [(32)P]AMP, and cyclic [(32)P]GMP of high specific radioactivity and in high yield from (32)Pi. The method also enables the preparation of [gamma-(32)P]ATP, [gamma-(32)P]GTP, [gamma-(32)P]ITP, and [gamma-(32)P]-dATP of very high specific activity and in high yield. The preparation of the various [alpha-(32)P]nucleoside triphosphates relies on the phosphorylation of the respective 3'-nucleoside monophosphates with [gamma-(32)P]ATP by polynucleotide kinase and a subsequent nuclease reaction to form [5'-(32)P]nucleoside monophosphates. The [5'-(32)P]nucleoside monophosphates are then converted enzymatically to the respective triphosphates. All of the reactions leading to the formation of [alpha-(32)P]nucleoside triphosphates are carried out in the same reaction vessel, without intermediate purification steps, by the use of sequential reactions with the respective enzymes. Cyclic [(32)P]AMP and cyclic [(32)P]GMP are also prepared enzymatically from [alpha-(32)P]ATP or [alpha-(32)P]GTP by partially purified preparations of adenylate or guanylate cyclases. With the exception of the cyclases, all enzymes used are commerically available. The specific activity of (32)P-labeled ATP made by this method ranged from 200 to 1000 Ci/mmol for [alpha-(32)P]ATP and from 5800 to 6500 Ci/mmol for [gamma-(32)P]ATP. Minor modifications of the method should permit higher specific activities, especially for the [alpha-(32)P]nucleoside triphosphates. Methods for the use of the [alpha-(32)P]nucleoside phosphates are described for the study of adenylate and guanylate cyclases, cyclic AMP- and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase, cyclic nucleotide binding proteins, and as precursors for the synthesis of other (32)P-labeled compounds of biological interest. Moreover, the [alpha-(32)P]nucleoside triphosphates prepared by this method should be very useful in studies on nucleic acid structure and metabolism and the [gamma-(32)P]nucleoside triphosphates should be useful in the study of phosphate transfer systems.     

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.     

A cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase in Leishmania donovani.

Leishmania donovani promastigotes labelled for 2 h with 32Pi incorporated radioactivity into at least 21 different proteins, as determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Pulse-chase studies with 32Pi demonstrated that the labelled proteins were in a dynamic state: some radiolabelled proteins rapidly disappeared and others appeared after the chase. The possibility of an ectokinase on the parasite was examined; incubation of intact parasites for 10 min at 25 degrees C in an osmotically buffered medium containing [gamma-32P]ATP, but not [alpha-32P]ATP, resulted in the labelling of 10 different protozoal proteins, presumably localized to the surface of the organism's plasma membrane. Intact promastigotes also catalysed the transfer of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP to histones. The histone-dependent kinase was solubilized by repeated freezing and thawing, and sonication, and purified 118-fold by chromatographing the high-speed (200,000 g, 1 h) supernatant fraction on QAE-Sephadex, Sephadex G-150 and hydroxyapatite columns. The kinase eluted as a single activity peak from all three columns. The partially purified histone-dependent kinase had the following properties: pH optimum, 7.0; optimum temperature, 37 degrees C; Km for mixed calf thymus histone, 0.15 mM; Km for ATP, 0.8 mM; preferred fractionated histone acceptors, H2b greater than H4 greater than H2a greater than H3 (H1 does not serve as an acceptor); optimum activity required 10-20 mM-Mg2+; inhibited 50-80% by 0.01 mM- and 1 mM-Ca2+; activity was not stimulated by calmodulin, cyclic AMP (1 mM) or cyclic GMP (1 mM) nor inhibited by a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor (50 micrograms/assay); apparent Mr 75,000, as determined by Sephadex G-150 gel filtration chromatography; phosphorylated exclusively serine residues. Protein kinase activity was low in the early exponential phase of the growth curve and increased 6-fold upon entry into the stationary phase.     

Post-translational processing of chicken bone phosphoproteins. Identification of bone (phospho)protein kinase.

We have detected a protein kinase which phosphorylates bone phosphoproteins (BPPs) in the detergent extract of the membranous fractions in the periosteal bone strips of 12-day-embryonic-chick tibia. This enzyme, tentatively named BPP kinase, has a catalytic subunit of Mr approximately 39,000, utilizes GTP as well as ATP as a phospho-group donor, is inhibited by 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate and heparin, and is therefore similar to casein kinase II. The enzyme can phosphorylate dephosphorylated proteins such as casein, phosvitin and chicken BPPs, but the last-named are preferred substrates. The in vitro-phosphorylation-assay products of this enzyme in the extract were indistinguishable on an SDS/polyacrylamide gel from the major [32P]phosphoproteins metabolically labelled in the embryonic-chick bone tissue. The regulatory mechanisms of the phosphorylation process of BPPs by BPP kinase as well as the potential role of this enzyme in mineralization are discussed.     

Photoaffinity labeling of the rabbit reticulocyte guanine nucleotide exchange factor and eukaryotic initiation factor 2 with 8-azidopurine nucleotides. Identification of GTP- and ATP-binding domains

We have covalently modified rabbit reticulocyte polypeptide chain initiation factor 2 (eIF-2) and the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) with the 8-azido analogs of GTP (8-N3GTP) and ATP (8-N3ATP). Of the five subunits of GEF, the Mr 40,000 polypeptide binds 8-[gamma-32P]N3GTP, and the Mr 55,000 and 65,000 polypeptides bind 8-[gamma-32P]N3ATP. Both 8-N3GTP and 8-N3ATP specifically label the beta-subunit of eIF-2. Covalent binding of 8-azidopurine analogs to the eukaryotic initiation factors is dependent on UV irradiation. Binding of 8-N3GTP and 8-N3ATP is specific for the guanine- and adenine-binding sites on the protein, respectively. GDP and GTP, but not ATP, inhibit the photoinsertion of 8-N3GTP to the protein. Similarly, ATP, but not GTP, inhibits the photoinsertion of 8-N3ATP. The inclusion of NADP+ in the reaction mixtures also interferes with the binding of 8-N3ATP to GEF. Mg2+ inhibits the binding of the 8-azido analogs of GTP and ATP to both eIF-2 and GEF, whereas EDTA stimulates the photoinsertion of these nucleotides. Identical results are obtained when the binding of GTP and ATP to these proteins, in the presence of Mg2+ or EDTA, is estimated by nitrocellulose membranes. In enzymatic assays, 8-N3GTP supports the activity of eIF-2 and GEF, indicating that the interaction of 8-N3GTP is catalytically relevant.