Rabbit liver glycogen synthase kinases. Characterization of a protein kinase (PC0.7) able to phosphorylate glycogen synthase and phosvitin

A rabbit liver protein kinase (PC0.7), able to phosphorylate glycogen synthase and phosvitin, has been extensively purified. The enzyme had apparent Mr = 170,000-190,000 as judged by gel filtration and was associated with two major polypeptide species, alpha (Mr = 43,000) and beta (Mr = 25,000). Two other polypeptides, Mr = 38,000 and Mr = 35,000, were also detected. Treatment with trypsin led to an enzyme composed only of polypeptides of Mr = 35,000 and Mr = 25,000. The beta-polypeptide underwent autophosphorylation when incubated with Mg2+ and ATP or GTP. The protein kinase was effective in utilizing both ATP and GTP as the phosphoryl donor (apparent Km values 5-11 microM and 9-19 microM, respectively). The enzyme phosphorylated phosvitin, casein, and glycogen synthase but not histone or phosphorylase and was inhibited by heparin. Phosphorylation of glycogen synthase proceeded to approximately 0.5 phosphate/subunit with little inactivation of the glycogen synthase. The phosphorylation occurred predominantly in a 21,000-dalton CNBr fragment of glycogen synthase that had been previously shown to reside toward the COOH terminus of the molecule. The liver PC0.7 appeared very similar to an analogous enzyme isolated from rabbit muscle (DePaoli-Roach, A. A., Ahmad, Z., and Roach, P. J. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 8955-8962). The present work, therefore, provides a point of contact between the Ca2+ and cyclic nucleotide-independent glycogen synthase kinases of rabbit liver and muscle.     

Isolation and characterization of tropomyosin kinase from chicken embryo

Tropomyosin kinase is partially purified from 14-day-old chicken embryos using DEAE-cellulose, cellulose phosphate and gel filtration chromatography. The purest enzyme preparation consists of two major bands of Mr = 76,000 and 43,000 on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme is 250,000 determined by gel filtration chromatography. It phosphorylates casein and skeletal tropomyosin equally well but histone and phosvitin at a much slower rate. Smooth muscle myosin light chain, tropomyosin from platelet, erythrocyte and smooth muscle are not phosphorylated. The apparent Km for skeletal alpha-tropomyosin and ATP is 50 microM and 200 microM, respectively. Vmax varies between 100-300 nmol/min per mg depending on the purity of the preparation. Mg2+ and dithiothreitol are essential for activity but Ca+, calmodulin and cAMP are not required. The optimum temperature is 37 degrees C and optimum pH is about 7.5. Heparin, a potent inhibitor of casein kinase II, has no inhibitory effect on the enzyme. Similar tropomyosin kinase activity is not detected in skeletal muscle in adult rabbit and chicken. The tropomyosin kinase described here represents a hitherto uncharacterized kinase responsible for phosphorylation of tropomyosin in the chicken embryo.     

Purification and characterization of a 400-kDa nonhistone chromatin protein that serves as an effective phosphate acceptor for casein kinase II from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

A nonhistone chromatin protein (NHCP) has been purified to homogeneity from a 0.5 M NaCl extract of Ehrlich ascites tumor cell (EAT cell) nuclei as a phosphate acceptor for casein kinase II using ion-exchange column chromatographies and Sephacryl S300 gel filtration. The purified NHCP (approximate Mr = 400,000) was found to be a tetramer of an Mr = 98,000 polypeptide (pI = 6.9) and to have high contents of glycine (15%) and serine (11.6%). This protein (designated as 400-kDa NHCP) was highly phosphorylated by casein kinase II (Mr = 130,000), but not by histone kinase. Casein kinase II phosphorylated only seryl residues of the purified 400-kDa NHCP. The NHCP bound with DNA, but not with RNAs, and the DNA binding ability of the protein was reduced when it was phosphorylated by casein kinase II. Moreover, we found that (a) the 400-kDa NHCP is present in large quantities in malignant mouse cells, such as EAT, EL-4, and Meth-A cells, but only slightly in normal tissues and cells; (b) the protein level is rapidly increased when mouse lymphocytes are treated with recombinant interleukin 2 (T cell growth factor) or concanavalin A; and (c) the kinase responsible for the 400-kDa NHCP phosphorylation in the chromatin of various mouse cells is a casein kinase II. These experimental results suggest that the 400-kDa NHCP acts as an effective phosphate acceptor for casein kinase II at the chromatin level and that an increased phosphorylation of the protein by the kinase may be implicated in the progress of cell differentiation and proliferation.     

Characterization of the phosphorylated intermediate of the K+-translocating Kdp-ATPase from Escherichia coli

During ATP hydrolysis the K+-translocating Kdp-ATPase from Escherichia coli forms a phosphorylated intermediate as part of the catalytic cycle. The influence of effectors (K+, Na+, Mg2+, ATP, ADP) and inhibitors (vanadate, N-ethylmaleimide, bafilomycin A1) on the phosphointermediate level and on the ATPase activity was analyzed in purified wild-type enzyme (apparent Km = 10 microM) and a KdpA mutant ATPase exhibiting a lower affinity for K+ (Km = 6 mM). Based on these data we propose a minimum reaction scheme consisting of (i) a Mg2+-dependent protein kinase, (ii) a Mg2+-dependent and K+-stimulated phosphoprotein phosphatase, and (iii) a K+-independent basal phosphoprotein phosphatase. The findings of a K+-uncoupled basal activity, inhibition by high K+ concentrations, lower ATP saturation values for the phosphorylation than for the overall ATPase reaction, and presumed reversibility of the phosphoprotein formation by excess ADP indicated similarities in fundamental principles of the reaction cycle between the Kdp-ATPase and eukaryotic E1E2-ATPases. The phosphoprotein was tentatively characterized as an acylphosphate on the basis of its alkali-lability and its sensitivity to hydroxylamine. The KdpB polypeptide was identified as the phosphorylated subunit after electrophoretic separation at pH 2.4, 4 degrees C of cytoplasmic membranes or of purified ATPase labeled with [gamma-32P]ATP.     

Purification and characterization of two wheat-embryo protein phosphatases.

Two protein phosphatases (enzymes I and II) were extensively purified from wheat embryo by a procedure involving chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B, DEAE-Sephacel and Ultrogel AcA 44. Preparations of enzyme I (Mr 197,000) are heterogeneous. Preparations of enzyme II (Mr 35,000) contain only one major polypeptide (Mr 17,500), which exactly co-purifies with protein phosphatase II on gel filtration and is not present in preparations of enzyme I. However, this major polypeptide has been identified as calmodulin. Calmodulin and protein phosphatase II can be separated by further chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B. Protein phosphatases I and II do not require Mg2+ or Ca2+ for activity. Both enzymes catalyse the dephosphorylation of phosphohistone H1 (phosphorylated by wheat-germ Ca2+-dependent protein kinase) and of phosphocasein (phosphorylated by wheat-germ Ca2+-independent casein kinase), but neither enzyme dephosphorylates a range of non-protein phosphomonoesters tested. Both enzymes are inhibited by Zn2+, Hg2+, vanadate, molybdate, F-, pyrophosphate and ATP.     

Detection of type-2 casein kinase and its endogenous substrates in the components of the microsomal fraction of rat liver

Rat liver type-2 casein kinase-TS (Ck-TS) is unevenly distributed among the different components of the rat liver post-mitochondrial particulate fraction: while it accounts for the whole casein kinase activity of protein-glycogen particles, it is absent in the microsomal membranes (exhibiting exclusively casein kinase activity of type-1) and coexists with type-1 casein kinase in ribosomes. At least seven proteins whose phosphorylation is promoted by Ck-TS have been detected in these fractions. The only important target of Ck-TS in protein-glycogen particles is a rather heterogeneous protein of Mr around 85000 which has been identified as glycogen synthase. Two polypeptides of Mr about 16000, possibly identifiable with acidic proteins P1 and P2, and an unidentified protein of Mr about 35000 are the main ribosomal substrates of Ck-TS. Three protein bands of Mr 52000, 79000 and 91000 are also very efficiently phosphorylated whenever the microsomal membranes, devoid of intrinsic casein kinase-2, are incubated with cytosolic Ck-TS. These membrane-bound radiolabeled proteins require deoxycholate for their solubilization: they are very acidic, according to their high affinity for DEAE-cellulose, and give rise to partially superimposable [32P]peptide maps, suggesting extensive homologies among them. They also exhibit a low affinity Ca2+ binding activity comparable to that of calsequestrin.     

A tyrosine-specific protein kinase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

A protein tyrosine kinase that phosphorylates both alpha and beta subunits of inactivated (Na+,K+)-ATPase from dog kidney was purified about 500-fold from Ehrlich ascites tumor cell membranes. The enzyme required divalent cations Mn2+, Mg2+, or Fe2+ but was inhibited by Cu2+ or Zn2+. The purified enzyme phosphorylated the beta subunit about five times faster than the alpha subunit of the (Na+,K+)-ATPase. The random polymer poly(Glu80Tyr20) was an excellent substrate while casein was only marginally phosphorylated. In contrast, the purified transforming gene product of Rous sarcoma virus phosphorylated all three substrates and the (Na+,K+)-ATPase was preferentially phosphorylated on the alpha subunit. The transforming gene product of Fujinami sarcoma visue and EGF receptor kinase from A431 cells phosphorylated (Na+,K+)-ATPase poorly whereas casein was an excellent substrate. The molecular weight of the partially purified protein tyrosine kinase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells determined by gel filtration was about 60,000. One of two major phosphorylated phosphopeptides resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis had an Mr of 60 kDa, thus suggesting that it might be the autophosphorylated protein tyrosine kinase. A phosphatase that hydrolyzes phosphorylated histones or poly(Glu80Tyr20) was partially purified from the same membrane.     

Purification of a putative K+-ATPase from Streptococcus faecalis

We have purified a novel membrane ATPase from Streptococcus faecalis by the following procedure: extraction of membranes with Triton X-100 followed by fractionation of the extract by successive DEAE-cellulose chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography and Cm-Sepharose chromatography. The overall yield was 5%. The purified ATPase appears to consist of a single polypeptide component of Mr = 78,000. The Triton-solubilized purified enzyme has a specific activity of approximately 50 mumol of ATP hydrolyzed per min per mg, is dependent on phospholipids for activity, and is strongly inhibited by vanadate (I50 = 3 microM). Maximal ATPase activity is displayed at pH 7.3. Mg2+-ATP, for which the enzyme has a Km of 60 microM, is the best substrate. The ATPase forms an acylphosphate intermediate that can also be detected in native membranes as the major acylphosphate component. The purified ATPase, when reconstituted into soybean phospholipid vesicles, exhibits coupling, e.g. the ATPase activity can be stimulated at least 8-fold by valinomycin in the presence of potassium. Based on these observations we conclude that the enzyme we have purified is an ion-motive ATPase, most likely a K+-ATPase.     

Affinity labeling of the digitalis receptor with p-nitrophenyltriazene-ouabain, a highly specific alkylating agent

Three derivatives of ouabain have been synthesized which alkylate the digitalis receptor. These derivatives were formed through reductive amination of p-nitrophenyltriazene (NPT) ethylenediamine to the periodate-oxidized rhamnose moiety of ouabain. The non-covalent binding of the ouabain derivatives (NPT-ouabain, designated I, II, and III) was followed (i) by their ability to inhibit the activity of sodium- and potassium-activated ATPase ((Na+,K+)-ATPase) purified from the electric organ of Electrophorus electricus, (ii) by the binding of [3H]NPT-ouabain I to the enzyme, and (iii) by the inhibition of [3H]ouabain binding with unlabeled NPT-ouabain I. Covalent modification of the digitalis site of (Na+,K+)-ATPase occurs after long periods of time. At pH 7.5 (25 degrees C) the best alkylating derivative, NPT-ouabain I, gives maximum covalent labeling after 6 h. Only the large polypeptide chain (Mr = 93,000) of the purified enzyme is specifically labeled with [3H]NPT-ouabain I while the glycoprotein chain (Mr = 47,000) is not significantly labeled. Labeling of a microsomal fraction of the electric organ with [3H]NPT-ouabain I gave the same type of gel pattern as that observed with the purified enzyme. [3H]NPT-ouabain I was also used to label the digitalis receptor in highly purified axonal membranes and in cardiac membranes prepared from embryonic chick heart. Although the (Na+,K+)-ATPase in both types of membranes has a low affinity for ouabain, [3H]NPT-ouabain I proved to be a very efficient affinity label for the digitalis receptor. In the complex mixture of polypeptides found in these membrane preparations, only a single polypeptide chain having a Mr = 93,000 is specifically labeled by [3H]NPT-ouabain I.     

Conformational states of the (Na+ + K+)-transporting ATPase. Formation of 240 000-Mr and 116 000-Mr polypeptides in the presence of a bifunctional thiol probe.

Interpeptide cross-linking of alpha-subunits with concomitant loss of Na+ + K+-transporting ATPase (Na+, K+-ATPase) activity was found when the purified lamb kidney enzyme was treated with the bifunctional thiol reagent 4,4'-difluoro-3,3'-dinitrodiphenyl sulphone (F2DNS). Several forms of the enzyme could be clearly distinguished: one binding ATP (non-phosphorylated enzyme, E1 X ATP), a phosphorylated form (E2-P) and a phosphoenzyme-ouabain complex (E2P X ouabain). A polypeptide of approx. Mr 240 000 and probable alpha 2 composition comprised up to 5-20% of the total polypeptides after reaction of the lamb kidney Na+, K+-ATPase with F2DNS. The amount of this polypeptide formed was related to the conformational state of the enzyme. The presence of adenine nucleotide greatly diminished the amount of 240 000-Mr polypeptide formed and provides evidence for an enzyme-adenine-nucleotide complex under conditions where the enzyme is not phosphorylated. F2DNS reacted with the enzyme in the presence of Mg2+, Pi and ouabain to form a new polypeptide with an approx. Mr of 116 000, and comprised 23% of the total, whereas the 240 000-Mr polypeptide comprised 9% of the total. This suggests that the 116 000-Mr polypeptide is a characteristic marker of the E2P X ouabain complex. By using specific antibodies it was established that both the 240 000- and 116 000-Mr polypeptides contained alpha-, but not beta-, subunits of the Na+, K+-ATPase.     

A novel Ca2+-dependent protein kinase from Paramecium tetraurelia

The ciliated protozoan Paramecium tetraurelia contained two protein kinase activities that were dependent on Ca2+. We purified one of the enzymes to homogeneity by Ca2+-dependent affinity chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose and ion exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme contained polypeptides of 50 and 55 kDa, with the 50-kDa species predominant. From its Stokes radius (32 A) and sedimentation coefficient (3.9 S), we calculated a native molecular weight of 51,000, suggesting that the active form is a monomer. Its specific activity was 65-130 nmol X min-1 X mg-1 and the Km for ATP was 17-35 microM, depending on the exogenous substrate used. Kinase activity was completely dependent upon Ca2+; half-maximal activation occurred at approximately 1 microM free Ca2+ at pH 7.2. Phosphatidylserine and diacylglycerol did not stimulate activity, nor did the addition of purified Paramecium calmodulin. The enzyme phosphorylated casein and histones, forming primarily phosphoserine and phosphothreonine, respectively. It also catalyzed its own phosphorylation in a Ca2+-dependent reaction; the half-maximal rate of autophosphorylation occurred at approximately 1-1.5 microM free Ca2+, and both the 50- and 55-kDa species were autophosphorylated. After separation by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and renaturation in situ, the 50-kDa protein retained its Ca2+-dependent ability to phosphorylate casein, suggesting that Ca2+ interacts directly with this polypeptide. This was confirmed by direct binding studies; when the enzyme was subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis transferred to nitrocellulose, and renatured, there was 45Ca2+-binding in situ to both the 50- and 55-kDa polypeptides. The Paramecium enzyme appears to be a new and unique type of Ca2+-dependent protein kinase.     

Large-scale purification and phosphorylation of a detergent-treated adenosine triphosphatase complex from plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A new procedure for large-scale preparation of plasma-membrane-bound ATPase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is described. The crude membrane fraction is purified by selective extraction with three successive detergents: deoxycholate (0.25 mg/mg protein), Triton X-100 (0.25%) and lysophosphatidylcholine (1 mg/mg protein). These treatments extract the mitochondria and strip the plasma membrane. From 1 kg commercial baker's yeast, 200 mg of plasma membrane proteins are isolated in 2--3 days. Plasma-membrane-bound ATPase of specific activity of 10--13 mumol Pi x min-1 x mg protein-1 is obtained with a yield estimated to 60%. Dodecylsulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows three predominant polypeptides of Mr = 95000, 70000 and 56000 in the purified membrane fraction. The major polypeptide of Mr = 95000 identified as the ATPase subunit is phosphorylated by millimolar concentrations of ATP. The phosphorylated intermediate reaches the steady-state level in less than 100 ms and turns over very rapidly. It is hydrolyzed by hydroxylamine. Its formation is prevented by the ATPase inhibitors vanadate and Dio-9, a plasma-membrane ATPase inhibitor of unknown structure. At least four other membrane proteins are phosphorylated with much slower kinetics, presumably through the action of protein-kinase(s).     

The cyclic nucleotide-dependent phosphorylation of aortic smooth muscle membrane proteins

Membrane proteins of Mr 240,000, 130,000, and 85,000 (GS-proteins) were rapidly and selectively phosphorylated in particulate fractions of rabbit aortic smooth muscle in the presence of [Mg-32P]ATP and low concentrations of cGMP (Ka = 0.01 microM) or cAMP (Ka = 0.2 microM). The effects of both cyclic nucleotides in this preparation were mediated entirely by an endogenous, membrane-bound form of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (G-kinase). The GS-proteins were also phosphorylated by the soluble form of G-kinase purified from bovine lung; this effect was most evident following removal of endogenous G-kinase from the membranes using Na2CO3 and high salt washes. The membrane-bound and cytosolic forms of G-kinase phosphorylated the Mr 130,000 GS-protein with the same specificity as determined by two-dimensional peptide mapping. Despite this functional homology between the two forms of G-kinase, only the particulate enzyme appears to play a role in phosphorylating the GS-proteins. Although little endogenous cAMP-dependent protein kinase (A-kinase) activity was detected in washed aortic smooth muscle membranes, the GS-proteins could be phosphorylated when purified A-kinase catalytic subunit was added to this preparation. Peptide mapping of the Mr 130,000 GS-protein indicated that A-kinase phosphorylated a subset of the same peptides labeled by the two forms of G-kinase. The endogenous A-kinase of rabbit aortic smooth muscle homogenates was also found to phosphorylate the GS-proteins. Since the intracellular concentrations of cGMP or cAMP can be selectively elevated by different stimuli, these results suggest several possible mechanisms by which the phosphorylation state of the GS-proteins may be regulated by cyclic nucleotides: activation of the membrane-bound G-kinase by cGMP or cAMP; and activation of cytosolic A-kinase by cAMP.     

Purification of integral plasma membrane proteins by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography

Following dissolution in anhydrous trifluoroacetic acid, plasma membrane isolated from two eukaryotic species was directly injected onto a reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatograph column. Upon development with a 60 to 100% (v/v) linear gradient of ethanol containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid, most of the polypeptides eluted without retention. Only the lipids and very hydrophobic proteins were retained and resolved. Most noticeable among retained proteins was the Mr 100,000 catalytic polypeptide of each species' primary plasma membrane cation pump, the Na+,K+-ATPase of pig kidney and the H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa hyphae. This simple 60-min procedure yielded nearly pure ATPase starting from crude membranes and in a completely volatile solvent, without detergent. When fungal plasma membranes were phosphorylated in vitro with [gamma-32P]ATP prior to injection, protein kinase activity was observed and this resulted in the phosphorylation of the H+-ATPase as well as of several other less-abundant hydrophobic membrane proteins. This procedure is useful as an alternative method for the rapid characterization of those membrane-associated polypeptides that contain several hydrophobic, transmembrane sequences.     

Autophosphorylation of Calmodulin-Kinase II in Synaptic Junctions Modulates Endogenous Kinase Activity

Previous studies have purified from brain a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (designated CaM-kinase II) that phosphorylates synapsin I, a synaptic vesicle-associated phosphoprotein. CaM-kinase II is composed of a major Mr 50K polypeptide and a minor Mr 60K polypeptide; both bind calmodulin and are phosphorylated in a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent manner. Recent studies have demonstrated that the 50K component of CaM-kinase II and the major postsynaptic density protein (mPSDp) in brain synaptic junctions (SJs) are virtually identical and that the CaM-kinase II and SJ 60K polypeptides are highly related. In the present study the photoaffinity analog [alpha-32P]8-azido-ATP was used to demonstrate that the 60K and 50K polypeptides of SJ-associated CaM-kinase II each bind ATP in the presence of Ca2+ plus calmodulin. This result is consistent with the observation that these proteins are phosphorylated in a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent manner. Experiments using 32P-labeled peptides obtained by limited proteolysis of 60K and 50K polypeptides from SJs demonstrated that within each kinase polypeptide the same peptide regions contain both autophosphorylation and 125I-calmodulin binding sites. These results suggested that the autophosphorylation of CaM-kinase II could regulate its capacity to bind calmodulin and, thus, its capacity to phosphorylate substrate proteins. By using 125I-calmodulin overlay techniques and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis we found that phosphorylated 50K and 60K CaM-kinase II polypeptides bound more calmodulin (50-70%) than did unphosphorylated kinase polypeptides. Levels of in vitro CaM-kinase II activity in SJs were measured by phosphorylation of exogenous synapsin I. SJs containing highly phosphorylated CaM-kinase II displayed greater activity in phosphorylating synapsin I (300% at 15 nM calmodulin) relative to control SJs that contained unphosphorylated CaM-kinase II. The CaM-kinase II activity in phosphorylated SJs was indistinguishable from control SJs at saturating calmodulin concentrations (300-1,000 nM). These findings show that the degree of autophosphorylation of CaM-kinase II in brain SJs modulates its in vitro activity at low and possibly physiological calmodulin concentrations; such a process may represent a mechanism of regulating this kinase's activity at CNS synapses in situ.     

Cyclic AMP-stimulated protein kinases at brain synaptic junctions.

We have examined endogenous cyclic AMP-stimulated phosphorylation of subcellular fractions of rat brain enriched in synaptic plasma membranes (SPM), purified synaptic junctions (SJ), and postsynaptic densities (PSD). The analyses of these fractions are essential to provide direct evidence for cyclic AMP-dependent endogenous phosphorylation at discrete synaptic junctional loci. Protein kinase activity was measured in subcellular fractions using both endogenous and exogenous (histones) proteins as substrates. The SJ fraction possessed the highest kinase activity toward endogenous protein substrates, 5-fold greater than SPM and approximately 120-fold greater than PSD fractions. Although the kinase activity as measured with histones as substrates was only slightly higher in SJ than SPM fractions, there was a marked preference of kinase activity toward endogenous compared to exogenous substrates in SJ fractions but in SPM fractions. Although overall phosphorylation in SJ fractions was increased only 36% by 5 micron cyclic AMP, there were discrete proteins of Mr = 85,000, 82,000, 78,000, and 55,000 which incorporated 2- to 3-fold more radioactive phosphate in the presence of cyclic AMP. Most, if not all, of the cyclic AMP-independent kinase activity is probably catalyzed by catalytic subunit derived from cyclic AMP-dependent kinase, since the phosphorylation of both exogenous and endogenous proteins was greatly decreased in the presence of a heat-stable inhibitor protein prepared from the soluble fraction of rat brain. The specific retention of SJ protein kinase(s) activity during purification and their resistance to detergent solubilization was achieved by chemical treatments which produce interprotein cross-linking via disulfide bridges. Two SJ polypeptides of Mr = 55,000 and 49,000 were photoaffinity-labeled with [32P]8-N3-cyclic AMP and probably represent the regulatory subunits of the type I and II cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases. The protein of Mr = 55,000 was phosphorylated in a cyclic AMP-stimulated manner suggesting autophosphorylation as previously observed in other systems.     

Purification of erythrocyte dematin (protein 4.9) reveals an endogenous protein kinase that modulates actin-bundling activity

A partially purified preparation of human erythrocyte protein 4.9, consisting of 48-, 52-, and 55-kilodalton polypeptides, is capable of bundling rabbit muscle actin in vitro (Siegel, D. L., and Branton, D. (1985) J. Cell Biol. 100, 775-785). Purification schemes, peptide mapping, antibody cross-reactivity, and chemical cross-linking techniques show that the 48- and 52-kDa polypeptides are sequence-related phosphorylated components, whereas the 55-kDa polypeptide is not. Purified protein 4.9 (dematin), consisting of 48- and 52-kDa polypeptides, effectively bundles actin in vitro; under similar conditions, the isolated 55-kDa polypeptide does not bundle actin. In fact, when added back to purified dematin, fractions containing the 55-kDa polypeptide can completely abolish dematin's actin-bundling activity. The basis for this inhibitory activity is an endogenous protein kinase that phosporylates both the 48- and 52-kDa isoforms of dematin, thus abolishing dematin's actin-bundling activity (Husain-Chishti, A., Levin, A., and Branton, D. (1988) Nature 334, 718-721). Although the endogenous kinase often co-purifies with the 55-kDa polypeptide, it can be separated from the 55-kDa polypeptide and has the characteristics of a catalytic subunit of a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.     

A vacuolar-type ATPase, partially purified from potassium transporting plasma membranes of tobacco hornworm midgut

An azide- and vanadate-insensitive, N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive ATPase has been partially purified from a fraction enriched with potassium transporting goblet cell apical membranes of Manduca sexta larval midgut. The properties of the membrane-bound ATPase activity were identical to those of the ATPase activity of highly purified goblet cell apical membranes (Wieczorek, H., Wolfersberger, M. G., Cioffi, M., and Harvey, W. R. (1986) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 857, 271-281). 90% of the azide- and vanadate-insensitive ATPase activity was solubilized by C12E10, leaving 90% of the contaminating azide-sensitive mitochondrial ATPase activity in the pellet after centrifugation at 100,000 x g for 1 h. After discontinuous sucrose gradient centrifugation of the supernatant at 220,000 x g for 1 h nearly all of the azide- and vanadate-insensitive ATPase activity was found in the 30% sucrose fraction without contaminating azide- or vanadate-sensitive ATPase activity. Two prominent bands with relative molecular masses (Mr) of about 600,000 and 900,000, both displaying azide-insensitive and N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive ATPase activity, were found in native microgradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the 30% sucrose fraction. The two bands could not be separated by anion exchange chromatography. Denaturation of both bands resulted in the same polypeptide pattern (five major bands with Mr 70,000, 57,000, 46,000, 29,000 and 17,000) in sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicating that they represented oligomers of the same protein unit. Substrate and inhibitor specificities of the partially purified ATPase were similar to those of the membrane-bound ATPase activity, whereas salt selectivity differed partly. Altogether, structural and functional properties of the ATPase strongly resemble those of vacuolar-type ATPases.     

Partial purification of the maturation-promoting factor MPF from unfertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis

A 200-fold purification of the maturation-promoting factor or MPF from unfertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis is reported for the first time. Purification was achieved by three successive column chromatographies on hydroxyapatite, trisacryl blue and L-arginine-agarose. The presence of MPF was assessed by the usual maturation criteria after injections of test material into immature stage VI unstimulated X. laevis oocytes: the precocious appearance of the maturation spot (within 45-120 min), the germinal vesicle breakdown, the presence of the first polar body and the second metaphase spindle. Purification was monitored by the decrease of the minimal amount of protein injected in a constant volume (50 nl) required to induce 50% frequency of germinal vesicle breakdown. This amount decreased from 500 ng in the crude extract to 2.5 ng in the 200-fold purified material. Analysis by SDS-PAGE of the crude extract showed about 40 Coomassie-blue-stained polypeptides with molecular masses ranging from 300 kDa to 20 kDa, whereas in the 200-fold purified MPF only 5 stained polypeptides were revealed, with molecular masses of 62, 53, 49, 39 and 37 kDa. In vitro phosphorylations for the detection of kinase activities for endogenous and exogenous substrates were monitored by analysis of autoradiograms of SDS-PAGE, after treatment of fractions with [gamma-32P]ATP. Only inactive fractions eluted from columns ahead of MPF, and fractions containing MPF activity were tested. Phosphorylation of numerous stained polypeptides was demonstrated in the crude MPF extract and exogenous substrates such as phosvitin, casein and histone type II-AS were also strongly phosphorylated. In the MPF fraction, purified on hydroxyapatite, a polypeptide of 53 kDa was more highly and specifically phosphorylated and the presence of kinase activities was observed for the above three exogenous substrates. In the 100-fold and 200-fold purified MPF, phosphorylation of endogenous substrates could not be shown and kinase activities for the above three substrates were drastically decreased as compared with the crude and purified MPF obtained after hydroxyapatite column chromatography. However, neither endogenous phosphorylations nor kinase activities with the above exogenous substrates could be shown in inactive fractions eluted ahead of MPF at the different purification steps. Some characteristics of the purified material are also described in this paper.     

Phosphorylation of myosin light chain and the actin-activated ATPase activity of adrenal medullary myosin

Myosin light chain kinase was partially purified from bovine adrenal medulla. A polypeptide of Mr 165,000 dalton was identified as kinase by using anti-gizzard myosin light chain kinase IgG on immunoreplica. Phosphorylation of medullary myosin was Ca2+- and calmodulin-dependent. The phosphorylated myosin was showed to enhance the actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity. In contrast, the myosin ATPase activity was dramatically decreased by dephosphorylation of myosin.