Effect of double-stranded RNA and interferon type I on reproduction of cytomegalovirus in human fibroblasts]

Double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA) - larifan and ridostin, and recombinant interferons-alpha-2 and beta-1, manufactured in the USSR, inhibited the reproduction of CMV in cell culture. Antiviral effect depended on concentration of preparations, time of administration and m. o. i. DEAE-dextran enhances antiviral effect dsRNA. DsRNA and interferons added to cells infected with CMV at high m. o. i. enhance the viral reproduction. Among studied preparations highest antiviral effect was shown by natural leucocyte interferon (Egis). It was 10 times more active, than recombinant IFNs and in concentration of 1000 U/ml was comparable to activity of larifan (200 mg/ml).     

The dynamics of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activity in the nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of human fibroblasts treated by double-stranded RNAs, by their complexes with DEAE-dextran and by type-I recombinant interferons. The ratio of double-stranded RNA-activated and -nonactivated froms of the enzyme

Novel original preparations of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), i.e. larifan, ridostin and rifastin, and recombinant alpha 2- and beta-interferons promising for the clinical use were studied. The size and morphology of the dsRNAs in the preparation composition, the dynamics of their induction of interferon and the antiviral state in human fibroblasts and the effect of the DEAE dextran polycation on the activity of the dsRNAs were specified. For the first time the dynamics of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activity in the nuclei and cytoplasm of the human fibroblasts treated with the dsRNAs of different origin and their complexes with DEAE dextran was defined. To elucidate the specific features of the mechanism of antiviral action of dsRNAs and interferon, the relation of the 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activity to dsRNAs was investigated. In the cells treated with dsRNAs and DEAE dextran there were an early activation of the enzyme and predominance of the enzyme activated forms requiring no addition of poly I.poly C to the reaction mixture. The results were indicative of possible intracellular activation of its isoforms, similar to that in the cells treated with interferon and contaminated with viruses. All the tested preparations of dsRNAs and interferons induced an increase in the activity of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase both in the cytoplasm and the nuclei of human fibroblasts. The same ability was observed in DEAE dextran which is likely to be one of the causes of the increase in dsRNAs antiviral activity under its effect.     

Evaluation of 2,5-oligoadenylate synthetase and protein kinase activities in clinical studies of larifan and recombinant interferon alpha in volunteers

The activity of the interferon-dependent enzymes: 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase and protein kinase was determined in blood specimens of volunteers in the clinical trials on reaferon (recombinant alpha 2-interferon) and larifan (replicate RNA of phage f2). It was shown that the preparations increased the activity of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase in the lymphocytes and protein kinase in the plasma of 60 to 70 per cent of the volunteers. The increase in the 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activity did not always correlate with the increase in the interferon content in the serum and was sometimes observed in the absence of the interferon. Marked individual variations in the activity of the enzymes were detected in the volunteers before and after administration of the preparations. The plasma kinase activated by reaferon and larifan phosphorylated proteins with molecular weights of 72 and 30 kD and histones. The effect of reaferon and larifan on the lymphocyte protein kinase activity was determined for the first time. There was a decrease in the enzyme activity under the effect of reaferon which increased after its repeated injections. Unlike the effect of larifan, the inhibitory effect of reaferon was transient. Afterwards, it appeared to be accompanied by a significant increase in the activity of protein kinase in 70 per cent of the volunteers. The dynamics of the changes in the activity of the plasma and lymphocyte protein kinases did not coincide.     

Protein phosphorylation substrates in normal and neoplastic squamous epithelia of the human upper aero-digestive tract

Protein phosphorylation was studied in crude and in protein kinase C (Pk-C)-enriched preparations from squamous cell carcinomas and normal mucosa of the human upper aero-digestive tract. In crude soluble preparations from neoplastic mucosa we found a 5-fold higher basal endogenous phosphorylation when compared to normal mucosa. In particulate fractions the increase was 3-fold. SDS-PAGE and autoradiography of phosphorylated proteins in crude soluble tumor extracts showed bands corresponding to proteins with apparent molecular weights of 18, 37, 40-42, 52, 60, 62 and 90 kDa. In normal mucosa the phosphorylation of these proteins was very low or absent, except for the proteins with molecular weights of 40-42 and 52-55 kDa. Addition of Ca2+ or Ca2+/phospholipids to the reaction mixture caused phosphorylation of additional proteins with apparent molecular weight of 45-50 kDa in soluble preparations of tumors. Cyclic AMP or cGMP had no significant effect on the phosphorylation of endogenous proteins. In the partially purified, Pk-C-enriched fractions the phosphorylation in the presence of Ca2+/phospholipids was distinctly higher in tumors when compared to the phosphorylation observed in normal mucosa, and some phosphorylation substrates were detected only in tumor tissue. In order to find out whether the elevated basal phosphorylation was due to an endogenous activation of protein kinases, different inhibitors of serine/threonine protein kinases were tested. These inhibitors included: heat-stable cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (Pk-A) inhibitor, Pk-A inhibitor peptide (Wiptide), heparin and the Pk-C inhibitors peptide 19-36 and H-7. None of these inhibitors had any significant effect on the basal phosphorylation. In conclusion, our results show the existence of endogenous phosphorylation substrates in human squamous cell carcinomas from the upper aerodigestive tract, and indicates that there is a significantly higher basal and Pk-C specific phosphorylation of endogenous substrates in tumors compared to normal mucosa. This may be of importance for the transformation and altered growth regulation in epithelial tumors.     

Proteins induced by various types of double-stranded RNA and interferon type I in human fibroblasts. Correlation with antiviral activity of the substances]

Protein induction by new antiviral preparations of dsRNAs (larifan, ridostin, rifastin and poly(A).poly(U)) and recombinant beta-interferon in human fibroblasts (M19) was studied. The common gene products: 88, 80, 68, 58, 56, 52, 50 and 26 kD were detected in the spectra of the induced cytoplasmic polypeptides. At the same time the sets of the induced proteins had individual distinctions in various preparations. Induction of the 56-kD protein was more essential in the action of dsRNAs than that of interferon. The antiviral activity of dsRNAs and interferon preparations correlated with a relative increase in the synthesis of proteins with molecular weights of 88, 80 and 58 kD. The study results are in agreement with the fact that the dsRNAs have interferon-independent pathways of antiviral action with participation of 56- and 58-kD protein genes.     

Inhibition of protein synthesis in reticulocyte lysates by a double-stranded RNA component in HeLa mRNA

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) inhibits protein synthesis initiation in rabbit reticulocyte lysates by the activation of a latent dsRNA-dependent cAMP-independent protein kinase which phosphorylates the α-subunit of the eukaryotic initiation factor eIF-2. In this study, we describe a dsRNA-like component which is present in preparations of HeLa mRNA (poly A⁺) isolated from total cytoplasmic RNA. The inhibitory species in the HeLa cytoplasmic mRNA was detected by (a) its ability to inhibit protein synthesis with biphasic kinetics in reticulocyte lysates translating endogenous globin mRNA, and (b) by the inefficient translation of HeLa cytoplasmic mRNA in a nuclease-treated mRNA-dependent reticulocyte lysate. The inhibitory component was characterized as dsRNA by several criteria including (i) the ability to activate the lysate dsRNA-dependent eIF-2α kinase (dsI); (ii) the prevention of both dsI activation and inhibition of protein synthesis by high levels of dsRNA or cAMP; (iii) the reversal of inhibition by eIF-2; and (iv) the inability to inhibit protein synthesis in wheat germ extracts which lack latent dsI. By the same criteria, the putative dsRNA component(s) appears to be absent from preparations of HeLa mRNA isolated exclusively from polyribosomes.     

Amino acid sequence of in vivo phosphorylation sites in the main intrinsic protein (MIP) of lens membranes

The main intrinsic membrane protein of the lens fiber cell, MIP, has been previously shown to be phosphorylated in preparations of lens fragments. Phosphorylation occurred on serine residues near the cytoplasmic C-terminus of the molecule. Since MIP is thought to function as a channel protein in lens plasma membranes, possibly as a cell-to-cell channel protein, phosphorylation could regulate the assembly or gating of these channels. We sought to identify the specific serines which are phosphorylated in order to help identify the kinases involved in regulating MIP function. To this end we purified a peptide fragment from native membranes that had not been subjected to any exogenous kinases or kinase activators. Any phosphorylation detected in these fragments must be due to cellular phosphorylation and thus is termed in vivo phosphorylation. Purified membranes were also phosphorylated with cAMP-dependent protein kinase to determine the mobility of phosphorylated and unphosphorylated MIP-derived peptides on different HPLC columns and to determine possible cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation sites. Lens membranes, which contain 50-60% of the protein as MIP, were digested with lysylendopeptidase C. Peptides were released from the C-terminal region of MIP and a major product of 21-22 kDa remained membrane-associated. Separation of the lysylendopeptidase-C-released peptides on C8 reversed-phase HPLC demonstrated that one of these fragments, corresponding to residues 239-259 in MIP, was partially phosphorylated. The phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated forms of this peptide were separated on QAE HPLC. In vivo phosphorylation sites were found at residues 243 and 245 through phosphoserine modification via ethanethiol and sequence analysis. Phosphorylation was never detected on serine 240. The phosphorylation level of serine 243 could be increased by incubation of membranes with cAMP-dependent protein kinase under standard assay conditions. Other kinases that phosphorylate serines found near acidic amino acids must be responsible for the in vivo phosphorylation demonstrated at serine 245.     

Poly(I-C)-induced Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3)-mediated activation of NFkappa B and MAP kinase is through an interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK)-independent pathway employing the signaling components TLR3-TRAF6-TAK1-TAB2-PKR

Recent studies show that a member of the interleukin-1 (IL-1)/Toll receptor superfamily, Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), recognizes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Because of the similarity in their cytoplasmic domains, IL-1/Toll receptors share signaling components that associate with the IL-1 receptor, including IL-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK), MyD88, and TRAF6. However, we find that, in response to dsRNA, TLR3 can mediate the activation of both NFkappaB and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases in IL-1-unresponsive mutant cell lines, including IRAK-deficient I1A and I3A cells, which are defective in a component that is downstream of IL-1R but upstream of IRAK. These results clearly indicate that TLR3 does not simply share the signaling components employed by the IL-1 receptor. Through biochemical analyses we have identified an IRAK-independent TLR3-mediated pathway. Upon binding of dsRNA to TLR3, TRAF6, TAK1, and TAB2 are recruited to the receptor to form a complex, which then translocates to the cytosol where TAK1 is phosphorylated and activated. The dsRNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is also detected in this signal-induced TAK1 complex. Kinase inactive mutants of TAK1 (TAK1DN) and PKR (PKRDN) inhibit poly(dI.dC)-induced TLR3-mediated NFkappaB activation, suggesting that both of these kinases play important roles in this pathway.     

Regulation of the interleukin 2 receptor complex tyrosine kinase activity in vitro.

Interleukin 2 (IL-2) has been shown to stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of proteins requiring only the p75 beta chain of the IL-2 receptor. Unlike the receptors for epidermal growth factor, insulin, and other growth factors, the p55-alpha and p75-beta chains of the IL-2 receptor have no tyrosine protein kinase domain suggesting that the IL-2 receptor complex activates protein kinases by a unique mechanism. The activation of tyrosine kinases by IL-2 in situ was studied and using a novel methodology has shown tyrosine kinase activity associated with the purified IL-2R complex in vitro. IL-2 stimulated the in situ tyrosine phosphorylation of 97 kDa and 58 kDa proteins which bound to poly(Glu,Tyr)4:1, a substrate for tyrosine protein kinases, suggesting these proteins had characteristics found in almost all tyrosine kinases. IL-2 was found to stimulate tyrosine protein kinase activity in receptor extracts partially purified from human T lymphocytes and the YT cell line. Biotinylated IL-2 was used to precipitate the high-affinity-receptor complex and phosphoproteins associated with it. The data indicated that the 97-kDa and 58-kDa phosphotyrosyl proteins were tightly associated with the IL-2 receptor complex. These proteins were phosphorylated on tyrosine residues by IL-2 stimulation of intact cells and ligand treatment of in vitro receptor extracts. Furthermore, the 97-kDa and 58-kDa proteins were found in streptavidin-agarose/biotinylated IL-2 purified receptor preparations and showed high affinity for tyrosine kinase substrate support matrixes. The experiments suggest that these two proteins are potential candidates for tyrosine kinases involved in the IL-2R complex signal transduction process.     

Simultaneous Protein Expression and Modification: An Efficient Approach for Production of Unphosphorylated and Biotinylated Receptor Tyrosine Kinases by Triple Infection in the Baculovirus Expression System

Protein kinases can adopt multiple protein conformations depending on their activation status. Recently, in drug discovery, a paradigm shift has been initiated, moving from inhibition of fully activated, phosphorylated kinases to targeting the inactive, unphosphorylated forms. For identification and characterization of putative inhibitors, also interacting with the latent kinase conformation outside of the kinase domain, highly purified and homogeneous protein preparations of unphosphorylated kinases are essential. The kinetic parameters of nonphosphorylated kinases cannot be assessed easily by standard kinase enzyme assays as a result of their intrinsic autophosphorylation activity. Kinetic binding rate constants of inhibitor-protein interactions can be measured by biophysical means upon protein immobilization on chips. Protein immobilization can be achieved under mild conditions by binding biotinylated proteins to streptavidin-coated chips, exploiting the strong and highly specific streptavidin–biotin interaction. In the work reported here, the cytoplasmic domains of insulin receptor and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor fused to a biotin ligase recognition sequence were coexpressed individually with the phosphatase YopH and the biotin-protein ligase BirA upon triple infection in insect cells. Tandem affinity purification yielded pure cytoplasmic kinase domains as judged by gel electrophoresis and HPLC. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed the absence of any protein phosphorylation. Coexpression of BirA led to quantitative and site-specific biotinylation of the kinases, which had no influence on the catalytic activity of the kinases, as demonstrated by the identical phosphorylation pattern upon autoactivation and by enzymatic assay. This coexpression approach should be applicable to other protein kinases as well and should greatly facilitate the production of protein kinases in their phosphorylated and unphosphorylated state suitable for enzymatic and biophysical studies.     

Cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinases bound to cytoplasmic and nuclear polyribosomes in non-infected and adenovirus-infected HeLa cells

Cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase activity bound to cytoplasmic and nuclear polyribsomes from non-infected and adenovirus-infected HeLa cells was compared. The enzymes catalysed the incorporation of phosphate from gamma-(32)P-labelled ATP or GTP into acid-precipitable material in the absence of exogenous substrates. Their activity was not affected by cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP and was not inhibited by a cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase-inhibitor protein. The kinases are tightly bound to polyribosomes of either origin from infected and non-infected cells, since treatment with 0.5m-NaCl did not dissociate the activity. The enzymes and the enzyme-associated endogenous substrates of cytoplasmic polyribosomes are significantly different from those of the nucleus, and adenovirus infection of the cells did not alter the nature of the enzymes or the substrates at 18-20h after infection. Nuclear kinases catalysed 3-4-fold more phosphate incorporation than did the cytoplasmic kinases. They did not phosphorylate endogenous substrates in the cytoplasmic preparations, and vice versa, which suggests that such substrates for cytoplasmic and nuclear kinases are specific. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the phosphorylated proteins revealed the presence of a higher number of endogenous substrates in the nuclear preparation. The nuclear kinases phosphorylated all histones from HeLa cells, but the cytoplasmic ones phosphorylated predominantly the histone of mol.wt. 12000. Bovine heart kinase phosphorylated several low-molecular-weight cytoplasmic proteins and no nuclear proteins. With a DEAE-cellulose column either enzyme activity could be resolved into a number of peaks. The substrate specificities of these peaks indicate that there are at least two different forms of the enzyme in each preparation of polyribosomes.     

Control of protein synthesis in human reticulocytes by heme-regulated and double-stranded RNA dependent eIF-2 alpha kinases

Heme-deficiency and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) activate distinct cyclic 3':5'-AMP independent protein kinases (HRI and dsI, respectively) in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. These kinases inhibit protein synthesis by phosphorylating the 38,000 daltons (38K) subunit of the initiation factor eIF-2 (eIF-2 alpha). Using separation techniques to obtain a reticulocyte enriched fraction and reticulocyte-free erythrocytes, we have prepared lysates of these fractions from normal human whole blood. Human reticulocyte-enriched lysates contain the hemin-regulated and dsRNA-dependent protein kinases which inhibit protein synthesis and which phosphorylate rabbit eIF-2 alpha. An endogenous 38K polypeptide which co-migrates with rabbit eIF-2 alpha is also phosphorylated. In contrast, human mature erythrocytes contain little or no heme-regulated or dsRNA-dependent eIF-2 alpha kinase activities which are inhibitory of protein synthesis.     

Protein phosphorylation in normal and neoplastic hepatocytes]

Partially purified preparations of protein kinase were isolated from the cytoplasm and nuclei of rat liver and hepatoma 27 and characterized in terms of their substrate specificity. The protein kinases from normal liver and hepatoma revealed some differences in phosphorylating protein substrates. Hepatoma protein kinases were found to phosphorylate arginine-rich histones (H3, H4); differences in phosphorylation of histone H1 were revealed. Hepatoma protein kinases phosphorylated the C-terminal fragment of histone H1, whereas normal liver protein kinases produced no such effect. It was assumed that the phosphorylation of histone H1 in rapidly dividing and resting cells is operated through different channels.     

The binding of double-stranded RNA and adenovirus VAI RNA to the interferon-induced protein kinase

The protein kinase from human cells dependent on double-stranded (ds) RNA is a 68-kDa protein (p68 kinase), the level of which is enhanced significantly in cells treated with interferon. When activated by low concentrations of dsRNA, the p68 kinase becomes phosphorylated and thereby catalyzes the phosphorylation of the protein-synthesis initiation factor, eIF2. Here, we have purified the p68 kinase to homogeneity using a specific monoclonal antibody to investigate its capacity to bind dsRNA, poly(I).poly(C). Our study suggest that p68 kinase has high- and low-affinity binding sites: the high-affinity binding site is responsible for the activation and the low-affinity binding site for the inhibition of kinase activity. This is in accord with the fact that autophosphorylation of p68 kinase occurs at low concentrations of dsRNA whereas high concentrations of dsRNA inhibit its autophosphorylation. We have also investigated the binding of adenoviral VAI RNA to the purified p68 kinase and have found that the affinity of this binding is lower than that of poly(I).poly(C). We show that VAI RNA can activate or inhibit autophosphorylation of p68 kinase in a dose-dependent manner, i.e. activation at less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml or inhibition at greater than 1 microgram/ml of VAI RNA. In spite of its lower affinity of binding, VAI RNA cannot be displaced by poly(I).poly(C) or reovirus dsRNA. These data confirm our previous results to illustrate that VAI RNA can bind p68 kinase and cause its inactivation irreversably.     

Comparison of polyadenylic acid and oligouridylic acid messenger RNA associated proteins

Various subclasses of messenger ribonucleoprotein particles were prepared from free cytoplasmic and polysome fractions of rat liver on the basis of the homopolymeric content of the constituent RNA's. Two major proteins were evident in the free cytoplasmic preparations: the poly(A)-binding protein was the major constituent of polyadenylated components and a 60 kilodalton protein was the major protein in oligouridylated components. In addition to the poly(A)-binding protein, the polysome fractions contained a 74 kilodalton protein that was present in all subclasses of particles. With both free cytoplasmic and polysome preparations, chromatography on columns of poly(U)-sepharose separated poly-adenylated mRNP's largely on the basis of the length of the poly(A) tract; mRNP's containing short poly(A) tracts (fragment distribution centered on 34 residues) were not retained by the columns, presumably because of the interaction of the poly(A) with poly(A)-binding protein.     

Four different forms of interferon-induced 2',5'-oligo(A) synthetase identified by immunoblotting in human cells

Antibodies against synthetic peptides derived from the cDNA sequence of interferon-induced 2',5'-oligo(A) synthetase, and which immunoprecipitate the native enzyme activity, were found to detect multiple enzyme forms in denaturing electrophoretic immunoblots. In some human cell lines, four different interferon-induced proteins of 40, 46, 67, and 100 kDa were found to react with the same peptide antibodies. Each isolated form was shown to have 2',5'-oligo(A) synthetase activity, but the dependence on double-stranded RNA was markedly different for activation of the individual enzymes. The four enzyme forms also differ in their intracellular localization, on microsomes (100 kDa), in nuclei (67, 46, 40 kDa), and on membrane structures (67 kDa). Plasma membranes from interferon-treated Daudi lymphoblastoid cells are highly enriched in the 67-kDa 2',5'-oligo(A) synthetase form. The 2',5'-oligo(A) synthetase activity induced by interferons in human cells appears, therefore, as a complex multienzyme system.     

Stimulation of factor-dependent myeloid cell lines with interleukin 3 induces tyrosine phosphorylation of several cellular substrates

Interleukin 3 (IL-3) is required for the proliferation of growth factor-dependent myeloid cell lines. To determine the possible signal transduction mechanisms involved in IL-3 growth regulation, we have examined the effects of IL-3 on tyrosine phosphorylation. Using a monoclonal antibody against phosphotyrosine, IL-3 was found to specifically and rapidly induce tyrosine phosphorylation of cytoplasmic proteins of 70, 56, and 38 kDa and a membrane-associated glycoprotein of 140 kDa. Minor and/or variable detected phosphoproteins of 120, 85, 51, and 28 kDa were also seen. Oncogenes encoding tyrosine protein kinases abrogate the requirement of factor-dependent myeloid cells for IL-3. We therefore compared the phosphoprotein profiles of a transformed, IL-3-independent cell line with the IL-3-induced profile. In cells transformed with trk, the 56-, 51-, and 38-kDa cytoplasmic phosphoproteins were constitutively phosphorylated, whereas the 140-kDa phosphoprotein was only phosphorylated in the presence of IL-3. Taken together, these results support a role for tyrosine phosphorylation in the IL-3 signal transduction pathway and suggest that growth factor abrogation by oncogenes encoding tyrosine protein kinases may be due to the phosphorylation of substrates which are normally phosphorylated in response to IL-3.     

Molybdate-stabilized nonactivated glucocorticoid-receptor complexes contain a 90-kDa non-steroid-binding phosphoprotein that is lost on activation

We have used a monoclonal antibody to purify glucocorticoid-receptor complexes from WEHI-7 mouse thymoma cells. Molybdate-stabilized, nonactivated complexes were found to contain two distinct proteins which could be separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing and reducing conditions. One of the proteins, 100 kDa, was labeled when cytosol was incubated with the affinity ligand [3H]dexamethasone 21-mesylate. The second protein, 90 kDa, was not labeled. Several lines of evidence, including Western blot analysis of purified nonactivated complexes, indicate that only the 100-kDa protein is directly recognized by the antibody. The 90-kDa protein appears to be purified as a component of the nonactivated complex due to noncovalent association with the 100-kDa protein. Both the 100-kDa and 90-kDa components of the nonactivated complex become labeled with 35S when cells are grown in medium containing [35S]methionine. Using cells labeled in this manner, we have shown that activated (i.e. DNA-binding) cytosolic complexes, formed by warming either in intact cells or under cell-free conditions, contain only the 100-kDa protein. Complexes extracted from nuclei of warmed cells similarly contain only the 100-kDa protein. These results indicate that the 100-kDa and 90-kDa components of nonactivated complexes separate upon activation. Purification of nonactivated complexes from cells grown in medium containing [32P]orthophosphoric acid indicates that both the 100-kDa and 90-kDa components are phosphoproteins which can be labeled with 32P. Therefore, resolution of the two proteins will be essential in order to determine whether the receptor is dephosphorylated on activation.     

Characterization of dual specificity protein kinase from maize seedlings

A protein kinase of 57 kDa, able to phosphorylate tyrosine in synthetic substrates pol(Glu4,Tyr1) and a fragment of Src tyrosine kinase, was isolated and partly purified from maize seedlings (Zea mays). The protein kinase was able to phosphorylate exogenous proteins: enolase, caseins, histones and myelin basic protein. Amino acid analysis of phosphorylated casein and enolase, as well as of phosphorylated endogenous proteins, showed that both Tyr and Ser residues were phosphorylated. Phosphotyrosine was also immunodetected in the 57 kDa protein fraction. In the protein fraction there are present 57 kDa protein kinase and enolase. This co-purification suggests that enolase can be an endogenous substrate of the kinase. The two proteins could be resolved by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Specific inhibitors of typical protein-tyrosine kinases had essentially no effect on the activity of the maize enzyme. Staurosporine, a nonspecific inhibitor of protein kinases, effectively inhibited the 57 kDa protein kinase. Also, poly L-lysine and heparin inhibited tyrosine phosphorylation by 57 kDa maize protein kinase. The substrate and inhibitor specificities of the 57 kDa maize protein kinase phosphorylating tyrosine indicate that it is a novel plant dual-specificity protein kinase.