Insulin inhibits the cholera-toxin-catalysed ribosylation of a Mr-25000 protein in rat liver plasma membranes.

A method is described for preparing a plasma-membrane fraction from hepatocytes by a rapid, gentle, Percoll fractionation procedure. Cholera toxin elicited the ribosylation of a number of proteins in these membranes, including the components of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein, Ns. Insulin, however, inhibited the ability of cholera toxin to ribosylate a protein of Mr 25 000. The action was decreased in membranes from cells that had been pre-treated with glucagon. Ribosylation of both the components of Ns and the Mr-25 000 species occurred in whole cells treated with cholera toxin, because membranes from such treated cells exhibited decreased labelling when incubated with [32P]NAD+ and activated cholera toxin. The labelling of proteins, including the Mr-25 000 species, with [32P]NAD+ and cholera toxin in the plasma membranes was decreased by an inhibitor of ribosylation. Azido-GTP photoaffinity labelling identified several high-affinity GTP-binding proteins, including one of Mr 25 000. Cholera toxin failed to ribosylate the Mr-25 000 protein in membranes from cells that had been pre-treated with the tumour-promoting agent 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). In membranes from such treated cells, insulin actually allowed cholera toxin to label this species. As TPA activates protein kinase C, it is possible that the Mr-25 000 protein, or a species that interacts with it, is a substrate for phosphorylation. These observations may offer an explanation for some of the perturbing effects that TPA exerts on insulin's action. It is suggested that the insulin receptor interacts with the guanine nucleotide regulatory protein system in the liver, and that the Mr-25 000 species may be a component of Nin, a specific guanine nucleotide regulatory protein that has been proposed to mediate certain of the actions of insulin on target cells [Houslay & Heyworth (1983) Trends Biochem. Sci. 8, 449-452].     

Photolabelling of cholera toxin by NAD+.

When cholera toxin is incubated under u.v. light with NAD+ labelled in either the adenine or the nicotinamide moiety, radioactivity becomes covalently bound to the protein. The reaction is specific for cholera toxin, and is inhibited by excess unlabelled NAD+ or NAD analogues. Only the active A 1 chain of the toxin is labelled. The u.v.-absorption spectrum of the product is very similar to that of NAD+, and shows the same reaction with cyanide. The nature of the product is therefore different from that found when diphtheria toxin is photolabelled [Carroll & Collier (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 3307-3311] in that the yield is lower, but both moieties of the NAD molecule become bound.     

Binding of NAD+ by cholera toxin.

1. The Km for NAD+ of cholera toxin working as an NAD+ glycohydrolase is 4 mM, and this is increased to about 50 mM in the presence of low-Mr ADP-ribose acceptors. Only molecules having both the adenine and nicotinamide moieties of NAD+ with minor alterations in the nicotinamide ring can be competitive inhibitors of this reaction. 2. This high Km for NAD+ is also reflected in the dissociation constant, Kd, which was determined by a variety of methods. 3. Results from equilibrium dialysis were subject to high error, but showed one binding site and a Kd of about 3 mM. 4. The A1 peptide of the toxin is digested by trypsin, and this digestion is completely prevented by concentrations of NAD+ above 50 mM. Measurement (by densitometric scanning of polyacrylamide-gel electrophoretograms) of the rate of tryptic digestion at different concentrations of NAD+ allowed a more accurate determination of Kd = 4.0 +/- 0.4 mM. Some analogues of NAD+ that are competitive inhibitors of the glycohydrolase reaction also prevented digestion.     

Evidence for a rabbit luteal ADP-ribosyltransferase activity which appears to be capable of activating adenylyl cyclase.

1. An ADP-ribosyltransferase activity which appears to be capable of activating adenylyl cyclase was identified in a plasma membrane fraction from rabbit corpora lutea and partially characterized by comparing the properties of the luteal transferase with those of cholera toxin. 2. Incubation of luteal membranes in the presence of GTP and varying concentrations of NAD resulted in concentration-dependent increases in adenylyl cyclase activity. 3. Stimulation of adenylyl cyclase by NAD and cholera toxin plus NAD was observed in the presence of GTP but not in the presence of guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) or guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate. 4. NAD or cholera toxin plus NAD reduced the Kact values for luteinizing hormone to activate adenylyl cyclase 3- to 3.5-fold. 5. NAD or cholera toxin plus NAD increased the extent to which cholate extracts from luteal membranes were able to reconstitute adenylyl cyclase activity in S49 cyc- mouse lymphoma membranes. 6. It was necessary to add ADP-ribose and arginine to the incubation mixture in order to demonstrate cholera toxin-specific ADP-ribosylation of a protein corresponding to the alpha subunit of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory component (alpha Gs). 7. Treatment of luteal membranes with NAD prior to incubation in the presence of [32P]NAD plus cholera toxin resulted in reduced labeling of alpha Gs. 8. Endogenous ADP-ribosylation of alpha Gs was enhanced by Mg but was not altered by guanine nucleotide, NaF or luteinizing hormone and was inhibited by cAMP. 9. Incubation of luteal membranes in the presence of [32P]ADP-ribose in the absence and presence of cholera toxin did not result in the labeling of any membrane proteins.     

ADP-ribosylation of thylakoid membrane polypeptides by cholera toxin is correlated with inhibition of thylakoid GTPase activity and protein phosphorylation

Incubation of pea thylakoid membranes with [32P]-NAD+ in the presence of cholera toxin resulted in the [32P]-ADP-ribosylation of a 60 kDa thylakoid membrane polypeptide. When ATP was included in the incubation mixture, a 29 kDa polypeptide was also labelled. In the absence of electron transfer cofactors or inhibitors, the extent of labelling depended on whether the membranes were preincubated in the light or dark and also on the developmental stage of the leaves used for thylakoid isolation. Irrespective of the latter, the strongest labelling was observed when DCMU was present in the light. After pretreatment of the thylakoid membranes with cholera toxin plus NAD+ under the same conditions, light-stimulated GTPase activity and protein phosphorylation were inhibited. The extent of inhibition for both processes appeared to be correlated with the amount of [32P]-ADP-ribosylation found when [32P]-NAD+ was included in the pretreatment mixture. The data presented are fully consistent with the 60 and 29 kDa polypeptides functioning as thylakoid membrane associated guanine nucleotide binding regulatory proteins.     

Stimulation by cholera toxin of ADP-ribosylation of membrane proteins, adenylate cyclase and insulin release in pancreatic islets

In rat pancreatic islet membranes exposed to [alpha-32P]NAD, cholera toxin stimulated the labelling of three peptides with Mr close to 22 000, 42 000 and 48 000, respectively. In the islets, the toxin-stimulated ADP-ribosylation of the heavy form of the Ns alpha-subunit predominated over that of the light form, in mirror image of the situation found in the exocrine pancreas. When intact islets were preincubated with cholera toxin, the adenylate cyclase activity of a subcellular particulate fraction was increased. The responsiveness of adenylate cyclase to GTP was also augmented, but that to NaF was decreased. In intact islets, the production of cyclic AMP and the glucose-stimulated release of insulin were also enhanced after pretreatment with cholera toxin. These findings reveal the presence in pancreatic islets of the guanyl nucleotide regulatory protein of adenylate cyclase, with an unusual predominance of the heavy form of the Ns alpha-subunit.     

Studies on the time course and rate-limiting steps in the activation of adenylate cyclase in rat liver by cholera toxin.

Cholera toxin stimulates adenylate cyclase in rat liver after intravenous injection. The stimulation follows a short latent period of 10min, and maximum stimulation was attained at 120min. Half-maximal stimulation was achieved at 35min. In contrast with this lengthy time course in the intact cell, adenylate cyclase in broken-cell preparations of rat liver in vitro were maximally stimulated by cholera toxin (in the presence of NAD+) in 20min with half-maximal stimulation in 8min. Binding of cholera toxin to cell membranes by the B subunits is followed by translocation of the A subunit into the cell or cell membrane, and separation of the A1 polypeptide chain from the A2 chain by disulphide-bond reduction, and finally activation of adenylate cyclase by the A1 chain and NAD+. As the binding of cholera toxin is rapid, two possible rate-limiting steps could be the determinants of the long time course of action. These are translocation of the A1 chain from the outside of the cell membrane to its site of action (this includes the time required for separation from the whole toxin) or the availability of NAD+ for activation. When NAD+ concentrations in rat liver were elevated 4-fold, by the administration of nicotinamide, no change in the rate of activation of adenylate cyclase by cholera toxin was observed. Thus the intracellular concentration of NAD+ is not rate-limiting and the major rate-limiting determinant in intact cells must be between the time of toxin binding to the cell membrane and the appearance of subunit A1 at the enzyme site.     

Inhibition of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of cholera toxin by MDL 12330A and chlorpromazine

ADP-ribosylation by cholera toxin of the guanine nucleotide binding regulatory protein (Gs) of rat liver membrane adenylate cyclase was inhibited by 0.1-1 mM MDL 12330A or 0.1-1 mM chlorpromazine. Basal as well as cholera toxin activated adenylate cyclase activity in liver membranes was also inhibited by the two drugs. NAD glycohydrolase activity and self-ADP-ribosylation of cholera toxin were also inhibited by MDL 12330A and chlorpromazine. These effects of MDL 12330A and chlorpromazine may be related to their effects on cholera toxin-induced fluid secretion in vivo.     

ADP-ribosylation of bovine S-antigen by cholera toxin

The S-antigen (alias 48K protein or arrestin) of bovine rod photoreceptors contains two stretches of amino acid sequence homologous to the ADP-ribosylation sites of the alpha subunit of transducin (Ta). We have found that cholera toxin transfers the ADP-ribosyl group from NAD to purified bovine S-antigen as well as to S-antigen in rod outer segment membranes, while Bordetella pertussis toxin is unable to catalyze the transfer reaction efficiently. Under the same conditions, both toxins catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Ta in rod outer segments. The ADP-ribosylation of S-antigen by cholera toxin indicates that S-antigen not only exhibits sequence homology with the ADP-ribosylation sites of Ta, but it must also resemble Ta in the tertiary structure of the domain which determines the susceptibility of S-antigen to the catalytic action of cholera toxin. These results suggest that S-antigen may function as a competitor of Ta in some stage of the cGMP cascade of visual transduction.     

Influence of bacterial toxins and forskolin upon vasopressin-induced inositol phosphate accumulation in WRK 1 cells.

The accumulation of inositol phosphates in WRK 1 cells, stimulated with a range of vasopressin concentrations, was diminished by prior exposure to cholera toxin or forskolin, whilst that observed in the presence of maximal concentrations of the hormone was enhanced in pertussis-toxin-treated cells. In the presence of [32P]NAD+, both cholera toxin and pertussis toxin provoked the labelling of peptides with approximate Mrs of 45,000 and 41,000 respectively in the membranes of WRK 1 cells. Exposure to cholera toxin or forskolin for 15-18 h enhanced cyclic AMP accumulation in these cells. The concentrations of these agents which provoked half-maximal cyclic AMP accumulation were similar to those required to diminish receptor-mediated inositol phosphate accumulation by 50%. In contrast, half-maximal ADP-ribosylation of the 45,000Mr peptide needed 100-fold greater concentrations of the toxin than were effective in provoking half-maximal inhibition of inositol phosphate accumulation. Cholera toxin or forskolin also reduced the maximal specific binding, to intact WRK 1 cells, of both [3H][Arg8]vasopressin and the V1a antagonist [3H][beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid,O-methyl-Tyr2, Arg8]vasopressin. The kinetics for the loss of this binding capacity following cholera-toxin treatment were very similar to those describing the diminution of vasopressin-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation in the same cells.     

Enzymic activity of cholera toxin. I. New method of assay and the mechanism of ADP-ribosyl transfer.

We tested various methods of assaying the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of cholera toxin using artificial acceptors of the ADP-ribosyl group. Any of several proteins or poly(L-arginine) could be used with [adenine-14C]NAD+ as ADP-ribosyl donor, but this method was not ideal because of the heterogeneity of potential acceptor groups and the necessity of using costly labeled NAD+. We, therefore, developed an alternative assay using a synthetic low molecular weight acceptor, 125I-N-guanyltyramine (125I-GT). 125I-GT was specifically ADP-ribosylated by thiol-treated cholera toxin or its A1 peptide in the presence of beta-NAD. ADP-ribosyl-125I-GT was quantified after separation from unreacted 125I-GT by batch absorption of the latter to cation exchange resins. Analysis of the kinetics of ADP-ribosylation of 125I-GT indicated that the reaction proceeds by a sequential rather than a ping-pong mechanism. The Km values for NAD+ and 125I-GT were 3.6 mM and 44 microM, respectively. L-Arginine was a competitive inhibitor of 125I-GT (KI = 75 mM), but was at least 1000-fold less active than 125I-GT as an ADP-ribose acceptor.     

Computer modelling of the NAD binding site of ADP-ribosylating toxins: active-site structure and mechanism of NAD binding

Five ADP-ribosylating bacterial toxins, pertussis toxin, cholera toxin, diphtheria toxin, Escherichia LT toxin and Pseudomonas exotoxin A, show significant homology in selected segments of their sequence. Site-directed mutagenesis and chemical modification of residues within these regions cause loss of catalytic activity and of NAD binding. On the basis of these results and of molecular modelling based on the three-dimensional structure of exotoxin A, the geometry of an NAD binding site common to all the toxins is deduced and described in the paper. For diphtheria toxin, sequence similarity with exotoxin A is such that its preliminary structure can be computed by molecular modelling, whereas for the other toxins similarity appears to be restricted to the NAD binding site. Moreover, an analysis of molecular fitting of the NAD molecule into its binding cavity suggests a new model for the conformation of the bound NAD that better accounts for all available experimental information.     

Essential role of GTP in the expression of adenylate cyclase activity after cholera toxin treatment.

Expression of activation of rat liver adenylate cyclase by the A1 peptide of cholera toxin and NAD is dependent on GTP. The nucleotide is effective either when added to the assay medium or during toxin (and NAD) treatment. Toxin treatment increases the Vmax for activation by GTP and the effect of GTP persists in toxin-treated membranes, a property seen in control membranes only with non-hydrolyzable analogs of GTP such as Gpp(NH)p. These observations could be explained by a recent report that cholera toxin acts to inhibit a GTPase associated with denylate cyclase. However, we have observed that one of the major effects of the toxin is to decrease the affinity of guanine nucleotides for the processes involved in the activation of adenylate cyclase and in the regulation of the binding of glucagon to its receptor. Moreover, the absence of lag time in the activation of adenylate cyclase by GTP, in contrast to by Gpp(NH)p, and the markedly reduced fluoride action after toxin treatment suggest that GTPase inhibition may not be the only action of cholera toxin on the adenylate cyclase system. We believe that the multiple effects of toxin action is a reflection of the recently revealed complexity of the regulation of adenylate cyclase by guanine nucleotides.     

Cholera toxin can catalyze ADP-ribosylation of cytoskeletal proteins

Cholera toxin catalyzes transfer of radiolabel from [32P]NAD+ to several peptides in particulate preparations of human foreskin fibroblasts. Resolution of these peptides by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis allowed identification of two peptides of Mr = 42,000 and 52,000 as peptide subunits of a regulatory component of adenylate cyclase. The radiolabeling of another group of peptides (Mr = 50,000 to 65,000) suggested that cholera toxin could catalyze ADP-ribosylation of cytoskeletal proteins. This suggestion was confirmed by showing that incubation with cholera toxin and [32P]NAD+ caused radiolabeling of purified microtubule and intermediate filament proteins.     

CHOLERA TOXIN

1. Death in several infectious diseases is caused by protein toxins secreted by invading bacteria. Cholera toxin is a simple protein secreted by Vibrio cholerae colonizing the gut; it is responsible for the massive diarrhoea that is cholera. 2. The primary action of cholera toxin is an activation of adenylate cyclase, an enzyme found on the inner membrane of eukaryotic cells that catalyses the conversion of ATP to cyclic AMP. Consequent increases in the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP are responsible for other manifestations of cholera toxin including the diarrhoea. The toxin is active on almost all eukaryotic cells. 3. The toxin can be purified from culture filtrates of V. cholera. It has a molecular weight of 82000; and is composed of one subunit A (itself two polypeptide chains joined by a disulphide bond: AI (22000) and A2 (5000)) and five subunits B (11500). These can be separated in dissociating solvents such as detergents or 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. An amino-acid sequence of subunit B has been published. The five B subunits (sometimes found by themselves in the filtrate and known as ‘choleragenoid’) are probably arranged in a ring with the subunit A in the middle joined to them non-covalently by peptide A2. 4. The first action of cholera toxin on a cell is to bind to the membrane strongly and irreversibly. Several thousand molecules of toxin bind to each cell and the binding constants are of the order of 10^-10 M. The binding is rapid, but is followed by a lag phase of about an hour before the intracellular cyclic AMP concentration begins to increase. 5. Ganglioside G_M1, a complex amphiphilic lipid found in cell membranes, binds tightly to the toxin which shows an enzyme-like specificity for this particular ganglioside. Toxin that has already bound ganglioside can no longer bind to cells and is therefore inactive. This and other experiments using cells depleted of endogenous ganglioside suggest that ganglioside G_M1 is the natural receptor of the toxin on the cell surface. The binding is followed by a lateral movement of the toxin-ganglioside complex in the cell surface forming a ‘cap’ at one pole of the cell. 6. The binding of ganglioside by toxin is a function exclusively of subunit B; Subunit A does not bind and can be eluted with 8 M urea from an insolubilized toxin-ganglioside complex. Subunit B is not by itself active, and so preincubation with B can protect cells or even whole gut from the action of toxin by occupying all the ganglioside binding sites. 7. Subunit A is responsible for activation of adenylate cyclase. Purified subunit A or just peptide AI is active by itself and this activity is not inhibited by ganglioside or by antisera to subunit B. In intact cells the activity is low and shows the characteristic lag phase but in lysed cells the subunit (or the whole toxin) is much more active and there is no lag phase. This suggests that the lag phase represents the time that subunit A takes to cross the cell membrane and get to its target. 8. Several cofactors are needed for toxin activity in lysed cells: NAD+, ATP, sulphydryl compounds and another unidentified cytoplasmic component. The activity of the cyclase is altered in a complex way generally rather similarly to the action of hormones such as adrenalin, but it is difficult to draw any general conclusions. 9. There are two chief theories of how cholera toxin acts. The first is that subunit A (or just peptide AI) enters the cell and there catalyses some reaction leading to activation of the cyclase. The cleavage of NAD+ into nicotinamide and adenosine diphosphoribose could be such a reaction; it is catalysed by high concentrations of cholera toxin. 10. The other theory is that part of the toxin binds directly to the adenylate cyclase or to some other molecule that can then interact with the cyclase, perhaps after the lateral movement of the toxin-ganglioside complex in the cell surface. This binding may be related to the known action of guanyl nucleotides on the cell surface. 11. The entry of peptide AI into the cell and its transport through the membrane is mediated by the binding of subunits B to the cell surface, perhaps just because the binding increases the local concentration of subunit A, or perhaps following specific conformational changes in the subunits and the formation of a tunnel of B subunits through the membrane. An experiment showing that the toxin remains active when the subunits are covalently bonded together suggests that peptide AI does not separate completely from the rest of the molecule. 12. There are several other proteins that resemble cholera toxin in structure and function. For example, glycoprotein hormones such as thyrotrophin also activate adenylate cyclase and have an apparently similar subunit structure with one type of subunit that binds to a ganglioside. There may also be analogies between the amino-acid sequences of toxin and hormones. 13. The enterotoxin made by some strains of Escherichia coli produces a similar diarrhoea to that of cholera. Several different toxic proteins have been prepared but they all seem to activate adenylate cyclase in the same sort of way as cholera toxin does and also to cross-react immunologically with it. The E. coli toxin also reacts with ganglioside G, but the reaction is weak and probably physiologically insignificant. Salmonella typhimurium secretes a similar toxin. 14. Tetanus toxin also reacts with a ganglioside receptor. This protein has two polypeptide chains of which only one reacts with the ganglioside; but the molecular activity is not yet known. 15. Diphtheria toxin has an A fragment that is directly responsible for the toxicity (by catalysing an NAD+ cleavage reaction leading to the total inhibition of protein synthesis) and a B fragment that gets the A fragment into the cells. This structure of active and binding components therefore seems to be common to many toxins. 16. The ability to produce toxin may confer some selective advantage on V. cholerae. The toxin may originate from accidental incorporation of DNA from an eukaryotic host, or alternatively from some material involved with the cyclic AMP metabolism of the bacterium.     

ADP-ribosylation of membrane proteins and activation of adenylate cyclase by cholera toxin in fat cell ghosts from euthyroid and hypothyroid rats.

Incubation of fat cell ghosts with activated cholera toxin, nucleoside triphosphate, cytosol, and NAD results in increased adenylate cyclase activity and the transfer of ADP-ribose to membrane proteins. The major ADP-ribose protein comigrates on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels with the putative GTP-binding protein of pigeon erythrocyte membranes (Mr 42 000), which is also ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin. The treatment with cholera toxin enhances the stimulation of the fat cell membrane adenylate cyclase by GTP, but the stimulation by guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate is unaltered. Subsequent stimulation of fat cell adenylate cyclase by 10 micrometers epinephrine is not particularly affected. These changes were qualititatively the same for membranes isolated from fat cells of hypothyroid rats. Although the cyclase of these membranes has a reduced response to epinephrine, guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate or GTP, as compared to euthyroid rat fat cell membranes, the defect is not rectified by toxin treatment and cannot be explained by a deficiency in the cholera toxin target.     

A-protein catalyzes the ADP-ribosylation of G-protein from cow rod outer segments

A 20-kilodalton adenosine nucleotide-binding protein (A-protein) extracted from rod outer segments is shown to catalyze the cholera toxin-mediated ADP-ribosylation of GTP-binding protein (G-protein) from the outer segment. Radiolabel from [adenylate-32P] NAD+ was associated specifically with both the alpha-subunit of G-protein and with A-protein in the presence of activated cholera toxin. In the absence of added A-protein, G-protein appears to undergo ADP-ribosylation at a slower rate. In the absence of G-protein, A-protein was found to be labeled following incubation with [adenylate-32P]NAD+ and cholera toxin. In the presence of G-protein, a light-dependent component of A-protein labeling was observed. A-protein is a labile component of rod outer segments and has an affinity for ADP. The findings suggest that A-protein may act as an ADP-ribosyltransferase in the cholera toxin-mediated ADP-ribosylation of G-protein.     

Thyrotropin effect on the availability of Ni regulatory protein in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells to ADP-ribosylation by pertussis toxin

Incubation of FRTL-5 rat thyroid cell membranes with [32P]NAD and pertussis toxin results in the specific ADP-ribosylation of a protein of about 40 kDa. This protein has the same molecular mass of the alpha i subunit of the adenylate cyclase regulatory protein Ni and is distinct from proteins ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin in the same membranes. Prior treatment of FRTL-5 cells with pertussis toxin results in the ADP-ribosylation of Ni, as indicated by the loss of the toxin substrate in the ADP-ribosylation assay performed with membranes prepared from such cells. Preincubation of FRTL-5 cells with thyrotropin causes the same loss; cholera toxin has no such effect. Pertussis toxin, as do thyrotropin and cholera toxin, increases cAMP levels in FRTL-5 cells. Forskolin together with thyrotropin, cholera toxin or pertussis toxin causes a further increase in cAMP levels. Pertussis toxin and thyrotropin are not additive in their ability to increase adenylate cyclase activity, whereas both substances are additive with cholera toxin. A role of Ni in the thyrotropin regulation of the adenylate cyclase activity in thyroid cells is proposed.     

Determination of the kinetic mechanism of arginine-specific ADP-ribosyltransferases using a high performance liquid chromatographic assay

A high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the assay of arginine-specific ADP-ribosyl transferases. The assay utilizes L-arginine methyl ester (LAME) as the acceptor substrate. ADP-ribosylated-LAME is separated from the reaction mixture using a C-8 reversed-phase column. Before injection, the assay mixture is derivatized with an orthophthaldialdehyde/2-mercaptoethanol reagent. Fluorescence detection of the orthophthaldialdehyde-derivatized product provides excellent sensitivity and a limit of detection of less than 100 fmol. The kinetic mechanism of two arginine-specific ADP-ribosyltransferases, cholera toxin A subunit and an endogenous transferase from rabbit skeletal muscle, were both determined to be random sequential. The kinetic studies utilized 3-aminobenzamide and NG-monomethylarginine as competitive inhibitors for NAD and LAME, respectively. Cholera toxin was reported to have Km values of 5.6 and 39 mM for NAD and LAME, respectively. Km values of 0.56 and 1.2 mM were determined for NAD and LAME, respectively, using the transferase from rabbit skeletal muscle.     

The activation of adenylate cyclase from small intestinal epithelium by cholera toxin

ADP-ribosylation of membrane proteins from rabbit small intestinal epithelium was investigated following incubation of membranes with [32P]NAD and cholera toxin. Cholera toxin catalyzes incorporation of 32P into three proteins of 40 kDA, 45 kDa and 47 kDa located in the brush-border membrane. In contrast, basal lateral membranes do not contain any protein which becomes labeled in a toxin-dependent manner when incubated with cholera toxin and [32P]NAD. The modification of membrane proteins from brush border occurred in spite of the virtual absence in these membranes of adenylate cyclase activatable either by cholera toxin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) or fluoride. The three agents activated adenylate cyclase when crude plasma membrane were used. Cholera toxin activated fivefold at 10 micrograms/ml. Vasoactive intestinal peptide activated at concentrations from 10-300 nM, the maximal stimulation being sixfold. Fluoride activated 10-fold at 10 mM. When basal lateral membranes were assayed for adenylate cyclase it was found that, with respect to the crude membranes, the specific activity of fluoride-activated enzyme was 3.3-fold higher, VIP stimulated enzyme was maintained while cholera-toxin-stimulated enzyme showed half specific activity. Moreover, while fluoride stimulated ninefold and VIP stimulated fivefold, cholera toxin only stimulated twofold at the highest concentration. The results suggest that the activation by cholera toxin of adenylate cyclase located at the basal lateral membrane requires ADPribosylation of proteins in the brush border membrane.