Independent modulation of hepatic protein kinase activities.

The effects of hormonal status on protein kinase activity was examined in homogenates of rat liver. Protein kinase activity was evaluated from incorporation of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP into protamine or histone as receptor substrates. Protamine phosphorylation in the presence or absence of cyclic AMP exceeded histone phosphorylation by at least a factor or two. Hypophysectomy markedly increased protamine phosphorylation in the presence or absence of saturating amounts of cyclic AMP. In contrast, hypophysectomy only slightly increased cyclic AMP independent phosphorylation of histone. These results could not be amounted for by differences in ATPase or protein phosphase activities. Cortisone (2 mg/day x 3) decreased total protein kinase activity in livers of hypophysectomized rats when protamine was substrate, but had no effect on the total activity toward histone. Growth hormone (100 mug/day x 3) significantly increased histone, but not protamine phosphorylation in livers of hypophysectomized rats. Administration of 5 mug of triiodothyonine/day to hypophysectomized rats also markedly increased the phosphorylation of histone, but not protamine when saturating amounts of cyclic AMP were present. These results support the hypothesis that liver may contain more than one type of protein kinase activity and that the different protein kinase activities can be separately affected by hormones. Such control distal to cyclic AMP might allow selective modulation of cyclic AMP-dependent processes in cells which carry out more than one such process.     

Adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic phosphate-dependent and -independent protein kinases of renal brush border membranes: Solubilization,separation, and characterization of multiple forms

Multiple protein kinase activities were found in the luminal segment of the renal proximal tubule cell plasma membrane (brush border membrane). Membranes were extracted with Lubrol, with no loss in activity, and the extract was chromatographed on diethylaminoethyl cellulose with a salt gradient. With protamine as substrate, activity eluted in two peaks, designated I and IIb, and was cyclic AMP independent. With histone VII-S, one peak, designated IIa, appeared, which eluted slightly ahead of IIb and was cyclic AMP dependent. The three activities eluted in their original patterns following rechromatography. Histone kinase activity in the combined IIa+b fraction was stimulated threefold by cyclic nucleotides (K_a = 0.013 and 0.94 μM for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP, respectively) by increasing V. Cyclic AMP binding activity eluted with histone kinase activity. Rechromatography of IIa+b on diethylaminoethyl cellulose containing 1 μm cyclic AMP resulted in passage through the column of most of the histone kinase activity (IIa) prior to the salt gradient, but retention of kinase IIb, which again eluted in its original position. Characterization of the separated enzymes revealed that kinase I was highly specific for protamine and totally insensitive to cyclic AMP and a specific protein inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent kinases. Kinase IIa was relatively specific for histones and was completely inhibited by the protein inhibitor. Kinase IIb was nonspecific, catalyzing phosphorylation of protamine, casein, histones, and phosvitin in decreasing order of activity, and was insensitive to cyclic AMP and the protein inhibitor. Exposure of intact brush border membranes to elevated temperatures revealed that phosphorylation of intrinsic membrane proteins and protamine was thermolabile, whereas cyclic AMP-dependent histone kinase activity was relatively thermostable. These findings implicate cyclic AMP-independent protamine kinases in the cyclic AMP-independent autophosphorylation of the brush border membrane.     

Properties of epinephrine-induced activation of cardiac adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase

The effects of epinephrine on cyclic AMP content and protein kinase activity were examined in an in situ rat heart preparation. Bolus injection of epinephrine into the superior vena cava caused an increase in the activity ratio (—cyclic AMP/+cyclic AMP) of 12 000 × g supernatant protein kinase. The increase was significant within 5 s and maximal in 10 s. Epinephrine produced a dose-dependent increase in both protein kinase activity ratio and cyclic AMP content. The increases in both parameters exhibited a high degree of correlation. The increase in protein kinase activity ratio observed with low doses of epinephrine (less than or equal to 1 μg/kg) resulted from an increase in independent protein kinase activity (—cyclic 2 AMP) without a change in total protein observ activity (+cyclic AMP). However, the increase in the activity ratio observed with higher doses of epinephrine (greater than 1 μg/kg) was due mainly to a decrease in total protein kinase activity rather than a further increase in independent protein kinase activity. The loss of supernatant total protein kinase activity could be accounted for by an increase in activity associated with particulate fractions obtained from the homogenates. A similar redistribution of protein kinase could be demonstrated by the addition of cyclic AMP to homogenates prepared from hearts not stimulated with epinephrine. These results demonstrate that epinephrine over a wide dose range produces a parallel increase in the content of cyclic AMP and the activation of soluble protein kinase. The findings also suggest that protein kinase translocation to particulate material may depend on the degree of epinephrine-induced enzyme activation.     

Effect of parathyroid hormone and cyclic AMP on protein phosphorylation in rabbit kidney cortex

Suspensions of renal cortical tubules were incubated with ³³P_i and exposed to parathyroid hormone (40 μg/ml) or 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP. In other experiments homogenates of renal cortex were assayed for protein kinase and phosphoprotein phosphatase activity using [γ-³²P]ATP with or without 5 mM cyclic AMP. Proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and phosphorylation of proteins measured by liquid scintillation counting of gel slices. The pattern of protein phosphorylation was similar in control tissue from both tubule suspensions and homogenates. In intact tubules, parathyroid hormone stimulated the phosphorylation of four proteins with molecular weights of approx. 1500 000, 125 000, 100 000 and 50 000 by 28%, 24%, 13%, and 20%, respectively. Results with dibutyryl cyclic AMP were comparable but more variable. Stimulation of phosphorylation by cyclic AMP in homogenates was more generalized with the major effect on a 50 000 dalton protein (50% stimulation). No effect of cyclic AMP on dephosphorylation of proteins was observed. The results are interpreted as indicating that increased phosphorylation of cell proteins is part of the cyclic AMP-mediated response of the renal cortex to parathyroid hormone.     

Phosphorylation of keratin polypeptides

The phosphorylation of keratin polypeptides was examined in calf snout epidermis. When slices of epidermis were incubated in the medium containing ³²P_i, the radioactivity was incorporated into several proteins. The predominant phosphorylated proteins migrated in SDS-polyacrylamide gels with apparent molecular weight between 49000 and 69000 and coincided with keratin polypeptides. The extent of keratin phosphorylation was not altered in the presence of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or reagents which elevate intracellular cyclic AMP. When homogenates of epidermis were incubated with [γ-³²P]ATP, keratin polypeptides were the predominant species phosphorylated as was also observed in epidermal slices. The presence of cyclic AMP or heat-stable inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the reaction mixture did not affect the phosphorylation of keratin polypeptides, although the phosphorylation of exogenously-added histone was stimulated and inhibited, respectively, by these additions. Keratin polypeptides extracted from calf snout epidermis by 8 M urea were phosphorylated by incubation with [γ-³²P]ATP and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase form calf snout epidermis or bovine heart. No proteins were phosphorylated without the addition of the enzymes. The presence of cyclic AMP in the reaction mixture stimulated the keratin phosphorylation, and further addition of heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor reduced this stimulation.     

Distribution subcellulaire des protéine-kinases stimulables par l'AMP cyclique et des protéines réceptrices de l'AMP cyclique dans la thyroïde de porc

The distribution of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity in porcine thyroid glands has been studied. Enzyme activity catalyzing phosphorylation of exogenous substrate (protamine) from ATP, and cyclic AMP binding were determined in parallel in subcellular fractions purified by differential centrifugation and flotation on sucrose density layers. Both activities were found in all the studied fractions; they were quantitatively the highest in the cytosol but particles showed the highest specific activities.Latent protein-kinase activity was unmasked by action of detergents on microsomes (× 5–10 fold) and solubilized (85 to 99 p. cent of the initial total activity). Cyclic AMP binding capacity was also recovered in detergent-treated microsomal extracts in spite of reduced cyclic AMP binding in the presence of detergent.Protein kinase activity and cyclic AMP-binding proteins were less represented in purified nuclei than in microsomes. Again both activities were unmasked by detergent.Preparations highly enriched in Golgi membranes were compared to rough microsomal preparations. Higher protein kinase activity was detected in rough microsomes as compared to Golgi membranes, whereas the reverse was true for cyclic AMP binding. Both activities were equalized after detergent treatment. Since unmasking of protein kinase activity was the highest in Golgi membranes, this fraction contains more enzyme activity and cyclic AMP binding capacity than rough microsomes.The localization of endogeneous protein substrates of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases was investigated using purified soluble protein kinase subcellular fractions. The better endogeneous substrates seemed to be localized in the rough microsomal and in the nuclear fractions.     

An adenosine 3':5' monophosphate dependent protein kinase from sea urchin spermatozoa.

A cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37) from sea urchin sperm as purified to near homogeneity and characterized. A 68-fold purification of the enzyme was obtained. This preparation had a specific activity of 389 000 units/mg protein with protamine as the substrate. On the basis of the purification required, it may be calculated that the protein kinase constitutes as much as 1.5% of the soluble protein in sperm. There appeared to be a single form of the enzyme in sea urchin sperm, based on the behavior of the enzyme during DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-200 column chromatography. Magnesium ion was required for enzyme activity. The rate of phosphorylation of protamine was stimulated 2.5-fold by an optimal concentration of 0.9 M NaCl. The Km for ATP (minus cyclic AMP) was 0.119 +/- 0.013 (S.D.) and 0.055 mM +/- 0.009 (S.D.) in the presence of cyclic AMP. The specificity of the enzyme toward protein acceptors, in decreasing order of phosphorylation, was found to be histone f1 protamine, histone f2b, histone f3 and histone f2a; casein and phosvitin were not phosphorylated. The holoenzyme was found to have an apparent molecular weight of 230 000 by Sephadex G-200 chromatography. In the presence of 5 - 10(-6) M cyclic AMP, the holoenzyme was dissociated on Sephadex G-200 to a regulatory subunit of molecular weight 165 000 and a catalytic subunit of Mr 73 000. The dissociation could also be demonstrated by disc gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of cyclic AMP.     

ACTIVITY OF CYCLIC AMP-DEPENDENT MICROSOMAL PROTEIN KINASE AND PHOSPHORYLATION OF RIBOSOMAL PROTEIN IN RAT BRAIN DURING POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract— Microsomes from rat brain exhibited protein kinase activity which was stimulated by cyclic AMP when assayed in the presence of exogenous protein substrate, such as thymus histone. In the absence of exogenous substrate some phosphorylation of microsomal protein occurred, but no stimulation by cyclic AMP could be discerned, probably because of limitations of substrate. The maximal activity of microsomal protein kinase observed in the presence of saturating concentrations of histone and the optimal concentration (5 μ m ) of cyclic AMP remained essentially unchanged from birth to early adulthood, but the magnitude of the stimulation by cyclic AMP was significantly higher at birth than at 30 days of age. Brain ribosomal proteins could be phosphorylated by the cyclic AMP-dependent brain protein kinase. Their total capacity for acceptance of phosphate by means of this phosphorylation reaction remained unchanged throughout the postnatal development of the brain. Our results are consistent with the possibility that phosphorylation of ribosomal protein mediated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase may play a a role in the postnatal regulation of cerebral protein synthesis, as a result of the changes in the levels of cyclic AMP known to occur in brain during postnatal maturation.     

MODIFICATIONS IN SOLUBLE PROTEIN KINASE AND CYCLIC-AMP BINDING CAPACITY OF DEVELOPING RAT BRAIN

Histone and casein phosphoprotein-kinase activities were determined in rat brain soluble fraction at various stages of development. Cyclic AMP -independent or basal histone kinase activity increased, whereas cyclic AMP -dependent activity decreased in whole soluble fraction with the age. On the contrary, whole soluble cyclic AMP -dependent and -independent casein kinases activities did not show any difference during development. The percentage of activation by cyclic AMP of histone kinase activity and [³H] cyclic- AMP binding activity in the soluble fraction decreased markedly during development. By DEAE-cellulose chromatography the histone kinase was separated mainly into 4 peaks; the fourth peak was strongly stimulated by cyclic AMP . Stimulation by cyclic AMP was higher in the 4-day-old rat brains than in the 9- and 30-day-old. In the 9-day-old rats the ratio of cyclic AMP -dependent histone kinase in respect to the cyclic AMP -independent enzyme was higher than in 4- and 30-day-old rats. Casein kinase activities in the brains of 9- and 30-day-old rats were separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography into three peaks of which the third one was stimulated by cyclic AMP . Little, if any, difference was observed for casein kinase during the development. These results suggest that brain histone and casein kinase are different enzymes:     

Properties and cellular distribution of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase from thymus

A protein kinase that catalyzes the phosphorylation of histone was partially purified from rat thymus, and the rate of histone phosphorylation was stimulated three- to fourfold by 1 × 10^?6 M adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP). Thymic protein kinase was more active than the enzyme from spleen. Histone fractions f1, f2a, f2b, and f3 were all capable of serving as phosphate acceptors for the thymic protein kinase, and the rate of phosphorylation of each fraction was stimulated by cyclic AMP. The ability of various 3′,5′-mononucleotides to stimulate protein kinase activity was compared. Inosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic IMP) was the most effective substitute for cyclic AMP. The cellular distribution of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and adenylate cyclase activities in the thymus was determined. Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity is present in both small thymocytes and residual thymic tissue. The specific activity of protein kinase from residual tissue, both for basal and cyclic AMP-stimulated enzyme, was greater than that of enzyme from small thymocytes. In contrast to this, adenylate cyclase activity is predominately localized in the thymocytes.     

Purification and properties of a distinct protamine kinase from the cytosol of bovine kidney cortex

A protamine kinase has been purified to apparent homogeneity from extracts of the cytosol of bovine kidney cortex. This protamine kinase exhibited an apparent Mr = 43,000 as estimated by gel permeation chromatography on Sephacryl S-200 and an apparent Mr = 45,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified protamine kinase exhibited about 5% activity with casein, 8% with histone H2B, and less than 0.1% with histone H1, histone H4, glycogen synthase a from rabbit skeletal muscle, ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin, and phosvitin. The activity of the highly purified protamine kinase was unaffected by cyclic AMP (up to 0.1 mM), cyclic GMP (up to 0.1 mM), the heat-stable protein inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (up to 100 micrograms/ml), heparin (up to 100 micrograms/ml), EGTA (up to 1 mM), Ca2+ (up to 1 mM), calmodulin (up to 0.5 microM) in the absence or presence of Ca2+ (0.05 mM), and phosphatidylserine (up to 40 micrograms/ml) and/or diolein (up to 1 microgram/ml) in the absence or presence of Ca2+ (up to 0.5 mM). Experiments in which extracts of kidney cytosol were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP and MgCl2 revealed that the phosphorylation of numerous polypeptides was markedly increased in the presence of the purified protamine kinase. The results indicate that this protamine kinase of kidney cytosol is a novel protein kinase.     

Inhibition of cerebral protein kinase activity and cyclic AMP-dependent ribosomal-protein phosphorylation in experimental hyperphenylalaninaemia

Studies were carried out to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the diminished phosphorylation of cerebral ribosomal protein in experimental hyperphenylalaninaemia [Roberts & Morelos (1980) Biochem. J.190, 405-419]. Administration of N(6),O(2)'-dibutyryl cyclic AMP or 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, which increased phosphorylation of the S6 protein of cerebral 40S ribosomal subunits in control infant rats, did not counteract the decreased phosphorylation of this ribosomal protein resulting from intraperitoneal administration of a loading dose of l-phenylalanine. N(2),O(2)'-Dibutyryl cyclic GMP had no effect on cerebral ribosomal-protein phosphorylation in either control or hyperphenylalaninaemic animals. The phenylalanine-induced decrease in ribosomal-protein phosphorylation was associated with decreased protein kinase activity in cerebral cytosolic and microsomal preparations. However, the maximal protein kinase response to cyclic AMP added in vitro was unaltered by prior administration of phenylalanine in vivo. The heat-stable protein inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases decreased the activity of these enzymes by about 90% and eliminated the phenylalanine-induced difference in protein kinase activity in the absence of added cyclic AMP. Intracisternal administration of doses of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine which increased the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity ratio in control infant rats was without effect on this index in phenylalanine-treated animals. Dibutyryl cyclic GMP had no effect on the protein kinase activity ratio in either group of animals. These results suggest that inhibition of cerebral cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases by abnormally high concentrations of phenylalanine may contribute to the decrease in cerebral ribosomal-protein phosphorylation in experimental hyperphenylalaninaemia.     

Cyclic AMP stimulated phosphorylation of liver pyruvate kinase in hepatocytes.

The addition of glucagon (10^?6 M) to an incubation mixture containing ³²Pi and hepatocytes isolated from livers of rats fed $\text{ad libitum}$ results in both a 3-fold increased incorporation of ³²P into L-type pyruvate kinase and a decreased catalytic activity. The ³²P incorporated into pyruvate kinase was covalently bound to the enzyme as evidenced by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. In addition, exogenous cyclic AMP (10^?3 M) stimulated the phosphorylation and the suppression of catalytic activity to a similar extent. On the other hand, insulin (10^?7 M) had essentially no effect on the incorporation of ³²P into pyruvate kinase or on its catalytic activity under the conditions used in this study. These results suggest that phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase $\text{invivo}$ is stimulated by glucagon via cyclic AMP and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and that the activity of the enzyme is, at least in part, regulated by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation mechanism.     

Modulation of protein phosphorylation by a factor purified from adipocytes.

1. A factor which modulates the activity of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase copurifies from rat adipocytes with an inhibitor of adenylate cyclase. Purification and stability studies suggest that both effects reside in a single factor previously referred to as a feedback regulator. 2. The magnitude and direction of the feedback regulator effect on cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity was dependent on the concentration of feedback regulator and the concentration and type of protein substrate. Using histone type IIA as substrate, feedback regulator was inhibitory at low histone concentrations and stimulatory at high concentrations. Preincubation of protein kinase with feedback regulator resulted in inhibition at all histone concentrations. With some protein substrates, e.g. histone f2b and casein, inhibition was observed at all histone concentrations. 3. The stimulation of histone type IIA phosphorylation resulted from an increased V with no effect on either the apparent Ka for cyclic AMP or the Km for ATP. Time course studies suggest that feedback regulator increased the rate of phosphorylation without increasing the total number of phosphorylation sites. Increased histone phosphorylation was observed regardless of whether the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase was peak I or peak II (off Deae-cellulose), isolated from bovine or rabbit skeletal muscle or rat heart. A small stimulation was observed using cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase. 4. These results indicate that feedback regulator can inhibit or stimulate protein kinase, an effect which is probably substrate directed, and depends on the reaction conditions. Whether feedback regulator modulated protein phosphorylation in vivo in addition to its inhibition of adenylate cyclase is unknown. However, stimulation of protein kinase activity in the presence of cyclic AMP is a valuable and rapid assay for monitoring feedback regulator fractions during purification procedures.     

Effects of cyclic adenosine 3': 5'-monophosphate on phosphoprotein kinase and phosphatase fractions prepared from rat liver nuclei.

A soluble rat liver nuclear extract containing total RNA polymerase activities also exhibits appreciable amounts of protein kinase activity. This unfractionated protein kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of both endogenous proteins and exogenous lysine-rich histone in the presence of [γ-³²P]ATP and Mg²⁺. The optimal concentration of Mg²⁺ is 5 mm for histone phosphorylation and 25 mm for the phosphorylation of endogenous proteins. Cyclic AMP has no effect on the phosphorylation of lysine-rich histone by this unfractionated nuclear protein kinase. However, addition of cyclic AMP causes a reduction in the ³²P-labeling of an endogenous protein (CAI) which can be characterized by its mobility during SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and elution in the unbound fraction of a DEAESephadex column. If CAI is first labeled with ³²P and then incubated with 10^?6m cyclic AMP under conditions where protein kinase activity is inhibited, the presence of the cyclic nucleotide causes a loss of the ³²P-labeling of this protein, implying the activation of a substrate-specific protein phosphatase. When rat liver RNA polymerases are purified by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography, protein kinase activity is found in the unbound fraction and in those column fractions containing RNA polymerase I and II. The fractionated protein kinases exhibit different responses to cyclic AMP, the unbound protein kinase being stimulated and the RNA polymerase-associated protein kinases being dramatically inhibited. A second protein (CAII) whose phosphorylated state is modified by cyclic AMP is found within the DEAE-Sephadex column fractions containing RNA polymerase II. The cyclic nucleotide in this case appears to reduce labeling of CAII by inhibition of the protein kinase activity which co-chromatographs with both CAII and RNA polymerase II. Based on molecular weight estimates, neither CAI nor CAII appears to be an RNA polymerase subunit. The identity of CAI as a protein factor whose phosphorylated state influences nuclear RNA synthesis is suggested by the fact that addition of fractions containing CAI to purified RNA polymerase II inhibits the activity of this enzyme, but only if CAI has been previously incubated in the presence of cyclic AMP.     

Cyclic AMP binding protein from Jerusalem artichoke rhizome tissues

A cyclic AMP binding protein has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from Jerusalem artichoke rhizome tissues. Its MW is ca. 240 000 and the apparent constant of cyclic AMP binding to the protein is 2.3 × 10^?7 M. When tested using Millipore filter assay, cyclic AMP binding activity was enhanced by protamine and histone, but not by casein and phosvitin. Of several purine derivatives tested, only 5′-AMP and adenosine inhibited significantly the binding of cyclic AMP by the protein. The protein also binds adenosine and this binding is not affected by cyclic AMP or by other purine derivatives. The apparent binding constant for adenosine is 1.0 × 10^?6 M. The binding protein did not show protein kinase activity. In addition, it did not affect the chromatin-bound DNA dependent RNA polymerase of homologous origin, either in the presence or absence of cyclic AMP. The binding protein is devoid of the following activities: cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, 5′-nucleotidase, adenosine deaminase and ATPase.     

Effect of triamcinolone treatment, starvation and diabetes on rat liver protein kinase activity

Triamcinolone administration for 3 days reduced protein kinase activity in normal and adrenalectomized rats by about one third. This was accompanied by a similar decrease in cyclic[³H] AMP-binding capacity. Alloxan diabetes reduced protein kinase activity as well as cyclic[³H] AMP-binding capacity by about 40%. Administration of insulin to diabetic rats produced an insignificant increase in protein kinase activity and did not improve cyclic[³H] AMP-binding capacity. In fasted rats, there was a gradual decrease in protein kinase activity to about one half of initial activity on the fourth day, whereas the decrease in cyclic[³H] AMP-binding capacity was less marked. The effect of starvation was observed in normal as well as adrenalectomized rats, indicating that the decrease due to fasting is not mediated by glucocorticoids. The findings suggest that the maintenance of liver protein kinase activity is under hormonal and nutritional control. This represents a long-term regulatory step at the stage of protein phosphorylation in addition to the rapid effect of hormones on cyclic AMP levels.     

Activation of adenylate cyclase in renal medulla by bovine growth hormone: An artifact attributable to vasopressin

The effect of bovine growth hormone on adenylate cyclase activity was studied in bovine and rat renal medulla. Highly purified growth hormone (lot B1003A) increased adenylate cyclase activity in plasma membranes from bovine renal medulla from 132 ± 6 pmol cyclic AMP formed/mg protein per 10 min to 364 ± 10 pmol cyclic AMP formed/mg protein per 10 min. Similar results were seen with homogenates of rat renal medulla. The minimum effective concentration of bovine growth hormone required to activate adenylate cyclase was 0.5 μg/ml and maximum activation was detected at 500 μg/ml. The amount of vasopressin determined by radioimmunoassay to contaminate the growth hormone caused an increase in adenylate cyclase activity comparable to that of the corresponding concentration of growth hormone that was tested. Dialysis of growth hormone and vasopressin resulted in parallel reductions in the effect of each hormone on adenylate cyclase activity. Similarly, both growth hormone and vasopressin produced increases in short circuit current in isolated toad bladders but these effects were not detectable after dialysis of the hormones. In contrast, the effect of growth hormone on the uptake of ³⁵SO₄²⁻ by cartilage from hypophysectomized rats was not decreased after dialysis. These results indicate that available preparations of growth hormone are contaminated by small but physiologically significant amounts of vasopressin and that the activation of adenylate cyclase activity in renal medulla in response to growth hormone can be explained by this contamination rather than by an effect of growth hormone per se.     

Nucleoside-dependent protein kinase from Trypanosoma gambiense.

A nucleoside-dependent protein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37) was partially purified from Trypanosoma gambiense, the pathogenic agent of sleeping sickness. This enzyme catalyzes the phosphorylation of histone and protamine. Various nucleosides at the concentration of 10(-4) M stimulated the histone kinase activity about two-fold, whereas cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP were without effect. The pH-optimum for histone phosphorylation was at about pH 7.0. The enzyme activity absolutely depends on Mg2+, Mn2+ or Co2+. The apparent Km-value for histone was 0.3 mg/ml and those for ATP were 2 - 10(-4) M and 6 - 10(-5) M in the absence or presence of 10(-4) M adenosine respectively. IDP and ADP complete with ATP. The inhibition constants were calculated to be 2 - 10(-4) M and 2.5 - 10(-4) M, respectively. The molecular weight of the histone kinase was found to be 95 000 by gel filtration and 88 000 by sedimentation in a sucrose gradient.     

Lysine-rich histone H1 kinase from soybean hypocotyl.

A protein kinase (ATP: histone phosphotransferase) with high specificity for the phosphorylation of the very lysine-rich histone H1 has been partially purified and characterized from soybean hypocotyl. The enzyme has a molecular weight of about 48,500. Its activity and sedimentation behavior are refractory to cyclic nucleoside monophosphates. No significant amount of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP binding activity could be detected in the crude or partially purified enzyme preparations. Km for ATP and histone H1 are 0.4 μM and 0.7 μM, respectively. The enzyme requires Mg²⁺ or Mn²⁺ for activity, while addition of 0.5 mM Ca²⁺, Zn²⁺ or Hg²⁺ results in 50% inhibition. Arginine-rich histones H3 and H4 are inhibitory to histone H1 phosphorylation; these histones affect the Vmax of the enzyme, but not the Km for histone H1.