The protein phosphatases involved in cellular regulation. Evidence that dephosphorylation of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase in the glycogen and microsomal fractions of rat liver are catalysed by the same enzyme: protein phosphatase-1

Glycogen synthase (labelled in sites-3) and glycogen phosphorylase from rabbit skeletal muscle were used as substrates to investigate the nature of the protein phosphatases that act on these proteins in the glycogen and microsomal fractions of rat liver. Under the assay conditions employed, glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities in both subcellular fractions could be inhibited 80-90% by inhibitor-1 or inhibitor-2, and the concentrations required for half-maximal inhibition were similar. Glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities coeluted from Sephadex G-100 as broad peaks, stretching from the void volume to an apparent molecular mass of about 50 kDa. Incubation with trypsin decreased the apparent molecular mass of both activities to about 35 kDa, and decreased their I50 for inhibitors-1 and -2 in an identical manner. After tryptic digestion, the I50 values for inhibitors-1 and -2 were very similar to those of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase-1 from rabbit skeletal muscle. The glycogen and microsomal fractions of rat liver dephosphorylated the beta-subunit of phosphorylase kinase much faster than the alpha-subunit and dephosphorylation of the beta-subunit was prevented by the same concentrations of inhibitor-1 and inhibitor-2 that were required to inhibit the dephosphorylation of phosphorylase. The same experiments performed with the glycogen plus microsomal fraction from rabbit skeletal muscle revealed that the properties of glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase were very similar to the corresponding activities in the hepatic glycogen fraction, except that the two activities coeluted as sharp peaks near the void volume of Sephadex G-100 (before tryptic digestion). Tryptic digestion of the hepatic glycogen and microsomal fractions increased phosphorylase phosphatase about threefold, but decreased glycogen synthase phosphatase activity. Similar results were obtained with the glycogen plus microsomal fraction from rabbit skeletal muscle or the glycogen-bound form of protein phosphatase-1 purified to homogeneity from the same tissue. Therefore the divergent effects of trypsin on glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities are an intrinsic property of protein phosphatase-1. It is concluded that the major protein phosphatase in both the glycogen and microsomal fractions of rat liver is a form of protein phosphatase-1, and that this enzyme accounts for virtually all the glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activity associated with these subcellular fractions.     

Glycogen synthase (casein) kinase-1: tissue distribution and subcellular localization

The distribution of glycogen synthase (casein) kinase-1 (CK-1) among different rat tissues and subcellular fractions was investigated. Using casein, glycogen synthase and phosphorylase kinase as substrates, CK-1 activity was detected in kidney, spleen, liver, testis, lung, brain, heart, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. The distribution of CK-1 among different subcellular fractions of rat liver was; cytosol (72.1%), microsome (17.6%), mitochondria (9.6%) and nuclei (0.7%). CK-1 from rat tissues was shown to have a similarly wide substrate specificity as highly purified CK-1 from rabbit skeletal muscle. Such wide substrate specificity and distribution among different mammalian tissues and subcellular organelles indicate that CK-1 may be involved in the regulation of diverse cellular functions.     

Chemical and immunochemical characteristics of tropomyosins from striated and smooth muscle

1. On electrophoresis in dissociating conditions the tropomyosins isolated from skeletal muscles of mammalian, avian and amphibian species migrated as two components. These were comparable with the alpha and beta subunits of tropomyosin present in rabbit skeletal muscle. 2. The alpha and beta components of all skeletal-muscle tropomyosins contained 1 and 2 residues of cysteine per 34000g respectively. 3. The ratio of the amounts of alpha and beta subunit present in skeletal muscle tropomyosins was characteristic for the muscle type. Muscle consisting of slow red fibres contained a greater proportion of beta-tropomyosin than muscles consisting predominantly of white fast fibres. 4. Mammalian and avian cardiac muscle tropomyosins consisted of alpha-tropomyosin only. 5. Mammalian and avian smooth-muscle tropomyosins differed both chemically and immunologically from striated-muscle tropomyosins. 6. Antibody raised against rabbit skeletal alpha-tropomyosin was species non-specific, reacting with all other striated muscle alpha-tropomyosin subunits tested. 7. Antibody raised against rabbit skeletal beta-tropomyosin subunit was species-specific.     

Overexpression or ablation of JNK in skeletal muscle has no effect on glycogen synthase activity

c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and is robustly activated in response to muscle contraction. Little is known about the biological functions of JNK signaling in terminally differentiated muscle cells, although this protein has been proposed to regulate insulin-stimulated glycogen synthase activity in mouse skeletal muscle. To determine whether JNK signaling regulates contraction-stimulated glycogen synthase activation, we applied an electroporation technique to induce JNK overexpression (O/E) in mouse skeletal muscle. Ten days after electroporation, in situ muscle contraction increased JNK activity 2.6-fold in control muscles and 15-fold in the JNK O/E muscles. Despite the enormous activation of JNK activity in JNK O/E muscles, contraction resulted in similar increases in glycogen synthase activity in control and JNK O/E muscles. Consistent with these findings, basal and contraction-induced glycogen synthase activity was normal in muscles of both JNK1- and JNK2-deficient mice. JNK overexpression in muscle resulted in significant alterations in the basal phosphorylation state of several signaling proteins, such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, p90 S6 kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 3, protein kinase B/Akt, and p70 S6 kinase, in the absence of changes in the expression of these proteins. These data suggest that JNK signaling regulates the phosphorylation state of several kinases in skeletal muscle. JNK activation is unlikely to be the major mechanism by which contractile activity increases glycogen synthase activity in skeletal muscle. electroporation; gene delivery; muscle contraction; exercise     

Expression of muscle-specific myosin heavy chain and myosin light chain 1 in the electric tissue of Electrophorus electricus (L.) in comparison with other vertebrate species

Myosin light and heavy chains from skeletal and cardiac muscles and from the electric organ of Electrophorus electricus (L.) were characterised using biochemical and immunological methods, and compared with myosin extracted from avian, reptilian, and mammalian skeletal and cardiac muscles. The results indicate that the electric tissue has a myosin light chain 1 (LC1) and a muscle-specific myosin heavy chain. We also show that monoclonal antibody F109-12A8 (against LC1 and LC2) recognizes LC1 of myosin from human skeletal and cardiac muscles as well as those of rabbit, lizard, chick, and electric eel. However, only cardiac muscles from humans and rabbits have LC2, which is recognized by antibody F109-16F4. The data presented confirm the muscle origin of the electric tissue of E. electricus. This electric tissue has a profile of LC1 protein expression that resembles the myosin from cardiac muscle of the eel more than that from eel skeletal muscle. This work raises an interesting question about the ontogenesis and differentiation of the electric tissue of E. electricus.     

A monoclonal antibody to the Ca2+-ATPase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum cross-reacts with slow type I but not with fast type II canine skeletal muscle fibers: an immunocytochemical and immunochemical study

Ca2+-ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum was localized in cryostat sections from three different adult canine skeletal muscles (gracilis, extensor carpi radialis, and superficial digitalis flexor) by immunofluorescence labeling with monoclonal antibodies to the Ca2+-ATPase. Type I (slow) myofibers were strongly labeled for the Ca2+-ATPase with a monoclonal antibody (II D8) to the Ca2+-ATPase of canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum; the type II (fast) myofibers were labeled at the level of the background with monoclonal antibody II D8. By contrast, type II (fast) myofibers were strongly labeled for Ca2+-ATPase of rabbit skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum. The subcellular distribution of the immunolabeling in type I (slow) myofibers with monoclonal antibody II D8 corresponded to that of the sarcoplasmic reticulum as previously determined by electron microscopy. The structural similarity between the canine cardiac Ca2+-ATPase present in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of the canine slow skeletal muscle fibers was demonstrated by immunoblotting. Monoclonal antibody (II D8) to the cardiac Ca2+-ATPase binds to only one protein band present in the extract from either cardiac or type I (slow) skeletal muscle tissue. By contrast, monoclonal antibody (II H11) to the skeletal type II (fast) Ca2+-ATPase binds only one protein band in the extract from type II (fast) skeletal muscle tissue. These immunopositive proteins coelectrophoresed with the Ca2+-ATPase of the canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum and showed an apparent Mr of 115,000. It is concluded that the Ca2+-ATPase of cardiac and type I (slow) skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum have at least one epitope in common, which is not present on the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum in type II (fast) skeletal myofibers. It is possible that this site is related to the assumed necessity of the Ca2+-ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiac and type I (slow) skeletal myofibers to interact with phosphorylated phospholamban and thereby enhance the accumulation of Ca2+ in the lumen of the sarcoplasmic reticulum following beta-adrenergic stimulation.     

Catalytic site of rabbit glycogen synthase isozymes. Identification of an active site lysine close to the amino terminus of the subunit

Rabbit skeletal muscle glycogen synthase was inhibited by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and irreversibly inactivated after sodium borohydride reduction of the enzyme-pyridoxal-P complex. The irreversible inactivation by pyridoxal-P was opposed by the presence of the substrate UDP-glucose. With [3H]pyridoxal-P, covalent incorporation of 3H label into the enzyme could be monitored. UDP-glucose protected against 3H incorporation, whereas glucose-6-P was ineffective. Peptide mapping of tryptic digests indicated that two distinct peptides were specifically modified by pyridoxal-P. One of these peptides contained the NH2-terminal sequence of the glycogen synthase subunit. Chymotrypsin cleavage of this peptide resulted in a single-labeled fragment with the sequence: Glu-Val-Ala-Asn-(Pyridoxal-P-Lys)-Val-Gly-Gly-Ile-Tyr. This sequence is identical to that previously reported (Tagaya, M., Nakano, K., and Fukui, T. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260. 6670-6676) for a peptide specifically modified by a substrate analogue and inferred to form part of the active site of the enzyme. Sequence analysis revealed that the modified lysine was located at residue 38 from the NH2 terminus of the rabbit muscle glycogen synthase subunit. An analogous tryptic peptide obtained from the rabbit liver isozyme displayed a high degree of sequence homology in the vicinity of the modified lysine. We propose that the extreme NH2 terminus of the glycogen synthase subunit forms part of the catalytic site, in close proximity to one of the phosphorylated regions of the enzyme (site 2, serine 7). In addition, the work extends the known NH2-terminal amino acid sequences of both the liver and muscle glycogen synthase isozymes.     

Examination of the calcium-modulated protein S100 alpha and its target proteins in adult and developing skeletal muscle.

In this study radioimmunoassay, immunohistochemistry, Northern blot analysis, and a gel overlay technique have been used to examine the level, subcellular distribution, and potential target proteins of the S100 family of calcium-modulated proteins in adult and developing rat skeletal muscles. Adult rat muscles contained high levels of S100 proteins but the particular form present was dependent on the muscle type: cardiac muscle contained exclusively S100 alpha, slow-twitch skeletal muscle fibers contained predominantly S100 alpha, vascular smooth muscle contained both S100 alpha and S100 beta, and fast-twitch skeletal muscle fibers contained low but detectable levels of S100 alpha and S100 beta. While the distribution of S100 mRNAs paralled the protein distribution in all muscles there was no direct correlation between the mRNA and protein levels in different muscle types, suggesting that S100 protein expression is differentially regulated in different muscle types. Immunohistochemical analysis of the cellular distribution of S100 proteins in adult skeletal muscles revealed that S100 alpha staining was associated with muscle cells, while S100 beta staining was associated with nonmuscle cells. Radioimmunoassays of developing rat skeletal muscles demonstrated that all developing muscles contained low levels of S100 alpha at postnatal day 1 and that as development proceeded the S100 alpha levels increased. In contrast to adult muscle S100 alpha expression was confined to fast-twitch fibers in developing skeletal muscle until postnatal day 21. At postnatal day 1, developing contractile elements were S100 alpha positive, but no staining periodicity was detectable. At postnatal day 21, S100 alpha exhibited the same subcellular localization as seen in the adult: colocalization with the A-band and/or longitudinal sarcoplasmic reticulum. Comparison of the S100 alpha-binding protein profiles in fast- and slow-twitch fibers of various species revealed few, if any, species- or fiber type-specific S100 binding proteins. Isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum fractions and myofibrils contained multiple S100 alpha-binding proteins. The colocalization of S100 alpha and S100 alpha-binding proteins with the contractile apparatus and sarcoplasmic reticulum suggest that S100 alpha may regulate excitation and/or contraction in slow-twitch fibers.     

Differences between glycogen synthases from rat and rabbit skeletal muscle as indicated by phosphopeptide maps

Glycogen synthase I was purified from rat skeletal muscle. On sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the enzyme migrated as a major band with a subunit Mr of 85,000. The specific activity (24 units/mg protein), activity ratio (the activity in the absence of glucose-6-P divided by the activity in the presence of glucose-6-P X 100) (92 +/- 2) and phosphate content (0.6 mol/mol subunit) were similar to the enzyme from rabbit skeletal muscle. Phosphorylation and inactivation of rat muscle glycogen synthase by casein kinase I, casein kinase II (glycogen synthase kinase 5), glycogen synthase kinase 3 (kinase FA), glycogen synthase kinase 4, phosphorylase b kinase, and the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase were similar to those reported for rabbit muscle synthase. The greatest decrease in rat muscle glycogen synthase activity was seen after phosphorylation of the synthase by casein kinase I. Phosphopeptide maps of glycogen synthase were obtained by digesting the different 32P-labeled forms of glycogen synthase by CNBr, trypsin, or chymotrypsin. The CNBr peptides were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the tryptic and chymotryptic peptides were separated by reversed-phase HPLC. Although the rat and rabbit forms of synthase gave similar peptide maps, there were significant differences between the phosphopeptides derived from the N-terminal region of rabbit glycogen synthase and the corresponding peptides presumably derived from the N-terminal region of rat glycogen synthase. For CNBr peptides, the apparent Mr was 12,500 for rat and 12,000 for the rabbit. The tryptic peptides obtained from the two species had different retention times. A single chymotryptic peptide was produced from rat skeletal muscle glycogen synthase after phosphorylation by phosphorylase kinase whereas two peptides were obtained with the rabbit enzyme. These results indicate that the N-terminus of rabbit glycogen synthase, which contains four phosphorylatable residues (Kuret et al. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 151, 39-48), is different from the N-terminus of rat glycogen synthase.     

Exercise does not alter subcellular localization, but increases phosphorylation of insulin-signaling proteins in human skeletal muscle

The subcellular localization of insulin signaling proteins is altered by various stimuli such as insulin, insulin-like growth factor I, and oxidative stress and is thought to be an important mechanism that can influence intracellular signal transduction and cellular function. This study examined the possibility that exercise may also alter the subcellular localization of insulin signaling proteins in human skeletal muscle. Nine untrained males performed 60 min of cycling exercise (approximately 67% peak pulmonary O2 uptake). Muscle biopsies were sampled at rest, immediately after exercise, and 3 h postexercise. Muscle was fractionated by centrifugation into the following crude fractions: cytosolic, nuclear, and a high-speed pellet containing membrane and cytoskeletal components. Fractions were analyzed for protein content of insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and -2, p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Akt, and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3). There was no significant change in the protein content of the insulin signaling proteins in any of the crude fractions after exercise or 3 h postexercise. Exercise had no significant effect on the phosphorylation of IRS-1 Tyr612 in any of the fractions. In contrast, exercise increased (P < 0.05) the phosphorylation of Akt Ser473 and GSK-3alpha/beta Ser9/21 in the cytosolic fraction only. In conclusion, exercise can increase phosphorylation of downstream insulin signaling proteins specifically in the cytosolic fraction but does not result in changes in the subcellular localization of insulin signaling proteins in human skeletal muscle. Change in the subcellular protein localization is therefore an unlikely mechanism to influence signal transduction pathways and cellular function in skeletal muscle after exercise.     

Postnatal development of glycogen- and cyclic AMP-metabolizing enzymes in mammalian skeletal muscle

Glycogen and cyclic AMP-metabolizing enzymes of rabbit skeletal muscle were examined during postnatal development. Glycogen synthase I, glycogen phosporylase and lactate dehydrogenase activity increased 7-fold by the 6th--8th postnatal week while glycogen synthase D was present in the neonate at one-half adult levels. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase decreased; adenylate cyclase increased 10-fold for both the epinephrine and NaF-stimulated states of the enzyme.     

Association of glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities with membranes of hepatic smooth endoplasmic reticulum

A detailed investigation was conducted to determine the precise subcellular localization of the rate-limiting enzymes of hepatic glycogen metabolism (glycogen synthase and phosphorylase) and their regulatory enzymes (synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase). Rat liver was homogenized and fractionated to produce soluble, rough and smooth microsomal fractions. Enzyme assays of the fractions were performed, and the results showed that glycogen synthase and phosphorylase were located in the soluble fraction of the livers. Synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities were also present in soluble fractions, but were clearly identified in both rough and smooth microsomal fractions. It is suggested that the location of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) within the cytosome forms a microenvironment within hepatocytes that establishes conditions necessary for glycogen synthesis (and degradation). Thus the location of SER in the cell determines regions of the hepatocyte that are rich in glycogen particles. Furthermore, the demonstration of the association of synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase with membranes of SER may account for the close morphological association of SER with glycogen particles (i.e., disposition of SER membranes brings the membrane-bound regulatory enzymes in close contact with their substrates).     

Developmental expression of Pop1/Bves.

Initial studies have suggested that Pop1/Bves protein is exclusively expressed in the smooth muscle walls of the coronary vessels, implying its possible importance in coronary diseases. However, the mRNA and activity of this gene are detected in both skeletal and cardiac muscles, not coronary smooth muscle, and Pop1/Bves knockout mice have defects in skeletal muscle regeneration. Here we used specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against chicken Pop1/Bves and demonstrated the presence of this protein in cardiomyocytes through development and its apparent absence in coronary vessels. Immunostaining of cardiomyocytes cultured in vitro confirmed the membrane localization of this protein in cells that participate in cell adhesion, with significant intracellular staining seen in isolated cells. In skeletal muscle, Pop1 protein becomes detectable at embryonic day (E) 7, coincident with the differentiation of morphologically distinct muscle masses from the limb muscle blastema, but the protein is not found at high levels in the cell membrane of myotubes until E11, coincident with the formation of secondary myotubes from satellite cells. These data support the hypothesis that Pop1/Bves is a cell adhesion molecule present in skeletal and cardiac muscle.     

pI(Cln) and cytosolic F-actin constitute a heteromeric complex with a constant molecular mass in rat skeletal muscles.

To elucidate the function of pI(Cln), its localization in subcellular organellae was investigated. A specific polyclonal anti-pI(Cln) antibody detected the soluble 38-kDa pI(Cln) exclusively in the cytosols of rat heart, lung, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, testis, and brain, but not rat kidney. pI(Cln)-associated proteins in skeletal muscle were also analyzed. Native-gradient PAGE showed a single 340-kDa protein band reactive to anti-pI(Cln) antibody. This band also stained with anti-actin antibody. Two-dimensional PAGE and immunoprecipitation analysis indicated that all of the pI(Cln) was present in association with actin of a constant length: the molecular ratio of pI(Cln) to actin was roughly 1:7. In addition, all actin in the cytosol fractions was found in association with pI(Cln). These results suggest the possibility that skeletal muscle pI(Cln) controls the length of cytosolic F-actin.     

The calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase from rabbit skeletal muscle. Purification, subunit structure and substrate specificity

A calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase distinct from phosphorylase kinase has been purified approximately equal to 5000-fold from rabbit skeletal muscle by a procedure involving fractionation with ammonium sulphate (0-33%), and chromatographies on phosphocellulose, calmodulin-Sepharose and DEAE-Sepharose. 0.75 mg of protein was obtained from 5000 g of muscle within 4 days, corresponding to a yield of approximately equal to 3%. The Km for glycogen synthase was 3.0 microM and the V 1.6-2.0 mumol min-1 mg-1. The purified enzyme showed a major protein staining band (Mr 58 000) and a minor component (Mr 54 000) when examined by dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was determined to be 696 000 by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation, indicating a dodecameric structure. Electron microscopy suggested that the 12 subunits were arranged as two hexameric rings stacked one upon the other. Following incubation with Mg-ATP and Ca2+-calmodulin, the purified protein kinase underwent an 'autophosphorylation reaction'. The reaction reached a plateau when approximately equal to 5 mol of phosphate had been incorporated per 58 000-Mr subunit. Both the 58 000-Mr and 54 000-Mr species were phosphorylated to a similar extent. Autophosphorylation did not affect the catalytic activity. The calmodulin-dependent protein kinase initially phosphorylated glycogen synthase at site-2, followed by a slower phosphorylation of site-1 b. The protein kinase also phosphorylated smooth muscle myosin light chains, histone H1, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and ATP-citrate lyase. These findings suggest that the calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase may be a enzyme of broad specificity in vivo. Glycogen synthase kinase-4 is an enzyme that resembles the calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase in phosphorylating glycogen synthase (at site-2), but not glycogen phosphorylase. Glycogen synthase kinase-4 was unable to phosphorylate any of the other proteins phosphorylated by the calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase, nor could it phosphorylate site 1 b of glycogen synthase. The results demonstrate that glycogen synthase kinase-4 is not a proteolytic fragment of the calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase, that has lost its ability to be regulated by Ca2+-calmodulin.     

Identification of a glycogen synthase phosphatase from yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as protein phosphatase 2A.

A glycogen synthase phosphatase was purified from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The purified yeast phosphatase displayed one major protein band which coincided with phosphatase activity on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This phosphatase had a molecular mass of about 160,000 Da determined by gel filtration and was comprised of three subunits, termed A, B, and C. The subunit molecular weights estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were 60,000 (A), 53,000 (B), and 37,000 (C), indicating that this yeast glycogen synthase phosphatase is a heterotrimer. On ethanol treatment, the enzyme was dissociated to an active species with a molecular weight of 37,000 estimated by gel filtration. The yeast phosphatase dephosphorylated yeast glycogen synthase, rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase, casein, and the alpha subunit of rabbit muscle phosphorylase kinase, was not sensitive to heat-stable protein phosphatase inhibitor 2, and was inhibited 90% by 1 nM okadaic acid. Dephosphorylation of glycogen synthase, phosphorylase, and phosphorylase kinase by this yeast enzyme could be stimulated by histone H1 and polylysines. Divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+) and chelators (EDTA and EGTA) had no effect on dephosphorylation of glycogen synthase or phosphorylase while Mn2+ stimulated enzyme activity by approximately 50%. The specific activity and kinetics for phosphorylase resembled those of mammalian phosphatase 2A. An antibody against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the carboxyl terminus of the catalytic subunit of rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatase 2A reacted with subunit C of purified yeast phosphatase on immunoblots, whereas the analogous peptide antibody against phosphatase 1 did not. These data show that this yeast glycogen synthase phosphatase has structural and catalytic similarity to protein phosphatase 2A found in mammalian tissues.     

L-type glycogen synthase. Tissue distribution and electrophoretic mobility

We previously reported (Kaslow, H.R., and Lesikar, D.D.FEBS Lett. (1984) 172, 294-298) the generation of antisera against rat skeletal muscle glycogen synthase. Using immunoblot analysis, the antisera recognized the enzyme in crude extracts from rat skeletal muscle, heart, fat, kidney, and brain, but not liver. These results suggested that there are at least two isozymes of glycogen synthase, and that most tissues contain a form similar or identical to the skeletal muscle type, referred to as "M-type" glycogen synthase. We have now used an antiserum specific for the enzyme from liver, termed "L-type" glycogen synthase, to study its distribution and electrophoretic mobility. Immunoblot analysis using this antiserum indicates that L-type glycogen synthase is found in liver, but not skeletal muscle, heart, fat, kidney, or brain. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels of crude liver extracts prepared with protease inhibitors, rat L-type synthase was detected with electrophoretic mobility Mapp = 85,000. In contrast, the M-type enzyme in crude skeletal muscle extracts with protease inhibitors was detected with Mapp = 86,000 and 89,000. During purification of L-type synthase, apparent proteolysis can generate forms with increased electrophoretic mobility (Mapp = 75,000), still recognized by the antiserum. These M-type and L-type antisera did not recognize a protein with Mapp greater than phosphorylase. The anti-rat L-type antisera recognized glycogen synthase in blots of crude extracts of rabbit liver, but with Mapp = 88,000, a value 3,000 greater than that found for the rat liver enzyme. The anti-rat M-type antisera failed to recognize the enzyme in blots of crude extracts of rabbit muscle. Thus, in both muscle and liver, the corresponding rat and rabbit enzymes are structurally different. Because the differences described above persist after resolving these proteins by denaturing sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis, these differences reside in the structure of the proteins themselves, not in some factor bound to the protein in crude extracts.     

Hormonal control of glycogen synthase in rat hemidiaphragms. Effects of insulin and epinephrine on the distribution of phosphate between two cyanogen bromide fragments

The effects of insulin and epinephrine on the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase were investigated using rat hemidiaphragms incubated with [32P]phosphate. Antibodies against rabbit skeletal muscle glycogen synthase were used for the rapid purification of the 32P-labeled enzyme under conditions that prevented changes in its state of phosphorylation. The purified material migrated as a single radioactive species (Mapp = 90,000) when subjected to electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Insulin decreased the [32P]phosphate content of glycogen synthase. This effect occurred rapidly (within 15 min) and was observed with physiological concentrations of insulin (25 microunits/ml). The amount of [32P]phosphate removed from glycogen synthase by either different concentrations of insulin or times of incubation with the hormone was well correlated to the extent to which the enzyme was activated. Epinephrine (10 microM) inactivated glycogen synthase and increased its content of [32P]phosphate by about 50%. Cleavage of the immunoprecipitated enzyme with cyanogen bromide yielded two major 32P-labeled fragments of apparent molecular weights equal to approximately 28,000 and 15,000. The larger fragment (Fragment II) displayed electrophoretic heterogeneity similar to that observed with the corresponding CNBr fragment (CB-2) from purified rabbit skeletal muscle glycogen synthase phosphorylated by different protein kinases. Epinephrine increased [32P]phosphate content of both fragments; however, the increase in the radioactivity of the smaller fragment (Fragment I) was more pronounced. Insulin decreased the amount of [32P] phosphate present in Fragments I and II by about 40%. The results presented provide direct evidence that both insulin and epinephrine control glycogen synthase activity by regulating the phosphate present at multiple sites on the enzyme.     

The protein phosphatases involved in cellular regulation. Antibody to protein phosphatase-2A as a probe of phosphatase structure and function

Antibody prepared against the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase-2A from rabbit skeletal muscle, could completely inhibit this enzyme, but did not significantly affect the activities of protein phosphatases-1, 2B and 2C. The antibody was used to establish the following points. The three forms of protein phosphatase-2A that can be resolved by ion-exchange chromatography, termed 2A0, 2A1, and 2A2, share the same catalytic subunit. The antigenic sites on the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase-2A remain accessible to the antibody, when the catalytic subunit is complexed with the other subunits of protein phosphatases-2A0, 2A1 and 2A2. The catalytic subunits of protein phosphatase-2A from rabbit skeletal muscle and rabbit liver are very similar, as judged by immunotitration experiments. Protein phosphatase-1 and protein phosphatase-2A account for virtually all the phosphorylase phosphatase activity in dilute tissue extracts prepared from skeletal muscle, liver, heart, brain and kidney, and for essentially all the glycogen synthase phosphatase activity in dilute skeletal muscle and liver extracts. Protein phosphatase-2A is almost absent from the protein-glycogen complex prepared from skeletal muscle or liver extracts. Protein phosphatase-2A accounts for a major proportion of the phosphatase activity in dilute liver extracts towards 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase, 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, pyruvate kinase and phenylalanine hydroxylase, the major phosphorylated enzymes involved in the hormonal control of hepatic glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.