High-affinity calcium-stimulated, magnesium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase in Trypanosoma cruzi.

1. A high-affinity (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase and a low-affinity Mg(2+)-ATPase were identified in the 105,000 g fraction from epimastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas' disease (Tulahuen strain). 2. Activities were conserved after enzyme solubilization with deoxycholate. 3. The Ca(2+)-stimulated ATPase activity was (a) lower than that of the Mg(2+)-ATPase; (b) inhibited by p-chloromercurobenzoate and orthovanadate and (c) insensitive to oligomycin. 4. Optimal stimulation by Ca2+ was observed at pH 6.5-6.8 in the presence of 1 mM MgCl2 and 0.1 M KCl. 5. The Mg(2+)-ATPase was insensitive to p-chloromercurobenzoate and orthovanadate and did not require KCl for activity. 6. Kinetic analysis of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase yielded a half-maximal stimulating concentration of 1.1 microM for Ca2+ and a Km of 66 microM for ATP. 7. The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase clearly differed from the Ca(2+)- or Mg(2+)-ATPases previously characterized in the same strain of T. cruzi (Frasch et al., 1978; Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 60B, 271-275).     

Myosin and actomyosin from human skeletal muscle.

Human skeletal natural actomyosin contained actin, tropomyosin, troponin and myosin components as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Purified human myosin contained at least three light chains having molecular weights (+/-2000) of 25 000, 18 000 and 15 000. Inhibitory and calcium binding components of troponin were identified in an actin-tropomyosin-troponin complex extracted from acetone-dried muscle powder at 37 degrees C. Activation of the Mg-ATPase activity of Ca2+-sensitive human natural or reconstituted actomyosin was half maximal at approximately 3.4 muM Ca2+ concentration (CaEGTA binding constant equals 4.4 - 10(5) at pH 6.8). Subfragment 1, isolated from the human heavy meromyosin by digestion with papain, appeared as a single peak after DEAE-cellulose chromatography. In the pH 6-9 range, the Ca2+-ATPase activity of the subfragment 1 was 1.8- and 4-fold higher that the original heavy meromyosin and myosin, respectively. The ATPase activities of human myosin and its fragments were 6-10 fold lower than those of corresponding proteins from rabbit fast skeletal muscle. Human myosin lost approximately 60% of the Ca2+-ATPase activity at pH 9 without a concomitant change in the number of distribution of its light chains. These findings indicate that human skeletal muscle myosin resembles other slow and fast mammalian muscles. Regulation of human skeletal actomyosin by Ca2+ is similar to that of rabbit fast or slow muscle.     

Location of the sites of reaction of N-ethylmaleimide in papain and chymotryptic fragments of the gizzard myosin heavy chain

The thiol of the gizzard myosin heavy chain, which reacts most rapidly with N-ethylmaleimide (MalNEt), has been located in the subfragment 2 region of myosin rod by fragmentation of [14C]-MalNEt-labeled myosin with papain and chymotrypsin. MalNEt reacts more slowly with thiols present in the 70- and 25-kilodalton (kDa) papain fragments of subfragment 1. The reaction of MalNEt with thiols present in these regions is increased on addition of ATP by factors of 2 and 10, respectively, when myosin is modified in 0.45 M NaCl where it is present in the extended, 6S conformation. The rate of increase of Mg2+-activated adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity, which reflects the loss of ability of myosin to assume the folded, 10S conformation, and the rate of loss of K+-EDTA-activated activity produced by MalNEt are both accelerated 5- to 10-fold on addition of ATP. The rates at which ATPase activities change agree closely to the reaction rates of MalNEt with the 25-kDa region of subfragment 1; therefore, the changes in these activities can be attributed to modification of a thiol of the 25-kDa segment. An increase in actin-activated ATPase activity produced by reaction of myosin with MalNEt in 0.45 M NaCl is accelerated by ATP by a factor of at least 4. Reaction with [14C]MalNEt in the presence of MgATP and 0.2 M NaCl, where myosin is in the 10S form, inhibits the incorporation of radioactive MalNEt into the 25-kDa papain fragment of subfragment 1. It also prevents the increase in actin-activated ATPase activity and preserves the ability of myosin to assume the 10S form.     

Observations on the kinetics, subunit composition, and sulfhydryl reactivity of myosin from Physarum polycephalum.

A highly purified preparation of myosin from Physarum polycephalum has been shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to contain heavy chains and only one molecular weight class of light chains, of approx. 15 000 daltons. Kinetic investigations of the Ca2+-ATPase and Mg2+-ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolases, EC 3.6.1.3) at pH 8.0 gave Km and V values of 17.3 muM and 1.25 mumol Pi/min per mg, and 2.4 muM and 0.12 mumol Pi/min per mg, respectively. Adenylyl imidodiphosphate, a beta-gamma-imido ATP analog, inhibited the ATPase activity of Physarum myosin competitively with Ki values equal to 350 and 12 muM in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+, respectively. The ATPase activity of Physarum myosin was inhibited at a very low rate (t1/2 = 24 h) by the ATP analog, 6,6'-dithiobis(inosinyl imidodiphosphate), with concentrations of inhibitor previously shown to inactivate (t1/2 approximately 10 min) skeletal and cardiac myosins rapidly by reacting with key cysteines.     

Diffusion-limited kinetics of immobilized myosin ATPase

To test the possibility that ATP diffusion limits the kinetics of myosin ATPase (EC. 3.6.1.3) in situ, myosin was covalently bound to the surface of 2 kinds of films: collagen and Immunodyne. On collagen films, it was bound either with 1-ethyl-3 (3 dimethyl-aminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) or with dimethyl-3,3'-dithiobis(propionimidate) (DTP). The apparent Km for K+-ATP rose from 0.26 mM for free myosin in solution to 2-5 mM for covalently bound myosin, and maximum K+-ATPase activity was very low. With the other film, Immunodyne from Pall, the maximum activity of bound myosin was 170 nmol per min per 1.5 cm2 film. The apparent Km for K+-ATP was 2.1 mM when the incubation mixture was vigorously stirred, and the effect of stirring indicated that the kinetics of K+-ATP hydrolysis are limited by external diffusion. The large amount of myosin bound per unit of Immunodyne film surface permitted the study of Mg2+-ATPase activity, although it was 400-500 times less than the K+-ATPase activity. The apparently non-Michaelian kinetics of Mg2+-ATP hydrolysis are attributable to the external diffusion. The apparent Michaelis constant observed at low Mg2+-ATP concentrations rose from 0.27 microM for myosin in solution to 5 microM for myosin bound to Immunodyne film.     

Myosin and actomyosin from human skeletal muscle

Human skeletal natural actomyosin contained actin, tropomyosin, troponin and myosin components as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Purified human myosin contained at least three light chains having molecular weights (±2000) of 25 000, 18 000 and 15 000. Inhibitory and calcium binding components of troponin were identified in an actin-tropomyosin-troponin complex extracted from acetone-dried muscle powder at 37°C. Activation of the Mg-ATPase activity of Ca²⁺-sensitive human natural or reconstituted actomyosin was half maximal at approximately 3.4 μM Ca²⁺ concentration (CaEGTA binding constant = 4.4 · 10⁵ at pH 6.8). Subfragment 1, isolated from the human heavy meromyosin by digestion with papain, appeared as a single peak after DEAE-cellulose chromatography. In the pH 6–9 range, the Ca²⁺-ATPase activity of the subfragment 1 was 1.8-and 4-fold higher that the original heavy meromyosin and myosin, respectively. The ATPase activities of human myosin and its fragments were 6–10 fold lower than those of corresponding proteins from rabbit fast skeletal muscle. Human myosin lost approximately 60% of the Ca²⁺-ATPase activity at pH 9 without a concomitant change in the number of distribution of its light chains. These findings indicate that human skeletal muscle myosin resembles other slow and fast mammalian muscles. Regulation of human skeletal actomyosin by Ca²⁺ is similar to that of rabbit fast or slow muscle     

Purealin, a novel stabilizer of smooth muscle myosin filaments that modulates ATPase activity of dephosphorylated myosin

Effects of purealin isolated from a sea sponge, Psammaplysilla purea, on the enzymatic and physiochemical properties of chicken gizzard myosin were studied. At 0.15 M KCl, 40 microM purealin increased the Ca2+- and Mg2+-ATPase activity of dephosphorylated gizzard myosin to 2.5- and 3-fold, respectively, but decreased the K+-EDTA-ATPase activity of the myosin to 0.25-fold. In contrast, purealin had little effect on the ATPase activities of phosphorylated gizzard myosin. The ATP-induced decrease in light scattering of dephosphorylated gizzard myosin at 0.15 M KCl was lessened by 40 microM purealin. Electron microscopic observations indicated that thick filaments of dephosphorylated myosin were disassembled immediately by addition of 1 mM ATP at 0.15 M KCl, although they were preserved by purealin for a long time even after addition of ATP. Upon ultracentrifugation, dephosphorylated myosin sedimented as two components, the 10 S species and myosin filaments, in the solution containing 0.18 M KCl and 1 mM Mg X ATP in the presence of 60 microM purealin. These results suggest that purealin modulates the ATPase activities of dephosphorylated gizzard myosin by enhancing the stability of myosin filaments against the disassembling action of ATP.     

Involvement of an arginyl residue in the catalytic activity of myosin heads.

1. Phenylglyoxal reacts rapidly with isolated myosin heads (subfragment 1) and induces two successive and distinguishable effects on their enzymic properties: first, a twofold activation of the Ca2+ and Mg2+-dependent ATPases with no effect onthe K+-ATPase followed by inhibition of the K+, Ca2+ and actin-activated Mg2+-ATPases. A specific protein-reagent reagent complex is formed during the second phase of the modification reaction (Ki approximately 5 x 10(-3) M). 2. ADP and ATP with or without cations provide efficient protection only against the loss of ATPase activities, suggesting that the second inhibitory process is occurring at or close to the active site. 3. On the basis of [14C]phenylglyoxal-labelling experiments and the composition of modified subfragment-1 derivatives, it is demonstrated that the sequential modification of two reactive arginyl residues is responsible for the observed activation-inhibition phenomena. Blocking of the first reactive residue produces a shift in the pH/activity curves related to the Ca2+ and Mg2+-dependent ATPases with an apparent activation effect. Modification of the second guanidino group does not destroy the affinity of the protein for the nucleotide substrates but does alter the nucleotide binding site as reflected in the inability of Mg2+. ATP to dissociate the modified subfragment-1--actin complex. It is concluded that electrostatic interactions between this positively charged group and the negatively charged ATP and ADP molecules may be critical for the hydrolytic efficiency of myosin heads. 4. After dissociation and separation of the polypeptide constituents of the protein in acetic acid medium, both labelled sites are found to reside in the heavy chain.     

Two Ca2+-requiring p-nitrophenylphosphatase activities of the highly purified Ca2+-pumping adenosinetriphosphatase of human erythrocyte membranes, one requiring calmodulin and the other ATP

The highly purified Ca2+-pumping ATPase from human erythrocyte membranes displays two p-nitrophenylphosphatase (NPPase) activities: one of these requires calmodulin and low concentrations of Ca2+, while the other requires ATP and higher Ca2+ concentrations. The free Ca2+ concentrations required for the expression of the two NPPase activities differed very substantially. Both activities required high free Mg2+ concentrations and displayed simple hyperbolic kinetics toward p-nitrophenyl phosphate (NPP) with a Km in the range of 5-20 mM. Study of the dependence of the calmodulin-stimulated NPPase on Mg2+ and NPP indicated that the Mg-NPP complex is not the substrate of the enzyme. Under conditions optimal for ATP-requiring NPPase (1 mM free Ca2+), the Ca2+-ATPase displayed simple hyperbolic kinetics with a low Km for ATP. NPP competitively inhibited this activity, and the apparent Ki for NPP was less than 1 mM, much lower than the Km for NPP as a substrate. If NPP were inhibiting the ATPase by binding at the same site at which NPP is hydrolyzed, the apparent Ki for NPP as inhibitor would be the same as the Km for NPP as substrate. (Under these circumstances, the apparent Ki and the Km can be directly compared, since NPP was being hydrolyzed under both circumstances.) Since Ki was much lower than Km, NPP must have been inhibiting at another site; thus, these data show the existence of two types of NPP sites on the enzyme, one at which NPP is hydrolyzed and the other at which it inhibits ATP hydrolysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Sodium and buffer cations inhibit dephosphorylation of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase

Effects of various cations on the dephosphorylation of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, phosphorylated by ATP in 50 mM imidazole buffer (pH 7.0) at 22 degrees C without added Na+, have been studied. The dephosphorylation in imidazole buffer without added K+ is extremely sensitive to K+-activation (Km K+ = 1 microM), less sensitive to Mg2+-activation (Km Mg2+ = 0.1 mM) and Na+-activation (Km Na+ = 63 mM). Imidazole and Na+ effectively inhibit K+-activated dephosphorylation in linear competitive fashion (Ki imidazole 7.5 mM, Ki Na+ 4.6 mM). The Ki for Na+ is independent of the imidazole concentration, indicating different and non-interacting inhibitory sites for Na+ and imidazole. Imidazole inhibits Mg2+-activated dephosphorylation just as effective as K+-activated dephosphorylation, as judged from the Ki values for imidazole in the two processes. Tris buffer and choline chloride, like imidazole, inhibit dephosphorylation in the presence of residual K+ (less than 1 microM), but less effectively in terms of I50 values and extent of inhibition. Tris inhibits to the same extent as choline. This indicates different inhibitory sites for Tris or choline and for imidazole. These findings indicate that high steady-state phosphorylation levels in Na+-free imidazole buffer are due to the induction of a phosphorylating enzyme conformation and to the inhibition of (K+ + Mg2+)-stimulated dephosphorylation.     

Spectrophotometric method for the determination of renal ouabain-sensitive H+,K+-ATPase activity

The aim of this work was to develop a method for renal H+,K+-ATPase measurement based on the previously used Na+,K+-ATPase assay (Beltowski et al.: J Physiol Pharmacol.; 1998, 49: 625-37). ATPase activity was assessed by measuring the amount of inorganic phosphate liberated from ATP by isolated microsomal fraction. Both ouabain-sensitive and ouabain-resistant K+-stimulated and Na+-independent ATPase activity was detected in the renal cortex and medulla. These activities were blocked by 0.2 mM imidazolpyridine derivative, Sch 28080. The method for ouabain-sensitive H+,K+-ATPase assay is characterized by good reproducibility, linearity and recovery. In contrast, the assay for ouabain-resistant H+,K+-ATPase was unsatisfactory, probably due to low activity of this enzyme. Ouabain-sensitive H+,K+-ATPase was stimulated by K+ with Km of 0.26 +/- 0.04 mM and 0.69 +/- 0.11 mM in cortex and medulla, respectively, and was inhibited by ouabain (Ki of 2.9 +/- 0.3 microM in the renal cortex and 1.9 +/- 0.4 microM in the renal medulla) and by Sch 28080 (Ki of 1.8 +/- 0.5 microM and 2.5 +/- 0.9 microM in cortex and medulla, respectively). We found that ouabain-sensitive H+,K+-ATPase accounted for about 12% of total ouabain-sensitive activity in the Na+,K+-ATPase assay. Therefore, we suggest to use Sch 28080 during Na+,K+-ATPase measurement to block H+,K+-ATPase and improve the assay specificity. Leptin administered intraperitoneally (1 mg/kg) decreased renal medullary Na+,K+-ATPase activity by 32.1% at 1 h after injection but had no effect on H+,K+-ATPase activity suggesting that the two renal ouabain-sensitive ATPases are separately regulated.     

ATPase characteristics of myosin from nematode Caenorhabditis elegans purified by an improved method. Formation of myosin-phosphate-ADP complex and ATP-induced fluorescence enhancement

Myosin was purified rapidly from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by an improved method. Crude actomyosin was extracted from the worms at low ionic strength. Paramyosin was removed by repeating the precipitation of myosin filaments in the presence of Mg2+ and the dissolution of them in 0.6 M NaCl. Actin was removed by ultracentrifugation in the presence of Mg-ATP and finally by column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. This method gave a good yield of myosin (20-30 mg from 50 g wet weight of worms), and its EDTA(K+)-ATPase activity was about 3-fold higher than that of myosin prepared by the method of Harris and Epstein (1979). ATP hydrolysis by nematode myosin showed an initial Pi-burst due to formation of the myosin-phosphate-ADP complex. Tryptophan fluorescence of myosin was enhanced about 8% by ATP. The relationship between the structure and function of myosin is discussed based on the above results and the amino acid sequences of myosins from rabbit skeletal muscle and Caenorhabditis elegans.     

Biphasic steady-state kinetics of myosin adenosine triphosphatase. Evidence for a substrate effector site

The steady-state kinetics of the K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+-activated adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities of rabbit skeletal myosin were investigated in the substrate concentration range from 0.05 microM to 5 mM and found not to follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics but rather to display biphasic behavior. The Ca2+-ATPase activity of myosin chymotryptic subfragment-1 (S-1), which has only one active site, also exhibits biphasic kinetics, thus excluding the possibility that the biphasic behavior is caused by negative cooperativity between the two active sites of myosin. Myosin K+ and Mg2+-ATPase are both activated by 5'-adenyl methylenediphosphonate (AdoPP[CH2]P) in a competitive manner at high substrate concentrations; i.e. the maximal velocity observed at high substrate concentrations is independent of the AdoPP[CH2]P concentration. This result provides evidence for substrate activation via binding to a regulatory site. Pyrophosphate inhibits myosin ATPase in a competitive manner at low substrate concentrations and in an uncompetitive manner at high substrate concentrations, with the uncompetitive Ki being smaller than the competitive Ki; i.e. pyrophosphate binds more tightly to the effector site than to the active site.     

Characterization of gill (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

Bass gill microsomal preparations contain both a Na+, K+ and Mg2+-dependent ATPase, which is completely inhibited by 10(-3)M ouabain and 10(-2)M Ca2+, and also a ouabain insensitive ATP-ase activity in the presence of both Mg2+ and Na+. Under the optimal conditions of pH 6.5, 100 mM Na+, 20 mM K+, 5 mM ATP and 5 mM Mg2+, (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity at 30 degrees C is 15.6 mumole Pi hr/mg protein. Bass gill (Na+ + K+)-ATPase is similar to other (Na+ + K+)-ATPases with respect to the sensitivity to ionic strength, Ca2+ and ouabain and to both Na+/K+ and Mg2+/ATP optimal ratios, while pH optimum is lower than poikilotherm data. The enzyme requires Na+, whereas K+ can be replaced efficiently by NH+4 and poorly by Li+. Both Km and Vm values decrease in the series NH+4 greater than K+ greater than Li+. The break of Arrhenius plot at 17.7 degrees C is close to the adaptation temperature. Activation energies are scarcely different from each other and both lower than those generally reported. The Km for Na+ poorly decreases as the assay temperature lowers. The comparison with literature data aims at distinguishing between distinctive and common features of bass gill (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.     

Blebbistatin inhibits the chemotaxis of vascular smooth muscle cells by disrupting the myosin II-actin interaction

Blebbistatin is a myosin II-specific inhibitor. However, the mechanism and tissue specificity of the drug are not well understood. Blebbistatin blocked the chemotaxis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) toward sphingosylphosphorylcholine (IC(50) = 26.1 +/- 0.2 and 27.5 +/- 0.5 microM for GbaSM-4 and A7r5 cells, respectively) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (IC(50) = 32.3 +/- 0.9 and 31.6 +/- 1.3 muM for GbaSM-4 and A7r5 cells, respectively) at similar concentrations. Immunofluorescence and fluorescent resonance energy transfer analysis indicated a blebbistatin-induced disruption of the actin-myosin interaction in VSMCs. Subsequent experiments indicated that blebbistatin inhibited the Mg(2+)-ATPase activity of the unphosphorylated (IC(50) = 12.6 +/- 1.6 and 4.3 +/- 0.5 microM for gizzard and bovine stomach, respectively) and phosphorylated (IC(50) = 15.0 +/- 0.6 microM for gizzard) forms of purified smooth muscle myosin II, suggesting a direct effect on myosin II motor activity. It was further observed that the Mg(2+)-ATPase activities of gizzard myosin II fragments, heavy meromyosin (IC(50) = 14.4 +/- 1.6 microM) and subfragment 1 (IC(50) = 5.5 +/- 0.4 microM), were also inhibited by blebbistatin. Assay by in vitro motility indicated that the inhibitory effect of blebbistatin was reversible. Electron-microscopic evaluation showed that blebbistatin induced a distinct conformational change (i.e., swelling) of the myosin II head. The results suggest that the site of blebbistatin action is within the S1 portion of smooth muscle myosin II.     

Binding of manganese ions to the Na+/K+-ATPase during phosphorylation by ATP

The aim of the present work was to study the Mg2+-Na+/K+-ATPase interaction that was proposed to lead to the formation of a stable Mg-enzyme complex during phosphorylation from ATP. Instead of Mg we used Mn, which can replace Mg as essential activator of Na+/K+-ATPase activity. The amounts of steady-state Mn bound to the enzyme were estimated at 0 degree C on the basis of the 54Mn remaining in the effluent after passing the reaction mixture through a cation exchange resin column. As a function of the MnCl2 concentration, the amount of Mn retained by the enzyme in the absence and presence of ATP showed a saturable and a linear component; the slope of the linear component was the same in both instances (0.016 nmol/mg per microM). The ATP-dependent Mn binding could be adjusted to a hyperbolic function with a Km of 0.76 microM. The ratio [ATP-dependent E-Mn]/[E-P] measured at 5 microM MnCl2 and 5 microM ATP was not different from 1.0, both in native (Mn-E2-P) as well as in a chymotrypsin treated enzyme (Mn-E1-P). When the Mn.E-P complex was allowed to react with KCl (E2-P form) or ADP (E1-P form), the enzyme was dephosphorylated and simultaneously lost the strongly bound Mn in such a way that the ratio [ATP-dependent E-Mn]/[E-P] remained 1:1. These results show the existence of strongly bound Mn ions to Na+/K+-ATPase during phosphorylation by ATP. That binding is (i) of high affinity for Mn, (ii) probably on a single site, and (iii) with a stoichiometry Mn-Pi of 1:1.     

Ca2+-activated ATPase of rat liver plasma membrane.

Rat liver plasma membranes hydrolyze ATP in the presence of Ca2+. The rate of hydrolysis is different when Mg2+ions are present in the incubation system. Several parameters differentiate Ca2+-ATPase from Mg2+-ATPase: a) the Km of ATP hydrolysis for Ca2+ (2.25 x 10(-4) M) is lower than for Mg2+ (2.14 x 10(-3) M); b) the shape of the activation curve is hyperbolic in the presence of Ca2+ and sigmoid in the presence of Mg2+; c) Mg2+-ATPase shows two different values of activation energy while Ca2+-ATPase presents only a single value; d) Ca2+-ATPase is inhibited, while Mg2+-ATPase is unaffected by cyclic AMP. Ca2+-ATPase is localized on the plasma membrane and is not inhibited by cysteine. It does not hydrolyze substrates different from nucleotides triphosphate, such as glucose-1-phosphate or alpha-glycero-phosphate. The enzyme is probably related to a mechanism of calcium transport.     

Carbamate kinase of Lactobacillus buchneri NCDO110. I. Purification and properties

Carbamate kinase has been prepared from Lactobacillus buchneri NCDO110. An approximately 91-fold increase in the specific activity of the enzyme was achieved. The purified extract exhibited a single band following polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The apparent molecular weight as determined by gel electrophoresis was about 97,000. The enzyme is stable for 2 weeks at -20 degrees C. Maximum enzymatic activity was observed at 30 degrees C and pH 5.4 in 0.1 M acetate buffer. L. buchneri carbamate kinase requires Mg2+ or Mn2+; its activity is higher with Mn2+. The activation energy of the reaction was 4078 cal mol-1 for the reaction with Mn2+ and 3059 cal mol-1 for the reaction with Mg2+. From a Dixon plot a pK value of 4.8 was calculated. The apparent Km values for ADP with Mg2+ or Mn2+ were 0.71 X 10(-3) and 1.17 X 10(-3) M, respectively, and the apparent Km values for carbamyl phosphate with Mg2+ or Mn2+ were 1.63 X 10(-3) and 1.53 X 10(-3) M, respectively. ATP and CTP acted as inhibitors of this reaction and the following values were obtained: Ki (ATP)Mg2+ = 9.4 mM, Ki (ATP)Mn2+ = 6.2 mM, and Ki (CTP)Mg2+ = 4.4 mM.     

Properties of myosin light chain kinase prepared from rabbit skeletal muscle by an improved method

Myosin light chain kinase was prepared from rabbit skeletal muscle. DEAE-Sephadex, calmodulin-Sepharose 4B affinity gel and Ultrogel AcA 34 were used for the purification. It took 3 days for the preparation, and 6.2 mg of myosin light chain kinase was isolated from 600 g of frozen muscle. The molecular weight of the myosin light chain kinase estimated by sedimentation equilibrium analysis was 103,000 +/- 4,100. The isoelectric point was 5.0. Chemical modification of cysteine residues did not affect the catalytic activity, but modification of tyrosine residues diminished the activity. In order to activate myosin light chain kinase, it was necessary to bind calmodulin in an equimolar ratio and the dissociation constant was estimated to be 3.6 nM. The optimum pH for the catalytic activity was 7.5, and the activity was inhibited by NaCl and KCl. In the presence of 2.74 mg/ml myosin light chain and 75 mM KCl, the catalytic activity was found to be 88 s-1. The Vm and Km at 0.14 M KCl were 100 s-1 and 53 microM, respectively, for the isolated light chain as substrate and 70-80 s-1 and 19 microM for myosin as substrate.     

The purification and characterization of a globular subfragment of Acanthamoeba myosin II that is fully active when cross-linked to F-actin

Acanthamoeba myosin II contains two heavy chains of Mr 185,000 and two pairs of light chains of Mr 17,500 and 17,000. We now report the purification of a globular proteolytic 103-kDa subfragment of myosin II which contained a 68-kDa NH2-terminal segment of the heavy chain and one pair of intact light chains. The myosin II head fragment expressed full Ca2+-ATPase activity but its actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity had a Vmax of only 0.07 s-1 compared to 1.9 s-1 (per head) for filaments of native unphosphorylated myosin II. The head fragment had a similar KATPase to that of filaments (5 versus 4 microM) and about 75% of the head fraction could bind to F-actin in the presence of ATP with a Kbinding of 5.6 microM. The Kbinding of the head fragment may be similar to that of individual heads in the native myosin II filaments although the experimentally determined apparent Kbinding for filaments is much lower, 0.3 microM. The head fragment was covalently cross-linked to F-actin in the absence of nucleotide using the zero length cross-linker 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide. The cross-linked actin-myosin head complex hydrolyzed MgATP at a rate equivalent to Vmax for the active dephosphorylated native myosin II. These data indicate that the isolated head fragment had intact catalytic and actin-binding domains but that it bound to F-actin in the presence of ATP in a relatively inactive conformation. When covalently cross-linked to F-actin the head fragment was apparently locked into a catalytically fully active conformation.