Purification and Characterization of Two Casein Kinase Type II Isozymes from Bovine Brain Gray Matter

Abstract: Highly purified casein kinase II (CK II) isozymes from bovine brain gray matter (BBGM) were obtained by means of a new purification procedure consisting of one phosphocellulose and three Mono-Q steps. The phosphocellulose eluate showed two BBGM-CK II activities. The first minor component (BBGM-CK IIa) was eluted with 0.9 M NaCl and the major component was eluted at 1.1 M NaCl (BBGM-CK IIb). The protein complexes responsible for these two activities were comprised of three subunits, i.e., α (40 kDa), α' (38 kDa), and β (28 kDa), with various subunit ratios. The two isozymes displayed the same behavior on Superose 12 fast protein liquid chromatographic gel filtration and sucrose density centrifugation. BBGM-CK IIa and b showed chromatographic and biochemical differences including differing K _m for ATP and GTP and K _i for heparin and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate. The properties of the main peak (BBGM-CK IIb) were studied in detail. The stimulatory effect of Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Co²⁺ was highly dependent both on the nature of the substrate and on ionic type and concentration. It is surprising that with phosvitin as substrate, BBGM-CK IIb was fully active even in the absence of Mg²⁺ and NaCl. The inhibitory effect of heparin and the stimulatory effects of NaCl, KCl, spermine, and polylysine were highly dependent on the ionic strength, buffer type, and substrate. BBGM-CK II isozymes phosphorylated stathmine in the presence of polylysine, but the requirement for polybasic compounds was not absolute, as is the case with calmodulin and clathrin β-light chain. The unusual chromatographic behavior and biochemical properties of these BBGM-CK II isozymes, compared with the classical CK II, could be explained at least in part by their subunit ratios.