Search PubMedSearch

Biomedical subjects

J M Lowenstein

Publications and source records attributed to J M Lowenstein.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Binding of phospholipase C delta 1 to phospholipid vesicles.

Binding of phospholipase C delta 1 (PLC delta) to phospholipid vesicles was studied using large, unilamellar phospholipid vesicles (LUVs). PLC delta bound weakly to vesicles composed of phosphatidylserine (PS) or phosphatidylcholine (PC) or phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) + PC, and even more weakly to vesicles composed of phosphatidylinositol. The enzyme bound strongly to LUVs composed of PE + PC and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) or sphingomyelin (SM). Binding of 50% of PLC delta occurred at 0.25 nmol/ml PIP2 when LUVs composed of PE + PC (molar ratio of 80:20), plus various amounts of PIP2, were used at a constant phospholipid concentration of 300 nmol/ml. When LUVs composed of PE + PC + PIP2 (molar ratio of 79:20:1) were tested as a function of increasing phospholipid concentration, 50% binding of PLC delta occurred at 1.2 nmol/ml PIP2 and 120 nmol/ml total phospholipid. Similar measurements were conducted with other phospholipids and PIP2 at a molar ratio of 99:1. These showed that 50% binding of PLC delta occurred at a level of 0.9 nmol/ml PIP2 with 80 nmol/ml PC; at 2.2 nmol/ml PIP2 with 170 nmol/ml PS; at 4.2 nmol/ml PIP2 with 320 nmol/ml PI; and at 0.26 nmol/ml PIP2 with 20 nmol/ml total liver phospholipids. Binding to phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate was much weaker. When LUVs composed of PE + PC + SM (molar ratio 48:12:40) were tested as a function of increasing phospholipid concentration, 50% binding of PLC delta occurred at a level of 96 nmol/ml SM. This is well below the concentration of SM that can be calculated to face the cytosol. Binding of PLC delta to LUVs decreased as the temperature was lowered from 37 degrees C to 0 degree C. Thus PLC delta shows a high degree of specificity for binding to PIP2 and SM. Under physiological conditions a considerable fraction of PLC delta may be bound to cellular membranes, either in an inactive form if bound to PIP2 at low resting Ca2+ concentrations, or in the inhibited form if bound to SM.

Animals

The role of inositol phospholipids in the association of band 4.1 with the human erythrocyte membrane.

Band 4.1 is a major protein of the erythrocyte membrane skeleton. It promotes the binding of spectrin to F-actin and may anchor the skeletal network to the plasma membrane via its association with integral membrane proteins. Here, we have investigated the involvement of inositol phospholipids in the binding of band 4.1 to erythrocyte membranes using membrane vesicles stripped of all peripheral proteins at alkaline pH. Trypsinization of these vesicles allows the discrimination of two classes of band 4.1 binding sites: trypsin-sensitive sites (60-65% of the total), largely or exclusively on band 3, and trypsin-resistant sites (35-40% of the total), composed, at least in part, of the glycophorins. ATP depletion or activation of erythrocyte phosphoinositol phospholipase C led to a reduction in membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] content by 20-70% in different experiments. The resulting decrease of band 4.1 binding to vesicles by was variable, but averaged about 15-20%. The same treatments led to an average decrease in the band 4.1 binding capacity of trypsinized vesicles of 55%. Since this is equivalent to a 20% decrease in the binding capacity of non-trypsinized vesicles (consistent with the above result), it indicates that PtdIns(4,5)P2 regulates the binding of band 4.1 only to trypsin-resistant binding sites (and to only a subset of these) accounting for about 15-20% of total band 4.1 binding sites on membranes. We found that hydrolysis of > 95% of PtdIns(4,5)P2 with exogenous phospholipase C-delta (PLC delta) resulted in no further decrease in band 4.1 binding to vesicles than did hydrolysis of 65-70% of PtdIns(4,5)P2 which is accessible to erythrocyte phosphoinositol phospholipase C. This suggests that only 65-70% of total membrane PtdIns(4,5)P2 is involved in regulating band 4.1 binding. Significantly, the pool of PtdIns(4,5)P2 involved is the same pool which can be hydrolysed by erythrocyte phosphoinositol phospholipase C, and which has been shown to be metabolically labile in erythrocytes. The membrane binding capacity for band 4.1 found in this study (averaging 1000 micrograms/mg vesicle protein) is considerably higher than that found in previous studies. The results are consistent with the existence of a binding site for band 4.1 on each copy of the major transmembrane proteins (band 3 and the glycophorins). These results provide new insights into the involvement of membrane inositol phospholipids in cytoskeletal-membrane interactions.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Inhibition of phospholipase C delta by hexadecylphosphorylcholine and lysophospholipids with antitumor activity.

The antineoplastic compound hexadecylphosphorylcholine (HPC) was shown to be a highly effective inhibitor of phospholipase C delta (PLC delta 1), with an I50 of about 30 nmol/mL (30 microM) in the presence and absence of 200 microM spermine. A number of lysophospholipids, of which HPC can be considered to be a structural analog, also inhibited PLC. Lysosphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylserine, and lysophosphatidylcholine exhibited I50 values of 15, 10, and 7 nmol/mL, respectively, in the presence of 200 microM spermine. The I50 values were increased to 21-53 nmol/mL in the absence of spermine. N,N-Dimethylsphingosine and N,N,N-trimethylsphingosine, which inhibit the metastatic potential of human and murine tumor cells, were weak activators of PLC delta 1. It is postulated that HPC is more effective as an antineoplastic agent than lysophospholipids because HPC is metabolized slowly, while the lysophospholipids are metabolized rapidly in vivo.

Animals

Effect of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids on transformation of cultured cells by irradiation and transfection.

Mouse embryo fibroblasts (C3H 10T1/2) were exposed to 4 Gy of gamma-rays. The cells yielded 5-8 transformed foci per 10(4) surviving cells. Addition of 100 microM of either eicosapentaenoate or docosahexaenoate to the tissue culture medium reduced the number of transformed foci to 0-1.4. C3H 10T1/2 and NIH 3T3 cells were transfected with plasmid T24 containing the Harvey ras oncogene. C3H 10T1/2 cells yielded 0.85-1.1 foci/ng DNA, while NIH 3T3 cells yielded 0.12-0.14 foci/ng DNA. Foci formation was suppressed 65% in C3H 10T1/2 cells and 93% in NIH 3T3 cells when 100 microM eicosapentaenoate was present in the culture medium. Docosahexaenoate had a similar but somewhat weaker effect. Addition of arachidonate to the medium had little or no effect. Cells grown in the presence of added eicosapentaenoate or docosahexaenoate produced much less prostaglandin E when challenged with calcium ionophore A23187. This is a reflection of changes in arachidonate production or utilization that occur during transformation which are suppressed by the added omega 3 fatty acids. Addition of eicosapentaenoate or docosahexaenoate to the culture medium resulted in extensive remodeling of the molecular species of the four major phospholipid classes that were examined. In its simplest form, omega 3-fatty acid-containing species substantially replaced omega 6-fatty acid-containing species. However, many more subtle changes occurred, and the different phospholipids responded differently to different polyunsaturated fatty acids. A feature of C3H 10T1/2 cells was their preferential accumulation of molecular species of 22-carbon fatty acids such as docosapentaenoate (22:5 omega 3) and docosatetraenoate (22:4 omega 6) in preference to eicosapentaenoate (20:5 omega 3) and eicosapentaenoate (arachidonate, 20:4 omega 6). It is proposed that the protective effect of eicosapentaenoate and docosahexaenoate arises out of the changes in the composition of the fatty acids that are released from one or more phospholipids by the action of phospholipases. The changes consist of a reduced release of arachidonate, the normal substrate of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenases, and a greatly increased release of eicosapentaenoate and docosahexaenoate, which inhibit one or more of these enzymes, or form oxygenated products which are not as active as the arachidonate-derived products. Other mechanisms are also considered.

3T3 Cells

An extended method for separating and quantitating molecular species of phospholipids.

An improved and extended method for separating and quantitating molecular species of four phospholipid classes is presented. Crude lipid extract is first separated into phospholipid classes on a silica column. Each phospholipid class is then separated into molecular species without derivatization using high-performance liquid chromatography on columns packed with octadecyl silica. Quantitation of individual species is achieved by measuring absorbance at 205 nm. Factors for converting absorbancies to mol fractions have been determined. Quantitation by absorbance at 205 nm agrees well with quantitation by gas chromatography which is preferred to quantitation by phosphate analysis. One hundred phospholipid species have been identified. A table of relative retention times of molecular species is provided. Examples of quantitative analyses of species composition are presented.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

Regulation of phospholipase C delta activity by sphingomyelin and sphingosine.

Phospholipase C delta (PLC delta) is strongly inhibited by sphingomyelin (SM). The inhibition occurs in both the presence and the absence of spermine, an activator of PLC delta. Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylserine (PS), and phosphatidylinositol (PI) also inhibit PLC delta in the presence of spermine but are much less effective than SM. PE and PC activate and PS and PI inhibit PLC delta in the absence of spermine. Again, the inhibition by PS and PI is much weaker than the inhibition observed with SM. Similar or identical effects are observed in detergent micelle and liposome assays. Comparisons of physiological concentrations of SM with concentrations yielding 50% inhibition of PLC delta in vitro indicate that SM is likely to be a major factor in regulating the activity of PLC delta by inhibition. It is proposed that, in vivo, sphingomyelin acts as an inhibitor of PLC delta, which enables the enzyme to be regulated by activation. In certain circumstances, there is a substantial decline in SM and this may lead to a partial relief of the inhibition. PLC delta is activated by sphingosine in the absence of spermine. However, this activation occurs at unphysiologically high concentrations of sphingosine. The effects of SM and sphingosine on PLC delta in marked contrast to those observed with protein kinase C, which is unaffected by sphingomyelin and inhibited by sphingosine.

Animals

Scyphomedusae and their polyps are the same immunologically: implications for systematics.

1. Polyp and medusa of the scyphozoans Aurelia aurita and Pelagia colorata (phylum Cnidaria) are indistinguishable by radioimmunoassay of whole animals, yet differ from other cnidarians against which they were tested. 2. We infer that proteins distinguishing species swamp those that differentiate the two (very distinct) life history phases. 3. Thus, at least for some taxa and some systematic techniques analyzing proteins, using organisms at the same developmental phase may be unnecessary, contrary to conventional wisdom.

Animals

Inhibition of phosphorylation of troponin I in rat heart by adenosine and 5'-chloro-5'-deoxyadenosine.

We have investigated the effects of adenosine on protein phosphorylation in extracts of rat heart. Incubation of a myofibrillar fraction with [gamma-32P]ATP resulted in the phosphorylation of several proteins by endogenous protein kinases. The adenosine analog 5'-chloro-5'-deoxyadenosine inhibited the phosphorylation of a 29 kD protein in this preparation. The protein was identified as cardiac troponin I (cTnI) by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, using purified cTnI as standard. Addition of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase to the myofibrillar fraction increased phosphorylation of cTnI; this increase was inhibited by 5'-chloro-5'-deoxyadenosine and adenosine. Phosphorylation of purified cTnI by the catalytic subunit was also inhibited by 5'-chloro-5'-deoxyadenosine. Under these conditions used, 50% inhibition of phosphorylation by either endogenous or exogenous kinase was observed at approximately 50 microM 5'-chloro-5'-deoxyadenosine or adenosine. The inhibition described here occurred independently of catecholamines. The effects of ADP, AMP, and adenine on cTnI phosphorylation are also described.

Adenosine

5'-Nucleotidase I from rabbit heart.

5'-Nucleotidase I (N-I) from rabbit heart was purified to homogeneity. After ammonium sulfate precipitation, the purification involved chromatography on phosphocellulose, DEAE-Sepharose, AMP-agarose, and ADP-agarose. The pure enzyme has a specific activity of 318 mumol (mg of protein)-1 min-1. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate yields a subunit molecular weight of 40,000. N-I is activated by ADP but not by ATP, in contrast to the 5'-nucleotidase (N-II) purified by Itoh et al. (1986), which is activated by ATP and, less well, by ADP. N-I displays sigmoidal saturation kinetics in the absence of ADP and hyperbolic kinetics in the presence of ADP. Partially purified N-I was previously shown to prefer AMP over IMP as substrate (Truong et al., 1988); this has been confirmed for pure N-I. Comparison of AMP and ADP concentrations reported to occur in heart with the kinetic behavior of N-I implicates N-I as the enzyme responsible for producing adenosine under conditions leading to a rise in ADP and AMP, such as hypoxia or increased workload. N-I is not activated by the ADP analogue adenosine 5'-methylenediphosphonate (AOPCP) and is only weakly inhibited by relatively high concentrations of AOPCP, in contrast to 5'-nucleotidase from plasma membrane, which is powerfully inhibited by this analogue. N-I shows an absolute dependence on Mg2+ ions. Mn2+ and Co2+ ions can replace Mg2+ ions as activator; Ni2+ and Fe2+ are much less effective, while Ca2+, Ba2+, Zn2+, and Cu2+ fail to activate the enzyme.

5'-Nucleotidase

Activation of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C delta from rat liver by polyamines and basic proteins.

Phospholipase C from rat liver with a molecular weight of 87,000 (PLC delta) is stimulated by polyamines, basic proteins, and basic polyamino acids. The activation occurs in both the presence and the absence of detergents. Half-maximum activation by spermine is observed at 0.15 mM, with optimum effects between 0.2 and 0.5 mM. Spermine inhibits above 0.5 mM. Half-maximum activation by spermidine and putrescine is observed at 0.9 and 6 mM, respectively, with optimum effects at 2 and 5 mM, respectively. These polyamines also inhibit at higher concentrations. Neomycin activates the enzyme with an optimum concentration of 10 microM, but maximum activation is less than with polyamines. Half-maximum activation by histone 2B occurs at 0.5 micrograms/ml (36 nM), with maximum stimulation at 1.5 micrograms/ml. Other histones, protamine, melittin, poly-L-ornithine, poly-L-lysine, poly-D-lysine, and poly-L-arginine, activate optimally at 3-10 micrograms/ml. Myelin basic protein and lysozyme activate optimally at 50-100 micrograms/ml. Typical activations are three- to eightfold, but under some conditions the enzyme shows little or no activity in the absence of basic activators. The basic activators lower the salt concentration required for maximal activity. In the case of the detergent-micelle assay, histone shifts the optimum NaCl concentration from 350 to 200 mM for PIP2, from 260 to 100 mM for PIP, and from 150 to 0 mM for PI. Histone potentiates the activation by Ca2+, but does not shift the optimum Ca2+ concentration. The optimum salt and Ca2+ concentrations are linked, such that a decrease in the concentration of one decreases the optimum concentration of the other. Activation by histone is diminished by MgCl2 in a concentration-dependent manner.

Animals

Selective inactivation of peroxisomal and cytosolic 3-ketothiolase IB by 2-chloro-6-phenylhexanoate in intact hepatocytes.

Rat liver mitochondria and cytosol contain two types of 3-ketothiolases, namely 3-ketothiolases IA and IB, which cleave 3-ketoacyl-coenzyme A (CoA) esters containing four or more carbons and 3-ketothiolases IIA and IIB, which cleave 3-ketoacyl-CoA esters containing four carbons, i.e. acetoacetyl-CoA (Aragon, J.J., and Lowenstein, J.M. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 4725-4733). We now report that rat liver peroxisomes also contain 3-ketothiolases IA and IB and show that incubation of hepatocytes with 2-chloro-6-phenylhexanoate causes the selective inactivation of peroxisomal and cytosolic 3-ketothiolase IB, while mitochondrial 3-ketothiolases are not appreciably affected. The basis of the selectivity of the inhibitor for peroxisomal and cytosolic 3-ketothiolases can be accounted for in terms of the specificities of the enzymes in the different pathways of beta-oxidation. Evidence is presented that 2-chloro-6-phenylhexanoate is metabolized to 2-chloro-3-keto-6-phenylhexanoyl-CoA, which then alkylates 3-ketothiolase and thereby inactivates the enzyme. Evidence is presented which suggests that cytosolic 3-ketothiolases IA and IB are not artifacts of homogenization and organelle preparation.

Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase

The involvement of carnitine intermediates in peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation: a study with 2-bromofatty acids.

Metabolism-dependent inactivators of 3-ketothiolase I and carnitine acyltransferase I (CAT I) have been used to study the oxidation of fatty acids in intact hepatocytes. 2-Bromooctanoate inactivates mitochondrial and peroxisomal 3-ketothiolases I in a time-dependent manner. During the first 5 min of incubation, inactivation of 3-ketothiolase in mitochondria is five times faster than its inactivation in peroxisomes. Almost complete inactivation of 3-ketothiolase I in both types of organelle is achieved after incubation with 1 mM 2-bromooctanoate for 40 min. The inactivation is not affected by preincubating hepatocytes with 20 microM tetradecylglycidate (TDGA), an inactivator of CAT I, under conditions which cause greater than 95% inactivation of CAT I. 2-Bromododecanoate (1 mM) causes 60% inactivation of mitochondrial and peroxisomal 3-ketothiolases I in 40 min. These inactivations are greatly reduced by preincubating hepatocytes with 20 microM TDGA, demonstrating that 2-bromododecanoate enters both mitochondria and peroxisomes via its carnitine ester. 2-Bromopalmitate (1 mM) causes less than 5% inactivation of mitochondrial and peroxisomal 3-ketothiolases I in 40 min, but causes 95% inactivation of CAT I during this time. Incubation of hepatocytes with 10-200 microM 2-bromopalmitoyl-L-carnitine causes inactivation of mitochondrial and peroxisomal 3-ketothiolases I at similar rates. This inactivation is decreased by palmitoyl-D-carnitine during the first 5 min of incubation. Pretreating hepatocytes with 20 microM TDGA does not affect the inactivation of mitochondrial or peroxisomal 3-ketothiolase I by 2-bromopalmitoyl-L-carnitine. These results demonstrate that in intact hepatocytes, peroxisomes oxidize fatty acids of medium-chain length by a carnitine-independent mechanism, whereas they oxidize long-chain fatty acids by a carnitine-dependent mechanism.

Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase

The purine nucleotide cycle revisited [corrected].

This review is restricted to the operation of the purine cycle in mammalian muscle. A previous review provided a summary of early evidence for the operation of the cycle and of various functions proposed for the cycle. It also provided a brief history of work on ammonia production by muscle and other tissues and of the discovery of the enzymes of the purine nucleotide cycle. Recent reviews on the purine nucleotide cycle include those of Terjung et al. and van Waarde.

Ammonia

Polyphosphoinositides produced by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase are poor substrates for phospholipases C from rat liver and bovine brain.

The ability of three pure types of bovine brain phospholipase C (PLC) and one pure rat liver PLC to utilize as substrates the recently discovered phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI-3-P), a putative phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PI-3,4-P2), and phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate (PIP3) was investigated. PI-3-P, PI-3,4-P2, and PIP3 are the products of phosphorylation of PI, PI-4-P, and PI-4,5-P2, respectively, by phosphoinositide 3-kinase activities that are associated with certain protein-tyrosine kinases. Although these new phospholipids have been found in intact cells, PI-3,4-P2 and PIP3 appear only after stimulation of quiescent cells with growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (Auger, K. R., Serunian, L. A., Soltoff, S. P., Libby, P., and Cantley, L. C. (1989) Cell 57, 167-175) and after transformation by certain oncoproteins (L. A. Serunian, K. R. Auger, T. M. Roberts, and L. C. Cantley, manuscript in preparation). Mixtures of [3H]PI-4-P plus [32P]PI-3-P or [3H]PI-4,5-P2 plus [32P]PI-3,4-P2 or PIP3 alone were used as substrates for PLCs in vitro. After incubation with enzyme followed by extraction with chloroform/methanol/HCl, the ratio of 3H/32P in the aqueous layer revealed the selective hydrolysis of PI-4-P and PI-4,5-P2 over PI-3-P and PI-3,4-P2. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of the aqueous layer containing reaction products confirmed that only PI-4-P and PI-4,5-P2, were hydrolyzed to inositol 1,4-P2 and inositol 1,4,5-P3, respectively. These findings suggest that the turnover of PI-3-P, PI-3,4-P2, and PIP3 occurs independently of the turnover of PI-4-P and PI-4,5-P2.

Animals

28 kDa adenosine-binding proteins of brain and other tissues.

Membranes prepared from calf brain were solubilized and chromatographed on a column containing 5'-amino-5'-deoxyadenosine covalently linked to agarose through the 5'-amino group. When the column was eluted with adenosine, a pure protein emerged with subunit molecular mass of 28 kDa. The protein was extracted from the membranes with sodium cholate, but not with 100 microM-adenosine or 0.5 M-NaCl. A similar 28 kDa protein was isolated from the soluble fraction of calf brain. The yield of membrane-bound and soluble 28 kDa protein per gram of tissue was about the same. The 28 kDa protein was also found in membrane and soluble fractions of rabbit heart, rat liver and vascular smooth muscle from calf aorta. The yield per gram of tissue fell into the order brain greater than heart approximately vascular smooth muscle greater than liver for the 28 kDa protein from the membrane fraction, and brain approximately heart greater than vascular smooth muscle greater than liver for the 28 kDa protein from the soluble fraction. Polyclonal antibodies to pure 28 kDa protein from calf brain membranes cross-reacted with the 28 kDa protein from calf brain soluble fraction and with 28 kDa proteins isolated from other tissues. The 28 kDa protein from calf brain membranes was also eluted from the affinity column by AMP and 2',5'-dideoxyadenosine, but at a concentration higher than that at which adenosine eluted the protein, but N6-(R-phenylisopropyl)adenosine, 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine, ADP, ATP, GTP, NAD+, cyclic AMP and inosine failed to elute the protein at concentrations up to 1 mM. The 28 kDa protein from the soluble fraction was not eluted by 3 mM-AMP or 1 mM-N6-(R-phenylisopropyl)adenosine,-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine or -cyclic AMP. Unexpectedly, the soluble 28 kDa protein was eluted by AMP in the presence of sodium cholate. Soluble 28 kDa protein from calf brain had a KD for adenosine of 12 microM. Membrane 28 kDa protein from calf brain had a KD of 14 microM in the presence of 0.1% sodium cholate. Amino acid compositions of the 28 kDa proteins were similar, but not identical.

Adenosine

Regulation of soluble 5'-nucleotidase I from rabbit heart.

Rabbit heart contains two soluble 5'-nucleotidases, termed N-I and N-II, which can be separated using phosphocellulose chromatography. N-I prefers AMP over IMP as substrate, in contrast to N-II which prefers IMP over AMP. Both enzymes require Mg2+, but the optimum Mg2+ concentrations for the two enzymes are different. High concentrations of NaCl inhibit N-I and activate N-II. Purified N-I is activated by ADP but not by ATP. According to Itoh et al. (1986), purified N-II is activated by both ADP and ATP. N-I has been purified approximately 1000-fold to a specific activity of approximately 100 mumol/mg protein/min. The properties of N-I suggest that it is the enzyme responsible for the release of adenosine from AMP under conditions of hypoxia or increased work load.

5'-Nucleotidase

Purification of a phospholipase C from rat liver cytosol that acts on phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate.

A soluble phospholipase C from rat liver was purified to homogeneity using phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) as substrate. After ammonium sulfate fractionation, the purification involved chromatography on phosphocellulose, DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B, hydroxylapatite, Reactive Blue 2 dye-linked agarose, and Mono S cation exchanger. Under the conditions of the assay, the pure enzyme had a specific activity of 407 mumol/mg protein/min. It migrated as a single band with a molecular mass of 87 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The water-soluble product formed during the hydrolysis of PIP2 by the purified enzyme was inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. The enzyme shows one-half of maximum velocity at 2 microM Ca2+ with PIP2 as substrate. Between 0 and 100 microM Ca2+, the enzyme shows approximately the same activity with phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PIP) as it does with PIP2, and very low activity with phosphatidylinositol. The enzyme is activated by low concentrations of basic proteins; for example, with PIP2 as substrate, 1 microgram/ml histone activates the enzyme 3.6-fold. The enzyme shows an almost absolute requirement for monovalent salts which can be met by different alkali metal halides. A second, minor peak of PIP2-hydrolyzing phospholipase C activity was resolved during chromatography of the enzyme on hydroxylapatite. The substrate specificity suggests that PIP and PIP2 are normal substrates of this enzyme. Under physiological conditions of activation, the enzyme may therefore generate inositol 1,4-bisphosphate and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in amounts determined by the ratio of PIP and PIP2 present in the cellular membranes.

Animals