Identification in human erythrocytes of mono(ADP-ribosyl) protein hydrolase that cleaves a mono(ADP-ribosyl) Gi linkage

Sulphurous mineral water oral therapy: effects on erythrocyte metabolism

The ingestion of water containing hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S) is common in spring sulphurous mineral water (SMW) therapy. We hypothesized that observed detrimental effects are related to the alteration of erythrocytes metabolism caused by H(2)S. To verify our hypothesis, we treated 20 healthy volunteers with SMW and evidenced an increase of methemoglobin concentration, an inhibition of both erythrocyte glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activities. To investigate the mechanism of H(2)S effect on GAPDH activity, an in vitro study was performed by incubating both erythrocytes from 12 healthy volunteers and purified GAPDH with buffered [(35)S]-H(2)S labelled sulphurous water. The interaction between H(2)S and NAD(+)(H), was also investigated. The results indicate that a direct reaction between GAPDH and H(2)S does not occur and the observed decrease of GAPDH activity is to ascribe to the reaction between H(2)S and NAD(+)(H). This may lead to GAPDH inhibition by two ways, namely (i) cellular NAD(+)(H) reduced availability and (ii) catalytic site blockage. In conclusion, our results show that among the detrimental effects of SMW administration are erythrocyte GAPDH and G6PDH activity inhibition and increased methemoglobin concentration. A mechanism to explain the occurrence of these biochemical events is also proposed.

Nuclear ADP-ribosylation reactions in mammalian cells: where are we today and where are we going?

Since poly-ADP ribose was discovered over 40 years ago, there has been significant progress in research into the biology of mono- and poly-ADP-ribosylation reactions. During the last decade, it became clear that ADP-ribosylation reactions play important roles in a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes, including inter- and intracellular signaling, transcriptional regulation, DNA repair pathways and maintenance of genomic stability, telomere dynamics, cell differentiation and proliferation, and necrosis and apoptosis. ADP-ribosylation reactions are phylogenetically ancient and can be classified into four major groups: mono-ADP-ribosylation, poly-ADP-ribosylation, ADP-ribose cyclization, and formation of O-acetyl-ADP-ribose. In the human genome, more than 30 different genes coding for enzymes associated with distinct ADP-ribosylation activities have been identified. This review highlights the recent advances in the rapidly growing field of nuclear mono-ADP-ribosylation and poly-ADP-ribosylation reactions and the distinct ADP-ribosylating enzyme families involved in these processes, including the proposed family of novel poly-ADP-ribose polymerase-like mono-ADP-ribose transferases and the potential mono-ADP-ribosylation activities of the sirtuin family of NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylases. A special focus is placed on the known roles of distinct mono- and poly-ADP-ribosylation reactions in physiological processes, such as mitosis, cellular differentiation and proliferation, telomere dynamics, and aging, as well as "programmed necrosis" (i.e., high-mobility-group protein B1 release) and apoptosis (i.e., apoptosis-inducing factor shuttling). The proposed molecular mechanisms involved in these processes, such as signaling, chromatin modification (i.e., "histone code"), and remodeling of chromatin structure (i.e., DNA damage response, transcriptional regulation, and insulator function), are described. A potential cross talk between nuclear ADP-ribosylation processes and other NAD(+)-dependent pathways is discussed.

ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases and ADP-ribosyltransferases. Partners in ADP-ribosylation cycles

Mono-ADP-ribosylation is a reversible modification of arginine residues in proteins, with NAD:arginine ADP-ribosyltransferases and ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases constituting opposing arms of a putative ADP-ribosylation cycle. The enzymatic components of an ADP-ribosylation cycle have been identified in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. The regulatory significance of the cycle has been best documented in prokaryotes. As shown by Ludden and coworkers, ADP-ribosylation controls the activity of dinitrogenase reductase in the phototropic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum. ADP-ribosylation of other amino acids, such as cysteine, has also been demonstrated, lending credence to the hypothesis that this modification is heterogeneous. In eukaryotes, the functional relationship between ADP-ribosyltransferases and ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases is less well documented. The transferase-catalyzed reaction results in sterospecific formation of alpha-ADP-ribosylarginine from beta-NAD; ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases specifically cleave the alpha-anomer, leading to release of ADP-ribose and regeneration of the free guanidino group of arginine. The two reactions can thus be coupled in vitro. Coupling in vivo is dependent on cellular localization. The deduced amino acid sequences of ADP-ribosyltransferases from avian and mammalian tissues have common consensus sequences involved in catalytic activity but, in some instances, enzyme-specific cellular localization signals. The presence of amino- and carboxy-terminal signal sequences is consistent with the glycosylphosphatidylinositol(GPI)-anchoring to the cell surface. The muscle and lymphocyte transferases ADP-ribosylate integrins. Some transferases lack the carboxy- terminal signal sequence needed for GPI-anchoring. Most ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolase activity is cytosolic, although perhaps some is located at the cell surface. Deduced amino acid sequences of hydrolases from a number of mammalian species are consistent with their cytoplasmic localization. Katada and coworkers have determined, however, that auto-ADP-ribosylated RT6, a GPI-linked protein, is metabolized by a hydrolase-like activity, consistent with the existence of an ADP-ribosylation cycle. ADP-ribosyl RT6 may be internalized, thereby coming in contact with the cytosolic hydrolase; alternatively, a novel form of the hydrolase may be located at the surface. The mechanism of coupling of ADP-ribosyltransferases and hydrolases in eukaryotic ADP-ribosylation cycles has yet to be clarified.

Regulation of NAD+ glycohydrolase activity by NAD(+)-dependent auto-ADP-ribosylation

NAD+ glycohydrolase (NADase; EC 3.2.2.5) is an enzyme that catalyses hydrolysis of NAD+ to produce ADP-ribose and nicotinamide. Its physiological role and the regulation of its enzymic activity have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, the mechanism of self-inactivation of NADase by its substrate, NAD+, was investigated by using intact rabbit erythrocytes and purified NADase. Our results suggest that inactivation of NADase was due an auto-ADP-ribosylation reaction. ADP-ribosylated NADase of rabbit erythrocytes was deADP-ribosylated when incubated without NAD+, and thus enzyme activity was simultaneously restored. These findings suggest that reversible auto-ADP-ribosylation of NADase might regulate the enzyme's activity in vivo.

Arginine-specific mono(ADP-ribosyl)transferase activity on the surface of human polymorphonuclear neutrophil leucocytes

An Arg-specific mono(ADP-ribosyl)transferase activity on the surface of human polymorphonuclear neutrophil leucocytes (PMNs) was confirmed by the use of diethylamino-(benzylidineamino)guanidine (DEA-BAG) as an ADP-ribose acceptor. Two separate HPLC systems were used to separate ADP-ribosyl-DEA-BAG from reaction mixtures, and its presence was confirmed by electrospray mass spectrometry. ADP-ribosyl-DEA-BAG was produced in the presence of PMNs, but not in their absence. Incubation of DEA-BAG with ADP-ribose (0.1-10 mM) did not yield ADP-ribosyl-DEA-BAG, which indicates that ADP-ribosyl-DEA-BAG formed in the presence of PMNs was not simply a product of a reaction between DEA-BAG and free ADP-ribose, due possibly to the hydrolysis of NAD+ by an NAD+ glycohydrolase. The assay of mono(ADP-ribosyl)transferase with agmatine as a substrate was modified for intact PMNs, and the activity was found to be approx. 50-fold lower than that in rabbit cardiac membranes. The Km of the enzyme for NAD+ was 100.1 30.4 microM and the Vmax 1.4 0.2 pmol of ADP-ribosylagmatine/h per 10(6) cells. The enzyme is likely to be linked to the cell surface via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor, since incubation of intact PMNs with phosphoinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) led to a 98% decrease in mono(ADP-ribosyl)transferase activity in the cells. Cell surface proteins were labelled after exposure of intact PMNs to [32P]NAD+. Their molecular masses were 79, 67, 46, 36 and 26 kDa. The time course for labelling was non-linear under these conditions over a period of 4 h. The labelled products were identified as mono(ADP-ribosyl)ated proteins by hydrolysis with snake venom phosphodiesterase to yield 5'-AMP.

Mono-ADP-ribosylation: a reversible posttranslational modification of proteins

Mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase activity has been detected in numerous vertebrate tissues and transferase cDNAs from a few species have recently been cloned. In vitro ADP-ribosylation has been demonstrated with diverse substrates such as phosphorylase kinase, actin, and Gs alpha resulting in the alteration of substrate function. ADP-ribosylation of endogenous target proteins has been observed in chicken heterophils, rat brain, and human platelets, and integrin alpha 7 was found to be the endogenous substrate of the GPI-anchored rabbit skeletal muscle transferase. The reversibility of ADP-ribosylation is made possible by ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases which have been isolated and cloned from rodent and human tissues. The transferases and hydrolases could in principle form an intracellular ADP-ribosylation regulatory cycle. In the case of the skeletal muscle transferases, however, processing of ADP-ribosylated integrin alpha 7 is carried out by phosphodiesterases and possibly phosphatases (Fig. 1). Most bacterial toxin and eukaryotic mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases, and perhaps other NAD-utilizing enzymes such as the RT6 family of proteins, share a common catalytic-site structure despite a lack of overall sequence identity. The transferases that have been studied thus far possess a critical glutamic acid and other amino acids at the catalytic cleft which function to position NAD for nucleophilic attack at the N-glycosidic linkage for either ADP-ribose transfer or NAD hydrolysis. The amino acid differences among transferases at the active site may reflect different catalytic mechanisms of ADP-ribosylation or may be required for accommodating the different ADP-ribose acceptor molecules.

Structure and function of eukaryotic mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases

ADP-ribosylation of proteins has been observed in numerous animal tissues including chicken heterophils, rat brain, human platelets, and mouse skeletal muscle. ADP-ribosylation in these tissues is thought to modulate critical cellular functions such as muscle cell development, actin polymerization, and cytotoxic T lymphocyte proliferation. Specific substrates of the ADP-ribosyltransferases have been identified; the skeletal muscle transferase ADP-ribosylates integrin alpha 7 whereas the chicken heterophil enzyme modifies the heterophil granule protein p33 and the CTL enzyme ADP-ribosylates the membrane-associated protein p40. Transferase sequence has been determined which should assist in elucidating the role of ADP-ribosylation in cells. There is sequence similarity among the vertebrate transferases and the rodent RT6 alloantigens. The RT6 family of proteins are NAD glycohydrolases that have been shown to possess auto-ADP-ribosyltransferase activity whereas the mouse Rt6-1 is also capable of ADP-ribosylating histone. Absence of RT6+ T cells has been associated with the development of an autoimmune-mediated diabetes in rodents. Humans have an RT6 pseudogene and do not express RT6 proteins. The reversal of ADP-ribosylation is catalyzed by ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases, which have been purified and cloned from rodent and human tissues. In principle, the transferases and hydrolases could form an intracellular ADP-ribosylation regulatory cycle. In skeletal muscle and lymphocytes, however, the transferases and their substrates are extracellular membrane proteins whereas the hydrolases described thus far are cytoplasmic. In cultured mouse skeletal muscle cells, processing of the ADP-ribosylated integrin alpha 7 was carried out by phosphodiesterases and possibly phosphatases, leaving a residual ribose attached to the (arginine)protein. Several bacterial toxin and eukaryotic mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases, and perhaps other NAD-utilizing enzymes such as the RT6 alloantigens share regions of amino acid sequence similarity, which form, in part, the catalytic site. The catalytic cleft, found in the bacterial toxins that have been studied thus far, contains a critical glutamate and other amino acids that function to position NAD for nucleophilic attack at the N-glycosidic linkage, for either ADP-ribose transfer or NAD hydrolysis. Amino acid differences among the transferases at the active site may be required for accommodating the different ADP-ribose acceptor molecules.

Rat liver nucleoside diphosphosugar or diphosphoalcohol pyrophosphatases different from nucleotide pyrophosphatase or phosphodiesterase I: substrate specificities of Mg(2+)-and/or Mn(2+)-dependent hydrolases acting on ADP-ribose

Three rat liver nucleotides(5') diphosphosugar (NDP-sugar) or nucleoside(5') diphosphoalcohol pyrophosphatases are described: two were previously identified in experiments measuring Mg(2+)-dependent ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase activity (Miró et al. (1989) FEBS Lett. 244, 123-126), and the other is a new, Mn(2+)-dependent ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase. They are resolved by ion-exchange chromatography, and differ by their substrate and cation specificities, KM values for ADP-ribose, pH-activity profiles, molecular weights and isoelectric points. The enzymes were tested for activity towards: reducing (ADP-ribose, IDP-ribose) and non-reducing NDP-sugars (ADP-glucose, ADP-mannose, GDP-mannose, UDP-mannose, UDP-glucose, UDP-xylose, CDP-glucose), CDP-alcohols (CDP-glycerol, CDP-ethanolamine, CDP-choline), dinucleotides (diadenosine pyrophosphate, NADH, NAD+, FAD), nucleoside(5') mono- and diphosphates (AMP, CMP, GMP, ADP, CDP) and dTMP p-nitrophenyl ester. Since the enzymes have not been purified to homogeneity, more than three pyrophosphatases may be present, but the co-purification of activities, thermal co-inactivation, and inhibition experiments give support to: (i) and ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase highly specific for ADP(IDP)-ribose in the presence of Mg2+, but active also on non-reducing ADP-hexoses and dinucleotides (not on NAD+) when Mg2+ was replaced with Mn2+; (ii) a Mn(2+)-dependent pyrophosphatase active on ADP(IDP)-ribose, dinucleotides and CDP-alcohols; (iii) a rather unspecific pyrophosphatase that, with Mg2+, was active on AMP(IMP)-containing NDP-sugars and dinucleotides (not on NAD+), and with Mn2+, was also active on non-adenine NDP-sugars and CDP-alcohols. The enzymes differ from nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase-I (NPPase/PDEaseI) by their substrate specificities and by their cytosolic location and solubility in the absence of detergents. Although NPPase/PDEaseI is much more active in rat liver, its known location in the non-cytoplasmic sides of plasma and endoplasmic reticulum membranes, together with the known cytoplasmic synthesis of NDP-sugars and CDP-alcohols, permit the speculation that the pyrophosphatases studied in this work may have a cellular role.

Enzymatic and nonenzymatic ADP-ribosylation of cysteine

Mono-ADP-ribosylation is a protein modification that occurs at a number of different amino acids, dictated by the specificity of the individual ADP-ribosyltransferases. A specific cysteine in several guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins is ADP-ribosylated by the bacterial protein pertussis toxin. Recent purification of an ADP-ribosylcysteine hydrolase and NAD:cysteine ADP-ribosyltransferase, and detection of ADP-ribose-cysteine linkages in tissue samples has raised hope that an endogenous regulatory cysteine-specific ADP-ribosylation pathway exists. A current goal is the identification of such a pathway for ADP-ribosylation of cysteine within animal cells. Interpretation of the data in this field has been complicated by recent reports that revealed several unforeseen chemical reactions of NAD and its metabolites with free cysteine and cysteine in proteins. This mini-review covers the latest understanding of the ADP-ribosylation reactions associated with cysteine, and provides a set of criteria for future research to establish positively the existence of an endogenous cysteine-specific mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase.

Nitric oxide regulation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in Dictyostelium discoideum cells and lysates

The ability of compounds releasing nitric oxide (NO) to regulate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GraPDH) activity was analysed both in cell homogenates and in intact Dictyostelium discoideum. The time course of GraPDH inactivation in cell lysates by NO-releasing compounds suggests that two processes may be involved, one of which accounts for the majority of the inactivation and shows a close correlation with GraPDH ADP-ribosylation. Maximal ADP-ribosylation under these conditions exhibited a stoichiometry of about 0.4 mol ADP-ribose/mol enzyme tetramer. NO-mediated inhibition of GraPDH activity was attenuated if specific substrates, cofactors, or cysteine were added to cytosol preparations. Under such conditions, ADP-ribosylation of the enzyme was correspondingly reduced or negligible. Intact cells treated with NO-releasing compounds were shown to respond by rapidly decreasing their GraPDH activity. This inhibition was transient and, after a 10-min incubation, enzyme activity returned to the level seen in control cells. The time course of these in vivo changes correlated well with those of the NO-stimulated ADP-ribosylation of GraPDH also seen in intact cells. The basis underlying the NO-stimulated inhibition of GraPDH activity was investigated and found to reflect a decreased Vmax. No changes in either the Km of the enzyme for its substrates or its state of polymerization were observed.

Rat liver mitochondrial ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase in the matrix space with low Km for free ADP-ribose

A study involving markers of subcellular and submitochondrial fractions, gradient centrifugation, latency measurements and extraction with digitonin, demonstrates the association of a specific ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase with rat liver mitochondria and its localization in the matrix space. The enzyme hydrolyses ADP-ribose to AMP, with a Km of 2-3 microM. The results support the occurrence of a specific turnover pathway for free ADP-ribose and its relevance in mitochondria.

Free ADP-ribose in human erythrocytes: pathways of intra-erythrocytic conversion and non-enzymic binding to membrane proteins

We have previously identified free ADP-ribose (ADPR) as a normal metabolite in mature human erythrocytes. In this study the metabolic transformations of ADPR were investigated in both supernatants from erythrocyte lysates and intact erythrocytes, loaded with ADPR by means of a procedure involving hypotonic haemolysis and isotonic resealing. In both experimental systems, the main pathway was a dinucleotide pyrophosphatase-catalysed hydrolysis to yield AMP, which was readily converted into the adenylic and inosinic nucleotide pools. To a lesser extent, ADPR underwent conversion into a compound that was identified as ADP-ribulose (ADPRu), on the basis of m.s., n.m.r. spectroscopy and enzymic analysis. ADPRu was also susceptible to degradation by the dinucleotide pyrophosphatase, which was partially purified from erythrocyte lysates and characterized with respect to its substrate specificity. Isomerization of ADPR to ADPRu was markedly enhanced by ATP. Incubation of unsealed haemoglobin-free erythrocyte membranes with labelled ADPR did not cause any transformation of this nucleotide and resulted in its trichloroacetic acid- and formic acid-resistant binding to a number of membrane cytoskeletal proteins. These proteins include spectrin, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Ga3PDH), three proteins of molecular masses 98, 79 and 72 kDa, which apparently comigrate with bands 3, 4.1 and 4.2 respectively, and two additional proteins of molecular masses 58 and 41 kDa. Acid-resistant binding of ADPR, as well as of NAD+, to Ga3PDH was confirmed for the enzyme purified from human erythrocytes.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase on the surface of group A streptococci is also an ADP-ribosylating enzyme

We recently identified an enzymatically active glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12; GAPDH) as a major protein on the surface of group A streptococci (SDH), which exhibits multiple binding activity to various mammalian proteins. We now report that the SDH molecule also functions as an ADP-ribosylating enzyme, which, in the presence of NAD, is auto-ADP-ribosylated. In a crude cell wall extract of group A streptococci, SDH is the only protein that is ADP-ribosylated. SDH found in the streptococcal cytoplasmic fraction could not be ADP-ribosylated in the presence of NAD. Treatment of ADP-ribosylated SDH with the cytoplasmic fraction removed the ADP-ribose from SDH, suggesting the presence of an ADP-ribosyl hydrolase in the cytoplasmic compartment. The covalent linkage of ADP-ribose to SDH was stable to neutral hydroxylamine, sensitive to HgCl2, and inhibitable by free cysteine, indicating that the modification was at a cysteine residue of SDH. In addition to its auto-ADP-ribosylation activity, purified SDH or streptococcal cell wall extracts were able to transfer the ADP-ribose moiety of NAD specifically to free cysteine, resulting in a true thioglycosidic linkage. Treatment of purified SDH or the crude cell wall extract with sodium nitroprusside, which spontaneously generates nitric oxide, was found to stimulate the ADP-ribosylation of SDH in a time-dependent manner. ADP-ribosylation and nitric oxide treatment inhibited the GAPDH activity of SDH. Since ADP-ribosylation and nitric oxide are involved in signal transduction events, the ADP-ribosylating activity of SDH may enable communication between host and parasite during infection by group A streptococci.

Developmental and biochemical characteristics of the cardiac membrane-bound arginine-specific mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase

ADP-ribosylation of protein in heart membrane preparations has been shown to be present in adult tissue but absent from early neonate tissue [Piron and McMahon (1990) Biochem. J. 270, 591-597]. To further this observation, the cardiac membrane-bound form of arginine-specific mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.31) has been characterized. Apparent Km values of 330 and 470 microM were found in heart membrane preparations from rat and quail respectively. The Vmax. value depended greatly on the species of animal studied, and was 1.1 and 48 nmol/min per mg in rat and quail preparations respectively. The specific activity of the enzyme was lowest in pig, intermediate in rat, dog and rabbit, and highest in mouse and quail cardiac membranes. In the rat, the ADP-ribosylation of protein and enzyme activity were very low in heart preparations from 1-15-day-old animals. Thereafter the ADP-ribosylation and enzyme activity increased gradually to adulthood. Bacillus cereus phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, known to hydrolyse glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors of proteins, released the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase from membrane preparations of both rat and quail in a dose-dependent, Zn(2+)-inhibited manner. Thus it appears that a membrane-bound form of arginine-specific mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase is present in heart membranes from a variety of species and is not species-specific. The activity of this ADP-ribosyltransferase appears to be developmentally regulated and to be bound to the cardiac membranes by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor.

Molecular characterization of NAD:arginine ADP-ribosyltransferase from rabbit skeletal muscle

Mono-ADP-ribosylation is a reversible modification of proteins, with NAD:arginine ADP-ribosyltransferases (EC 2.4.2.31) and ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases (EC 3.2.2.19) catalyzing the opposing reactions in an ADP-ribosylation cycle. A membrane-associated arginine-specific (mono)-ADP-ribosyltransferase was purified 215,000-fold from rabbit skeletal muscle. On the basis of the amino acid sequences of HPLC-purified tryptic peptides, degenerate oligonucleotide primers were synthesized and used in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based procedure to generate cDNA. A specific probe, based on PCR-generated sequence, was used to screen a rabbit skeletal muscle cDNA library. A composite cDNA sequence, obtained from library screening and rapid amplification of the 5' end of the cDNA, contained a 981-base-pair open reading frame, encoding a 36,134-Da protein. The deduced amino acid sequence contained the sequences of the tryptic peptides, hydrophobic amino and carboxyl termini, and two potential sites for N-linked glycosylation. Escherichia coli cells transformed with an expression vector containing transferase-specific sequence expressed ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. A transferase-specific oligonucleotide probe recognized a 4-kilobase mRNA expressed primarily in rabbit skeletal and cardiac muscle. There was no extended similarity in deduced amino acid sequences of the muscle transferase and several bacterial ADP-ribosylating toxins. The hydrophobic amino and carboxyl termini may represent a signal peptide and a site for a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor, respectively.

Presence and turnover of adenosine diphosphate ribose in human erythrocytes

ADP-ribose was detected in human red blood cells (RBC) at 0.45 +/- 0.1 microM concentrations. These levels could be estimated after purification of ADP-ribose by means of three sequential HPLC fractionations of RBC extracts. Extraction was performed by sonication of RBC either in trichloroacetic acid, followed by centrifugation, or in carbonate-bicarbonate buffer, pH 10.0, followed by rapid ultrafiltration. Neither procedure of extraction caused artefactual formation of ADP-ribose. Prolonged incubation of intact RBC in isotonic buffer containing labeled orthophosphate resulted in the slow incorporation of radioactivity into ADP-ribose. Identification of the labeled ADP-ribose was confirmed upon incubation of the purified metabolite with nucleotide pyrophosphatase, yielding radioactive 5'-AMP and ribose 5-phosphate, while its exposure to a nonspecific deaminase resulted in the quantitative formation of labeled inosine diphosphate ribose.

Quantification of Gi alpha-proteins in the failing and nonfailing human myocardium

Heterotrimeric Gi-proteins play an important role in the regulation of cardiac adenylate cyclase. Besides a downregulation of beta-adrenoceptors with an accompanying reduction of the positive inotropic effects of cAMP-dependent positive inotropic agents, an increase of pertussis toxin substrates (Gi alpha-proteins) has been observed. The increase of Gi alpha has been reported to be associated with a reduced adenylate cyclase activity in dilated cardiomyopathy from hearts with heart failure class NYHA IV. Since the quantification of Gi alpha-proteins with the pertussis toxin labeling method is hampered by a number of biological and technical factors, Gi alpha-proteins were quantified radioimmunologically using the iodinated C-terminus 125I-KENLKDCGLF as tracer, purified retinal transducin alpha as standard, and an antiserum (DS 4) raised against the same peptide. With this technique Gi alpha-proteins were increased by 118% in dilated cardiomyopathy and 48% in ischemic cardiomyopathy, although pertussis toxin substrates were only increased by 40% in dilated cardiomyopathy and no change was observed in ischemic cardiomyopathy. In cardiomyopathic tissue, an inverse relationship was observed between the increase of Gi alpha and the positive inotropic effects of isoprenaline or milrinone. These data provide evidence for a functional role of Gi alpha in the reduced positive inotropic effects of cAMP-dependent positive inotropic agents. In addition, results obtained with pertussis toxin labeling for quantification of Gi alpha-proteins do not necessarily reflect the expression of Gi alpha-proteins in the human myocardium.

Failure of [32P]ADP-ribosylation by pertussis toxin to determine Gi alpha content in membranes from various human tissues. Improved radioimmunological quantification using the 125I-labelled C-terminal decapeptide of retinal transducin

The quantitative determination of pertussis-toxin-sensitive guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) in cell membranes is still a problem. Pertussis-toxin-catalysed [32P]ADP-ribosylation strongly relies on the substrate quality of the alpha-subunits and is influenced by the concentration of nucleotides, beta gamma-subunits, the physicochemical properties of the membranes influencing the availability of Gi alpha for pertussis toxin, and covalent modification of Gi alpha. Quantification of immunoreactive material on Western blots can be only imprecisely performed by two-dimensional densitometry. In order to generate a method for quantification of pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-proteins in membranes we have developed a fast and sensitive radioimmunoassay. The C-terminal decapeptide of retinal transducin alpha (KENLKDCGLF) was 125I-labelled and used as tracer. Polyclonal antiserum (DS 4) was raised against this peptide. Gi alpha proteins were determined by competition of solubilized membranes for 125I-KENLKDCGLF binding to DS 4 using dilutions of retinal transducin alpha as standard. The interassay variation was less than 10%, with a sensitivity of 2.5 micrograms/ml. The density of Gi alpha was highest in human adipose tissue, followed by HL60 cells, lung, mononuclear leucocytes, thrombocytes and left ventricular myocardium. A striking difference was observed between the density of Gi alpha and the amount of incorporation of [32P]ADP-ribose into the 40 kDa membrane proteins by pertussis toxin in the same samples. This is also demonstrated by comparison of the weak [32P]ATP-ribosylation of pertussis toxin substrates with the density of immunoreactive Gi alpha on Western blots in tissues such as lung. This study shows that the Gi alpha content can be exactly determined by a sensitive and fast radioimmunoassay using iodinated synthetic peptide homologues of Gi alpha proteins. Radioimmunological quantification of Gi alpha might be able to detect the 'true' Gi alpha content of membranes without being hampered by influences on the [32P]ADP-ribosylation reaction. It is concluded that this newly developed method may become an important tool for studying expression of Gi alpha proteins in a variety of tissues or cell types, and for precisely quantifying the changes caused by pathological conditions.

Mono-ADP-ribosylation of Gs by an eukaryotic arginine-specific ADP-ribosyltransferase stimulates the adenylate cyclase system

An arginine-specific ADP-ribosyltransferase, named ADP-ribosyltransferase A, was partially purified from human platelets using polyarginine as an ADP-ribose acceptor. When human platelet membranes were incubated with the transferase A in the presence of NAD+, Gs, a stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding protein of the adenylate cyclase was specifically mono-ADP-ribosylated. ADP-ribose transfer to Gs by this enzyme was suppressed when membranes were pre-ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin. Incubation of membranes with the transferase A resulted in activation of the adenylate cyclase system. This stimulatory effect of the transferase A on the adenylate cyclase system was inhibited by the presence of polyarginine. These results indicate a role of ADP-ribosyltransferase A in regulation of the adenylate cyclase system via endogenous mono-ADP-ribosylation of Gs.