Purification and characterization of the cytoplasmic casein kinase I from rat liver

Casein kinases: pleiotropic mediators of cellular regulation

The present review on casein kinases focuses mainly on the possible metabolic role of CK-2, with special emphasis on its behavior in pathological tissues. From these data at least three ways to regulate CK-2 activity emerge: (i) CK-2 activity changes during embryogenesis, being high at certain stages of development and showing basal activity values at others; (ii) CK-2 activity can be enhanced in vitro by treatment of tissue culture cells with various growth factors and serum and (iii) CK-2 activity is constitutively enhanced in rapidly proliferating cells. The regulated CK-2 activity changes during embryogenesis cannot be explained as yet. In the case of the constitutive high expression of CK-2 in tumors, genetic changes may be responsible, e.g. through alterations of the regulatory genetic elements and/or regulation by specific transcription factors. In the case of serum induction, no genetic changes are necessarily involved; the observed changes may be entirely due to a signal transduction pathway where CK-2 could be phosphorylated by another kinase(s). CK-2 cDNAs from various organisms have been isolated and characterized. From the deduced amino acid sequence it turns out that CK-2 subunits are highly conserved during evolution. The relationship between CK-2 alpha from humans and plants is still 73%. Similar relationships are reported for the beta-subunit. Chromosomal assignment of CK-2 alpha shows two gene loci, one of which is a pseudogene. They are located on different chromosomes. Expression of the CK-2 subunits in Escherichia coli and the Baculo expression system is shown. The recombinant subunits can self-assemble to a functional holoenzyme in vitro. Biochemical and biophysical analysis of the recombinant beta-subunit suggests it to be trifunctional in association with the alpha-subunit affecting: (i) stability, (ii) enzyme specificity and (iii) enzyme activity. The question where CK-2 and its subunits are located throughout the cell cycle has also been addressed, mainly because of the large discrepancies that still exist between results obtained by different investigators. Tissue-specific expression of CK-2 at the mRNA and at the protein level has also been given attention. The fact that the enzyme activity is surprisingly high in brain and low in heart and lung may be indicative of involvement of CK-2 in processes other than proliferation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The resistance to alkali treatment of the phosphorylation of beta casein versus alpha casein is specific for casein kinase II

The phosphorylation of mixed casein by casein kinase II shows resistance on beta casein after partial alkali hydrolysis of the proteins separated by gel electrophoresis. This property is specific for casein kinase II among the protein kinases tested and can be used for casein kinase II detection in biological extracts and for characterization of purified casein kinase II.

Clathrin beta-light chain of rat liver coated vesicles is phosphorylated in vitro and in vivo

Clathrin beta-light chain of rat liver coated vesicles is phosphorylated in vitro in the presence of poly(L-lysine) by an endogenous protein kinase which appears to be similar to casein kinase II. Clathrin beta-light chain is also phosphorylated in vivo. After injection of [32P]phosphate into rats and preparation of purified coated vesicles in the presence of phosphatase inhibitors, electrophoretic analysis showed the presence of several labeled polypeptides including clathrin beta-light chain. A polypeptide of 50 kDa, which may correspond to the major polypeptide phosphorylated in vitro of coated vesicles, is also labeled in vivo.

Activation of S6 kinase activity in astrocytes by insulin, somatomedin C and TPA

Treatment of cultured astrocytes from 2-day-old rat cerebral hemispheres with insulin or somatomedin C (IGF1) promoted a rapid activation of a cytosolic protein kinase which phosphorylates ribosomal protein S6. Phosphorylation of substrates currently used for protein kinase assays (histone H2B and phosvitin) was not stimulated. Neither the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity nor that of protein kinase C was modified. Treatment of these astrocytes with TPA also promoted a rapid increase in S6 kinase activity in the cytosolic fraction. Simultaneously, protein kinase C disappeared from the cytosol. Neither cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity nor phosvitin kinase activity was modified. The effects of insulin, IGF1 and TPA were also observed in the presence of cycloheximide. Cycloheximide also potentiated their effects. These data indicate that S6 kinase activity in astrocytes is promoted from a pre-existing molecule via the tyrosine kinase-insulin receptor and suggest that protein kinase C is implicated in the process.

A cytoplasmic, cyclic nucleotide-independent casein kinase II from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Two molecular forms of casein kinase II (an ATP: protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) from yeast were isolated and characterized. The first form was composed of three polypeptide subunits with molecular weights of 41000, 37000 and 24000. The second form contained two larger polypeptides and lacked an autophosphorylatable 24 kDa subunit. The properties of both enzyme forms were found to be practically the same in respect to the substrate and phosphate donor specificities, kinetics, their sensitivity to heparin, etc. The results obtained strongly indicate that isolated yeast casein kinase II does not necessarily require the smallest subunit for the enzyme activity.

Detection of type-2 casein kinase and its endogenous substrates in the components of the microsomal fraction of rat liver

Rat liver type-2 casein kinase-TS (Ck-TS) is unevenly distributed among the different components of the rat liver post-mitochondrial particulate fraction: while it accounts for the whole casein kinase activity of protein-glycogen particles, it is absent in the microsomal membranes (exhibiting exclusively casein kinase activity of type-1) and coexists with type-1 casein kinase in ribosomes. At least seven proteins whose phosphorylation is promoted by Ck-TS have been detected in these fractions. The only important target of Ck-TS in protein-glycogen particles is a rather heterogeneous protein of Mr around 85000 which has been identified as glycogen synthase. Two polypeptides of Mr about 16000, possibly identifiable with acidic proteins P1 and P2, and an unidentified protein of Mr about 35000 are the main ribosomal substrates of Ck-TS. Three protein bands of Mr 52000, 79000 and 91000 are also very efficiently phosphorylated whenever the microsomal membranes, devoid of intrinsic casein kinase-2, are incubated with cytosolic Ck-TS. These membrane-bound radiolabeled proteins require deoxycholate for their solubilization: they are very acidic, according to their high affinity for DEAE-cellulose, and give rise to partially superimposable [32P]peptide maps, suggesting extensive homologies among them. They also exhibit a low affinity Ca2+ binding activity comparable to that of calsequestrin.

Phosphorylation of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase by casein kinase I and casein kinase II

Two cAMP-independent acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) protein kinases have been partially purified from rat liver cytosol and microsomal extracts. The first kinase, present in greatest activity in microsomal extracts, appears to be identical to casein kinase I by characteristic molecular size on gel filtration (Mr 40,000) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis (Mr 34,000), autophosphorylation of this single subunit, inability to efficiently utilize GTP, and resistance to inhibition by heparin and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate. The second kinase, predominant in cytosol, appears to be identical to casein kinase II by characteristic molecular size on gel filtration (Mr 150,000), an autophosphorylated subunit of Mr 25,000, a Km for GTP nearly equal to that of ATP, inhibition by heparin and 2,3 DPG, and relative substrate specificity. Despite the incorporation of up to 2 mol 32P/mol carboxylase subunit (kinase I) and 0.6 mol/subunit (kinase II), phosphorylation by either kinase causes no change in carboxylase activity. The site(s) phosphorylated by each kinase and by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase on carboxylase appear to be clustered on a Mr 16,000 cyanogen bromide peptide that is readily released on incubation with trypsin. The potential roles of these kinases in the regulation of ACC remain to be clarified.

Multisite phosphorylation of tau proteins from rat brain

tau proteins from adult and young rat brains were phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinases present in microtubule preparations. Several phosphates were incorporated in each molecular species of this group of proteins. Cyclic AMP dependent protein kinases and casein kinase (type I) phosphorylated tau proteins on different sites. These observations indicate that tau proteins are an example of multisite phosphorylation.