Isolation and characterization of calmodulin from an insulin-secreting tumour

Microscale purification of proteins exhibiting anomalous electrophoretic migration: application to the analysis of GAP-43 phosphorylation

Quite often, in vivo analysis of posttranslational protein modifications is complicated by the lack of specific antibodies or unsatisfactory immunoprecipitation efficiency. Here, we present an alternative method to immunoprecipitation that takes advantage of the anomalous electrophoretic behavior exhibited by GAP-43. This method can be applied to other proteins which show similar characteristics, such as myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase, NAP-22, and Neurogranin, among others. All these proteins display relative mobility values that depend on the concentration of polyacrylamide used in the resolving gel. Cell extracts or tissue homogenates are first separated by SDS-PAGE in 15% polyacrylamide gels, and the bands containing GAP-43 are identified, excised from the gel, and rerun on a second SDS-PAGE in 7.5% polyacrylamide/6 M urea gels. To quickly identify the position of GAP-43 in the first gel, a small amount of fluorescein-labeled recombinant GAP-43 was added to the initial extracts. The method, applied to the analysis of GAP-43 phosphorylation in rat hippocampal slices, can be typically completed in less than 4 h. The excellent yields of purification obtained contributed to a greater accuracy and increased reliability of the radioactivity measurements. It also allowed further processing of the samples, including the analysis of the different phosphorylation sites by proteolytic digestion and peptide mapping.

Intracellular localization and molecular heterogeneity of the sulphonylurea receptor in insulin-secreting cells

Sulphonylureas stimulate insulin secretion by binding to a receptor in the pancreatic beta-cell plasma membrane resulting in inhibition of ATP-sensitive K+ channels, membrane depolarization and thus influx of Ca2+ through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. Sulphonylureas can also induce hormone release at fixed membrane potentials without Ca2+ entry suggesting that these drugs may have other modes of action. We have determined whether different forms of sulphonylurea-binding proteins are present in insulin-secreting cells and their subcellular localization by density gradient centrifugation. Binding studies using [3H]-glibenclamide showed that islet and insulinoma membranes contained a single high affinity sulphonylurea binding site (Kd = 1 nmol/l). Photo-crosslinking of the drug to the membranes resulted in labelling of two proteins with apparent molecular weights of 170 and 140 kDa. The same analyses of insulinoma subcellular fractions showed that the majority (> 90%) of binding proteins were localized to intracellular membranes with only minor levels (< 10%) on plasma membranes. The 170 kDa sulphonylurea binding protein was present in both plasma and granule membrane fractions whereas the 140 kDa form was not present in the plasma membrane fraction. The differences in the molecular forms and subcellular distribution of the receptor are consistent with sulphonylureas having multiple sites of action in the pancreatic beta cell.

Calmodulin and insulin secretion: use of naphthalenesulfonamide compounds

Studies have been performed on the involvement of calmodulin in the control of stimulated insulin secretion. The W-compounds, which are sulfonamide-derivative calmodulin inhibitors, were used in analogue pairs to control for hydrophobic and nonspecific effects. N-(4-aminobutyl)-5-chloro-2-naphthalenesulfonamide HCl (W-13) inhibited glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from rat pancreatic islets over the concentration range appropriate for an action involving calmodulin. The control compound N-(4-aminobutyl)-2-naphthalenesulfonamide HCl (W-12) inhibited slightly only at higher concentrations. Similar differential inhibition by the analogue pairs was found using W-13 and W-12 and N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide HCl (W-7) and N-(6-aminohexyl)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide HCl (W-5) against depolarization-induced insulin secretion in the RINm5F clonal beta-cell line. A sufficient explanation for the inhibition of insulin release was found in the differential inhibition of depolarization-induced Ca2+ uptake, which located the action of the W-compounds at the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. These data suggest an action of the W-compounds at a point before elevation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]i) in stimulus-secretion coupling. In subsequent studies, with the voltage-dependent Ca2(+)-channel agonist BAY K 8644, which increases Ca2+ uptake and the rate of insulin secretion, it was demonstrated that the W-compounds had no effect on the stimulation of 45Ca2+ uptake or insulin secretion. Thus the W-compounds inhibit stimulus-secretion coupling before the elevation of [Ca2+]i but appear to have no action subsequently. These data cast doubt on the hypothesis that calmodulin is involved in stimulus-secretion coupling.

The inhibition of proinsulin-processing endopeptidase activities by active-site-directed peptides

Inhibitor studies were performed on the two endopeptidase activities involved in proinsulin conversion in isolated insulin secretory granules [Davidson, Rhodes & Hutton (1988) Nature (London) 333, 93-96]. The active-site-directed peptides L-alanyl-L-arginyl-L-arginylmethyldimethylsulphonium and L-alanyl-L-lysyl-L-arginylmethyldimethylsulphonium inhibited these activities in accordance with the observed cleavage pattern, suggesting that the primary amino acid sequence of the dibasic site was an important determinant of the endopeptidase substrate specificities.

Dynamics of a fluorescent calmodulin analog in the mammalian mitotic spindle at metaphase

We have compared the exchange kinetics of fluorescein-labeled calmodulin and tubulin in the spindles of living mitotic cells at metaphase. Cultured mammalian cells in early stages of mitosis were microinjected with labeled calmodulin or tubulin and returned to an incubator to allow equilibration of the fluorescent protein with the endogenous protein pools. Calmodulin becomes concentrated in the mitotic spindle, and treatments with inhibitors of tubulin assembly show that this concentration is dependent on the presence of microtubules. The steady-state exchange rates of both tubulin and calmodulin were measured by an analysis of fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP), using cells pre-equilibrated to either 26 +/- 2 degrees C or 36 +/- 2 degrees C. A pulse of laser light focused to a 5-microns diameter column was used to destroy the fluorescence at one pole of a metaphase mitotic spindle. Ratios of fluorescence intensity from the two half-spindles and from the two polar regions were calculated for each image in a post-bleach time series to determine the rates and extents of FRAP. For tubulin, we confirm earlier observations concerning the temperature dependence of the extent of FRAP, but our data do not show a significant temperature dependence for the rate of FRAP. We hypothesize that the reduced extent of tubulin FRAP at the lower temperatures is a result of microtubules that are stable to depolymerization at 26 degrees C and are thus less likely to exchange subunits. Calmodulin's FRAP, however, does not exhibit any of the temperature dependence observed with fluorescent tubulin. At 26 +/- 2 degrees C calmodulin exchanges rapidly with the relatively stable population of microtubules, suggesting that calmodulin is bound, either directly or indirectly, to microtubule walls.

Proteolytic conversion of proinsulin into insulin. Identification of a Ca2+-dependent acidic endopeptidase in isolated insulin-secretory granules

The nature of the endoproteolytic activity involved in the post-translational processing of proinsulin has been investigated in rat insulinoma tissue. 125I-proinsulin was converted by lysed insulin-secretory granules into insulin via an intermediate form identified as des-dibasic-proinsulin. This activity co-localized with immunoreactive (endogenous) insulin and carboxypeptidase H upon subcellular fractionation of the tissue, indicating a secretory-granular location. Under optimized conditions, conversion was quantitative. Inhibitor studies demonstrated that processing occurred by a reaction sequence involving cleavage on the C-terminal side of the pairs of basic amino acids, with subsequent removal of the newly exposed basic residues by carboxypeptidase H. Endoproteolytic activity was abolished by EDTA and CDTA (1,2-cyclohexanediaminetetra-acetic acid), but not by 1,10-phenanthroline or by group-specific inhibitors of serine, thiol or acidic proteinases. Inhibition by EDTA and CDTA could be reversed by both Ca2+ and Zn2+, although the former appeared to be the ion of physiological importance. Addition of Ca2+ in the absence of chelators stimulated endoproteinase activity, with a maximal effect at 5 mM, a concentration consistent with the intragranular environment. Similarly the pH optimum of 5.5 coincides with the prevailing intragranular pH. Together these properties suggest that the Ca2+-dependent endopeptidase described here is involved in vivo in the proteolytic processing of proinsulin.

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to insulin secretory granule membranes

Monoclonal antibodies to insulin secretory granule membranes were obtained following immunization of mice with granule membranes purified from a rat transplantable insulinoma. The specificities of the antibodies were investigated by using binding assays with different insulinoma subcellular fractions, by indirect immunofluorescence studies with intact and permeabilized cells, and by immunoblotting of granule membrane proteins fractionated by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Fifty-six antibodies were characterized initially, and 21 representative cell lines were cloned. The antibodies fell into four categories: (1) binding preferentially to secretory granules, and reacting with a component of approx. 80,000 Da on immunoblots (antigen designated SGM 80); (2) binding preferentially to secretory granules, and reacting with components of approx. 110,000 and 50,000 Da on immunoblots (antigen designated SGM 110); (3) binding preferentially to secretory granules but unreactive on immunoblots; (4) binding to membrane antigen(s) with a widespread intracellular distribution which included granules and plasma membranes. The antigens SGM 80 and SGM 110 were studied in more detail and both were shown to be integral membrane glycoproteins with antigenic determinants located on the internal face of the secretory granule membrane. These antigens were also present in normal rat islets of Langerhans and similar components were detected by immunoblotting in secretory granules from anterior pituitary and adrenal medulla. Proteins which were immunologically related to SGM 80 and SGM 110, but distinct in molecular size, were also identified in liver. It is concluded that secretory granules contain specific components which are restricted in subcellular location but widespread in tissue distribution. The antibodies obtained will be valuable reagents in the further investigation of the biogenesis and turnover of insulin secretory granules.

The insulin-secretory-granule carboxypeptidase H. Purification and demonstration of involvement in proinsulin processing

A carboxypeptidase B-like enzyme was detected in the soluble fraction of purified insulin secretory granules, and implicated in insulin biosynthesis. To investigate the role of this activity further, we purified the enzyme from rat insulinoma tissue by gel-filtration chromatography and affinity elution from p-aminobenzoyl-arginine. A yield of 42%, with a purification factor of 674 over the homogenate, was achieved. Analysis of the purified carboxypeptidase by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under either reducing or non-reducing conditions showed it to be a monomeric protein of apparent Mr 55,000. The preparation was also homogeneous by high-performance gel-filtration chromatography. The enzyme bound to concanavalin A, showing it to be a glycoprotein. Amino acid analysis or chemical deglycosylation and SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated a protein Mr of 50,000, suggesting a carbohydrate content of approx. 9% by weight. The purified enzyme was able to remove basic amino acids from the C-terminus of proinsulin tryptic peptides to generate insulin, but did not further degrade the mature hormone. It was inhibited by EDTA, 1,10-phenanthroline and guanidinoethylmercaptosuccinic acid, and stimulated 5-fold by CoCl2. The pH optimum of the conversion of diarginyl-insulin into insulin was in the range 5-6, with little activity above pH 6.5. Activity was also expressed towards a dansylated tripeptide substrate (dansyl-phenylalanyl-leucyl-arginine; Km = 17.5 microM), and had a pH optimum of 5.5. These properties are indistinguishable from those of the activity located in secretory granules, and are compatible with the intragranular environment. The insulin-secretory-granule carboxypeptidase shared several properties of carboxypeptidase H from bovine adrenal medulla and pituitary. We propose that the carboxypeptidase that we purified is the pancreatic isoenzyme of carboxypeptidase H (crino carboxypeptidase B; EC 3.4.17.10), and is involved in the biosynthesis of insulin in the pancreatic beta-cell.

Biosynthesis of betagranin in pancreatic beta-cells. Identification of a chromogranin A-like precursor and its parallel processing with proinsulin

The biosynthesis of insulin and betagranin, a 20-21 kDa co-secreted chromogranin A-related protein, were investigated in isolated insulinoma cells and islets. The insulinoma tissue processed proinsulin to insulin with kinetics similar to those reported in islet tissue. Unlike islets, however, the insulinoma released almost one-quarter of the newly synthesized proinsulin into the medium 10-40 min after its formation. Betagranin was initially immunoprecipitated as a 100 kDa precursor form, which was indistinguishable from chromogranin A in size and immunoreactivity and by peptide mapping. After an initial lag of 10-20 min, the precursor was converted progressively into betagranin, which appeared to be a stable end product. Formation of betagranin and insulin from their respective precursors followed a parallel course and could likewise be inhibited by NH4+, chloroquine and monensin, added either before labelling or at any point of time up to 15 min after labelling. As with proinsulin, approximately one-quarter of the betagranin precursor was released 10-40 min after synthesis. It is concluded that betagranin is produced by limited proteolysis from a chromogranin A precursor in pancreatic beta-cells by a cellular pathway indistinguishable from that of insulin from proinsulin. Chromogranin A is highly conserved in the N-terminal region represented by betagranin, further suggesting that the biological activity of chromogranin A may reside in a derived peptide rather than in the parent molecule.

Metabolic effects of radiation induced rat insulinoma at pancreatic, hepatic and subscapular transplantation sites

Metabolic effects of 3 different sites of transplantation of cultured tumour cells from a radiation induced insulinoma (28 X 10(6) viable cells per rat) were examined in 15-18 weeks old male NEDH rats. Subscapular implantation consistently produced a highly vascularised encapsulated tumour associated with hyperinsulinaemia, hyperphagia and hypoglycaemia by 21 days, which progressed to fatal neuroglycopaenic coma at 37 +/- 3 days (mean +/- SEM). Implantation of tumour cells into the hepatic portal vein resulted in a multilobular hepatic tumour in two out of nine rats, with hyperinsulinaemia and fatal hypoglycaemia by 49-54 days. Irregularities of glucose homeostasis were observed in a further three rats by 62 days. Intrapancreatic implantation consistently produced a similar tumour to that observed at the subscapular site. Implantation into the pancreas produced the most rapid onset of hyperinsulinaemia, hyperphagia and hypoglycaemia, with survival for only 28 +/- 3 days. The results demonstrate an important effect of transplantation site on the function and metabolic consequences of the NEDH rat insulinoma.

Calmodulin in various insulin secreting cell types

The involvement of the Ca2+ binding protein, calmodulin, in the regulation of insulin release was studied. Calmodulin was measured in isolated rat islets, rat insulinoma cells, the insulin secreting cell line (RINm5F) and in islets isolated from normal and diabetic Chinese hamsters. Total content of calmodulin was determined by a radioimmunoassay using a rabbit anti-calmodulin serum and was found to lie in the range of 4 to 7 micrograms/ml protein. When rat islets were maintained in tissue culture for 6 days at 2.8 or 8.3 mM glucose, the content of calmodulin of the two groups was similar. Likewise there was no difference in calmodulin content between islets from normal and diabetic hamsters. This study suggests that a variation of the total cellular calmodulin does not play a role in the process of insulin secretion.

Calcium calmodulin and hormone secretion

As long ago as 1970, it was proposed that Ca2+ can act as a 'second messenger' like cAMP (Rasmussen & Nagata, 1979). The recognition that calmodulin is a major Ca2+ binding protein in non-muscle cells has prompted the suggestion that calmodulin may serve an analogous role for Ca2+ to that served by protein kinase for cAMP (Wang & Waisman, 1979), or at least to the regulatory subunit of the cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinases. It is becoming clear that calmodulin probably does play a role in stimulus secretion coupling in endocrine cells. Nevertheless, some of the experimental approaches which have led to this rather tentative conclusion do induce some doubts, as we have attempted to indicate. Many of the pharmacological agents used in the studies cited in this review are not specific in their interaction with calmodulin. For example, the phenothiazines also inhibit phospholipid-sensitive protein kinase. The introduction of more specific drugs, such as the naphthalene sulphonamides, may lead to a clearer picture of the role of calmodulin in hormone secretion. Relationships probably exist between cyclic nucleotides, calcium, calmodulin, phosphatidylinositol (PI) turnover and phospholipids in the overall control of the secretory process (see Fig. 1). There is considerable evidence that calcium is the primary internal signal initiating exocytosis of hormone from many glands. However, it appears that cyclic nucleotides can modulate the calcium signal either positively or negatively and it is possible that cAMP and calcium can separately activate secretion. The presence of both calmodulin-activated adenylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase in the same tissue would appear to suggest either spatial or temporal control mechanisms or that (diagram; see text) the calcium requirement for calmodulin activation differs between the two enzymes. The true explanation is probably far more complex and involves perhaps as yet unknown factors that can differentially influence the activity of calmodulin itself in membranes and in cytosol. Berridge (1982) and Rasmussen (1980) give detailed accounts and review current hypotheses regarding relationships between the cyclic nucleotide and calcium second messenger systems. The various possible interrelationships of the putative messengers have been encompassed by the term 'Synarchic regulation' (Rasmussen, 1980). These concepts and the elucidation of the mechanisms by which cyclic AMP and calcium are involved in the control of secretion from particular cell types will make fascinating reading over the next few years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Phorbol ester stimulation of insulin release and secretory-granule protein phosphorylation in a transplantable rat insulinoma

The effects of tumour-promoting phorbol esters on protein-phosphorylation reactions and secretion in rat insulinoma tissue were investigated with the objective of assessing the possible role of Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinases (protein kinase C) in insulin release. 4 beta-Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA) was a potent secretagogue at concentrations above 0.1 microM. TPA-induced release was inhibited by adrenaline or omission of Ca2+ from the extracellular medium and was augmented by theophylline. These findings suggested that TPA activated an exocytotic process. TPA enhanced the Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent phosphorylation of histone III-S by a soluble protein fraction of the tissue. Endogenous phosphorylation reactions involving soluble and secretory-granule membrane proteins were also stimulated by TPA in tissue homogenates and reconstituted subcellular fractions. Histone phosphorylation and the granule-protein phosphorylation reactions showed similar concentration-dependencies for activation by both Ca2+ and TPA, thus indicating that the same enzyme was involved. It is concluded that the phosphorylation of cytosolic and membrane protein substrates by protein kinase C may be important in the stimulus-secretion coupling mechanism of insulin release.

Photoaffinity labelling of central-nervous-system myelin. Evidence for an endogenous type I cyclic AMP-dependent kinase phosphorylating the larger subunit of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase

Endogenous cyclic AMP-stimulated phosphorylation of a 49700-Mr Wolfgram protein component in rabbit central nervous system was investigated by using photoaffinity labelling and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase activity staining after electroblotting on to nitrocellulose paper. Photoaffinity labelling with 8'-azidoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate showed a cyclic AMP-binding protein that appeared to be intrinsic to the myelin membrane and appeared to represent the R-subunit of a type I cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. This photoaffinity-labelled protein was of larger apparent Mr than the protein showing cyclic AMP-stimulated phosphorylation. Blotting of one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoretograms followed by staining for 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase activity showed two activity bands corresponding to the two components of the Wolfgram protein doublet. Cyclic AMP-stimulated protein phosphorylation corresponded to the upper component of this doublet. Electroblotting of two-dimensional non-equilibrium pH-gradient electrophoretograms also showed co-migration of cyclic AMP-stimulated protein phosphorylation with enzyme activity. It is proposed that central-nervous-system myelin contains an endogenous type I cyclic-AMP dependent protein kinase that phosphorylates the larger subunit of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase.

Endogenous cyclic AMP-stimulated phosphorylation of a Wolfgram protein component in rabbit central-nervous-system myelin

Cyclic AMP-stimulated phosphorylation of membrane proteins in central-nervous-system myelin was investigated, with rabbit brain myelin. Subfractionation of a myelin membrane preparation by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation produced a rapidly sedimenting population of membrane vesicles containing 5'-nucleotidase and acetylcholinesterase, a light membrane fraction containing myelin basic protein and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase, and an intermediate membrane fraction containing the highest specific activity of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase and a small proportion of myelin basic protein. Cyclic AMP stimulation of protein phosphorylation was confined to a protein of Mr 49 700, which co-electrophoresed with the upper component of the Wolfgram protein doublet. Cyclic AMP did not affect the phosphorylation of myelin basic protein. Cyclic AMP-stimulated phosphorylation of this protein followed 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase activity on subcellular fractionation and was correspondingly high in the intermediate or 'myelin-like' fraction on sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation.

Involvement of protein kinase C in the phosphorylation of an insulin-granule membrane protein

The involvement of protein kinase C in the Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of a 29 000-Mr insulin-granule membrane protein prepared from a rat insulinoma was investigated. Protein kinase C activity towards exogenous lysine-rich histone was detected in a cytosolic fraction prepared from an insulinoma homogenate in the presence of EGTA. This activity bound reversibly to insulin granules in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Phosphatidylserine liposomes removed both protein kinase C activity and the 29 000-Mr protein-phosphorylating activity from the cytosolic fraction in a Ca2+-dependent fashion. Protein kinase C activity and the enzymic activity responsible for the phosphorylation of the 29 000-Mr granule protein behaved identically on sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation, ion-exchange chromatography, (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and gel filtration of the cytosolic fraction. These results are consistent with protein kinase C being the enzyme responsible for the phosphorylation of the 29 000-Mr insulin-granule membrane protein.

Ca2+-sensitive phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate metabolism in a rat beta-cell tumour

Subcellular fractions were isolated from a rat beta-cell tumour by centrifugation of homogenates on Percoll and Urografin density gradients. Fractions were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP, and labelling of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate was used to measure phosphatidylinositol kinase and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate kinase activities, respectively. The distribution of enzyme markers in density gradients indicated that phosphatidylinositol kinase was located in both the plasma membrane and the secretory-granule membrane. Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate kinase activity was low in all fractions. Phosphatidylinositol kinase activity of secretory granules and plasma membranes was decreased to 10-20% of its initial value by raising the free [Ca2+] from 1 microM to 5 microM. The enzyme had a Km (apparent) for ATP of 110 microM (secretory granule) or 120 microM (plasma membrane) and a Ka for Mg2+ of 7 mM (secretory granule) or 6 mM (plasma membrane). Ca2+-sensitivity of phosphatidylinositol kinase in calmodulin-depleted secretory granules and plasma membranes was not affected by addition of exogenous calmodulin, although activity was stimulated by trifluoperazine in the presence of 0.1 microM or 40 microM-Ca2+. Trifluoperazine oxide had no effect on the enzyme activity of secretory granules. Plasma membranes had a phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate phosphatase activity which was stimulated by raising the free [Ca2+] from 0.1 to 40 microM. The secretory granule showed no phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate-degrading activity. These results suggest the presence in the tumour beta-cell of Ca2+-sensitive mechanisms responsible for the metabolism of polyphosphoinositides in the secretory granule and plasma membrane.

Isolation, purification and cell-free synthesis of calmodulin from the pig anterior pituitary gland

Calmodulin was extracted and purified from pig anterior pituitary gland. The protein was characterized by its migration on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of Ca2+ or EGTA, its U.V. spectrum between 240 and 290 nm and the activation of calmodulin-deficient cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. The yield was 370 mg/kg wet wt. mRNA was also extracted from the same tissue and translated in a wheat-germ cell-free translation system. Translated calmodulin was identified by its heat-stability, its co-migration with authentic anterior-pituitary calmodulin on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, its acidic isoelectric point (4.15) on flat-bed isoelectric focusing, its Ca2+-dependent binding to fluphenazine-Sepharose 6B, and its co-elution from this gel with authentic unlabelled calmodulin with EGTA buffer. Calmodulin was not translated as a precursor form. In this tissue it was calculated that calmodulin accounted for 0.5-1% of the total translated protein.

5-Hydroxytryptamine transport in cells and secretory granules from a transplantable rat insulinoma

Mechanisms of transport of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the pancreatic B-cell were investigated by using cell suspensions and secretory granules prepared from a transplantable rat insulinoma. (1) Cells incubated with 5-hydroxy[G-3H]tryptamine at concentrations ranging from 0.1 microM to 5 mM accumulated the radioisotope principally by a simple diffusion process. The incorporated radioactivity was recovered principally as the parent molecule and was recovered predominantly in soluble protein and secretory-granule fractions prepared from the tissue. (2) Isolated granules incubated in buffered iso-osmotic medium without ATP accumulated the amine to concentrations up to 38-fold that of the medium. This process was insensitive to reserpine and occurred over a wide range of 5-hydroxytryptamine concentrations (0.075 microM-25 mM). Above 5 mM, 5-hydroxytryptamine accumulation decreased in parallel with the breakdown of the delta pH across the granule membrane. Uptake was favoured by alkaline media and was reduced by the addition of (NH4)2SO4. In both cases a close correlation was observed between uptake and the transmembrane delta pH, a finding that suggested that 5-hydroxytryptamine permeated the membrane as the free base and equilibrated across the membrane with the delta pH. Binding of 5-hydroxytryptamine to granule constituents also played a part in this process. ATP caused a further doubling of granule 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake by a process that was sensitive to reserpine (0.5 microM). Inhibitor studies suggested that amine transport in this instance was linked to the activity of the granule membrane proton-translocating ATPase. (3) It was concluded that the uptake of amines driven by proton gradients across the insulin-granule membrane could account for the accumulation in vivo of amines in the B-cell.

Ca2+-dependent binding of cytosolic components to insulin-secretory granules results in Ca2+-dependent protein phosphorylation

1. Incubation of a rat islet cell tumour homogenate with [gamma-32P]ATP resulted in the Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of 100000-, 57000-, 29000-, 26000- and 14000-Mr proteins. The Ca2+ concentration required was in the low-microM range. 2. Isolated insulin granules did not exhibit Ca2+-dependent protein phosphorylation, whereas a soluble protein fraction showed the Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of a 57000-Mr protein. Combination of insulin granules with the soluble protein fraction resulted in the additional Ca2+-dependent phosphorylations of 100000-, 29000- and 10000-Mr proteins. The latter phosphorylations were not enhanced by exogenous calmodulin, but nevertheless were inhibited by trifluoperazine. Removal of endogenous calmodulin from the soluble protein fraction before incubation with insulin granules did not abolish the Ca2+-dependent phosphorylations of the 100000-, 29000- and 10000-Mr proteins but rendered the Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of the 57000-Mr soluble protein dependent on exogenous calmodulin. 3. The components of the soluble protein fraction responsible for the interaction with insulin granules bound to intact granules in a Ca2+-dependent manner. 4. After phosphorylation, the 29000-Mr protein remained attached to granules, whereas the 100000- and 10000-Mr proteins dissociated from granules. 5. These Ca2+-dependent phenomena may be of regulatory importance in the secretory mechanism.

Isolation and characterisation of insulin secretory granules from a rat islet cell tumour

Density gradient centrifugation techniques, using iso-osmotic colloidal silica suspensions (Percoll), were developed for the isolation of insulin secretory granules from a transplantable rat islet cell tumour. These procedures were readily completed within 7 h and from each animal yielded approximately 1 mg of granule protein. The isolated granules were essentially free of other subcellular organelles as evaluated by their contents of marker proteins, electron microscopy and by electrophoretic analyses. Their susceptibilities to lysis at low osmotic strength, at pH values above 7 or in media containing sodium ions were similar to those of granules partially purified from islets. Insulin comprised 50-60% of the total granule protein when determined by immunoassay or by densitometry of electrophoretic profiles. The proinsulin content was marginally higher than that of islets, as was the ratio of insulins I to II. Electrophoretic analyses revealed that the secretory granules contained 150 or more proteins besides insulin-related peptides. The majority of these had acidic isoelectric points and were located both within the granule interior and its enveloping membrane.

Purification, properties, and immunohistochemical localisation of human brain 14-3-3 protein

A protein has been purified from human brain that appears to be the human equivalent of bovine 14-3-3 protein. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the protein migrates as a faster major component, termed 14-3-3-2 protein, and a slower minor component, termed 14-3-3-1 protein, which consists of approximately 12% of the total protein. Both 14-3-3-1 and 14-3-3-2 have a native molecular weight of approximately 67,000. 14-3-3-2 appears to have the subunit composition alpha beta; 14-3-3-1 has the composition beta'beta'. Peptide mapping with Staphylococcus aureus V8 proteinase shows that alpha and beta subunits are unrelated but the beta and beta' subunits show some common peptides. Immunoperoxidase labelling shows that 14-3-3 is localised in neurones in the human cerebral cortex. 14-3-3 shows no enolase, creatine kinase, triose phosphate isomerase, ATPase, cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase, or purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity. 14-3-3 does not bind calcium and does not appear to be related to calmodulin, calcineurin, tubulin, neurofilament proteins, clathrin-associated proteins, or tropomyosin. The functional significance of this neuronal protein remains obscure.

Effects of Ca2+, calmodulin and cyclic AMP on the phosphorylation of endogenous proteins by homogenates of rt islets of langerhans

Activation of Ca2+ -calmodulin- and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases has been suggested to be involved in stimulus-secretion coupling in the pancreatic beta-cell. To study the properties of suc kinases and their endogenous protein substrates homogenates of rat islets of Langerhans were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. Phosphorylated proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and detected by autoradiography. The phosphorylation of certain proteins could be enhanced by Ca2+ plus calmodulin or by cyclic AMP. The major effect of Ca2+ and calmodulin was to stimulate the phosphorylation of a protein (P53) of molecular weight 53,100 +/- 500 (n = 15). Maximum phosphorylation of protein P53 occurred within 2 min with 2 micrometers free Ca2+ and 0.7 micrometers calmodulin. Incorporation of label into protein P53 was inhibited by trifluoperazine or W7 but not by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor. Phosphorylation of a proteins of similar molecular weight could be enhanced to a lesser extent in the absence of Ca2+ but in the presence of cyclic AMP and 3-isobutylmethylxanthine: this phosphorylation was blocked by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor. Cyclic AMP also stimulated incorporation of label into polypeptides of molecular weights 55,000 and 70-80,000. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that protein phosphorylation mechanisms may play a role in the regulation of insulin secretion.