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Monoclonal antibodies to rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase. Probes for studies of subunit function.

Monoclonal antibodies to rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase were produced by the conventional hybridoma cell technique. 90 out of 600 hybridomas were found to produce phosphorylase kinase binding antibodies from which only five secreted also phosphorylase kinase activity affecting antibodies. Three of them were cloned; two hybridomas resisted all cloning efforts. Employing immunoblot technique all monoclonal antibodies show cross-reactivity with the alpha, beta, and gamma subunits of phosphorylase kinase indicating that similar, if not identical, epitopes are present on these three subunits. No cross-reactivity with delta is observed. Monoclonal antibodies secreted by two clones which bind to the alpha subunit stimulate the Ca2+-independent A0 activity of phosphorylase kinase more than 30-fold, whereas all other monoclonal antibodies obtained are ineffective in this respect. Monoclonal antibodies binding to the beta subunit inhibit the Ca2+-dependent activities significantly. Antibody produced by one hybridoma binds to the alpha, beta, and gamma subunits with approximately the same affinity. Based on the dual function of calmodulin in phosphorylase kinase (Hessová, Z., Varsányi, M., and Heilmeyer, L.M.G., Jr. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 146, 107-115) we conclude that binding of anti-alpha monoclonal antibodies to a regulatory domain in the alpha subunit results in an uncoupling of the inhibitory function of the Ca2+-free delta from the holoenzyme which leads to a concomitant increase in A0 activity. Furthermore, binding of anti-beta monoclonal antibodies to the beta subunit prevents a signal transfer from the Ca2+-saturated delta to the catalytic site of the holoenzyme which inhibits the Ca2+-dependent activities.

Animals↗

Comparison of glycogen phosphorylase kinases of various rat tissues.

Glycogen phosphorylase kinases in soluble fractions of various rat tissues were examined for the pH 6.8/8.5 activity ratio, Ca2+-dependency, activation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A), and reactivity with anti-skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase serum. The enzymes could be divided into at least two major groups; muscle and liver types. The muscle type, that has a low value of pH 6.8/8.5 activity ratio, is highly dependent on Ca2+, markedly activated by protein kinase A, and strongly inhibited by the antiserum. Inversely, the liver type, that has a high value of pH 6.8/8.5 activity ratio, is poorly dependent on Ca2+, not activated by protein kinase A, and weakly inhibited by the antiserum. The enzymes from heart and skeletal muscle were similar and belonged to the former entity. Whereas, the enzymes from liver, kidney, spleen, lung, and testis appeared to belong to the latter entity. The enzyme from brain apparently differs from these entities, and seems to be an intermediate type or a hybrid of the two.

Animals↗

Free energy coupling in the interactions between Ca2+, calmodulin, and phosphorylase kinase.

Interactions between Ca2+, exogenous calmodulin, and white skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase have been quantitatively studied by equilibrium gel filtrations and analyzed by means of the so-called "linked functions" theory (Weber, G. (1975) Adv. Protein Chem. 29, 1-83). Four moles of calmodulin, each saturated with at least 3 Ca2+ ions, bind to 1 mol of phosphorylase kinase with a Kdiss of 2.3 nM. The activation of the enzyme as a function of free [Ca2+] shows that the intrinsic Ca-binding properties of phosphorylase kinase do not change upon binding of exogenous calmodulin, and confirms that alpha beta gamma delta X Ca3 is the functional catalytic unit through which activation occurs. Direct binding studies reveal that the intrinsic Ca-binding properties of the enzyme remain the same in the presence of either 0.5 or 8 mM Mg2+, indicating that phosphorylase kinase is endowed with Ca-specific sites. Upon interaction with the enzyme, calmodulin acquires strong positive cooperativity in Ca2+-binding: whereas its first two stoichiometric Ca-binding constants are not significantly different from those of free calmodulin, the third Ca2+ ion binds with an affinity at least 10(5)-fold higher than the corresponding one in free calmodulin. Calmodulin liganded with 1 or 2 Ca2+ displays the same low affinity for the enzyme as calmodulin depleted of Ca2+ (approximate Kdiss = 10(-4)-10(-3) M). The alpha beta gamma delta X calmodulin X Ca3 complex is strengthened by a free energy coupling of -8 kcal/mol upon complexation. The quantitative analysis of our results predicts that in spite of this high free energy barrier the dissociation of the complex (i.e. the inactivation of phosphorylase kinase) occurs rapidly upon lowering free [Ca2+].

Animals↗

Subunit phosphorylation and activation of skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Divalent metal ion, ATP, and protein concentration dependence.

This report provides a characterization of the effects of varying the concentrations of Mg2+, ATP, phosphorylase kinase, and the cAMP-dependent protein kinase on the activation and phosphorylation of phosphorylase kinase. The results show the following. (a) The Km for MgATP2- for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation is decreased by increasing Mg2+, probably as a consequence of decreasing the free ATP:MgATP2- ratio and increasing free Mg2+. (b) Whereas beta subunit phosphorylation of phosphorylase kinase plays a prominent role in determining its activity, alpha subunit phosphorylation can also modulate activity. (c) The phosphorylation of the alpha subunit, which occurs following the initial cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of the beta subunit, is catalyzed by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase and is not a consequence of EGTA-insensitive (or EGTA-sensitive) autophosphorylation occurring as a result of the enhanced phosphorylase kinase activity. (d) The relationship between subunit phosphorylation and phosphorylase kinase activation is complex and particularly dependent upon concentrations of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and phosphorylase kinase in the activation reaction. The data suggest the possibilities that the pathway of phospho-intermediates involved in the activation process probably varies with the activation conditions, that the efficacy of a specific site to be covalently modified is dependent upon the phosphorylation status of other sites, and that the effect of phosphorylation in regulating activity may also be dependent on the phosphorylation status of other sites. It is clear from the data that the activation process for phosphorylase kinase can be very complex, and it is possible that this complexity might have significant physiological ramifications.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

[Phosphorylation of isolated components of the troponin complex of skeletal and cardiac muscle phosphorylase kinase from bird skeletal muscles].

Pigeon and chicken skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase purified to a nearly homogeneous state is able to phosphorylate both cardiac and skeletal troponin I and T. After 1-hr incubation, the enzyme transfers up to 0.35 mole of phosphorus per mole of skeletal troponin I, up to 0.5 mole of cardiac troponin I and up to 0.1 mole of cardiac and skeletal troponin T. Avian muscle phosphorylase kinase does not phosphorylate the first serine residue of cardiac and skeletal troponin T, but catalyzes the phosphate incorporation into the site(s) of troponin T located in the central or C-terminal parts of the protein molecule. The rate of troponin phosphorylation by pigeon muscle phosphorylase kinase is pH-dependent: the 6.8/8.2 ratio for troponin I is close to 0,2, whereas that with troponin T varies in the range of 0.5-0.7. Troponin phosphorylation by avian phosphorylase kinase depends on the presence of Ca2+ in the incubation mixture. In the presence of 3 mM EGTA troponin I phosphorylation is inhibited by 70-90%, whereas that of troponin T--by 50%. The experimental results indicate that the phosphorylation of troponin I and T is catalyzed either by two different active centers or by different conformations of the single center of avian phosphorylase kinase.

Animals↗

Subcellular distribution of phosphorylase kinase in rat brain. Association of the enzyme with mitochondria and membranes.

The evaluation of glycogen phosphorylase kinase in rat brain subcellular fractions was undertaken in order to get further insight into the association of this kinase with specific neuronal cell compartments. The enzyme was found to be primarily soluble, but considerable latent specific activities were observed in particulate fractions, especially in microsomes, mitochondria and synaptosomes, which could be unmasked by treatment with Triton-X-100. The submitochondrial and subsynaptic distribution patterns of phosphorylase kinase revealed high overt activity in the mitochondrial intermembrane space and high latent activities in mitochondrial membranes, and synaptic vesicles, membranes and mitochondria. The Ca(2+)-dependency of soluble phosphorylase kinase was similar to that of microsomal enzyme but higher than that of other particulate enzyme forms. Mitochondrial phosphorylase kinase showed a higher pH 6.8:8.2 activity ratio than the soluble and the microsomal enzyme. The rate of inactivation of cytosolic phosphorylase kinase by proteinase K was higher than that of microsomal and mitochondrial enzymes. Antibodies against rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase effectively inhibited both cytosolic and microsomal enzyme but failed to significantly affect the kinase activity present in intact mitochondria and intermembrane space. Western blotting with anti-phosphorylase kinase showed that rat brain mitochondria exhibited a significantly lower immunoreactivity compared to soluble cytosol. In conclusion, the presence of phosphorylase kinase activity in a variety of particulate fractions of rat brain suggests a multiplicity of actions of this kinase in neuronal tissues.

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Renaturation of phosphorylase kinase activity from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels.

Phosphorylase kinase activity is renatured and detected in situ following electrophoresis of the denatured holoenzyme in a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel containing phosphorylase b that has been included in the gel polymerization according to the method of R. L. Geahlen et al. [(1986) Anal. Biochem. 153, 151-158]. Among the enzyme's four subunits, only gamma is catalytically active. When extract of rabbit muscle is electrophoresed and renatured in a similar manner, the phosphorylase-conversion activity is also associated only with a protein band that comigrates with the gamma subunit of phosphorylase kinase. This suggests that the gamma subunit of phosphorylase kinase may be the sole activity in rabbit muscle responsible for the phosphorylation of phosphorylase b. In an alternative method for the renaturation of activity from conventional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, the subunits of the enzyme are visualized using 2.5 M KCl, excised from the gel, and eluted by diffusion into buffer containing sodium dodecyl sulfate, which is subsequently removed by acetone precipitation of the eluted subunits. Catalytic activity is recovered when the acetone precipitate of the extracted gamma subunit is dissolved in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and diluted 50-fold into an activity assay. Inclusion of eluted alpha and beta subunits in the assay inhibits the activity of the gamma subunit, which supports our previous finding that the alpha and/or beta subunits suppress the activity of the catalytic gamma subunit [H. K. Paudel and G. M. Carlson (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 11912-11915].

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

An epitope proximal to the carboxyl terminus of the alpha-subunit is located near the lobe tips of the phosphorylase kinase hexadecamer.

An epitope of the alpha-subunit of phosphorylase kinase from fast-twitch skeletal muscle was localized to the tips of the bilobal kinase molecule by two types of immunoelectron microscopy. This is the first direct evidence identifying the location of any of the enzyme's 16 subunits within the phosphorylase kinase molecule. Negatively stained complexes of phosphorylase kinase with an immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibody specific for the alpha-subunit (mAb 157) were observed by conventional transmission electron microscopy, and complexes of the unstained enzyme with undecagold-labeled Fab' fragments derived from mAb 157 were visualized by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Images from both techniques indicate a symmetrical arrangement of the epitope, consistent with a "head-to-head" packing arrangement of the four alpha-subunits. In Western blots, mAb 157 crossreacted with comigrating fragments obtained by digesting non-denatured phosphorylase kinase with a variety of proteases, suggesting that the epitope for the anti-alpha mAb is contained within a protease-resistant domain. Partial sequencing of a 24.1 kDa immunoreactive chymotryptic fragment narrowed the epitope to somewhere within the carboxyl-terminal one-sixth of the alpha-subunit. Studies of the crossreactivity of mAb 157 with the holoenzyme in the presence of calmodulin, after phosphorylation or with different isoforms (all with known alpha-subunit sequence targets or differences), suggest that the epitope is even more proximal to the carboxyl terminus. This epitope was not implicated in any known function or activity of the enzyme, suggesting that the region proximal to the carboxyl terminus of the alpha-subunit, and thus to the lobe tips of the hexadecamer, may have a role other than catalytic or regulatory.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent association of phosphorylase kinase with human erythrocyte membranes.

The interaction of rabbit muscle phosphorylase kinase (EC 2.7.1.38) with human erythrocyte membranes was investigated. It was found that at pH 7.0 the kinase binds to the inner face of the erythrocyte membrane (inside-out vesicles) and that this binding is Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent. The sharpest increase in the binding reaction occurs at concentrations between 70 and 550 nM free Ca2+. Erythrocyte ghost or right-side out erythrocyte vesicles showed a significantly lower capacity to interact with phosphorylase kinase. Autophosphorylated phosphorylase kinase shows a similar Ca2+-dependent binding profile, while trypsin activation of the kinase and calmodulin decrease the original binding capacity by about 50%. Heparin (200 micrograms/ml) and high ionic strength (50 mM NaCl) almost completely blocks enzyme-membrane interaction; glycogen does not affect the interaction.

Animals↗

Dephosphorylation and inactivation of phosphorylase kinase: subunit specificity of rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatases.

The dephosphorylation of phosphorylase kinase by four rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatases was studied. The four enzymes used were preparations of protein phosphatases C-I, C-II, H-I, and H-II. Phosphatases C-I, C-II, and H-II were obtained as homogeneous preparations using procedures previously developed. Phosphatase H-I was purified 644-fold from rabbit skeletal muscle for the purposes of this study, and was the major phosphorylase phosphatase activity in the tissue extract. Phosphatases C-I and H-I were relatively specific for removal of the beta subunit phosphate of phosphorylase kinase, this occurring at rates approximately 100 times more rapidly than the removal of the alpha subunit phosphate. In contrast, phosphatases C-II and H-II readily dephosphorylated both the alpha and beta subunits, although the alpha subunit phosphate release occurred at rates about twice that of the beta subunit phosphate. These studies show that skeletal muscle contains two phosphatases capable of acting on phosphorylase kinase, and that these have different specificities as represented by phosphatases H-I and C-I on the one hand, and phosphatases C-II and H-II on the other hand. These studies also provided unequivocal evidence that dephosphorylation of the beta subunit of phosphorylase kinase is solely involved in the inactivation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase-activated enzyme. When autophosphorylated phosphorylase kinase was used as the substrate, the four phosphatases displayed similar general specificities as they did toward the cAMP-dependent protein kinase-activated enzyme. With none of the phosphatases examined was there any evidence that alpha subunit phosphorylation affected the rate of beta subunit dephosphorylation.

Animals↗

Dual function of calmodulin (delta) in phosphorylase kinase.

The Ca2+-independent activity of fast skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase, A0, can be reversibly stimulated by heparin more than 20-fold; concomitantly the Ca2+-dependent A2 activity is abolished completely. Heparin also drastically changes the aggregation state of the enzyme; aggregated species contain significantly less delta and show an about fivefold higher A0 activity than the tetrameric form containing delta stoichiometrically. We interpret this to mean that delta has two functions in the phosphorylase kinase: an inhibitory one with respect to A0 and an activating one with respect to A2. The inhibition of A0 by Ca2+-free delta is released, i.e. A0 increases when this subunit dissociates from the holoenzyme. The maximally heparin-stimulated A0 activity, A0,hep, is enriched from a crude extract to the same degree and approximately with the same yield as the major activity, A2. The phosphorylase kinase is not eluted from DEAE-cellulose as a symmetrical bell-shaped protein peak. The peak fraction contains the activities A2 and A0,hep superimposed and yields a nearly homogeneous sedimentation boundary with an S20,w value of 25.5 S. The A0 yields a much broader eluation profile showing a distinct maximum from the A2 activity which contains slower sedimenting species of 12.1 S, some tetrameric enzyme of 22.7 S and higher aggregated material. Over the whole profile the activity ratio A2/A0 decreases about sevenfold whereas the ratio A2/A0,hep is constant on average. This shows that A0 is an intrinsic activity of phosphorylase kinase. The heparin-activated A0 activity or A0 itself in the presence of the phosphorylase phosphatase inhibitor, fluoride, can trigger a Ca2+-independent flash activation of phosphorylase in a protein-glycogen complex. Thus, A0 could be responsible for the conversion of phosphorylase b to a at 20 nM free Ca2+ in resting, hormone-stimulated, muscle.

Animals↗

The association of phosphorylase kinase with membranes of rat liver smooth endoplasmic reticulum.

Upon fractionation of a post mitochondrial supernatant from rat liver, phosphorylase kinase activity was largely recovered in the cytosol and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) fraction. The presence of phosphorylase kinase in SER vesicles was not due to an interaction of the enzyme with glycogen particles, since previous elimination of SER glycogen either by 48 h animal starvation or by treatment of the membrane fraction with alpha-amylase did not significantly alter phosphorylase kinase activity content. Washing of the initial pellet of SER fraction (crude SER) by dilution and recentrifugation, released in the supernatant an amount of phosphorylase kinase activity, which is dependent on: i) the degree of dilution, ii) the number of washes, iii) the ionic strength of the washing solution and iii) the presence or absence of Ca2+. Crude SER-associated phosphorylase kinase was marginally affected by increased concentrations of antibody against rabbit skeletal muscle holoenzyme which nevertheless drastically inhibited cytosolic enzyme activity, while it showed a higher resistance to partial proteolysis and a different Western blotting profile with anti-phosphorylase kinase when compared with the soluble kinase. A small but significant fraction of SER phosphorylase kinase was strongly associated with the microsomal fraction being partly extractable only in presence of detergents. This membrane-bound enzyme form exhibited an alkaline pH optimum, in contrast to the neutral pH optima of both soluble and weakly associated phosphorylase kinase.

Animals↗

[Association of rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase with sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes].

The binding of phosphorylase kinase to sarcoplasmic reticulum has been studied using gel chromatography. The presence of Ca2+, Mg2+ and glycogen was found to be necessary for the maximal binding. The phosphorylase kinase adsorbed on sarcoplasmic reticulum is capable of phosphorylating exogenous phosphorylase b. Phosphorylase kinase was shown to take no part in the phosphorylation of sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins. Exogenous calmodulin initiates the incorporation of [gamma-32P] of ATP into sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins. The data obtained point to a possibility that another Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase may participate in the phosphorylation of sarcoplasmic proteins.

Animals↗

Decreased activity and impaired hormonal control of protein phosphatases in rat livers with a deficiency of phosphorylase kinase.

1. Livers from gsd/gsd rats, which do not express phosphorylase kinase activity, also contain much less particulate type-1 protein phosphatases. In comparison with normal Wistar rats, the glycogen/microsomal fraction contained 75% less glycogen-synthase phosphatase and 60% less phosphorylase phosphatase activity. This was largely due to a lower amount of the type-1 catalytic subunit in the particulate fraction. In the cytosol, the synthase phosphatase activity was also 50% lower, but the phosphorylase phosphatase activity was equal. 2. Both Wistar rats and gsd/gsd rats responded to an intravenous injection of insulin plus glucose with an acute increase (by 30-40%) in the phosphorylase phosphatase activity in the liver cytosol. In contrast, administration of glucagon or vasopressin provoked a rapid fall (by about 25%) in the cytosolic phosphorylase phosphatase activity in Wistar rats, but no change occurred in gsd/gsd rats. 3. Phosphorylase kinase was partially purified from liver and subsequently activated. Addition of a physiological amount of the activated enzyme to a liver cytosol from Wistar rats decreased the V of the phosphorylase phosphatase reaction by half, whereas the non-activated kinase had no effect. The kinase preparations did not change the activity of glycogen-synthase phosphatase, which does not respond to glucagon or vasopressin. Furthermore, the phosphorylase phosphatase activity was not affected by addition of physiological concentrations of homogeneous phosphorylase kinase from skeletal muscle (activated or non-activated). 4. It appears therefore that phosphorylase kinase plays an essential role in the transduction of the effect of glucagon and vasopressin to phosphorylase phosphatase. However, this inhibitory effect either is specific for the hepatic phosphorylase kinase, or is mediated by an unidentified protein that is a specific substrate of phosphorylase kinase.

Animals↗

Immunocytochemical localization of glycogen phosphorylase kinase in rat brain sections and in glial and neuronal primary cultures.

The physiological function of brain glycogen and the role of phosphorylase kinase as a regulatory enzyme in the cascade of reactions associated with glycogenolysis in the brain have not been fully elucidated. As a first step toward elucidating such a function, we studied the localization of phosphorylase kinase in glial and neuronal primary cell cultures, and in adult rat brain slices, using a rabbit polyclonal antibody against skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase kinase. Immunocytochemical examination of rat astroglia-rich primary cultures revealed that a large number of cells were positive for glycogen phosphorylase kinase immunoreactivity. These cells were also positive for vimentin, a marker for immature glia, while they were negative for glial fibrillary acidic protein, a marker for mature astroglia, and for galactocerebroside, an oligodendroglial marker. Neurons in rat neuron-rich primary cultures did not show any kinase-positive staining. In paraformaldehyde-fixed adult rat brain sections, phosphorylase kinase immunoreactivity was detected in glial-like cells throughout the brain, with relatively high staining found in the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, and the medulla oblongata. Phosphorylase kinase immunoreactivity could not be detected in neurons, with the exception of a group of large neurons in the brain stem, most likely belonging to the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus. Phosphorylase kinase was also localized in the choroid plexus and to a lesser degree in the ependymal cells lining the ventricles. Phosphorylase kinase thus appears to have the same cellular distribution in nervous tissue as its substrates, i.e. glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen, which suggests that the physiological role of brain phosphorylase kinase is the mobilization of glycogen stores to fuel the increased metabolic demands of neurons and astrocytes.

Animals↗

The association of phosphorylase kinase with rabbit muscle T-tubules.

Evidence is presented for the association of a phosphorylase kinase activity with transverse tubules as well as terminal cisternae in triads isolated from rabbit skeletal muscle. This activity remained associated with T-tubules throughout the purification of triad junctions by one cycle of dissociation and reassociation. The possibility that the presence of phosphorylase kinase in these highly purified membrane vesicle preparations was due to its association with glycogen was eliminated by digestion of the latter with alpha-amylase. The phosphorylase kinase activity associated with the T-tubule membranes was similar to that reported for other membrane-bound phosphorylase kinases. The enzyme had a high pH 6.8/pH 8.2 activity ratio (0.4-0.7) and a high level of Ca2+ independent activity (EGTA/Ca2+ = 0.3-0.5). The kinase activated and phosphorylated exogenous phosphorylase b with identical time courses. When mechanically disrupted triads were centrifuged on continuous sucrose gradients, the distribution of phosphorylase kinase activity was correlated with the distribution of a Mr 128,000 polypeptide in the gradients. This polypeptide and a Mr 143,000 polypeptide were labeled with 32P by endogenous and exogenous protein kinases. These findings suggest that the membrane-associated phosphorylase kinase may be similar to the cytosolic enzyme. Markers employed for the isolated organelles included a Mr 102,000 membrane polypeptide which followed the distribution of Ca2+-stimulated 3-O-methylfluorescein phosphatase activity, which is specific for the sarcoplasmic reticulum. A Mr 72,000 polypeptide was confirmed to be a T-tubule-specific protein. Several proteins of the triad component organelle were phosphorylated by the endogenous kinase in a Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated manner, including a Mr ca. 72,000 polypeptide found only in the transverse tubule.

Animals↗

Phosphorylation and inactivation of glycogen synthase by phosphorylase kinase.

Skeletal muscle glycogen a4-synthase (EC 2.4.1.11) has been purified free of all synthase kinase and phosphatase activities by chromatography on a Glc-N-6-P-Sepharose affinity column and then on a phosphocellulose column. This preparation of glycogen synthase was tested as a substrate for purified skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase (ATP:phosphorylase-b phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.38). Phosphorylase kinase (1-10 microgram/ml or 0.03-0.3 microM) catalyzes rapid phosphorylation of glycogen synthase (4.5 microM) associated with conversion of the active a form to the less active b form. In the reaction, greater than 95% of the 32P incorporation from [gamma-32P]ATP goes into the synthase subunit almost exclusively in the trypsin-insensitive region which is responsible for synthase a-to-b conversion. Synthase phosphorylation or inactivations catalyzed by phosphorylase kinase is blocked by ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, is ATP dependent, is 10-fold more rapid at pH 8.6 than at pH 6.8, and is increased 10-fold by prior activation of the phosphorylase kinase with MgATP and cyclic AMP. With activated phosphorylase kinase at pH 8.2 the apparent Km and Vmax are approximately 70 microM and 4 mumol/min per mg with glycogen synthase and 70 microM and 9 mumol/min per mg with phosphorylase as substrate. It is concluded that glycogen synthase is a substrate in vitro for phosphorylase kinase, a Ca2+-dependent enzyme. The possible physiological significance of this reaction is discussed.

Animals↗