Changes in Galleria mellonella lysozyme level and activity during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

The level of lysozyme in fat body, hemocytes and cell-free hemolymph from Galleria mellonella larvae infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa was determined and evaluated. In the samples of fat body and hemocytes, an increase in lysozyme content was detected 1 d after infection and then a significant decrease was observed after a prolonged infection time. In the case of cell-free hemolymph, an increase in the lysozyme level was noticeable during the first 30 h post injection and stayed at a similar level for 42 h. The smaller decrease of the lysozyme level after 42 h might be associated with the development of bacteremia of P. aeruginosa in insects. In addition, the gradual increase in the content of lysozyme correlated with the increase of its activity in the hemolymph of the infected larvae as a response to injection with P. aeruginosa. The G. mellonella lysozyme appeared to be insensitive to extracellular proteinases produced in vivo by P. aeruginosa.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae pyruvate kinase Pyk1 is PKA phosphorylation substrate in vitro.

Fractionation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae postribosomal extract on DEAE-cellulose revealed two fractions of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA-1 and PKA-2). The presence of PKA in both fractions was confirmed by immunoblotting with anti-Bcy1 antibodies. Yeast pyruvate kinase Pyk1 identified by amino acid microsequencing analysis and immunoblotting with anti-Pyk1 antibodies copurified with the PKA-1 but not the -2 fraction. Pyk1 can be phosphorylated by yeast PKA in vitro in the presence of cAMP and cGMP. Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis revealed four phosphorylated forms of Pyk1 modified by PKA. In phosphorylation of Pyk1 mainly the Tpk2 catalytic subunit of yeast PKA was involved.

Phosphorylation of yeast ribosomal proteins by CKI and CKII in the presence of heparin.

We have found that heparin has a different effect on Trichosporon cutaneum ribosomal protein phosphorylation by CKI and by CKII. In the presence of heparin, modification of 13 kDa, 19 kDa and 38 kDa proteins catalyzed by CKII was inhibited, while in the case of CKI, in addition to protein of 15 kDa, phosphorylation of 20 kDa and 35 kDa proteins was detected. It was also found that, in the presence of heparin, phosphorylation of P proteins (13 kDa and 38 kDa) by ribosome-bound protein kinases was inhibited. Moreover at the same conditions modification of 40 kDa protein was observed in all four yeast species tested.

PKA from Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be activated by cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP.

Analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome revealed no sequence homologous to cyclic GMP (cGMP) dependent protein kinase from other organisms. Here we demonstrate that cyclic AMP (cAMP) dependent protein kinase purified from S. cerevisiae was almost equally activated by cAMP and cGMP in 3 x 10(-6) M concentrations of either nucleotide in the presence of Mg2+ ions. Interestingly, if Mn2+ ions were used instead of Mg2+, cGMP was only 30% as effective as cAMP in the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Analogs of cAMP such as 8-chloro-cAMP and 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate of ribofuranosylbenzimidazole were as potent as cAMP in the enzyme activation, while N6,2'-O-dibutyryl-cAMP activated the enzyme to a lower extent. It was also found that yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase can be activated by limited proteolytic digestion. The results presented were obtained with protamine and ribosomal protein S10 used as phosphorylation substrates.

The effect of heparin on the activity of Trichosporon cutaneum casein kinase I.

Casein kinase I from Trichosporon cutaneum ribosome-free extracts was purified. Its molecular mass was calculated for 33 kDa. It was shown that casein, phosvitin and Trichosporon cutaneum ribosomal protein of 15 kDa were preferable substrates for the enzyme. It was found that heparin can stimulate or inhibit CKI activity depending on the substrate used. Stimulation of casein and inhibition of phosvitin phosphorylation was observed. In addition it was shown that ribosomal proteins of 19 kDa and 38 kDa were phosphorylated by CKI only in the presence of heparin.

Activation and phosphorylation of a pleckstrin homology domain containing protein kinase (RAC-PK/PKB) promoted by serum and protein phosphatase inhibitors.

Treatment of quiescent Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts with serum, or with the phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and vanadate, induced a 2- to 11-fold activation of the serine/ threonine RAC protein kinase (RAC-PK). Kinase activation was accompanied by decreased mobility of RAC-PK on SDS/PAGE such that three electrophoretic species (a to c) of the kinase were detected by immunoblot analysis, indicative of differentially phosphorylated forms. Addition of vanadate to arrested cells increased the RAC-PK phosphorylation level 3-to 4-fold. Unstimulated RAC-PK was phosphorylated predominantly on serine, whereas the activated kinase was phosphorylated on both serine and threonine residues. Treatment of RAC-PK in vitro with protein phosphatase 2A led to kinase inactivation and an increase in electrophoretic mobility. Deletion of the N-terminal region containing the pleckstrin homology domain did not affect RAC-PK activation by okadaic acid, but it reduced vanadate-stimulated activity and also blocked the serum-induced activation. Deletion of the serine/threonine rich C-terminal region impaired both RAC-PKalpha basal and vanadate-stimulated activity. Studies using a kinase-deficient mutant indicated that autophosphorylation is not involved in RAC-PKalpha activation. Stimulation of RAC-PK activity and electrophoretic mobility changes induced by serum were sensitive to wortmannin. Taken together the results suggest that RAC-PK is a component of a signaling pathway regulated by phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, whose action is required for RAC-PK activation by phosphorylation.

Phosphorylation of ribosomal proteins by ribosome-associated protein kinases of Trichosporon cutaneum.

Four ribosomal proteins of Mr 13 kDa, 15 kDa, 19 kDa and 38 kDa were identified as phosphorylation substrates for protein kinases tightly associated with Trichosporon cutaneum ribosomes. It was found that proteins of 13 kDa, 19 kDa and 38 kDa were phosphorylated by multifunctional casein kinase II while the protein of 15 kDa by casein kinase I. Proteins of 13 kDa and 38 kDa were detected in the large subunits while 15 kDa and 19 kDa in the small ribosomal subunits. By using isoelectrofocusing the protein of 13 kDa was resolved into two individual phosphorylated forms. The phosphorylation level of both forms was much higher in ribosomes from the cells collected at the exponential growth phase than in those from the stationary phase. The same phosphoprotein forms were identified in ribosomes from in vitro and in vivo [32P]-labelling experiments.

The acidic ribosomal proteins of different yeast species. Phosphorylation by ribosome-associated protein kinases.

Two major ribosomal proteins of Mr 13 kDa and 38 kDa were identified as phosphorylation substrates for ribosome-bound protein kinases from different yeast species. The phosphorylation level was much higher in ribosomes from the cells collected at the exponential growth phase, than in those from the stationary phase. Isoelectrofocusing of the protein band of 13 kDa and subsequent silver staining allowed to identify from four in the case of Pichia stipitis up to ten in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Saccharomycodes Ludwigii, Torulopsis utilis and Kloeckera apiculata individual peptides. In the most of the yeast species studies five phosphorylated peptides were observed. However, only one or two such phosphopeptides were detected in Pichia stipitis and Trichosporon cutaneum ribosomes, respectively. The same phosphoprotein forms were identified in the in vivo 32P-labelling experiments.

Phosphorylation of acidic ribosomal proteins by ribosome-associated protein kinases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Two proteins of 13 kDa and 38 kDa, the components of 60S ribosomal subunits, were identified as phosphorylation substrates for protein kinases tightly associated with S. cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe ribosomes. An enzyme with properties of multifunctional casein kinase II was detected in ribosome preparations from both yeast species. In S. cerevisiae another protein kinase with high substrate specificity toward those proteins was also identified. By using isoelectric focusing, the protein band of 13 kDa from S. cerevisiae and S. pombe was resolved respectively into three and four major forms of different charge. The same protein forms were phosphorylated in the in vivo 32P-labelling experiments.

Molecular cloning of a second form of rac protein kinase.

A novel serine/threonine protein kinase (termed rac-PK) has recently been identified and cloned from cDNA libraries derived from the human cell lines MCF-7 and WI38. A second form of this protein kinase, termed rac protein kinase beta, has been identified from cDNAs derived from the same cell lines. These two closely related forms show 90% homology, although the beta form with a predicted Mr 60,200 has a carboxyl terminal extension of 40 amino acids in comparison to the alpha form. This extension has a high serine content with 11 serine residues in the last 30 amino acids. The beta form of the protein has been shown by both in vitro translation and bacterial expression to be approximately 5000 Da larger than the alpha form. rac protein kinase beta is encoded by a 3.4-kb transcript and the alpha form is encoded by a 3.2-kb mRNA. Using gene-specific probes both transcripts were detected in all cell types analyzed, although levels of expression were different for the two forms. The catalytic domain of rac protein kinase beta shows a high degree of homology to both the protein kinase C and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase families, and hence rac protein kinases appear to represent a new subfamily of the second messenger serine/threonine protein kinases.

Molecular cloning and identification of a serine/threonine protein kinase of the second-messenger subfamily.

A partial cDNA was isolated that encoded a protein kinase, termed rac (related to the A and C kinases). This cDNA was subsequently used to screen libraries derived from the human cell lines MCF-7 and WI38 and led to the isolation of full-length cDNA clones. DNA sequence analysis identified an open reading frame of 1440 base pairs encoding a protein of 480 amino acids (Mr, 55,716). This result was supported by the synthesis of a Mr 58,000 protein in an in vitro translation system that used RNA transcribed from cloned cDNAs with SP6 RNA polymerase. The predicted protein contains consensus sequences characteristic of a protein kinase catalytic domain and shows 73% and 68% similarity to protein kinase C and the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, respectively. Northern (RNA) analysis revealed a single mRNA transcript of 3.2 kilobases that varied up to 300-fold between different cell lines. Specific antisera directed towards the carboxyl terminal of the rac protein kinase were prepared and used to identify that phosphorylated several substrates in immunoprecipitates prepared with the rac-specific antisera.

Activation of a ribosomal protein S6 kinase in mouse fibroblasts during infection with herpesvirus.

If confluent fibroblasts are infected with the swine alpha-herpes virus, pseudorabies virus, ribosomal protein S6 becomes phosphorylated after a lag of approximately 2 h. When cell-free extracts were prepared from such cells in the presence of glycerol 2-phosphate and EGTA, a ribosomal protein S6 kinase activity was found to appear at approximately the same time as the phosphorylation in vivo. This protein kinase was similar to that activated in the same cells by replenishing the nutrient medium, and in other quiescent cells by the action of growth factors and mitogens. It was distinct from the previously described pseudorabies virus protein kinase, which is unique to infected cells. When medium from cells infected with pseudorabies virus was freed of virus and added to confluent fibroblasts, rapid activation of the ribosomal protein S6 kinase activity occurred. A similar, although more limited, effect could be seen when the pH of the medium was increased. These results suggest that the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 in cells infected with herpes virus is a consequence of the production of a factor which initiates the metabolic programme for cellular growth. The possible function of this effect in the infective strategy of herpes viruses is discussed in relation to requirements for the replication of viral DNA.

Induction, partial purification and characterization of a hamster fibroblast protein kinase activity that phosphorylates ribosomal protein S6.

When BHK cells were grown to confluence and the growth medium replenished, there was a large and rapid increase in the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6. In postribosomal extracts of these cells, prepared in the presence of glycerol 2-phosphate and EGTA, a ribosomal protein S6 kinase was detected. The increase in activity of this protein kinase broadly reflected the increase in phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 observed in vivo. This ribosomal protein S6 kinase activity was substantially purified by a combination of phosphocellulose, DEAE-cellulose, Mono Q and heparin-Sepharose chromatography, and some of its characteristics were examined. When the products of phosphorylation of 40S ribosomal subunits by purified enzyme in vitro were analysed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, monophosphorylated and diphosphorylated forms of ribosomal protein S6 were observed to be the predominant radioactively labelled species.

A major phosphoprotein of cells infected with pseudorabies virus is phosphorylated by cellular casein kinase II.

Endogenous protein phosphorylation was studied in extracts of hamster fibroblasts infected with pseudorabies virus. The major phosphorylation was detected quite late in infection and involved an acidic protein of Mr 62,000. It was catalysed by an enzyme activity with the properties of cellular casein kinase II. Two-dimensional gel analysis was used to demonstrate that this same protein was also phosphorylated in vivo. The phosphoprotein was detected in mature virions and is most likely viral in origin.