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Treatment of unadenylylated glutamine synthetase from Escherichia coli with tetranitromethane or with N-acetylimidazole produces alterations in catalytic parameters that are similar to alterations caused by the physiologically important process of adenylylation. All three modification reactions lead to a change in divalent ion requirement for biosynthetic activity; the unmodified enzyme requires Mg(2+) for activity, whereas the modified enzymes exhibit increased activity with Mn(2+). The gamma-glutamyl transferase activity of the modified enzyme is more sensitive to feedback inhibition by tryptophan, histidine, CTP, and AMP, and to inhibition by Mg(2+) or to inactivation by 5 M urea. Finally, the pH optimum for the unmodified enzyme is 7.9, while the modified enzymes are more active at pH 6.8. Since treatment of the enzyme with N-acetylimidazole results in a decrease in absorbancy at 278 mmu and treatment with tetranitromethane causes an increase in absorbancy at 428 mmu, the effects of these reagents are probably due to modification of certain tyrosyl groups on the enzyme. However, other evidence indicates that the tyrosyl residues which are susceptible to adenylylation in the adenylyltransferase-catalyzed reaction are not involved in the acetylation or nitration reactions.

Two active forms of purified ATP:glutamine synthetase adenylyl-transferase from Escherichia coli are apparent on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8. The slower migrating component, which is identical to the P(I)-protein fraction of the glutamine synthetase deadenylylating enzyme system, has S(20.w) congruent with 5.1 S and a molecular weight of about 130,000. The more rapidly migrating adenylyltransferase component has S(20.w) congruent with 4.0 S and a molecular weight of about 70,000. During storage at 4 degrees C, the larger adenylyltransferase component (P(I)) converts to the smaller active unit with a concomitant loss of both P(I) deadenylylating activity and soluble protein. It is concluded that the low-molecular weight form of the adenylyltransferase is a subunit of the deadenylylating P(I)-protein.

To investigate how cell population density influences the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP we have measured adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activities and cyclic AMP levels at various stages of cell density in normal rat-kidney (NRK) cells, which exhibit contact-inhibition of growth, and in normal chick-embryo fibroblasts (CEF), which do not show contact inhibition of growth under our conditions. Until NRK cells reach confluency, both activities increase with increasing cell population and cyclic AMP levels are low. As NRK cells reach confluency, cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity decreases somewhat whereas adenylate cyclase activity continues to rise. This increase in synthetic ability is accompanied by the increase in cyclic AMP levels which occurs in these cells at confluency. In CEF grown in 5% serum where density-dependent inhibition of growth is not observed, both adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activities increase proportionately with increasing cell population density. No significant alteration occurs in the ratio between these two enzyme activities and no change is observed in cyclic AMP levels. The NaF-stimulated activity in NRK cells increases with increasing cell density until the cells reach confluency; thereafter the NaF-stimulated activity remains constant. In contrast, the NaF-stimulated activity observed in CEF does not vary appreciably between light and heavy density. The observed changes in the enzymes of cyclic AMP metabolism accurately reflect the changes in cyclic AMP concentration as a function of cell population density. The data indicate that these two enzyme activities respond to increasing cell density to elicit a rise in intracellular cyclic AMP levels. The elevated cyclic AMP levels are thought to be involved in the regulation of cellular growth rate and the mediation of contact inhibition of growth.

The activity of the enzyme adenylate cyclase, a component of the plasma membrane, has been determined in chick-embryo fibroblasts and in cells transformed by either Bryan high-titer strain of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV-BH) or a temperature-sensitive mutant of this virus (RSV-BH-Ta). Adenylate cyclase activity is reduced in cells transformed by the wild-type virus and also by the temperature-sensitive mutant when the cells are grown at the permissive temperature (37 degrees ). Transformation results in an altered affinity (K(m)) for the substrate (Mg ATP). The apparent K(m) ATP is 0.23 mM in normal cells and 1.1 mM in cells transformed with wild-type virus. The K(m) ATP of the cells infected with RSV-BH-Ta is 0.67-1.0 mM at 37 degrees and 0.28 mM at 42 degrees . The enzyme from normal cells appears to have two binding sites for Mg(++), one at the catalytic site and a second at a regulatory site. Transformation by RSV-BH or RSV-BH-Ta (37 degrees ) apparently alters this second Mg(++) site. A decrease in adenylate cyclase activity occurs within 10 min after cells infected with RSV-BH-Ta are shifted from 42 degrees to 37 degrees ; the activity falls to one-half that of normal cells 30 min after the temperature shift. Our observations indicate that a viral function lowers cyclic AMP content by lowering the activity of adenylate cyclase, probably through some modification of the plasma membrane.

Regulation of glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) in Escherichia coli is mediated by adenylylation and deadenylylation of the enzyme. The present studies show that one protein is a common component of both the adenylylation and deadenylylation systems. Thus, the ATP:glutamine synthetase adenylyltransferase, which catalyzes adenylylation of glutamine synthetase, and one of the two proteins required for deadenylylation (the P(I) protein) are inseparable by a variety of fractionation procedures. The adenylyltransferase and P(I)-deadenylylating activities behave as a single protein upon filtration through Agarose A 0.5 gel, and during chromatography on DE32 cellulose and hydroxyapatite columns. They migrate as a single protein band during electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel and have identical susceptibilities to heat inactivation. These data indicate that the adenylyltransferase and the P(I)-deadenylylation activity are associated with the same protein complex.