Identification and localization of two brefeldin A-inhibited guanine nucleotide-exchange proteins for ADP-ribosylation factors in a macromolecular complex.

Two brefeldin A (BFA)-inhibited guanine nucleotide-exchange proteins for ADP-ribosylation factors, 200-kDa BIG1 and 190-kDa BIG2, were copurified from bovine brain cytosol associated with >670-kDa macromolecular complexes. When observed by immunofluorescence in HeLa S3 and HepG2 cells, endogenous BIG1 and coexpressed BIG2 were distributed in a punctate pattern throughout the cytosol, and also concentrated in the perinuclear region, where endogenous BIG1 and BIG2 each partially colocalized with Golgi-specific 58K protein and gamma-adaptin. On Western blot analysis, both BIG1 and BIG2 were clearly more abundant in the cytosol than in the microsomal fractions. After density gradient centrifugation of a microsomal fraction, BIG1 and BIG2 were recovered in the same fraction as beta-COP, a marker for Golgi membranes. When cytosol from HeLa S3 cells was subjected to gel filtration and fractions were analyzed by Western blotting, the largest percentages of both BIG1 and BIG2 were detected in fractions containing proteins with a molecular mass of >670 kDa. Western blotting using anti-peptide antibodies specific for BIG1 or BIG2 demonstrated that approximately 70% of BIG2 was immunoprecipitated along with 100% of BIG1 by the anti-BIG1 IgG, and approximately 75% of BIG1 was coprecipitated with 100% of BIG2 by the anti-BIG2 IgG. All observations were consistent with the conclusion that significant fractions of BIG1 and BIG2 exist as components of the same macromolecular complexes in bovine brain cytosol and are similarly localized in cultured cells.

Similarities in function and gene structure of cytohesin-4 and cytohesin-1, guanine nucleotide-exchange proteins for ADP-ribosylation factors.

Activation of ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), approximately 20-kDa GTPases that are inactive in the GDP-bound form, depends on guanine nucleotide-exchange proteins (GEPs) to accelerate GTP binding. A novel ARF GEP, designated cytohesin-4, was cloned from a human brain cDNA library. Deduced amino acid sequence of the 47-kDa protein contains the same structural components present in cytohesin -1, -2, and -3, including an approximately 200-amino acid Sec7 domain with an approximately 100-residue pleckstrin homology domain near the C terminus. The Sec7 domain sequence is 77% identical to those of other cytohesins. Structures of the cytohesin-4 and cytohesin-1 genes were remarkably similar, except for an extra 3-base pair (GAG) exon present in cytohesin-1. Two mRNAs with and without the 3-base pair sequence were found in brain in different ratios for cytohesin-1, -2, and -3 but not cytohesin-4. Recombinant cytohesin-4 stimulated guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate binding by human ARF1 and ARF5 but not ARF6. Like other cytohesins and unlike the approximately 200-kDa ARF GEPs, it was not inhibited by brefeldin A. A cytohesin-4 mRNA of approximately 3.7 kilobases, abundant in leukocytes, was not detected in most tissues. Among separated populations of blood cells, approximately 90% of CD33(+) (monocytes), 80% of CD2(+) (NK/T), and 10-20% of CD19(+) (B) cells contained cytohesin-4 mRNA by in situ hybridization. Thus, in gene structure and brefeldin A-insensitive GEP activity, cytohesin-4 resembles other cytohesins, but its tissue distribution differs considerably, consistent with a different specific function.

Brefeldin A inhibited activity of the sec7 domain of p200, a mammalian guanine nucleotide-exchange protein for ADP-ribosylation factors.

A brefeldin A (BFA)-inhibited guanine nucleotide-exchange protein (GEP) for ADP-ribosylation factors (ARF) was purified earlier from bovine brain cytosol. Cloning and expression of the cDNA confirmed that the recombinant protein (p200) is a BFA-sensitive ARF GEP. p200 contains a domain that is 50% identical in amino acid sequence to a region in yeast Sec7, termed the Sec7 domain. Sec7 domains have been identified also in other proteins with ARF GEP activity, some of which are not inhibited by BFA. To identify structural elements that influence GEP activity and its BFA sensitivity, several truncated mutants of p200 were made. Deletion of sequence C-terminal to the Sec7 domain did not affect GEP activity. A protein lacking 594 amino acids at the N terminus, as well as sequence following the Sec7 domain, also had high activity. The mutant lacking 630 N-terminal amino acids was, however, only 1% as active, as was the Sec7 domain itself (mutant lacking 697 N-terminal residues). It appears that the Sec7 domain of p200 contains the catalytic site but additional sequence (perhaps especially that between positions 595 and 630) modifies activity dramatically. Myristoylated recombinant ARFs were better than non-myristoylated as substrates; ARFs 1 and 3 were better than ARF5, and no activity was detected with ARF6. Physical interaction of the Sec7 domain with an ARF1 mutant was demonstrated, but it was much weaker than that of the cytohesin-1 Sec7 domain with the same ARF protein. Effects of BFA on p200 and all mutants with high activity were similar with approximately 50% inhibition at

Structural elements of ADP-ribosylation factor 1 required for functional interaction with cytohesin-1.

ADP-ribosylation factor 1 (ARF1) is a 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding protein involved in vesicular trafficking. Conversion of inactive ARF-GDP to active ARF-GTP is catalyzed by guanine nucleotide exchange proteins such as cytohesin-1. Cytohesin-1 and its Sec7 domain (C-1Sec7) exhibit guanine nucleotide exchange protein activity with ARF1 but not ARF-like protein 1 (ARL1), which is 57% identical in amino acid sequence. With chimeric proteins composed of ARF1 (F) and ARL1 (L) sequences we identified three structural elements responsible for this specificity. Cytohesin-1 increased [35S]guanosine 5'-(gamma-thio)triphosphate binding to L28/F (first 28 residues of L, remainder F) and to a much lesser extent F139/L, and mut13F139/L (F139/L with random sequence in the first 13 positions) but not Delta13ARF1 that lacks the first 13 amino acids; therefore, a nonspecific ARF N terminus was required for cytohesin-1 action. The N terminus was not, however, required for that of C-1Sec7. Both C-1Sec7 and cytohesin-1 effectively released guanosine 5'-(gamma-thio)triphosphate from ARF1, but only C-1Sec7 displaced the nonhydrolyzable GTP analog bound to mut13F139/L, again indicating that structure in addition to the Sec7 domain is involved in cytohesin-1 interaction. Some element(s) of the C-terminal region is also involved, because replacement of the last 42 amino acids with ARL sequence in F139L decreased markedly the interaction with cytohesin-1. Participation of both termini is consistent with the crystallographic structure of ARF in which the two terminal alpha-helices are in close proximity. ARF1 residues 28-50 are also important in the interaction with cytohesin-1; replacement of Lys-38 with Gln, the corresponding residue in ARL1, abolished the ability to serve as substrate for cytohesin-1 or C-1Sec7. These studies have defined multiple structural elements in ARF1, including switch 1 and the N and C termini, that participate in functional interactions with cytohesin-1 (or its catalytic domain C-1Sec7), which were not apparent from crystallographic analysis.

Effects of arfaptin 1 on guanine nucleotide-dependent activation of phospholipase D and cholera toxin by ADP-ribosylation factor.

Arfaptin 1, a approximately 39-kDa protein based on the deduced amino acid sequence, had been initially identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen using dominant active ARF3 (Q71L) as bait with an HL-60 cDNA library. It was suggested that arfaptin 1 may be involved in Golgi functions, since the FLAG-tagged protein was associated with Golgi membranes when expressed in COS-7 cells and could be bound to Golgi in vitro in an ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF)- and GTPgammaS-dependent, brefeldin A-inhibited fashion. Arfaptin 2, found in the same two-hybrid screen as arfaptin 1, is 60% identical in amino acid sequence and may or may not have an analogous function. We now report some effects of arfaptin 1 on ARF activation of phospholipase D and cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase. Arfaptin 1 inhibited activation of both enzymes in a concentration-dependent manner and was without effect in the absence of ARF. Two ARF1 mutants that activated the toxin, one lacking 13 N-terminal amino acids and the other, in which 73 residues at the N terminus were replaced with the analogous sequence from ARL1, were not inhibited by arfaptin, consistent with the conclusion that arfaptin interaction requires the N terminus of ARF. This region has also been implicated in phospholipase D activation, but whether the two proteins interact with the same structural elements in ARF remains to be determined. Arfaptin inhibition of the action of ARF5 and ARF6 was less than that of ARF1 and ARF3; its effects were less on nonmyristoylated than myristoylated ARFs. Arfaptin effects on guanine nucleotide binding by ARFs were minimal whether or not a purified ARF guanine nucleotide-exchange protein was present. These findings indicate that arfaptin acts as an inhibitor of ARF actions in vitro, raising the possibility that it has a similar role in vivo.

Cytohesin-1, a cytosolic guanine nucleotide-exchange protein for ADP-ribosylation factor.

Cytohesin-1, a protein abundant in cells of the immune system, has been proposed to be a human homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sec7 gene product, which is crucial in protein transport. More recently, the same protein has been reported to be a regulatory factor for the alphaLbeta2 integrin in lymphocytes. Overexpression of human or yeast ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) genes rescues yeast with Sec7 defects, restoring secretory pathway function. ARFs, 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins initially identified by their ability to stimulate cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity and now recognized as critical components in intracellular vesicular transport, exist in an inactive cytosolic form with GDP bound (ARF-GDP). Interaction with a guanine nucleotide-exchange protein (GEP) accelerates exchange of GDP for GTP, producing the active ARF-GTP. Both soluble and particulate GEPs have been described. To define better the interaction between ARF and Sec7-related proteins, effects of cytohesin-1, synthesized in Escherichia coli, on ARF activity were evaluated. Cytohesin-1 enhanced binding of 35S-labeled guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate [35S]GTP[gammaS] or [3H]GDP to ARF purified from bovine brain (i.e., it appeared to function as an ARF-GEP). Addition of cytohesin-1 to ARF3 with [35S]GTP[gammaS] bound, accelerated [35S]GTP[gammaS] release to a similar degree in the presence of unlabeled GDP or GTP[gammaS] and to a lesser degree with GDP[betaS]; release was negligible without added nucleotide. Cytohesin-1 also increased ARF1 binding to a Golgi fraction, but its effect was not inhibited by brefeldin A (BFA), a drug that reversibly inhibits Golgi function. In this regard, it differs from a recently reported BFA-sensitive ARF-GEP that contains a Sec7 domain.

Characterization of a GTPase-activating protein that stimulates GTP hydrolysis by both ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) and ARF-like proteins. Comparison to the ARD1 gap domain.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are approximately20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that participate in vesicular transport in the Golgi and other intracellular compartments and stimulate cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Both GTP binding and hydrolysis are necessary for its physiological functions, although purified mammalian ARF lacks detectable GTPase activity. An ARF GTPase-activating protein (GAP) was purified >15,000-fold from rat spleen cytosol using (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and chromatography on Ultrogel AcA 34, DEAE-Sephacel, heparin-Sepharose, hydroxylapatite, and Ultrogel AcA 44. In fractions ( approximately100-kDa proteins) from Ultrogel AcA 44, a major protein band of approximately50 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis correlated with GAP activity, consistent with it being a homodimer, thus differing from an ARF GAP purified from rat liver (Makler, V., Cukierman, E., Rotman, M., Admon, A., and Cassel, D. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 5232-5237). Purified spleen GAP accelerated hydrolysis of GTP bound to recombinant ARF1, ARF3, ARF5, and ARF6; no effect of NH2-terminal myristoylation was observed. ARF GAP also activated GTP hydrolysis by ARL1, which is 56% identical in amino acid sequence to ARF1, but lacks ARF activity. ARD1 is a 64-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding protein that contains an 18-kDa ARF domain at its carboxyl terminus; the ARF domain lacks the amino-terminal alpha-helix found in native ARF and hence is similar to the amino-terminal truncated mutant Delta13ARF1. Both the ARF domain of ARD1 and Delta13ARF1 were poor substrates for ARF GAP. The non-ARF1 domain of ARD1 enhanced the GTPase activity of the ARF domain, but not that of the ARF proteins and Delta13ARF1, i.e. it lacks the relatively broad substrate specificity exhibited by ARF GAP.

Purification and characterization of a guanine nucleotide-exchange protein for ADP-ribosylation factor from spleen cytosol.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins and are active in the GTP-bound state and inactive with GDP bound. ARF-GTP has a critical role in vesicular transport in several cellular compartments. Conversion of ARF-GDP to ARF-GTP is promoted by a guanine nucleotide-exchange protein (GEP). We earlier reported the isolation from bovine brain cytosol of a 700-kDa protein complex containing GEP activity that was inhibited by brefeldin A (BFA). Partial purification yielded an approximately 60-kDa BFA-insensitive GEP that enhanced binding of ARF1 and ARF3 to Golgi membranes. GEP has now been purified extensively from rat spleen cytosol in a BFA-insensitive, approximately 55-kDa form. It activated class I ARFs (ARFs 1 and 3) that were N-terminally myristoylated, but not nonmyristoylated ARFs from class-I, II, or III. GEP activity required MgCl2. In the presence of 0.6-0.8 mM MgCl2 and 1 mM EDTA, binding of guanosine 5'-[gamma[35S]thio]triphosphate ([35S]GTP gamma S) by ARF1 and ARF3 was equally high without and with GEP. At higher Mg2+ concentrations, binding without GEP was much lower; with 2-5 mM MgCl2, GEP-stimulated binding was maximal. The rate of GDP binding was much less than that of GTP gamma S with and without GEP. Phospholipids were necessary for GEP activity; phosphatidylinositol was more effective than phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidic acid was less so. Other phospholipids tested were ineffective. Maximal effects required approximately 200 microM phospholipid, with half-maximal activation at 15-20 microM. Release of bound [35S]GTP gamma S from ARF3 required the presence of both GEP and unlabeled GTP or GTP gamma S; GDP was much less effective. This characterization of the striking effects of Mg2+ concentration and specific phospholipids on the purified BFA-insensitive ARF GEP should facilitate experiments to define its function in vesicular transport.

Identification of a brefeldin A-insensitive guanine nucleotide-exchange protein for ADP-ribosylation factor in bovine brain.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that participate in vesicular transport in the Golgi and other intracellular compartments and stimulate cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. ARFs are active in the GTP-bound form; hydrolysis of bound GTP to GDP, possibly with the assistance of a GTP hydrolysis (GTPase)-activating protein results in inactivation. Exchange of GDP for GTP and reactivation were shown by other workers to be enhanced by Golgi membranes in a brefeldin A-sensitive reaction, leading to the proposal that the guanine nucleotide-exchange protein (GEP) was a target of brefeldin A. In the studies reported here, a soluble GEP was partially purified from bovine brain. Exchange of nucleotide on ARFs 1 and 3, based on increased ARF activity in a toxin assay and stimulation of binding of guanosine 5'-[gamma-[35S]thio]triphosphate, was dependent on phospholipids, with phosphatidylserine being more effective than cardiolipin. GEP appeared to increase the rate of nucleotide exchange but did not affect the affinity of ARF for GTP. Whereas the crude GEP had a size of approximately 700 kDa, the partially purified GEP behaved on Ultrogel AcA 54 as a protein of 60 kDa. With purification, the GEP activity became insensitive to brefeldin A, consistent with the conclusion that, in contrast to earlier inferences, the exchange protein is not itself the target of brefeldin A.

Characterization of recombinant and endogenous ADP-ribosylation factors synthesized in Sf9 insect cells.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are a family of highly conserved, 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that participate in protein trafficking and enhance cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. ARF 2 from bovine retinal cDNA was expressed in Sf9 insect cells using recombinant baculovirus and compared to the major insect cell ARF (Sf9 ARF) and to recombinant ARF 2 expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli rARF 2). The 150000g supernatant and particulate fractions of freeze-thawed, recombinant ARF 2 baculovirus-infected cells contained immunoreactive proteins of 20 and 21 kDa at significantly higher levels than were found in uninfected cells. Infected Sf9 cells incorporated [3H]myristate only into the 20-kDa protein. Sf9 cell recombinant ARF 2 (Sf9 rARF 2) and Sf9 ARF were separated by isoelectric focusing or ion-exchange chromatography and identified by microsequencing of HPLC-purified tryptic peptides. Sf9 ARF displayed considerable sequence identity to mammalian class I ARFs. Both Sf9 ARF and Sf9 rARF 2 stimulated in a GTP-dependent manner cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. The Ka for GTP of Sf9 ARF was, however, significantly lower than that of Sf9 rARF 2 or E. coli rARF 2. Myristoylation did not significantly affect the ability of ARF 2 to enhance cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation or the Ka for GTP. Despite the sequence identities and the fact that both were synthesized in insect cells, the endogenous Sf9 ARF was functionally different from Sf9 rARF 2.

Effects of brefeldin A and accessory proteins on association of ADP-ribosylation factors 1, 3, and 5 with Golgi.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins initially identified by their ability to enhance in vitro cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation and subsequently shown to participate in vesicular transport in the Golgi and other cellular compartments. By cDNA and genomic cloning, at least six mammalian ARFs were identified. Brefeldin A (BFA) disrupts Golgi membranes and inhibits binding of soluble high molecular weight proteins to Golgi fractions. We examined the effects of BFA on binding of ARF1, -3, and -5 to a Golgi fraction in the presence of an ATP-regenerating system and a fraction of soluble, high molecular weight, accessory proteins (SAP), presumably containing complexes identified by others as coatomers that are involved in vesicular transport. ARF binding in all instances was dependent on guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) and increased by the ATP-regenerating system. Binding of ARF1 and -3, but not ARF5, was enhanced by SAP. BFA inhibited the SAP-dependent, but not the SAP-independent, binding of ARF1 and -3. It had no effect on the increment in binding produced by an ATP-regenerating system. B36, an inactive derivative of BFA, did not inhibit SAP-dependent binding of ARF1 and -3. Binding of ARF5, which was SAP-independent, was not affected by BFA. These observations are consistent with the conclusion that mammalian ARFs differ in their dependence on accessory proteins for interaction with Golgi and, perhaps, other cellular membranes and that BFA specifically inhibits SAP-dependent ARF binding.

Effect of myristoylation on GTP-dependent binding of ADP-ribosylation factor to Golgi.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), a family of approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that activate cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase in vitro, have been implicated in intracellular protein trafficking and are thought to cycle between cytosolic and membrane compartments. Although isolated predominantly as soluble proteins, ARFs associate with membranes and phospholipids in a GTP-dependent manner. In contrast to other small GTP-binding proteins, ARFs are NH2 terminally myristoylated. Using a bacterial expression system, recombinant myristoylated and non-myristoylated human ARF5 were produced to investigate the role of myristoylation in its association with Golgi. The recombinant ARFs (myristoylated and non-myristoylated) exhibited similar biochemical activity as measured by GTP binding and in vitro activation of cholera toxin. Myristoylated ARF5, however, demonstrated a temperature- and GTP-dependent association with Golgi membranes, whereas non-myristoylated ARF did not bind to Golgi under any of the experimental conditions. These data indicate that myristoylation is necessary, although not sufficient, for membrane attachment, but is not necessary for activation of cholera toxin.

Effects of temperature on ADP-ribosylation factor stimulation of cholera toxin activity.

The effects of cholera toxin, a secretory product of Vibrio cholerae, result from ADP-ribosylation of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding (Gs) protein of the adenylyl cyclase system. Cholera toxin A subunit (CTA) also uses agmatine, a simple guanidino compound, several proteins unrelated to Gs, and CTA itself as alternative ADP-ribose acceptors. The effects of toxin occur in the jejunum presumably at body core temperature. With agmatine as a model substrate, the optimal temperature for CTA-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation was 25-30 degrees C, and that for CTA-catalyzed auto-ADP-ribosylation was 20-25 degrees C. Both activities were significantly less at 37 degrees C, reflecting lower initial velocities, not heat-inactivation of the toxin. All the transferase activities of CTA are enhanced by ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that are ubiquitous in mammalian cells. Phospholipids and a soluble brain ARF, in a GTP-dependent manner, activated toxin NAD:agmatine ADP-ribosyltransferase activity; their simultaneous effect was maximal at physiological temperatures (approximately 37 degrees C). At lower temperatures, the stimulation by ARF was much less. There were similar effects on other toxin-catalyzed reactions, notably, the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha and the hydrolysis of NAD. Thus, host factors, such as ARF and phospholipid, synergistically increase cholera toxin activity at 37 degrees C and may be important in toxin action in the mammalian gut.

Differential interaction of ADP-ribosylation factors 1, 3, and 5 with rat brain Golgi membranes.

Six mammalian ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) identified by cDNA cloning were expressed as recombinant proteins (rARFs) that stimulated cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Microsequencing of soluble ARFs I and II (sARFs I and II), purified from bovine brain, established that they are ARFs 1 and 3, respectively. Rabbit antibodies (IgG) against sARF II reacted similarly with ARFs 1, 2, and 3 (class I) on Western blots. ARFs 1 and 3 were distinguished by their electrophoretic mobilities. Antiserum against rARF 5 cross-reacted partially with rARF 4 but not detectably with rARF 6 and minimally with class I ARFs. Guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP[gamma S]) increased recovery of ARF activity and immunoreactivity in organelle fractions separated by density gradient centrifugation, after incubation of rat brain homogenate with ATP and a regenerating system. ARF 1 accumulated in microsomes plus Golgi and Golgi fractions, whereas ARF 5 seemed to localize more specifically in Golgi; the smaller increment in ARF 3 was distributed more evenly among fractions. On incubation of Golgi with a crude ARF fraction, GTP[gamma S], and an ATP-regenerating system, association of ARF activity with Golgi increased with increasing ATP concentration paralleled by increases in immunoreactive ARFs 1 and 5 and, to a lesser degree, ARF 3. Golgi incubated with GTP[gamma S] and purified ARF 1 or 3 bound more ARF 1 than ARF 3. Based on immunoreactivity and assay of ARF activity, individual ARFs 1, 3, and 5 appeared to behave independently and selectively in their GTP-dependent association with Golgi in vitro.

Differential expression during development of ADP-ribosylation factors, 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding protein activators of cholera toxin.

Cholera toxin exerts its effects on cells in large part through the ADP-ribosylation of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins. Toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation is enhanced by approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins termed ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), which are allosteric activators of the toxin catalytic unit. Rabbit antiserum against a purified bovine brain ARF (sARF II) reacted on immunoblots with two approximately 20-kDa ARF-like proteins (sARF I and II) in tissue extracts from bovine, rat, frog, and chicken. Levels of ARF were higher in brain than in non-neural tissues. In rat brain, on the second postnatal day, amounts of sARF I and II were similar. By the 10th postnatal day and thereafter, sARF II predominated. Relative levels of ARF determined by immunoreactivity were in agreement with levels assessed in functional assays of cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. Based on nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of human and bovine cDNAs, there appear to be at least six different ARF-like genes. Northern blots of rat brain poly(A)+ RNA were hybridized with cDNA and oligonucleotide probes specific for each of the human and bovine ARF genes. From the second to the 27th postnatal day, ARF 3 mRNA increased, whereas mRNAs for ARFs 2 and 4 decreased; and those for ARFs 1, 5, and 6 were apparently unchanged. Partial amino acid sequence of sARF II is consistent with it being either the ARF 1 or 3 gene product. The developmental changes in rat brain ARF parallel neuronal maturation and synapse formation.

Activation of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxins by native and recombinant adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation factors, 20-kD guanine nucleotide-binding proteins.

Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxins (LT) are responsible in part for "traveler's diarrhea" and related diarrheal illnesses. The family of LTs comprises two serogroups termed LT-I and LT-II; each serogroup includes two or more antigenic variants. The effects of LTs result from ADP ribosylation of Gs alpha, a stimulatory component of adenylyl cyclase; the mechanism of action is identical to that of cholera toxin (CT). The ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of CT is enhanced by 20-kD guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, known as ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. These proteins directly activate the CTA1 catalytic unit and stimulate its ADP ribosylation of Gs alpha, other proteins, and simple guanidino compounds (e.g., agmatine). Because of the similarities between CT and LTs, we investigated the effects of purified bovine brain ARF and a recombinant form of bovine ARF synthesized in Escherichia coli on LT activity. ARF enhanced the LT-I-, LT-IIa-, and LT-IIb-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of agmatine, as well as the auto-ADP ribosylation of the toxin catalytic unit. Stimulation of ADP-ribosylagmatine formation by LTs and CT in the presence of ARF was GTP dependent and enhanced by sodium dodecyl sulfate. With agmatine as substrate, LT-IIa and LT-IIb exhibited less than 1% the activity of CT and LT-Ih. CT and LTs catalyzed ADP-ribosyl-Gs alpha formation in a reaction dependent on ARF, GTP, and dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine/cholate. With Gs alpha as substrate, the ADP-ribosyltransferase activities of the toxins were similar, although CT and LT-Ih appeared to be slightly more active than LT-IIa and LT-IIb. Thus, LT-IIa and LT-IIb appear to differ somewhat from CT and LT-Ih in substrate specificity. Responsiveness to stimulation by ARF, GTP, and phospholipid/detergent as well as the specificity of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity are functions of LTs from serogroups LT-I and LT-II that are shared with CT.

Guanine nucleotide dependent formation of a complex between choleragen (cholera toxin) a subunit and bovine brain ADP-ribosylation factor.

Cholera toxin activates adenylyl cyclase by catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein of the cyclase system. This toxin-catalyzed reaction, as well as the ADP-ribosylation of guanidino compounds and auto-ADP-ribosylation of the toxin A1 protein (CTA1), is stimulated, in the presence of GTP (or GTP analogue), by 19-21-kDa proteins, termed ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. These proteins directly activate CTA1 in a reaction enhanced by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC)/cholate. To determine whether ARF stimulation of ADP-ribosylation is associated with formation of a toxin-ARF complex, these proteins were incubated with guanine nucleotides and/or detergents and then subjected to gel permeation chromatography. An active ARF-toxin complex was observed in the presence of SDS and GTP gamma S [guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate)] but not GDP beta S [guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate)]. Only a fraction of the ARF was capable of complex formation. The substrate specificities of complexed and noncomplexed CTA differed; complexed CTA exhibited markedly enhanced auto-ADP-ribosylation. In the presence of GTP gamma S and DMPC/cholate, an ARF-CTA complex was not detected. A GTP gamma S-dependent ARF aggregate was observed, however, exhibiting a different substrate specificity from monomeric ARF. These studies support the hypothesis that in the presence of guanine nucleotide and either SDS or DMPC/cholate, ARF and toxin exist as multiple species which exhibit different substrate specificities.

Mechanism of cholera toxin activation by a guanine nucleotide-dependent 19 kDa protein.

Cholera toxin causes the devastating diarrheal syndrome characteristic of cholera by catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, a GTP-binding regulatory protein, resulting in activation of adenylyl cyclase. ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha is enhanced by 19 kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins known as ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. We investigated the effects of agents known to alter toxin-catalyzed activation of adenylyl cyclase on the stimulation of toxin- and toxin subunit-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha and other substrates by an ADP-ribosylation factor purified from a soluble fraction of bovine brain (sARF II). In the presence of GTP, sARF II enhanced activity of both the toxin catalytic unit and a reduced and alkylated fragment ('A1'), as a result of an increase in substrate affinity with no significant effects on Vmax. Activation of toxin was independent of Gs alpha and was stimulated 4-fold by sodium dodecyl sulfate, but abolished by Triton X-100. sARF II therefore serves as a direct allosteric activator of the A1 protein and may thus amplify the pathological effects of cholera toxin.

Mechanism of activation of cholera toxin by ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF): both low- and high-affinity interactions of ARF with guanine nucleotides promote toxin activation.

Activation of adenylyl cyclase by cholera toxin A subunit (CT-A) results from the ADP-ribosylation of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein (GS alpha). This process requires GTP and an endogenous guanine nucleotide binding protein known as ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF). One membrane (mARF) and two soluble forms (sARF I and sARF II) of ARF have been purified from bovine brain. Because the conditions reported to enhance the binding of guanine nucleotides by ARF differ from those observed to promote optimal activity, we sought to characterize the determinants influencing the functional interaction of guanine nucleotides with ARF. High-affinity GTP binding by sARF II (apparent KD of approximately 70 nM) required Mg2+, DMPC, and sodium cholate. sARF II, in DMPC/cholate, also enhanced CT-A ADP-ribosyltransferase activity (apparent EC50 for GTP of approximately 50 nM), although there was a delay before achievement of a maximal rate of sARF II stimulated toxin activity. The delay was abolished by incubation of sARF II with GTP at 30 degrees C before initiation of the assay. In contrast, a maximal rate of activation of toxin by sARF II, in 0.003% SDS, occurred without delay (apparent EC50 for GTP of approximately 5 microM). High-affinity GTP binding by sARF II was not detectable in SDS. Enhancement of CT-A ADP-ribosyltransferase activity by sARF II, therefore, can occur under conditions in which sARF II exhibits either a relatively low affinity or a relatively high affinity for GTP. The interaction of GTP with ARF under these conditions may reflect ways in which intracellular membrane and cytosolic environments modulate GTP-mediated activation of ARF.