scholarly journals Inorganic Phosphate as an Important Regulator of Phosphatases

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Fernanda Dick ◽  
André Luiz Araújo Dos-Santos ◽  
José Roberto Meyer-Fernandes

Cellular metabolism depends on the appropriate concentration of intracellular inorganic phosphate (Pi). Pi starvation-responsive genes appear to be involved in multiple metabolic pathways, implying a complex Pi regulation system in microorganisms and plants. A group of enzymes is required for absorption and maintenance of adequate phosphate levels, which is released from phosphate esters and anhydrides. The phosphatase system is particularly suited for the study of regulatory mechanisms because phosphatase activity is easily measured using specific methods and the difference between the repressed and derepressed levels of phosphatase activity is easily detected. This paper analyzes the protein phosphatase system induced during phosphate starvation in different organisms.

1993 ◽  
Vol 293 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Tomáska ◽  
R J Resnick

The nature of the suppression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor autophosphorylation in ras-transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblasts was investigated. The PDGF receptor from ras-transformed cells that had been purified by wheatgerm-lectin affinity chromatography displayed normal PDGF-induced autophosphorylation, indicating that the receptor is not irreversibly modified. Various phosphotyrosine-protein-phosphatase inhibitors did not reverse the inhibition of PDGF-receptor kinase in crude membrane preparations from ras-transformed cells. However, treatment of intact ras-transformed cells both with 2 mM sodium orthovanadate and with 20 microM phenylarsine oxide restored PDGF-receptor tyrosine-kinase activity to a level similar to that observed in normal cells. Direct measurement of the phosphatase activities in crude cellular fractions revealed a 2.5-fold higher membrane-associated phosphotyrosine-protein-phosphatase activity in ras-transformed cells, whereas phosphoserine-protein-phosphatase activity remained unchanged between the cell lines. These data suggest that the suppression of the PDGF-receptor tyrosine-kinase activity in ras-transformed cells is mediated via an inhibitory component, distinct from the receptor, that may be positively regulated by the dephosphorylation of tyrosine residue(s).


1988 ◽  
Vol 256 (3) ◽  
pp. 893-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J King ◽  
G J Sale

Calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase has been proposed to be an important phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase. The ability of the enzyme to attack autophosphorylated insulin receptor was examined and compared with the known ability of the enzyme to act on autophosphorylated epidermal-growth-factor (EGF) receptor. Purified calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase was shown to catalyse the complete dephosphorylation of phosphotyrosyl-(insulin receptor). When compared at similar concentrations, 32P-labelled EGF receptor was dephosphorylated at greater than 3 times the rate of 32P-labelled insulin receptor; both dephosphorylations exhibited similar dependence on metal ions and calmodulin. Native phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatases in cell extracts were also characterized. With rat liver, heart or brain, most (75%) of the native phosphatase activity against both 32P-labelled insulin and EGF receptors was recovered in the particulate fraction of the cell, with only 25% in the soluble fraction. This subcellular distribution contrasts with results of previous studies using artificial substrates, which found most of the phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase activity in the soluble fraction of the cell. Properties of particulate and soluble phosphatase activity against 32P-labelled insulin and EGF receptors are reported. The contribution of calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase activity to phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase activity in cell fractions was determined by utilizing the unique metal-ion dependence of calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase. Whereas Ni2+ (1 mM) markedly activated the calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase, it was found to inhibit potently both particulate and soluble phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase activity. In fractions from rat liver, brain and heart, total phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase activity against both 32P-labelled receptors was inhibited by 99.5 +/- 6% (mean +/- S.E.M., 30 observations) by Ni2+. Results of Ni2+ inhibition studies were confirmed by other methods. It is concluded that in cell extracts phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatases other than calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase are the major phosphotyrosyl-(insulin receptor) and -(EGF receptor) phosphatases.


2018 ◽  
Vol 475 (23) ◽  
pp. 3707-3723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Bertolotti

Reversible phosphorylation of proteins is a post-translational modification that regulates all aspect of life through the antagonistic action of kinases and phosphatases. Protein kinases are well characterized, but protein phosphatases have been relatively neglected. Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) catalyzes the dephosphorylation of a major fraction of phospho-serines and phospho-threonines in cells and thereby controls a broad range of cellular processes. In this review, I will discuss how phosphatases were discovered, how the view that they were unselective emerged and how recent findings have revealed their exquisite selectivity. Unlike kinases, PP1 phosphatases are obligatory heteromers composed of a catalytic subunit bound to one (or two) non-catalytic subunit(s). Based on an in-depth study of two holophosphatases, I propose the following: selective dephosphorylation depends on the assembly of two components, the catalytic subunit and the non-catalytic subunit, which serves as a high-affinity substrate receptor. Because functional complementation of the two modules is required to produce a selective holophosphatase, one can consider that they are split enzymes. The non-catalytic subunit was often referred to as a regulatory subunit, but it is, in fact, an essential component of the holoenzyme. In this model, a phosphatase and its array of mostly orphan substrate receptors constitute the split protein phosphatase system. The set of potentially generalizable principles outlined in this review may facilitate the study of these poorly understood enzymes and the identification of their physiological substrates.


1982 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 1104-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghanshyam Swarup ◽  
Stanley Cohen ◽  
David L. Garbers

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