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Transthyretin (TTR) is a homo-tetrameric serum protein associated with sporadic and hereditary systemic amyloidosis. TTR amyloid formation proceeds by the dissociation of the TTR tetramer and the subsequent partial unfolding of the TTR monomer into an aggregation-prone conformation. Although TTR kinetic stabilizers suppress tetramer dissociation, a strategy for stabilizing monomers has not yet been developed. Here, we show that an N-terminal C10S mutation increases the thermodynamic stability of the TTR monomer by forming new hydrogen bond networks through the side chain hydroxyl group of Ser10. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry and molecular dynamics simulation revealed that the Ser10 hydroxyl group forms hydrogen bonds with the main chain amide group of either Gly57 or Thr59 on the DE loop. These hydrogen bonds prevent the dissociation of edge strands in the DAGH and CBEF β-sheets during the unfolding of the TTR monomer by stabilizing the interaction between β-strands A and D and the quasi-helical structure in the DE loop. We propose that introducing hydrogen bonds to connect the N-terminal region to the DE loop reduces the amyloidogenic potential of TTR by stabilizing the monomer., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.)

Many bacteria swim by rotating flagella. The chemotaxis system controls the direction of flagellar rotation. Vibrio alginolyticus, which has a single polar flagellum, swims smoothly by rotating the flagellar motor counterclockwise (CCW) in response to attractants. In response to repellents, the motor frequently switches its rotational direction between CCW and clockwise (CW). We isolated a mutant strain that swims with a CW-locked rotation of the flagellum, which pulls rather than pushes the cell. This CW phenotype arises from a R49P substitution in FliM, which is the component in the C-ring of the motor that binds the chemotaxis signalling protein, phosphorylated CheY. However, this phenotype is independent of CheY, indicating that the mutation produces a CW conformation of the C-ring in the absence of CheY. The crystal structure of FliM with the R49P substitution showed a conformational change in the N-terminal α-helix of the middle domain of FliM (FliMM). This helix should mediates FliM-FliM interaction. The structural models of wild type and mutant C-ring showed that the relatively small conformational change in FliMM induces a drastic rearrangement of the conformation of the FliMM domain that generates a CW conformation of the C-ring., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.)

Accumulating evidence suggests that immune cells perform crucial inflammation-related functions including clearing dead tissue and promoting wound healing. Thus, they provide a conducive environment for better neuronal regeneration and functional recovery after adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) injury. However, activated immune cells can also induce secondary damage of intact tissue and inhibit post-injury CNS repair. The inflammation response is due to the microglial production of cytokines and chemokines for the recruitment of peripheral immune cell populations, such as monocytes, neutrophils, dendritic cells and T lymphocytes. Interestingly, microglia and T lymphocytes can be detected at the injured site in both the early and later stages after nerve injury, whereas other peripheral immune cells infiltrate the injured parenchyma of the brain and spinal cord only in the early post-injury phase, and subsequently disappear. This suggests that microglia and T cells may play crucial roles in the post-injury functional recovery of the CNS. In this review, we summarize the current studies on microglia that examined neuronal regeneration and the molecular signalling mechanisms in the injured CNS. Better understanding of the effects of microglia on neural regeneration will aid the development of therapy strategies to enhance CNS functional recovery after injury., (© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.)

The P2X4 purinergic receptor is a key molecule in neuropathic pain, particularly in the allodynia after peripheral nerve injury. We therefore sought to establish an anti-P2X4 receptor monoclonal antibody that would be useful for detection and characterization of the P2X4 receptor. We first prepared the refolded extracellular domain of the rat P2X4 receptor expressed in Escherichia coli. Then, we established a B-cell hybridoma producing the monoclonal antibody for the head domain of the rat P2X4 receptor with strict recognition, including S-S bond formation. In addition, we succeeded in the detection and immune precipitation of rat P2X4 receptor molecules on cultured cells. As the antibody specifically binds to the rat P2X4 receptor molecule, it is expected that the established monoclonal antibody will be applicable as a tool for detecting increasing expression levels of the P2X4 receptor molecule accompanied with increasing intensity of neuropathic pain.

G protein-coupled receptors identified so far are classified into at least three major families based on their amino acid sequences. For the family of receptors homologous to rhodopsin (family 1), the G protein activation mechanism has been investigated in detail, but much less for the receptors of other families. To functionally compare the G protein activation mechanism between rhodopsin and metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR), which belong to distinct families, we prepared a set of bovine rhodopsin mutants whose second or third cytoplasmic loop was replaced with either the second or third loop of Gi/Go- or Gq-coupled mGluR (mGluR6 or mGluR1). Among these mutants, the mutants in which the second or third loop was replaced with the corresponding loop of mGluR exhibited no G protein activation ability. In contrast, the mutant whose third loop was replaced with the second loop of Gi/Go-coupled mGluR6 efficiently activated Gi but not Gt: this activation profile is almost identical with those of the mutant rhodopsins whose third loop was replaced with those of the Gi/Go-coupled receptors in family 1 [Yamashita et al. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 34272-34279]. The mutant whose third loop was replaced with the second loop of Gq-coupled mGluR1 partially retained the Gi coupling ability of rhodopsin, which is in contrast to the fact that all the rhodopsin mutants having the third loops of Gq-coupled receptors in family 1 exhibit no detectable Gi activation. These results strongly suggest that the molecular architectures of rhodopsin and mGluR are different, although the G protein activation mechanism involving the cytoplasmic loops is common.

Aggregation of the high affinity receptor for IgE (FceRI) on mast cells results in the rapid phosphorylation of tyrosines on the beta and gamma chains of the receptor by the Src family kinase Lyn, which initiates the signaling cascades leading to secretion of inflammatory mediators. The detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) have been implicated in FcepsilonRI signaling because aggregated receptors emigrate to DRMs that are enriched in certain signaling components. We evaluated the role of DRMs in FcepsilonRI signaling by disruption of DRMs using a cholesterol-binding agent, methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD). While treatment of rat basophilic leukemia cells with MBCD inhibits degranulation and Ca(2+) mobilization upon aggregation of FcepsilonRI, MBCD hardly affects the aggregation-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of FcepsilonRI as well as other signaling molecules such as phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1). MBCD delocalizes phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate from DRMs, which may prevent MBCD-treated cells from producing inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate by means of activated PLC-gamma1. These data suggest an indispensable role for DRMs in the Ca(2+) response rather than tyrosine phosphorylation, and support a model of receptor phosphorylation in which aggregated FcepsilonRI is tyrosine phosphorylated outside DRMs by constitutively associated Src family kinase Lyn via a transphosphorylation mechanism.

The roles of N-linked glycosylation in the intracellular transport and fusion activity of the Sendai virus fusion (F) protein were studied. Each of three potential glycosylation motifs (designated g1, g2, and g3) in the F protein was mutated separately or in combination with the other sites. When the mutant F proteins were transiently expressed in COS cells, they showed significant changes in electrophoretic mobility, indicating that all three motifs in the F protein are glycosylated. Glycosylation-defective mutants which lacked the g2-oligosaccharide chain showed decreased immunoreactivity with a monoclonal antibody specific for the native conformation and were inefficiently transported to the cell surface. Such mutants, with the exception of a double mutant lacking g1 and g2-oligosaccharide chains, were also not able to induce syncytia formation when cells expressing them plus the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein were treated with trypsin. Mutations at the other glycosylation sites did not significantly affect the immunoreactivity with the monoclonal antibody or the efficiency of intracellular transport of the F protein. These results indicate that the N-linked oligosaccharide chain attached at g2 is important for efficient intracellular transport and for the fusion activity of the F protein.

Sendai virus envelope glycoproteins, F and HN, mature during their transport through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi complex. To better understand their maturation processes in the ER, we investigated the time course of their interactions with three ER- resident molecular chaperones, BiP, calnexin (CNX), and calreticulin (CRT), in Sendai virus-infected HeLa cells. Pulse-chase and immunoprecipitation analyses using antibodies against each virus glycoprotein or ER chaperone revealed that F precursor interacted with CNX transiently (t(1/2)=8 min), while HN protein displayed longer and sequential interactions with BiP (t(1/2)=8 min), CNX (t(1/2)=15 min), and CRT (t(1/2)=20 min). HN interacted with the three ER chaperones not only as a monomer but also as a tetramer for several hours, suggesting mechanism(s) to undergo chaperone-mediated quality control of an assembled HN oligomer in the ER. The kinetics of dissociation of the HN-chaperone complexes exhibited a marked delay in the presence of proteasome inhibitors, suggesting that a part of HN associated with BiP, CNX, and CRT is destined to be degraded in the proteasome-dependent pathway. Further, the associations between virus glycoproteins and CNX or CRT were impaired by castanospermine, an inhibitor of ER glucosidase I and II, confirming that these interactions require monoglucosylated oligosaccharide on F(0) and HN peptides. These findings together suggest that newly synthesized F protein undergoes rapid maturation in the ER through a transient interaction with CNX, whereas HN protein requires more complex processes involving prolonged association with BiP, CNX, and CRT for its quality control in the ER.

The role of intramolecular disulfide bonds in the fusion (F) protein of Sendai virus was studied. The 10 cysteine residues were changed to serine residues using site-directed mutagenesis. None of the cysteine mutant F proteins reacted with a monoclonal antibody specific for the mature conformation of the F protein, but eight of ten mutants reacted with an immature conformation-specific monoclonal antibody. The transport of these mutant proteins to the cell surface was drastically reduced. All of the cysteine mutant F proteins remained sensitive to endoglycosidase H (endo H) for 3 h after their synthesis. Moreover, cell surface transport of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein co-expressed with each of these cysteine mutant F proteins was also reduced. These results suggest that all cysteine residues participate in the formation of intramolecular disulfide bonds, that co-translational disulfide bond formation is crucial to the correct folding and intracellular transport of the F protein, and that interaction of the F and HN proteins takes place intracellulary.

Recent evidence suggests a critical role for Syk in mast cell activation upon high affinity IgE receptor (FcepsilonRI) aggregation. A rat basophilic leukemia cell line, RBL-2H3, expresses similar levels of two Syk isoforms that differ with respect to the presence of a 23-amino acid insert within the "linker" region located between the second Src homology 2 and the catalytic domain. Although they exhibit comparable intrinsic enzymatic activity, functional differences between the two isoforms are unknown. Here we report that the deleted Syk isoform can mediate signal transduction in RBL-2H3 cells. Aggregation of chimeric kinase, consisting of either form of Syk fused to the transmembrane and extracellular domains of guinea pig type II IgG Fc receptor, on RBL transfectants resulted in degranulation, release of leukotrienes, and enhanced gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. The chimeras as well as phospholipase C-gamma1 and Vav became tyrosine-phosphorylated upon aggregation of chimeras. We also found that both Syk isoforms from transiently transfected COS-7 cells were capable of binding to phosphorylated FcepsilonRI, and their kinase activities were similarly up-regulated in the presence of tyrosine-phosphorylated synthetic peptides based on the sequence of the gamma subunit of FcepsilonRI. Thus, these results establish that both isoforms of Syk can mediate signal transduction in mast cells and suggest that the 23-amino acid insert in the linker region of Syk may not be obligatory for FcepsilonRI signaling.

We have previously shown that the ligand-binding activity of type II Fc receptor for IgG (FcgammaRIIB) on guinea pig peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes is very low and dramatically increases after treatment of the cells with proteolytic enzymes. In the present study, we analyzed the mechanism of this augmentation. We found that the protease treatment failed to enhance the binding of monomeric IgG to FcgammaRIIB, increased the binding of small immune complexes (IC) prepared under antigen-excess conditions only modestly, but markedly enhanced the binding of large IC prepared under antibody-excess conditions. These results suggest that proteolysis increases the ligand-binding avidity but not the intrinsic affinity of FcgammaRIIB. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that the mobility of FcgammaRIIB on the cell surface was increased after protease treatment. In addition, transfection experiments indicated that the effect of proteolysis on IC binding to CHO cells expressing guinea pig FcgammaRIIB was strongly dependent on the receptor density. Finally, we demonstrated that the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of FcgammaRIIB were not involved in the proteolysis-induced augmentation of IC binding. Together our results suggest that the mobility of FcgammaRIIB, which may be restricted due to the association of the ectodomain of the receptor with unknown membrane proteins, is enhanced by proteolysis, allowing the receptors to bind multivalent ligands more readily and hence with higher avidity.

The fluorescence intensity has been reported to increase 10 to 25 times when N-(1-pyrene)-iodoacetamide (PIAA)-conjugated actin polymerizes from the G- to the F-form. To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying this process, we measured the time-averaged anisotropy of PIAA-actin in both the G- and F-forms. The anisotropy ratio of PIAA-G-actin (0.137 +/- 0.008) was smaller than that of PIAA-F-actin (0.221 +/- 0.008). Similar results were obtained when N-(1-pyrene)-3-iodopropionamide (PIPA), a PIAA analogue with an extra carbon-chain in its reactive group, was conjugated with actin. The anisotropy ratio increased from 0.096 +/- 0.042 to 0.199 +/- 0.035 when PIPA-actin was transformed from the G- to the F-form. Further more, we measured the anisotropy decay of PIAA-actin in both the G- and F-forms. Least-square fitting revealed that the decay pattern was well fitted the wobbling-in-cone model. In the G-form, the pyrene of PIAA actin diffused in a cone region with a vertical half angle of 33.4 degrees. This value decreased to 25.9 degrees when the actin was transformed to the F-form. Because PIAA and PIPA were conjugated at Cys-374 of actin, our results suggest that a small cleft exists in the actin molecule in the vicinity of Cys-374, and this cleft becomes narrow upon polymerization, resulting in an increase in fluorescence intensity.

In order to analyze the localization and pharmacological characteristics of the Na+/H(+)-antiporter of bovine kidney, renal cortex membranes were fractionated by 35-48% continuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Both the Na+/H(+)-antiporting activity and the 110-kDa peptide cross-reactive with a polyclonal antibody against a peptide representing the C-terminal 22 amino acid residues of human Na+/H(+)-antiporter (NHE1) were found in the same fractions as alkaline phosphatase, a marker enzyme of the brush-border membrane. Most of the Na+/H(+)-antiporter distributed among the fractions was found to be of the low amiloride-sensitive type. Brush-border membranes were solubilized with sodium cholate and the solubilized proteins were applied to an immunoaffinity matrix (Protein A Sepharose CL-4B coupled with the above antibody). The 110 kDa protein was adsorbed to the affinity matrix and then recovered in the fraction eluted from the column at pH 11.5. After reconstitution into proteoliposome, the fraction containing the 110 kDa protein was highly active in Na+/H(+)-antiport. A 125-fold increase in the specific activity of the Na+/H+ antiport reaction was attained with the present immunoaffinity purification procedure. This represents the highest degree of purification of the native Na+/H(+)-antiporter so far attained.

Bovine renal brush-border membranes were solubilized by 1.6% sodium cholate. Na+/H(+)-antiporter was recovered in the supernatant after centrifugation at 160,000 x g for 1 h and was successfully reconstituted into proteoliposomes by a cholate-dialysis procedure. The reconstituted Na+/H(+)-antiporter showed a pH-gradient dependent and amiloride-sensitive 22Na+ uptake very similar to that of brush-border membrane vesicles. Factors affecting the efficiency of reconstitution as well as the stability of the solubilized antiporter at various temperatures were studied. Sodium cholate-solubilized brush-border membrane proteins were fractionated by Sephacryl S-400 and DEAE-Toyopearl chromatography, and fractions containing reconstitutively active Na+/H(+)-antiporter were identified. A 110 kDa peptide cross-reactive with a polyclonal antibody against a C-terminal peptide (22-amino acid residues) of human Na+/H(+)-antiporter was consistently found on the immunoblot of the active fractions. A closely similar peptide was also detected in human placental membranes by this antibody. These results strongly suggest that the 110 kDa protein is responsible for Na+/H(+)-antiporter activity.

We found that the reaction of hen egg-white lysozyme with an equimolar amount of tetranitromethane (TNM) at pH 8.0 and room temperature yielded derivatives in which the N-C bond of Gly104 is oxidatively cleaved, and a mono-nitrotyrosine lysozyme in which Tyr23 is nitrated. This bond cleavage occurred more predominantly with a decrease in the nitration of Tyr23, when the reaction was carried out under more dilute conditions. A possible mechanism in which a phenoxyl radical of Tyr 23 (an intermediate of nitration) is involved was proposed for this oxidative bond cleavage. When lysozyme was reacted with a 10 times molar excess of TNM, in addition to a mono-nitrotyrosine lysozyme in which only Try23 is nitrated, a di-nitrotyrosine lysozyme in which Tyr20 and Tyr23 are both nitrated and a tri-nitrotyrosine lysozyme in which Tyr20, Tyr23, and Tyr53 are all nitrated were obtained. However, no other possible mono- or di-nitrotyrosine lysozymes could be isolated. Thus, it is concluded that the three tyrosine residues in lysozyme are essentially nitrated sequentially with TNM in the order of Tyr23, Tyr20, and Tyr53. Since the derivatives obtained here were all active, none of the three tyrosine residues or the residues around Gly104 are considered to be very important for the lysozyme activity.

A ganglioside-stimulated ecto-type protein phosphorylation system (ecto-Gg-kinase) was detected on the cell surface of a human neuroblastoma cell line (GOTO). When intact cells were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP, at least 28 cell surface proteins were phosphorylated, as evident on SDS-PAGE (4-20%) analysis. Exogenously added gangliosides specifically stimulated the phosphorylation of at least three cell surface associated proteins of Mr = 64,000, 60,000, and 54,000. Phosphorylation was directed toward Thr and Ser residues, respectively, as revealed on acid hydrolysis followed by electrophoresis. GQ1b, at 5 nM, was the most potent among the several gangliosides tested and was more effective when added to cells before [gamma-32P]ATP administration. The simultaneous addition of an excess amount of the saccharide portion of GQ1b (oligo-GQ1b) inhibited the GQ1b-stimulated phosphorylation, indicating the necessity of the sialosaccharide moiety. These results strongly suggest that phosphorylation of the three proteins may be closely associated with the highly specific neuritogenic effect of GQ1b previously reported.

Incubation of human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells with 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), a protein kinase C-activating phorbol ester, caused a marked increase in c-fos mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. Phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate and 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol, other protein kinase C-activating agents, were also active in this capacity. 4 alpha-Phorbol-12,13-didecanoate, known to be inactive for protein kinase C, was ineffective. 8-Bromo-cyclic AMP (8-Br-cAMP) also increased c-fos mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. This action of 8-Br-cAMP was mimicked by prostaglandin E2, which is known to raise the cyclic AMP level in HL-60 cells. c-fos mRNA increased within 15 min and reached a maximal level 45 min after the stimulation of the cells by TPA or 8-Br-cAMP. The simultaneous stimulation of the cells by TPA and 8-Br-cAMP at the respective doses giving maximal elevation of c-fos mRNA increased this mRNA in an additive manner. These results suggest that in HL-60 cells expression of the c-fos gene is regulated independently by two different intracellular messenger systems, protein kinase C and cyclic AMP.

The effect of Sa modification with NEM, which activates Mg2+-ATPase through an enhancement of the association of actin and myosin, was investigated on the superprecipitation, clearing and Mg2+-ITPase of myosin B with reference to the effect of S1-blocking. 1. Superprecipitation induced by ATP was markedly enhanced by Sa-blocking even at high concentrations of Mg2+ and substrate; this may be due to an increase in the affinity of myosin and actin on blocking Sa. 2. Nevertheless, neither ITP-induced superprecipitation nor Mg2+-ITPase was affected by Sa modification. 3. Blocking of S1 brought about the inhibition of ATP- and ITP-induced superprecipitation and Mg2+-ITPase activity, suggesting that S1-blocking decreases the affinity of myosin and actin. 4. Sa-blocked myosin B showed greater resistance to clearing by ATP, especially in the presence of Ca2+ ions, whereas in the clearing response of actomyosin gel to PPi no difference between Sa-blocked and unmodified myosins B was observed. On the other hand, the clearing response of myosin B became more sensitive to both ATP and PPi on blocking S1. Based on the above results and preliminary data suggesting that Sa is located in LMM, the interaction of myosin filaments and actin filaments under physiological conditions is discussed.

Ca2+-Transporting ATPase of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum contains several SH groups which are reactive with N-ethylmaleimide (MalNEt) at pH 7.0. The location of the one which is most reactive with MalNEt (SHN, Kawakita et al. J. Biochem. 87, 609 (1980)) was identified on the amino acid sequence of the ATPase. SHN was labeled by reacting sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes with [14C] MalNEt to a labeling density of 1 mol/mol ATPase. [14C]MalNEt-labeled membranes were digested with thermolysin and 14C-labeled SHN peptides were fractionated by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography to give two major peaks of radioactivity. [14C]-MalNEt-labeled peptides were further purified to homogeneity by C18-reversed phase HPLC. Two radioactive peptides containing modified cysteine (Cys), Leu-Gly-Cys-Thr-Ser and Val-Cys-Lys-Met, were finally obtained in roughly equal amounts and in reasonable recovery. Both of these sequences were found in the amino acid sequence of Ca2+-transporting ATPase (Brandl et al. Cell 44, 597 (1986)), and Cys344 and Cys364 were identified as the targets of MalNEt-modification. Thus, 0.5 mol/mol ATPase of each Cys residue actually reacted rapidly with MalNEt under the conditions leading to SHN-modification. Modification of either one with MalNEt may negatively affect the reactivity of the other. Both of the highly reactive SH groups are located in the neighborhood of Asp351, the phosphorylation site of ATPase.

Thirteen monoclonal antibodies designated as MFC-1 to MFC-13 were obtained from hybridoma cells cloned after the fusion of mouse myeloma cells with spleen cells of mice immunized with purified human protein C. Studies were made to determine where the antibodies bound to the molecule of protein C and whether they affected the biological actions of protein C. By using the immunoblotting technique, six of these antibodies were shown to bind to the light chain of protein C, and five to the heavy chain of protein C and also activated protein C. The remaining two antibodies bound to neither the light chain nor the heavy chain, though both antibodies bound to the intact protein C. Antibodies specific for the light chain did not bind to the gamma-carboxyglutamic acid-domain. Two of the antibodies specific for the heavy chain (MFC-13 and -1) inhibited the amidolytic activity of activated protein C. The MFC-13 also inhibited the activity of bovine activated protein C, but not that of human Factor IXa, Factor Xa, or thrombin. In addition to these two antibodies, another one for the heavy chain (MFC-10) and two antibodies for the light chain (MFC-9 and -11) inhibited the inactivation of Factor Va by human activated protein C. One of the antibodies which inhibited the enzyme activity (MFC-1) blocked the inhibition of activated protein C by protein C inhibitor. Another one for the heavy chain (MFC-5) inhibited the activation of protein C by thrombin regardless of the presence or absence of thrombomodulin. Based on these results, we have established the positions of some monoclonal antibody-binding sites on the protein C molecule.

Inhibition by gluconic acid-1 : 5-lactone (gluconolactone) and phenyl alpha-glucoside of the hydrolysis of maltodextrin catalyzed by glucoamylase [EC 3.2.1.3] from Rhizopus niveus was investigated in relation to the subsite structure of the enzyme. Inhibition by gluconolactone was of the mixed type, whereas that by phenyl alpha-glucoside was purely competitive. These inhibition types were consistent with a theoretical prediction based on the assumption that gluconolactone and phenyl alpha-glucoside bind mainly to Subsites 1 and 2, respectively. The inhibitor constant of gluconolatone was determined to be 1.5 mM, which is in good agreement with the dissociation constant estimated by difference spectrophotometry (1.5 mM) (Ohnishi, M, et al. (1975) J. Biochem, 77, 695-703).

The reactivity of the sulfhydryl groups in colonic myosin B to N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) was studied under various conditions. A higher concentration of NEM was required to alter the ATPase activity as compared with skeletal myosin B. A chemical modification of colonic myosin B at a low ionic strength brought about the marked inhibition of EDTA-ATPase and 30-40% activation of Mg2+-ATPase, but had little effect on Ca2+-ATPase. The same results were obtained with NEM modification at a high ionic strength. The presence of 10 mM MgCl2 in the reaction medium for NEM modification caused the activation of Ca2+-ATPase and remarkable inhibition of EDTA-ATPase, suggesting that SH1 is here reactive to NEM. NEM modification of colonic myosin B in the presence of ATP resulted in the inhibition of not only EDTA-ATPase but also Ca2+- and Mg2+-ATPases although the degree of inhibition was different. Addition of 2.0 M urea to the modification medium caused the simultaneous inhibition of EDTA- and Ca2+-ATPase but little change in Mg2+-ATPase. Based on these results, the presence of three specific sulfhydryl groups, SHa, SH1, and SH2, is discussed.