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Cytokines regulate lymphocyte development and differentiation, but precisely how they control these processes is still poorly understood. By using microarray technology to detect cytokine-induced genes, we identified a cDNA encoding Cybr, which was increased markedly in cells incubated with IL-2 and IL-12. The mRNA was most abundant in hematopoietic cells and tissues. The predicted amino acid sequence is similar to that of GRP-1-associated protein (GRASP), a recently identified retinoic acid-induced cytohesin-binding protein. Physical interaction, dependent on the coiled-coil domains of Cybr and cytohesin-1, was demonstrated by coimmunoprecipitation of the overexpressed proteins from 293T cells. Cytohesin-1, in addition to its role in cell adhesion, is a guanine nucleotide-exchange protein activator of ARF GTPases. Acceleration of guanosine 5prime prime or minute-O-(thiotriphosphate) binding to ARF by cytohesin-1 in vitro was enhanced by Cybr. Because the binding protein modified activation of ADP ribosylation factor by cytohesin-1, we designate this cytokine-inducible protein Cybr (cytohesin binder and regulator).

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins named for their ability to activate cholera toxin (CT) ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, have a critical role in vesicular transport and activate a phospholipase D (PLD) isoform. Although ARF-like (ARL) proteins are very similar in sequence to ARFs, they were initially believed not to activate CT or PLD. mRNA for human ARL1 (hARL1), which is 57% identical in amino acid sequence to hARF1, is present in all tissues, with the highest amounts in kidney and pancreas and barely detectable amounts in brain. Relative amounts of hARL1 protein were similar to mRNA levels. Purified hARL1 (rARL1) synthesized in Escherichia coli had less activity toward PLD than did rARF1, although PLD activation by both proteins was guanosine guanosine 5'-(gamma-thio)triphosphate (GTPgammaS)-dependent. ARL1 stimulation of CT-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation was considerably less than that by rARF1 and was phospholipid dependent. GTPgammaS-binding by rARL1 was also phospholipid- and detergent-dependent, and in assays containing phosphatidylserine, was greater than that by rARF1. In vitro, the activities of rARL1 and rARF1 are similar. Rather than being a member of a separate subfamily, hARL1, which activates PLD and CT in a phospholipiddependent manner, appears to be part of a continuum of ARF family proteins.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are highly conserved approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that enhance the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of cholera toxin and are believed to participate in vesicular transport in both exocytic and endocytic pathways. Several ARF-like proteins (ARLs) have been cloned from Drosophila, rat, and human; however, the biological functions of ARLs are unknown. We have identified a yeast gene (ARL1) encoding a protein that is structurally related (>60% identical) to human, rat, and Drosophila ARL1. Biochemical analyses of purified recombinant yeast ARL1 (yARL1) protein revealed properties similar to those ARF and ARL1 proteins, including the ability to bind and hydrolyze GTP. Like other ARLs, recombinant yARL1 protein did not stimulate cholera toxin-catalyzed auto-ADP-ribosylation. yARL1 was not recognized by antibodies against mammalian ARLs or yeast ARFs. Anti-yARL1 antibodies did not cross-react with yeast ARFs, but did react with human ARLs. On subcellular fractionation, yARL1, similar to yARF1, was localized to the soluble fraction. The amino terminus of yARL1, like that of ARF, was myristoylated. Unlike Drosophila Arl1, yeast ARL1 was not essential for cell viability. Like rat ARL1, yARL1 might be associated in part with the Golgi complex. However, yARL1 was not required for endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi protein transport, and it may offer an opportunity to define an ARL function in another kind of vesicular trafficking, such as the regulated secretory pathway.

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.

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.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that serve as GTP-dependent allosteric activators of cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Four species of mammalian ARF, termed ARF 1-4, have been identified by cloning. Hybridization of a bovine ARF 2 cDNA under low stringency with mammalian poly(A)+ RNA resulted in multiple bands that were subsequently assigned to the known ARF genes using ARF-specific oligonucleotide probes. The relative signal intensities of some bands (e.g. the 3.8- and 1.3-kilobase (kb) mRNAs) that hybridized with the cDNA were not, however, consistent with the intensities observed with the individual ARF-specific oligonucleotide probes. These inconsistencies suggested that other ARF-like mRNAs were comigrating with known ARF mRNAs. To explore this possibility, a cyclic AMP-differentiated HL-60 Lambda ZAP library was screened using the bovine ARF 2 cDNA. Clones corresponding to known ARF genes (1, 3, and 4) were identified by hybridization of positive clones with oligonucleotide probes specific for each ARF species; ARF 2 cDNA-positive, oligonucleotide-negative clones were sequenced. Two new ARF-like genes, ARF 5 and 6, encoding proteins of 180 and 175 amino acids, respectively, were identified. Both proteins contain consensus sequences believed to be involved in guanine nucleotide binding and GTP hydrolysis. ARF 5 was most similar in deduced amino acid sequence to ARF 4, which also has 180 amino acids. ARF 6, whose deduced amino acid sequence is identical with that of a putative chicken pseudogene (CPS1) except for a serine/threonine substitution, was different from other ARF species in size and deduced amino acid sequence. With mammalian poly(A)+ RNA from a variety of tissues and cultured cells, ARF 5 preferentially hybridized with a 1.3-kb mRNA, whereas ARF 6 hybridized with 1.8- and 4.2-kb mRNAs. The fact that the sizes of these mRNAs are similar to those of other ARFs (ARF 1, 1.9 kb; ARF 2, 2.6 kb; ARF 3, approximately 3.8 and 1.3 kb; ARF 4, 1.8 kb) explain the previously observed inconsistencies between the cDNA and ARF-specific oligonucleotide hybridization patterns. All six ARF cDNAs are more similar to each other than to other approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins.

Two C3 ADP-ribosyltransferase substrates with different characteristics were isolated from bovine brain cytosol. Amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides from the two substrates were identical to rhoA and rhoB; hence, the purified proteins are referred to as rhoA* and rhoB*, respectively. Soluble rhoA* exhibits properties different from those previously reported for rho proteins. In contrast to other C3 substrates, rhoA* behaved as a 77-80-kDa protein on gel filtration, although on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the ADP-ribosylated moiety had a mobility consistent with a 21.5-kDa protein. Furthermore, C3-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of rhoA* was dependent on guanine nucleotides in the presence of 1 mM Mg2+ or 1 mM EDTA (0.19 microM free Mg2+). Half-maximal stimulation by GTP, guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S), guanylyl-imidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p), and GDP was observed at 16, 20, 220, and 380 nM, respectively; guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate), GMP, and adenine nucleotides were ineffective. In the presence of GTP gamma S, the rate and extent of ADP-ribosylation was enhanced by dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and/or cholate. This increase in ADP-ribosylation was specific for rhoA*; it was not observed with rhoB* and has not been reported for other C3 substrates. These distinct properties suggest that rhoA* is a newly recognized type of C3 substrate, differing from the rhoA-like proteins previously reported. rhoB*, on the other hand, has properties similar to those reported for membrane-associated rhoB and its ADP-ribosylation was independent of guanine nucleotides in the presence of 1 mM Mg2+ and not affected by dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and/or cholate.

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.

Young adult male and female Djungarian hamsters were exposed to ambient temperatures of 23 or 0 C for 12 h; half of the animals in each group were treated with iopanoic acid to suppress the peripheral conversion of T4 to the thermotropically active thyroid hormone T3 by the enzyme 5'-deiodinase (5'D). Brown adipose tissue (BAT) mRNA for uncoupling protein (UCP), BAT lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity, and 5'D activity were measured at the conclusion of the study. A temperature of 0 C produced large rises in 5'D and LPL activities and a similar large increase in UCP mRNA within the 12-h exposure period. When 5'D activity was inhibited with iopanoic acid, mRNA for UCP was reduced, while LPL activity was unaffected. The results show that the optimal production of mRNA for BAT UCP depends on the availability of T3; however, T3 is not required for the cold-induced activation of LPL activity in BAT.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are approximately 20-kDa proteins that act as GTP-dependent allosteric activators of cholera toxin. With deoxyinosine-containing degenerate oligonucleotide primers corresponding to conserved GTP-binding domains in ARFs, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify simultaneously from human DNA portions of three ARF genes that include codons for 102 amino acids, with intervening sequences. Amplification products that differed in size because of differences in intron sizes were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis. One amplified DNA contained no introns and had a sequence different from those of known ARFs. Based on this sequence, selective oligonucleotide probes were prepared and used to isolate clone psi ARF 4, a putative ARF pseudogene, from a human genomic library in lambda phage EMBL3. Reverse transcription-PCR was then used to clone from human poly(A)+ RNA the cDNA corresponding to the expressed homolog of psi ARF 4, referred to as human ARF 4. It appears that psi ARF 4 arose during human evolution by integration of processed ARF 4 mRNA into the genome. Human ARF 4 differs from previously identified mammalian ARFs 1, 2, and 3. Hybridization of ARF 4-specific oligonucleotide probes with human, bovine, and rat RNA revealed a single 1.8-kilobase mRNA, which was clearly distinguished from the 1.9-kilobase mRNA for ARF 1 in these tissues. The PCR provides a powerful tool for investigating diversity in this and other multigene families, especially with primers targeted at domains believed to have functional significance.

Go alpha, a 39-kDa guanyl nucleotide-binding protein, is functionally and structurally similar to the alpha subunits of the stimulatory and inhibitory guanyl nucleotide-binding proteins (Gs alpha, Gi alpha) of adenylate cyclase and to the alpha subunit of transducin (T alpha), the guanyl nucleotide-binding protein of the retinal photon reception system. A cDNA clone was isolated from a bovine retinal lambda gt10 library by using oligonucleotide probes complementary to sequences in two putative T alpha clones. Partial sequence analysis revealed a deduced amino acid sequence identical to sequences of four tryptic peptides from bovine brain Go alpha. Gs alpha and T alpha are known to serve as substrates for ADP-ribosylation by choleragen. Other workers have established the sequence of the tetrapeptide in T alpha containing the arginine that is ADP-ribosylated and its location in the amino acid sequence deduced from T alpha cDNA. The Go alpha cDNA described here includes a region encoding an amino acid sequence very similar to that surrounding the ADP-ribosylation site in T alpha, consistent with observations that Go alpha can also be a substrate for choleragen. A corresponding sequence in the recently identified Gs alpha cDNA is less homologous to that in T alpha or Go alpha. The reported differences in conditions that promote choleragen-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha vs. Go alpha could be related to differences in amino acid sequence in the region of the acceptor arginine.

Pertussis toxin catalyzes the transfer of ADP-ribose from NAD to the guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins Gi, Go, and transducin. Based on a partial amino acid sequence for a tryptic peptide of ADP-ribosylated transducin, asparagine had been characterized as the site of pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation. Subsequently, cDNA data for the alpha subunit of transducin indicated that the putative asparagine residue was, in fact, not present in the protein. To determine the amino acid that served as the ADP-ribose acceptor, radiolabel from [adenine-U-14C]NAD was incorporated, in the presence of pertussis toxin, into the alpha subunit of transducin (0.3 mol/mol). An ADP-ribosylated, tryptic peptide was purified and fully sequenced by automated Edman degradation. The amino acid sequence, Glu-Asn 343-Leu-Lys-Asp 346-X-Gly 348-Leu-Phe, corresponds to the cDNA sequence coding the carboxyl-terminal nonapeptide, Glu 342-Phe 350, which includes by cDNA sequence cysteine at position 347. Neither Asn 343 nor Asp 346 appeared to be modified; residue 347 adhered to the sequencing resin. Cysteine, the missing residue, was eluted from the sequencing resin with acetic acid along with 76% of the peptide-associated radioactivity, half of which, presumably ADP-ribosylcysteine, eluted from an anion exchange column between NAD and ADP-ribose; the other half had a retention time corresponding to 5'-AMP. We conclude that Cys 347 and not Asn 343 or Asp 346 is the site of pertusis toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation in transducin.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are 19-21-kDa proteins purified from bovine brain that bind guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP). They exhibit GTP-dependent activity as activators of cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of the alpha-subunit of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding protein of the adenylyl cyclase system (Gs alpha). ARF, which interacts directly with the catalytic subunit of cholera toxin, has no known physiologic role. Intracellular microinjection of ARF was employed to investigate the effect of ARF on progesterone- and insulin-stimulated maturation of Xenopus oocytes. Maturation was inhibited by injection of ARF 3-8 h before exposure of oocytes to progesterone or insulin. ARF inhibition was dependent on progesterone concentration but not on insulin concentration. Inhibition was enhanced by concomitant injection of GTP and to a greater extent by guanosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) which, in the absence of ARF, inhibited somewhat at early time points. The demonstration of this effect of ARF on both progesterone- and insulin-stimulated oocyte maturation may provide a clue to the physiologic role of this guanine nucleotide-binding protein.

Cholera toxin catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein of the adenylyl cyclase system, is enhanced by approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide binding proteins, termed ADP-ribosylation factors or ARFs. ARF is an allosteric activator of the A1 catalytic protein of the toxin. Bovine ARF cDNA clones, ARF-1 isolated from adrenal (Sewell & Kahn, 1988) and ARF-2B from retina (Price et al., 1988), exhibit nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences that are 80% and 96% identical, respectively, in the coding region. To determine tissue and species distribution of ARF-like mRNAs, bovine ARF-2B and human ARF-1 cDNAs and 30- or 48-base oligonucleotide probes that distinguish between ARF-1 and ARF-2B cDNAs in coding and 3'-untranslated regions were used for Northern analysis of poly(A+) RNA from different tissues and species. On the basis of hybridization with specific oligonucleotide probes, all bovine tissues contained mRNAs of 1.7 and 2.1 kb that were related to ARF-1 and ARF-2B, respectively. Northern analysis of brain poly(A+) RNA from different species with ARF-2B and ARF-1 cDNAs at low stringency demonstrated several bands varying in size from 0.9 to 3.7 kb. A 1.7-kb band consistently hybridized with an ARF-1 30-base coding-region probe but not with a probe for the 3'-untranslated region. Similar ARF-2B oligonucleotide probes did not hybridize with rat, mouse, rabbit, or human brain mRNA. Cleavage of ARF-2B cDNA with PvuII generated two fragments, one containing coding and the other 3'-noncoding region.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Choleragen-dependent ADP ribosylation of soluble proteins from bovine thymus, using [32P]NAD as substrate, was increased 3- to 4-fold by GTP. The effect was specific for nucleoside triphosphate, with GTP approximately equal to ITP greater than CTP greater than ATP greater than UTP. Half-maximal enhancement was observed with 0.5 mM GTP. The magnitude of the GTP effect decreased with increasing NAD concentration; GTP had no effect on hydrolysis of NAD at low NAD concentrations. Digestion of ADP-ribosylated proteins with snake venom phosphodiesterase yielded primarily 5'-AMP. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of soluble proteins from thymus after incubation with choleragen and [32P]NAD separated numerous ADP-ribosylated proteins; radioactivity in all bands was increased by nucleoside triphosphate. Choleragen catalyzed the ADP ribosylation of several purified proteins; depending on the protein, GTP either increased, decreased, or had no effect on the extent of ADP ribosylation. Choleragen-dependent ADP ribosylation of a wide variety of proteins is consistent with the possibility that intoxication results in covalent modification of more than one cellular protein and perhaps alters the activity of other enzymes in addition to adenylate cyclase.

The light-detecting system of retinal rod outer segments is regulated by a guanyl nucleotide binding (G) protein, transducin, which is composed of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits. Transducin couples rhodopsin to the intracellular effector enzyme, a cGMP phosphodiesterase. The beta gamma complex (T beta gamma) is required for the alpha-subunit (T alpha) to interact effectively with the photon receptor rhodopsin. It is not clear, however, whether T beta gamma binds directly to rhodopsin or promotes T alpha binding to rhodopsin only by binding to T alpha. We have found that serum from rabbits immunized with T beta gamma contained a population of antibodies that were reactive against rhodopsin. These antibodies could be separated from T beta gamma antibodies by absorbing the latter on immobilized transducin. Binding of purified rhodopsin antibodies was inhibited by T beta gamma, suggesting that the rhodopsin antibodies and T beta gamma bound to the same site on rhodopsin. We propose that the rhodopsin antibodies act both as antiidiotypic antibodies against the idiotypic T beta gamma antibodies and as antibodies against rhodopsin. This hypothesis is consistent with the conclusion that T beta gamma interacts directly with the receptor. It is probable that in an analogous way, G beta gamma interacts directly with receptors of the adenylate cyclase system.

Transducin, the GTP-binding protein of the retinal light-sensitive phosphodiesterase system, and Gs and Gi, regulatory proteins of the hormone-sensitive adenylate cyclase, are members of a family of guanyl nucleotide-binding proteins termed G proteins that are important in signal transduction. To probe relationships within this family of G proteins, monoclonal antibodies were prepared against the alpha-subunit of bovine transducin (T alpha). Three of four monoclonal antibodies were specific for T alpha and did not cross-react with other G proteins. One, MAB1, cross-reacted strongly with the alpha-subunit of Gi (Gi alpha) purified from rabbit liver and, to a lesser extent, with the alpha-subunit of Go (Go alpha) purified from bovine brain and the proto-oncogene product H-ras p21. All four monoclonal antibodies recognized epitopes on a 23-kDa tryptic peptide fragment of T alpha which is derived from the N-proximal region. The three monoclonal antibodies that recognized only T alpha inhibited rhodopsin-stimulated GTP binding and hydrolysis by transducin, whereas MAB1 had no significant effect in these assays. These studies demonstrate that, within the 23-kDa tryptic peptide of T alpha, there is a domain(s) unique to T alpha that is involved in GTP binding and hydrolysis and another domain which is highly conserved in T alpha and to a lesser extent in other G proteins. Prior studies have identified regions involved in nucleotide binding and hydrolysis that are homologous in all G proteins. The observations reported here are consistent with the conclusion that the G proteins may have in addition unique regions involved in these functions.

Major labeled bands of Mr = 42,000 and 47,000 were observed on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of human skin fibroblast membranes incubated with choleragen and [32P]NAD. Prior incubation of intact fibroblasts with choleragen blocked specifically the subsequent in vitro labeling of these two proteins. The effect of choleragen was dependent on time, temperature, and toxin concentration. Neither the choleragen A subunit nor the B subunit nor the A1 peptide could replace the holotoxin in cell incubations. Inhibition of subsequent in vitro labeling by prior exposure of cells to choleragen was correlated with increased cellular cAMP. Incubation of fibroblasts with prostaglandin E1 and isoproterenol, which activate adenylate cyclase by different mechanisms, did not block subsequent labeling with choleragen and [32P]NAD. The results suggest that proteins of Mr = 42,000 and 47,000 may be in vivo substrates for choleragen in human fibroblasts.

Three (two soluble and one membrane) guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) that enhance ADP-ribosylation of the Gs alpha stimulatory subunit of the adenylyl cyclase (EC 4.6.1.1) complex by choleragen have recently been purified from bovine brain. To further define the structure and function of these ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), we isolated a cDNA clone (lambda ARF2B) from a bovine retinal library by screening with a mixed heptadecanucleotide probe whose sequence was based on the partial amino acid sequence of one of the soluble ARFs from bovine brain. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of lambda ARF2B with sequences of peptides from the ARF protein (total of 60 amino acids) revealed only two differences. Whether these are cloning artifacts or reflect the existence of more than one ARF protein remains to be determined. Deduced amino acid sequences of ARF, Go alpha (the alpha subunit of a G protein that may be involved in regulation of ion fluxes), and c-Ha-ras gene product p21 show similarities in regions believed to be involved in guanine nucleotide binding and GTP hydrolysis. ARF apparently lacks a site analogous to that ADP-ribosylated by choleragen in G-protein alpha subunits. Although both the ARF proteins and the alpha subunits bind guanine nucleotides and serve as choleragen substrates, they must interact with the toxin A1 peptide in different ways. In addition to serving as an ADP-ribose acceptor, ARF interacts with the toxin in a manner that modifies its catalytic properties.

Choleragen activates adenylate cyclase by catalyzing, in the presence of NAD, the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha, the stimulatory guanyl nucleotide-binding protein of the cyclase system. Kahn and Gilman [Kahn, R. A. & Gilman, A. G. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 7906-7911] identified another guanyl nucleotide-binding protein termed ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) that stimulated this reaction. It was proposed that the toxin substrate is an ARF-Gs alpha complex and that ARF may have a physiological role in regulation of Gs alpha activity. We have found that purified ARF from bovine brain enhances not only the ADP-ribosylation of Gs alpha but also Gs alpha-independent choleragen-catalyzed reactions. These are (i) ADP-ribosylation of agmatine, a low molecular weight guanidino compound; (ii) ADP-ribosylation of several proteins unrelated to Gs alpha; and (iii) auto-ADP-ribosylation of the toxin A1 peptide. These reactions, as well as the ADP-ribosylation of ARF itself, were stimulated by GTP or stable GTP analogues such as guanyl-5'-yl imido-beta gamma-diphosphate and guanosine 5'-O-[gamma-thio]triphosphate; GDP and guanosine 5'-O-[beta-thio]diphosphate were inactive. These observations are consistent with the conclusion that ARF interacts directly with the A subunit of choleragen in a GTP-dependent fashion thereby enhancing catalytic activity manifest as transfer of ADP-ribose to Gs alpha and other proteins, to the toxin A1 peptide, or to agmatine. It is tempting to speculate that ARF may be involved in regulating one or another of the ADP-ribosyltransferases found in animal cells.

Transducin, the guanyl nucleotide-binding protein of the retinal light-activated cGMP phosphodiesterase system, is structurally and functionally similar to the inhibitory and stimulatory guanyl nucleotide-binding proteins, Gi and Gs, of the adenylate cyclase complex. All are heterotrimers composed of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits. Gs and Gi can be activated by NaF with AlCl3 as well as by agonists acting through specific receptors. The effects of NaF and AlCl3 on transducin were investigated in a reconstituted system consisting of the purified subunits of transducin (T alpha, T beta, gamma) and rhodopsin. NaF noncompetitively inhibited the GTPase activity of T alpha in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Inhibition by NaF was enhanced synergistically by AlCl3 which alone only slightly inhibited GTPase activity. None of the other anions tested reproduced the effect of fluoride. Fluoride inhibited [3H]guanosine 5'-(beta, gamma-imido)triphosphate binding to T alpha and release of bound GDP. The ADP-ribosylation of T alpha by pertussis toxin and binding of T alpha to rhodopsin, both of which are enhanced in the presence of T beta gamma, were inhibited by NaF and AlCl3. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that fluoride enhances the dissociation of T alpha from T beta gamma, resulting in the inhibition of GTP-GDP exchange, and therefore, GTP hydrolysis.