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Previous studies have shown that progesterone modulates the activity of different kinases and the phosphorylation of Tau in the brain. These actions of progesterone may be involved in the hormonal regulation of neuronal differentiation, neuronal function, and neuroprotection. However, the action of progesterone on protein phosphatases in the nervous system has not been explored previously. In this study we have assessed the effect of the administration of progesterone to adult ovariectomized rats on protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) in the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, and the cerebellum. Total levels of PP2A, the state of methylation of PP2A, and total levels of PTEN were unaffected by the hormone in the three brain regions studied. In contrast, progesterone significantly increased the levels of PP2A phosphorylated in tyrosine 307 in the hippocampus and the cerebellum and significantly decreased the levels of PTEN phosphorylated in serine 380 in the hypothalamus and in the hippocampus compared with control values. Estradiol priming blocked the effect of progesterone on PP2A phosphorylation in the hippocampus and on PTEN phosphorylation in the hypothalamus and the hippocampus. In contrast, the action of progesterone on PP2A phosphorylation in the cerebellum was not modified by estradiol priming. These findings suggest that the regulation of the phosphorylation of PP2A and PTEN may be involved in the effects of progesterone on the phosphorylation of Tau and on the activity of phophoinositide-3 kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase in the brain., ((c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

PP1 (protein phosphatase 1) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine-specific protein phosphatase whose activity towards different substrates appears to be mediated via binding to specific proteins that play critical regulatory and targeting roles. In the present paper we report the cloning and characterization of a new protein, termed SARP (several ankyrin repeat protein), which is shown to interact with all isoforms of PP1 by a variety of techniques. A region encompassing a consensus PP1-binding motif in SARP (K354VHF357) modulates endogenous SARP-PP1 activity in mammalian cells. This SARP-PP1 interaction motif lies partially within the first ankyrin repeat in contrast with other proteins [53BP2 (p53 binding protein 2), MYPT1/M(110)/MBS (myosin binding protein of PP1) and TIMAP (transforming growth factor beta inhibited, membrane-associated protein)], where a PP1-binding motif precedes the ankyrin repeats. Alternative mRNA splicing produces several isoforms of SARP from a single human gene at locus 11q14. SARP1 and/or SARP2 (92-95 kDa) are ubiquitously expressed in all tissues with high levels in testis and sperm, where they are shown to interact with both PP1gamma1 and PP1gamma2. SARP3 (65 kDa) is most abundant in brain where SARP isoforms interact with both PP1alpha and PP1gamma1. SARP is highly abundant in the nucleus of mammalian cells, consistent with the putative nuclear localization signal at the N-terminus. The presence of a leucine zipper near the C-terminus of SARP1 and SARP2, and the binding of mammalian DNA to SARP2, suggests that SARP1 and SARP2 may be transcription factors or DNA-associated proteins that modulate gene expression.

Production of the amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide via altered metabolism of the amyloid beta-Protein Precursor (AbetaPP) appears to be a key event in the pathology of Alzheimer Disease (AD). Accordingly, altered processing of AbetaPP was observed under conditions of abnormal cellular stress induced by sodium azide in the presence of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG). As previously reported, the production of sAbetaPP (the secreted fragment of AbetaPP) was inhibited. However, our data further suggests that 2DG alone can account for most of the observed effects on AbetaPP processing in COS-1 cells and PC12 cells. It appears that 2DG interferes with the normal glycosylation of AbetaPP and its maturation process, having direct consequences on sAbetaPP production. Interestingly, PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate)-induced sAbetaPP production was maintained under the stress conditions used, suggesting that potential non-amyloidogenic AbetaPP processing can still be favoured. This is of potential therapeutic interest, since it indicates that even under adverse stress conditions drugs such as PMA can affect AbetaPP processing, leading to increased sAbetaPP production and a concomitant reduction in Abeta production. However, the induction of sAbetaPP production was not identical when the phosphatase inhibitor OA (okadaic acid) was used. In fact, the typical OA-induced increase in sAbetaPP production could be abolished under specific conditions. This constitutes an interesting precedent for the possible dissociation of the PMA and OA responses in terms of sAbetaPP production. The involvement of protein phosphatases, which are inhibited by OA, inbetaPP processing, was reinforced by the increased co-localization of AbetaPP and PP1alpha (protein phosphatase 1alpha) at the cell surface upon exposure to OA and PMA. Overall, our results support the notion that signal transduction processes may be of particular relevance for our understanding of the molecular basis of AD, and for the design of rational signal transduction therapeutics.

Mammalian sperm were previously shown to express the PP1gamma2 isoform of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) as well as its regulatory proteins inhibitor 2 and glycogen synthase kinase 3. Furthermore, the development of sperm motility during transit through the epididymis correlates with changes in PP1 activity. Thus, since PP1 cellular activity is determined by the partners it binds, we embarked on a study aimed at defining the specific interactomes of PP1gamma1 and PP1gamma2 (the two known alternatively spliced variants of PP1gamma). To this end, exhaustive screens were performed on a human testis cDNA library using the yeast two-hybrid method. Among the various proteins detected, the most abundant interactors with PP1gamma2 were Nek2A and R15B. Closer sequence analysis revealed novel alternatively spliced variants of Nek2A and NIPP1, which we designated Nek2A-T and NIPP1-T, respectively. They were shown to be highly expressed in rat and human testis by Northern analysis and to result from alternative splicing events by RT-PCR. Thus, both the previously known Nek2A isoform and the novel Nek2A-T and NIPP1-T variants appear to bind PP1gamma2 in vitro (blot overlays) and in vivo by coexpression in yeast. The usefulness of testis-specific alternatively spliced proteins as targets for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for male infertility and contraception is discussed. PP1gamma2, Nek2A-T, and NIPP1-T are currently being investigated as alternatively spliced targets for signal transduction therapeutics.

Reversible protein phosphorylation is a central mechanism regulating many biological functions, and abnormal protein phosphorylation can have a devastating impact on cellular control mechanisms, including a contributing role in neurodegenerative processes. Hence, many promising novel drug development strategies involve targeting protein phosphorylation systems. In this study, we demonstrate that various cellular stresses relevant to neurodegeneration can specifically affect the protein expression levels of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). PP1 levels were altered upon exposure of PC12 and COS-1 cells to aluminium, Abeta peptides, sodium azide, and even heat shock. Particularly interesting, given PP1's involvement in aging and neurodegeneration, was the consistent decrease in PP1gamma(1) levels in response to stress agents. In fact, alterations in the expression levels of PP1 appear to correspond to an early response of stress induction, that is, before alterations in heat shock proteins can be detected. Our data suggest that monitoring PP1 isoform expression could constitute a useful diagnostic tool for cellular stress, possibly even neurodegeneration. Additionally, our results strengthen the rationale for signal transduction therapeutics and indicate that altering the specific activity of PP1 either directly or by targeting its regulatory proteins may be a useful therapeutic development strategy for the future.

Regulation of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) by protein inhibitors and targeting subunits has been previously studied through the use of recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli. This preparation is limited by several key differences in its properties compared with native PP1. In the present study, we have analyzed recombinant PP1 expressed in Sf9 insect cells using baculovirus. Sf9 PP1 exhibited properties identical to those of native PP1, with respect to regulation by metals, inhibitor proteins, and targeting subunits, and failure to dephosphorylate a phosphotyrosine-containing substrate or phospho-DARPP-32 (Dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, M(r) 32,000). Mutations at Y272 in the beta12/beta13 loop resulted in a loss of activity and reduced the sensitivity to thiophospho-DARPP-32 and inhibitor-2. Mutations of Y272 also increased the relative activity toward a phosphotyrosine-containing substrate or phospho-DARPP-32. Mutation of acidic groove residues caused no change in sensitivity to thiophospho-DARPP-32 or inhibitor-2, but one mutant (E252A:D253A:E256R) exhibited an increased K(m) for phosphorylase a. Several PP1/PP2A chimeras were prepared in which C-terminal sequences of PP2A were substituted into PP1. Replacement of residues 274-330 of PP1 with the corresponding region of PP2A resulted in a large loss of sensitivity to thiophospho-DARPP-32 and inhibitor-2, and also resulted in a loss of interaction with the targeting subunits, spinophilin and PP1 nuclear targeting subunit (PNUTS). More limited alterations in residues in beta12, beta13, and beta14 strands highlighted a key role for M290 and C291 in the interaction of PP1 with thiophospho-DARPP-32, but not inhibitor-2.

To investigate the regulation of parathyroid hormone secretion by phosphatases we examined the effect of okadaic acid, a selective inhibitor of protein phosphatases (PP)-1 and -2A, on isolated, dispersed parathyroid cells. Okadaic acid inhibited secretion from intact bovine, intact human and streptolysin-O permeabilized bovine cells. Approximately 10(-6) M okadaic acid resulted in a 50% decrease in parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion from both intact and permeabilized cells, consistent with PP-1 being the target of inhibition. Upon subcellular fractionation, PP-1 overlapped but was not identical to either PTH, a marker of the secretory granule, or Na+/K+-ATPase, a plasma membrane marker. In summary, PP-1 activity is involved in Ca2+-dependent but not basal PTH secretion.

Immotile bovine caput epididymal sperm contain levels of protein phosphatase activity twofold higher than do mature motile caudal sperm. Comparison of the inhibition profiles of endogenous phosphatase activities detected by okadaic acid (OA) and calyculin A (CA) revealed a pattern consistent with the predominance of a type 1 protein phosphatase (PP1). Immunoblot analysis identified PP1 gamma 2 (the testis-specific isoform of PP1) as the only PP1 isoform in sperm and showed little protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). In addition, of the known PP1 inhibitors, i.e., DARPP-32, inhibitor 1 (I1), and inhibitor 2 (I2), only I2-like activity was detected in sperm. Inhibition of PP1 by the heat-stable I2-like activity purified from sperm could be reversed with purified glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3). Furthermore, sperm extracts contain an inactive complex of PP1 and I2 (termed PP1I) that could also be activated by purified GSK-3. The presence of GSK-3 in sperm was demonstrated by activation of purified PP1I, and quantitation revealed that immotile caput sperm contained sixfold higher GSK-3 activity than motile caudal sperm. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the expression of GSK-3 in sperm and revealed the occurrence of both the alpha and beta isoforms. Our findings suggest that the higher PP1 activity measured in immotile sperm, presumably due to higher GSK-3 activity, is responsible for holding motility in check. This conclusion was supported by the observation that the phosphatase inhibitors OA and CA, at micromolar and nanomolar levels, respectively, were able to induce motility in completely immotile bovine caput epididymal sperm and to stimulate the kinetic activity of mature caudal sperm. The intrasperm levels of cAMP, pH, and calcium were unaltered by treatment with these inhibitors. The results suggest a biochemical basis for the development and regulation of sperm motility and a possible physiological role for the PP1/I2/GSK-3 system.

Sperm motility initiation, capacitation, and hyperactivation are modulated by an interplay of intracellular Ca2+, cAMP, and pH. Mechanisms by which these mediators alter sperm function have not been elucidated but may involve reversible alterations in regulatory protein phosphorylation. Studies were designed 1) to investigate the influence of the protein phosphatase (PP) inhibitor calyculin A (CA) on human sperm motility and 2) to characterize the CA-sensitive PP and its endogenous regulators in human and rhesus monkey sperm. CA (50 nM) treatment of human sperm resulted in an increase in percentage motility and an acceleration in mean path velocity. Inhibition of either protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) or protein phosphatase-2A (PP2A) could be responsible for this motility stimulation, since both of these phosphatases are sensitive to nanomolar quantities of CA. PP activity in human (n = 4) and rhesus monkey (n = 4) sperm sonicates was measured using [32P]-phosphorylase-a, the preferred substrate for PP1 and PP2A, in the absence of divalent cations. Human (6.2 +/- 4.5 x 10(-2) mU/10(6) sperm) and monkey (4.3 +/- 0.8 x 10(-2) mU/10(6) sperm) sonicates contained activity tentatively identified as PP1 on the basis of inhibition profiles in okadaic acid (OA) and CA. Western blot analysis with antibodies against various isoforms of PP1 subsequently documented the presence of PP1 gamma 2 in human and monkey sperm. PP1 activity in most tissues is regulated by the heat-stable inhibitors I1 or I2. Sperm sonicates contained inhibitor activity similar to I2 as well as glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) activity, which is involved in the activation of the PP1-I2 complex. These results indicate, for the first time, that human and rhesus monkey sperm contain PP1 and regulators of PP1 and that inhibition of PP1 activity by CA can enhance motility.

Previous studies of hormonal regulation of renal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase have indicated that the activity of the sodium pump is regulated by phosphorylation-dephosphorylation reactions. Here we report that okadaic acid (OA) and calyculin A (CL-A), inhibitors of protein phosphatase (PP)-1 and PP-2A, inhibited Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity in cells from the rat thick ascending limb (TAL) of loop of Henle in a dose-dependent manner. CL-A was 10-fold more potent than OA. On the basis of the inhibitory constant values of CL-A and OA for PP-1 and PP-2A, it is concluded that the tubular effect is mainly due to inhibition of PP-1. In situ hybridization studies with oligonucleotide probes revealed very strong PP-1 alpha and PP-1 gamma 1 mRNA labeling in the outer stripe of the outer medulla, strong labeling in the inner stripe of the outer medulla, and weak labeling in the inner medulla. Very weak labeling was demonstrated in the outer cortex. PP-1 beta mRNA labeling was very strong in the inner stripe of the outer medulla, whereas the outer stripe had weaker labeling, and the inner medulla had weak labeling. PP-1 alpha, PP-1 beta, and PP-1 gamma 1 mRNA were also demonstrated in the transitional epithelium of the ureter. The abundance of the PP-1 alpha and PP-1 gamma isoforms as measured by immunoblotting was very high in tissue from the outer medulla, which also has a high abundance of the endogenous dopamine-regulated PP-1 inhibitor, DARPP-32.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Although most transcriptional events appear to be modulated by reversible protein phosphorylation, little is known about the role of this regulatory system during the development of mammalian organs. Here we have studied the serine/threonine protein phosphatases (PP) 1 and 2A in the early embryonic rat kidney with regard to expression and effects on growth and differentiation. All isoforms of PP-1 and PP-2A were ubiquitously expressed in 15-day embryonic (E15) kidneys (in situ hybridization studies). In contrast, mRNA for inhibitor-1 (I-1), an endogenous inhibitor of PP-1, was detected only in undifferentiated stem cells in the outer cortical area. I-1 is a novel marker for these cells. The abundance of the PP-1 protein, confirmed with immunoblotting, was high in the embryonic kidney. In organ culture of E13 kidneys, okadaic acid (OA), an exogenous inhibitor of PP-1 and PP-2A, dose-dependently inhibited growth and nephron formation (apparent half-maximal effect at 6 nM). OA 10 nM had little effect on the growth of cultured E15 kidneys, whereas nephron formation was disturbed and morphological evidence of apoptosis was seen. In summary, this study points towards important roles for protein phosphatases 1 and/or 2A in regulation of mitogenic activity in the early embryonic kidney.

Background: Aberrant metabolism of the Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein (APP) or its amyloidogenic A beta fragment is thought to be centrally involved in Alzheimer's disease. Nonamyloidogenic processing of APP involves its cleavage within the A beta domain by a protease, termed alpha-secretase, and release of the large extracellular domain, termed APPS. Secretion of APPS can be stimulated by phorbol esters, activators of protein kinase C, with concurrent inhibition of A beta production. While the role of protein kinases of APP metabolism has been investigated, considerably less effort has been devoted to elucidating the role played by protein phosphatases. Okadaic acid, a protein phosphatase inhibitor, has been shown to stimulate secretion of APPS, but the identity of the phosphatase involved has not been investigated., Materials and Methods: The secretion of APPS from COS-1 cells was measured in the absence or presence of various doses of serine/threonine-specific phosphatase inhibitors. Quantitation of the derived IC50 values was used to determine the identity of the phosphatase involved in the control of APP secretion., Results: The availability of protein phosphatase inhibitors with different relative potencies against the different types of serine/threonine-specific protein phosphatase allowed us to examine which of the four known types of protein phosphatase might be involved in the regulation of APP secretion. Both okadaic acid and calyculin A stimulated the secretion of APP from COS-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The half-maximal dose for stimulation of APP secretion was approximately 100-fold higher with okadaic acid than with calyculin A., Conclusions: The nearly 100-fold difference in the observed IC50 values for okadaic acid and calyculin A implicates a type 1 protein phosphatase in the control of APPS production. Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is known to be highly expressed in adult mammalian brain, both in neurons and glia. The identification of a specific phosphatase type in the control of APP secretion opens new avenues to the development of rational therapeutic intervention strategies aimed at the prevention and/or treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Rat cDNAs encoding neuronal isoforms of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) were isolated and their primary structures elucidated. The derived amino acid sequences allowed us to design synthetic C-terminal peptides that were used to raise antibodies. Isoform-specific anti-peptide antibodies against PP1 alpha and PP1 gamma 1 were used to investigate the tissue distribution of PP1 isoforms by immunoblotting. Both isoforms were ubiquitously expressed in mammalian tissues, with the highest levels being observed in brain. Of all neuronal tissues examined, PP1 alpha and PP1 gamma 1 were found to be most abundantly expressed in the striatum. Lesion experiments with kainic acid indicated that both the alpha and the gamma 1 isoforms of protein phosphatase 1 were relatively enriched in the medium-size spiny neurons of the striatum. "In situ" hybridization to rat brain slices using highly sensitive riboprobes also showed PP1 alpha, PP1 beta, and PP1 gamma 1 to be widely expressed in mammalian brain. However, some interesting differences were observed. For example, PP1 alpha and PP1 gamma 1 were found to be expressed in the striatum, where DARPP-32 (dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, M(r) = 32,000 Da) is also known to be highly expressed. PP1 beta appeared to be relatively less abundant in the same cells, as judged both by "in situ" hybridization and by the apparent absence of PP1 beta clones from the striatal cDNA libraries used.

Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is a highly conserved enzyme that has been implicated in diverse biological processes in the brain as well as in nonneuronal tissues. The present study used light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry to characterize the distribution of two PP1 isoforms, PP1 alpha and PP1 gamma 1, in the rat neostriatum. Both isoforms are heterogeneously distributed in brain with the highest immunoreactivity being found in the neostriatum and hippocampal formation. Further, both isoforms are highly and specifically concentrated in dendritic spines. Weak immunoreactivity is present in dendrites, axons, and some axon terminals. Immunoreactivity for PP1 alpha is also present in the perikaryal cytoplasm and nuclei of most medium- and large-sized neostriatal neurons. The specific localization of PP1 in dendritic spines is consistent with a central role for this enzyme in signal transduction. The data support the concept that, in the course of evolution, spines developed as specialized signal transduction organelles enabling neurons to integrate diverse inputs from multiple afferent nerve terminals.

The mechanism of inhibition of protein phosphatase-1 catalytic subunit (PP-1c) by recombinant DARPP-32 and synthetic peptides was studied. DARPP-32 was expressed in Escherichia coli as a non-fusion protein using a pEt-3a plasmid, purified to homogeneity and shown to have physicochemical properties similar to those of the protein purified from bovine brain. Recombinant DARPP-32 phosphorylated on threonine-34 by cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibited PP-1c with an IC50 approximately 0.5 nM, comparable to that obtained with bovine DARPP-32. Non-phosphorylated DARPP-32, and mutated forms in which threonine-34 was replaced by an alanine or a glutamic acid, inhibited PP-1c with an IC50 approximately 1 microM. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed binding of PP-1c to nonphospho- and phospho-DARPP-32-(8-38) synthetic peptides with apparent Kd values of 1.2 and 0.3 microM, respectively, supporting the existence of an interaction between non-phosphorylated DARPP-32 and PP-1c that is increased by phosphorylation of DARPP-32 at threonine-34. These results suggest a model in which DARPP-32 interacts with PP-1c by at least two low affinity sites, the combination of which is responsible for the high affinity (nM) inhibition.

Protein phosphatase 1 and protein phosphatase 2A contain potential phosphorylation sites for cyclin-dependent kinases. In the present study we found that rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatase 1, as well as recombinant protein phosphatase 1 alpha and protein phosphatase 1 gamma 1, but not protein phosphatase 2A, was phosphorylated and inhibited by cdc2/cyclin A and cdc2/cyclin B. Phosphopeptide mapping and phospho amino acid analysis suggested that the phosphorylation site was located at a C-terminal threonine. Neither cdc2/cyclin A nor cdc2/cyclin B phosphorylated an active form of protein phosphatase 1 alpha in which Thr-320 had been mutated to alanine, indicating that the phosphorylation occurred at this threonine residue. Furthermore, protein phosphatase 1, but not protein phosphatase 2A, activity was found to change during the cell cycle of human MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. The observed oscillations in protein phosphatase 1 activity during the cell cycle may be due, at least in part, to phosphorylation of protein phosphatase 1 by cyclin-dependent kinases. Together, the results suggest a mechanism for direct regulation of protein phosphatase 1 activity.

The gene for the alpha isoform of the catalytic subunit of human protein phosphatase 2A (PPP2CA) was localized to chromosome 5 using somatic cell hybrids, and then more finely mapped to chromosome region 5q23-->q31 by in situ hybridization using a tritiated cDNA probe. The gene for the beta isoform of the catalytic subunit of this enzyme (PPP2CB) was mapped by the polymerase chain reaction to human chromosome 8 using somatic cell hybrids. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was then used to localize the PPP2CB gene to 8p12-->p11.2, using a mixture of three genomic probes that ranged from 3.5 to 8 kb in size. Finally, Southern blot analysis of somatic cell hybrid DNA suggested that a PPP2CB catalytic subunit pseudogene (PPP2CBP) is on chromosome 16.

cDNAs encoding three protein phosphatases, termed PP2Bw (Da Cruz e Silva, E.F. and Cohen, P.T.W. (1989) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1009, 293-296), PPZ1 and PPZ2 that have been isolated from a Clontech 'rabbit brain' library are shown to be Saccharomyces cerevisiae clones. PPZ1 and PPZ2 are two novel yeast phosphatases showing 93% amino acid sequence identity to one another. PPZ1 shows approx. 60% sequence identity to S. cerevisiae or mammalian PP1 and approx. 40% identity to S. cerevisiae or mammalian PP2A. These and other observations suggest that the two isoforms of PPZ have functions distinct from those of PP1.

The sequences of two Drosophila and one rabbit protein phosphatase (PP) 1 catalytic subunits were determined from their cDNA. The sequence of Drosophila PP1 alpha 1 was deduced from a 2.2-kb cDNA purified from an embryonic cDNA library, while that for Drosophila PP1 beta was obtained from overlapping clones isolated from both a head cDNA library and an eye imaginal disc cDNA library. The gene for Drosophila PP1 alpha 1 is at 96A2-5 on chromosome 3 and encodes a protein of 327 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 37.3 kDa. The gene for Drosophila PP1 beta is localized at 9C1-2 on the X chromosome and encodes a protein of 330 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 37.8 kDa. PP1 alpha 1 shows 96% amino acid sequence identity to PP1 alpha 2 (302 amino acids), an isoform whose gene is located in the 87B6-12 region of chromosome 3 [Dombrádi, V., Axton, J. M., Glover, D.M. Cohen, P.T.W. (1989) Eur. J. Biochem. 183, 603-610]. PP1 beta shows 85% identity to PP1 alpha 1 and PP1 alpha 2 over the 302 homologous amino acids. These results demonstrate that at least three genes are present in Drosophila that encode different isoforms of PP1. Drosophila PP1 alpha 1 and PP1 beta show 89% amino acid sequence identity to rabbit PP1 alpha (330 amino acids) [Cohen, P.T.W. (1988) FEBS Lett. 232, 17-23] and PP1 beta (327 amino acids), respectively, demonstrating that the structures of both isoforms are among the most conserved proteins known throughout the evolution of the animal kingdom. The presence of characteristic structural differences between PP1 alpha and PP1 beta, which have been preserved from insects to mammals, implies that the alpha and beta isoforms may have distinct biological functions.

A cDNA encoding one isoform (PP1 alpha) of the catalytic subunit of human protein phosphatase 1 has been isolated and used to map the human PP1 alpha gene (PPP1A) to chromosome band 11q13 by analysis of somatic cell hybrids and in situ hybridization. Neoplasms that map to 11q13 are discussed in the light of the recent findings that PP1 alpha is a putative tumor suppressor and that it plays a key role in the control of mitosis.

A 1.5 kb clone containing the full-length coding sequence of a type-1 protein phosphatase catalytic subunit has been isolated from a rabbit skeletal muscle cDNA library constructed in lambda gt10. The protein sequence deduced from the cDNA contains 311 residues and has a molecular mass of 35.4 kDa. A single mRNA species at 1.6 kb was visualized by Northern blotting. The type-1 protein phosphatase was strikingly homologous to protein phosphatase 2A, 49% of the amino acids between residues 11 and 280 being identical. The first 10 and last 31 residues were dissimilar. Residues 1-101 of the type-1 protein phosphatase also showed 21% sequence identity with a region of mammalian alkaline phosphatases.

A cDNA encoding a novel protein phosphatase catalytic subunit (protein phosphatase X) has been isolated from a rabbit liver library. It codes for a protein having 45% and 65% amino acid sequence identity, respectively, to the catalytic subunits of protein phosphatase 1 and protein phosphatase 2A from skeletal muscle. The enzyme is neither the hepatic form of protein phosphatase 1 or 2A, nor is it protein phosphatase 2B or 2C. The possible identity of protein phosphatase X is discussed.

Complementary DNA encoding a novel protein phosphatase catalytic subunit has been isolated from a rabbit brain library. The deduced protein sequence is more similar to the major Ca2+-dependent/calmodulin-stimulated protein phosphatase (2B) in brain (55% identity) than to protein phosphatases 1 and 2A (38-39% identity). A putative calmodulin-binding domain is present C-terminal to the catalytic domain, which closely resembles that of the mouse brain enzyme. These findings represent the first indication that at least two distinct Ca2+-dependent/calmodulin-stimulated protein phosphatases are present in mammalian brain.