Synthetic hexapeptide substrates and inhibitors of 3':5'-cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.

The substrate specificity of the catalytic subunit of rabbit skeletal muscle 3': 5'-cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37; ATP: protein phosphotransferase) has been studied using the synthetic peptide Arg-Gly-Tyr-Ser-Leu-Gly corresponding to the sequence around serine 24, a phosphorylation site in reduced, carboxymethylated, maleylated (RCMM) chicken egg white lysozyme. This peptide served as a substrate for the enzyme and exhibited a 6-fold higher Vmax and a 100-fold higher Km than RCMM-lysozyme. Replacement of the arginine with glycine, histidine, or lysine resulted in a dramatic reduction in the Vmax. These results support the concept that arginine is an important residue in determining the substrate specificity of the protein kinase, predominantly influencing the Vmax of the phosphorylation reaction. Two synthetic peptides in which serine was replaced by an alanine acted as competitive inhibitors of phosphorylation of the synthetic peptide substrate and RCMM-lysozyme.