Phosphotyrosine and phosphoprotein phosphatase activity of alkaline phosphatase in mineralizing cartilage.

We used embryonic skeletal cartilage known to have high levels of alkaline phosphatase activity to determine whether growing cartilage has phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity and phosphotyrosinyl histone phosphatase activity at physiologic pH. Embryonic chick pelvic cartilage and fetal pig scapular growth-plate cartilage were assayed using phosphotyrosine as substrate at pH 7.5 and the amount of tyrosine generated measured. Both cartilage models had Km for phosphotyrosine between 6 to 24 mus mol/L. Phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity correlated with alkaline phosphatase activity as assessed by (1) distribution of histologic staining for alkaline phosphatase within the cartilages, (2) hormonal stimulation of cartilage alkaline phosphatase activity in vitro, (3) comparison of alkaline phosphatase and phosphotyrosine phosphatase activities in the presence of known inhibitors (vanadate, levamisole, homoarginine, and zinc), and (4) assaying chick epiphyseal cartilage alkaline phosphatase purified to homogeneity for phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity. Areas of cartilage with elevated alkaline phosphatase activity also had raised phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity. Triiodothyronine, a known stimulator of cartilage alkaline phosphatase, increased chick cartilage alkaline phosphatase activity 88% and phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity 106%, and stimulated porcine growth-plate cartilage alkaline phosphatase activity 91% and phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity 145% after 3 days of in vitro incubation. Each of the inhibitors block alkaline phosphatase and phosphotyrosine phosphatase activities. The purified alkaline phosphatase had a Km for phosphotyrosine of 18 mus mol/L and Vmax of 5700 nmol tyrosine/mg protein/h, which is well over 1000-fold higher than the phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity found in the above preparations of pelvic and scapular cartilage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)