Phosphorylation and modulation of the enzymic activity of native and protease-cleaved purified hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase by a calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase.

A Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase has been purified which catalyzed the phosphorylation and concomitant inactivation of both the microsomal native (100,000 Da) and protease-cleaved purified 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) (53,000 Da) fragments. This low molecular weight brain cytosolic Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase phosphorylates histone H1, synapsin I, and purified HMG-CoA reductase as major substrates. The kinase, purified by sequential chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, calmodulin affinity resin, and high performance liquid chromatography (TSKG 3000 SW) is an electrophoretically homogeneous protein of approximately 110,000 Da. The molecular weight of the holoenzyme, substrate specificity, subunit protein composition, subunit autophosphorylation, subunit isoelectric points, and subunit phosphopeptide analysis suggest that this kinase of Mr 110,000 may be different from other previously reported Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinases. Maximal phosphorylation by the low molecular form of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase of purified HMG-CoA reductase revealed a stoichiometry of approximately 0.5 mol of phosphate/mol of 53,000-Da enzyme. Dephosphorylation of phosphorylated and inactivated native and purified HMG-CoA reductase revealed a time-dependent loss of 32P-bound radioactivity and reactivation of enzyme activity. Based on the results reported here, we propose that HMG-CoA reductase activity may be modulated by yet another kinase system involving covalent phosphorylation. The elucidation of a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent HMG-CoA reductase kinase-mediated modulation of HMG-CoA reductase activity involving reversible phosphorylation may provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis.