Activation of epinephrine and glucagon-sensitive adenylate cyclases of rat liver by cytosol protein factors. Role in loss of enzyme activities during preparation of particulate fractions, quantitation and partial characterization.

The role of cytosol components in the loss of rat liver adenylate cyclase activity which occurs during the preparation of particulate fractions from crude homogenates was studied. Epinephrine (5 micron)-, glucagon (10 micron)-, and fluoride (5 mM)- stimulated activities of twice-washed particulates were 31%, 58% and 67% of the homogenate activities, respectively. Addition of cytosol (100,000 X g supernatant devoid of adenylate cyclase activity) restored these activities to 82%, 88% and 80%. Cytosol also increased particulate basal activity from 60% of homogenate activity to 98%. The cytosol components capable of increasing adenylate cyclase activity were heat labile, nondialyzable, stable to freezing at -20 degrees, resistant to change of pH between 2 and 12, and unaffected by EGTA and NAD. Pretreatment with pepsin destroyed the effects of cytosol on both epinephrine- and glucagon-sensitive activities, whereas trypsin destroyed the effect of cytosol only on epinephrine-sensitive activity. The cytosol effect on adenylate cyclase was specific, since several purified proteins and ubiquitin, did not stimulate enzyme activity. Only part of the cytosol effect could be attributed to its GTP content. GTP at the concentration present in cytosol stimulated epinephrine-sensitive activity but significantly less than did cytosol, while GTP had no effect on glucagon-sensitive activity. Dialyzed cytosol retained its effectiveness even after removal of most (97%) of its GTP to a concentration where GTP had only a minimal effect on epinephrine-sensitive activity. Cytosol, unlike GTP, stimulated rather than inhibited activation by fluoride. Cytosol thus appears to contain at least two different protein components, which increase the activity of the two hormone-sensitive adenylate cyclases and presumably account in part for losses of adenylate cyclase activities seen during the preparation of particulates from homogenates.