Identification of a ras-related protein in murine erythroleukemia cells that is a cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrate and is phosphorylated during chemically induced differentiation.

Murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells deficient in cAMP-dependent protein kinase (A-kinase) activity are impaired in chemically induced differentiation (Pilz, R. B., Eigenthaler, M., and Boss, G. R. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 16161-16167). We identified by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis two low molecular weight proteins (referred to as pp 21-1 and 21-2) that were phosphorylated when parental MEL cells, but not A-kinase-deficient MEL cells, were treated with the membrane-permeable cAMP analog 8-bromo-cAMP. We showed that pp 21-1 and 21-2: (a) were direct A-kinase substrates; (b) bound GTP; and (c) belonged to the ras superfamily of proteins. The only ras-related proteins that are clearly A-kinase substrates both in vitro and in vivo are Rap 1A and 1B while H- and K-Ras can be A-kinase substrates in vitro; we showed by immunological methods, phosphopeptide mapping, and migration on two-dimensional gels that pp 21-1 and 21-2 were not identical to one of these four proteins. We found a 3-fold increase of 32PO4 incorporation into pp 21-2 in hexamethylene bisacetamide-treated parental MEL cells which was not secondary to an increase in pp 21-2 protein but appeared secondary to increased phosphorylation of pp 21-2 by A-kinase. Thus, pp 21-1 and 21-2 are either new ras-related proteins or are previously identified ras-related proteins not known to be A-kinase substrates, and increased phosphorylation of pp 21-2 occurs during differentiation of MEL cells.