The acylation of megakaryocyte proteins: glycoprotein IX is primarily myristoylated while glycoprotein Ib is palmitoylated.

The acylation of megakaryocyte proteins was studied with special emphasis on the myristoylation and palmitoylation of the glycoprotein (GP) Ib complex. Guinea pig megakaryocytes were purified and separated into subpopulations at different phases of maturation. Cells were incubated with [3H]myristate, [3H]palmitate, or [3H]acetate to study endogenous protein acylation. Cycloheximide was used to distinguish between cotranslational and posttranslational acylation and hydroxylamine to distinguish between thioester and amide linkages. After incubations, delipidated proteins or GPIb complex subunits, immunoprecipitated with PG-1, AN-51 or FMC-25 monoclonal antibody, were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and assessed by fluorography. Radiolabeled fatty acids bound to GPIX and GPIb were also analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and scintillation spectrometry. With [3H]myristic acid and [3H]acetate, GPIX was found to be a major myristoylated protein in megakaryocytes and CHRF-288 cells. Myristic acid was linked to GPIX by an amide bond, and this process occurred cotranslationally. With [3H]acetate, GPIb was primarily palmitoylated, but with [3H]myristate, GPIb was acylated with about equal mounts of myristic acid and palmitic acids. Both fatty acids were linked to GPIb by thioester bonds, and acylation was posttranslational. The myristoylation of GPIX while the palmitoylation of GPIb occurred throughout megakaryocyte maturation. Myristoylation and palmitoylation may have different functions relevant to the assembly of the GPIb complex in megakaryocytes.