JBC, Vol. 252, Issue 6, 2039-2045, Mar, 1977
Proteolytic activation of rat liver adenylate cyclase by a contaminant of crude collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum
J. Hanoune, D. Stengel, M. L. Lacombe, G. Feldmann and E. Coudrier
Treatment of rat liver plasma membranes with various commercial
preparations of crude collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum at
concentrations as low as 1 mug/ml, resulted in activation of the adenylate
cyclase system. Maximal activation occurred at 50 to 100 mug/ml of
collagenase, and promoted a 2- to 3-fold increase in the basal activity as
well as in the activities stimulated by catecholamines, glucagon, fluoride,
or GTP. This was due to an increase in the maximal velocity of the
cyclizing reaction without any increase in the affinity of the enzyme for
its substrate. Treatment of plasma membranes with crude collagenase did not
induce gross structural modifications as judged by electron microscopic
examination. 5'-Nucleotidase activity was slightly inhibited and ATPase
activity remained unaffected. The stimulatory substance was nondialyzable,
thermolabile, and inhibited by both EDTA and -SH reagents, thus appearing
to be a protein. The following observations suggest the effects observed
were due to other protease(s) present in crude collagenase: (a) only crude
collagenase was active on liver adenylate cyclase: treatment with purified
collagenase from C. histolyticum or from Achromobacter iophagus gave no
stimulation; (b) the stimulatory activity was irreversible since washing of
the membranes after treatment was without effect; (c) crude collagenase
contained no lecithinase or sphingomyelinase activity under our conditions
of adenylate cyclase assay; (d) after chromatography on Sephadex G-100, the
activator appeared as a peak in the 30,000-dalton region and was clearly
separated from the collagenase and clostripain peaks, but coincident with
elastolytic and caseinolytic activities; (e) the effect of crude
collagenase could be prevented by addition of elastin in vitro and was
mimicked by purified elastase from hog pancreas. It remains to be seen
whether the effects observed result from an increase in the catalytic
constant of adenylate cyclase, or an unmasking of new catalytic sites.