Myristoylation of neutrophil proteins and their biological characteristics

We have studied protein acylation in neutrophils of guinea pigs using [3H]myristate. A large number of neutrophil proteins were acylated with exogenously added myristic acid. The myristoylation was detected on 110, 77, 56, 54, 52, 42, and 37 kDa proteins. These myristoylations were stronger in peripheral blood than in peritoneal cells. Myristic acid was found to be covalently linked by an amid bond to these proteins since the proteins were resistant to boiling, chloroform/methanol and hydroxylamine treatment. Most myristoylated proteins appeared to be associated with the membrane fraction, while some of the proteins such as 77 kDa one was distributed also in the cytoplasm and translocated from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane by stimulation. Lysozyme was myristoylated in vitro by the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of myristic acid. The myristoylated lysozyme had an ability to be associated with phospholipid liposomes, and the membrane-associated lysozyme became a substrate of the rat brain Ca2+- and phospholipid dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C). These results indicate that myristoylation in neutrophil proteins may have an important role in metabolic regulation through their membrane association.