Phosphorylation of Ca-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum with different substrates

ATP and GTP as substrate for phosphorylation of sarcoplasmic reticulum ATPase are compared. Maximal levels of phosphoenzyme are between 4.5 and 4.8 nmol per mg of protein when either substrate is used provided that phosphoenzyme hydrolysis are strongly inhibited by high calcium concentration (20 mM) and low temperatures (0 degree C). The maximal values obtained with GTP are lower than those previously reported. It is shown that this difference is due to underestimation of the specific activity of labeled nucleotides used in previous studies, as revealed by UV absorption and HPLC analysis. The dependence of the phosphoenzyme levels on calcium concentration, pH and temperature confirm previous findings indicating that ATP, but no GTP, accelerates the rate limiting step of the catalytic cycle.