Epinephrine effects on cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases from rat diaphragms

Diaphragm extracts were subjected to electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels to separate the different molecular species of th cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Using cyclic [3H]AMP, three peaks of binding activity were observed. The peak closest to the origin (peak I) was associated with cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity and was abolished by incubation of the extracts with cyclic AMP prior to electrophoresis. The peak farthest from the origin (peak III) was devoid of kinase activity and was increased by incubation of extracts with cyclic AMP before electrophoresis; furthermore, when extracts were incubated with cyclic [3H]AMP before electrophoresis, essentially all the radioactivity appeared in peak III. Peak II, in an intermediate position, was also abolished by preincubation of the extracts with cyclic AMP and both its binding capacity and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity were lower than in Peak I. A peak of cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase (peak 0) that migrated more slowly than peak II was also detected. From these and other data it is concluded that peaks I and II are cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and that peak III is the dissociated regulatory subunit, respectively. Peak 0 is cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase together with free catalytic subunits from cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Incubation of rat diaphragms with epinephrine resulted in dose- and time-dependent decrease in peak I and increase in peak III. These changes correlated with the decrease of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase associated with peak I. No changes in Peak II were observed with epinephrine, but an increased peak 0 was noted. Changes in peak I and peak III correlated with the modification of glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase activities. No regulatory subunits (peak III) were detected as phosphorylated forms in diaphragms previously equilibrated with 32P. Treatment with epinephrine produce no noticeable phosphorylation of these regulatory subunits.