Low molecular weight cyclic AMP binding protein isolated from the extract of human tonsillar lymphocytes

A protein fraction of molecular weight 33,000-36,000 accounted for about 40% of the cyclic AMP binding capacity of the cytoplasmic extract of human tonsillar lymphocytes. This cyclic AMP binding fraction (designated as R' protein [10]) proved to be a proteolytic fragment of the regulatory subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. The Scatchard plot of cyclic AMP binding by the isolated R' fraction indicated positive cooperativity. 50% saturation of the cyclic AMP binding sites was achieved at about 4 . 10(-9) M cyclic AMP. An upward concave curve was obtained in the Scatchard plot of cyclic GMP binding by the R' protein. These results strongly suggest that more than one molecule of cyclic nucleotide can be bound by one molecule of the R' protein. The R' protein could not be detected in the physiological salt extract of isolated nuclei in which type I cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase was the dominating isoenzyme (according to the terminology used by Corbin, S.D., Keely, S.L. and Park, C.R. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 218-225). The cytoplasm of cells contained a higher amount of type II than type I regulatory subunit. In the cytoplasm the predominant part of RII was present in the dissociated state in all preparations, while when the RII was found in the nucleus it was mainly in the holoenzyme form. The R' protein presumably from the dissociated type II regulatory subunit.