ADP-ribosylation in inner membrane of rat liver mitochondria

NAD+ glycohydrolase activity is found at high levels in submitochondrial particles. It leads to the reaction products ADP-ribose, nicotinamide, and small amounts of 5'-AMP. Furthermore, submitochondrial particles catalyze the exchange reaction: [adenosine-14C]ADP-ribose + NAD+ in equilibrium [adenosine-14C]-NAD+ + ADP-ribose. When submitochondrial particles are incubated with NAD+, mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation of protein molecules migrating with an apparent molecular weight of 30,000 in sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is demonstrable. Inhibitor studies suggest attachment of ADP-ribose to arginine residues. ADP-ribose bound to submitochondrial particles is rapidly turning over. The release of ADP-ribose from the protein is probably enzyme catalyzed. The rapid turnover, the specificity of the modification, and the inhibition of ADP-ribosylation by ATP and nicotinamide suggest a regulatory role of mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation of a protein in the inner mitochondrial membrane.