Calcium-dependent binding of cytosolic proteins by chromaffin granules from adrenal medulla

Purified chromaffin granules from bovine adrenal medulla bound a small group of medullary cell cytosol proteins at micromolar levels of Ca2+ and physiological levels of K+, Mg2+, and Mg-ATP. The bound proteins had molecular weights of 33,000-37,000 and 70,000-71,000 on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and did not correspond with any previously reported cytosolic components of chromaffin cells. The new proteins were eluted from intact granules or resealed granule membranes at 0.1 microM Ca2+; binding was half-maximal at 2.6 microM. Adsorption and elution in this manner resulted in a high degree of purification of the new proteins that were minor components of the original cytosol. Partially purified fractions enriched in the 33,000-37,000 and 70,000-71,000 proteins bound 45Ca2+ at submicromolar levels in the presence of millimolar Mg2+. Calmodulin was also bound by the granule membranes and was present in trace amounts in cytosol eluates from granules, but it did not bind to the new proteins in the presence of calcium ions. The possible significance of the new proteins to calcium-mediated secretion from chromaffin cells is discussed.