Different ARF domains are required for the activation of cholera toxin and phospholipase D

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), initially described as activators of cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, regulate intracellular vesicular membrane trafficking and stimulate a phospholipase D (PLD) isoform. ARF-like (ARL) proteins are structurally related to ARFs but do not activate cholera toxin and have relatively little effect on PLD. A new human ARL gene termed hARL1, which shares 57% amino acid identity with hARF1, was identified using a polymerase chain reaction-based cloning method. To determine whether different structural elements are responsible for the activation structural elements are responsible for the activation of the A subunit of cholera toxin and PLD, chimeric proteins were constructed by switching the amino-terminal 73 amino acids of ARF1 and ARL1. The recombinant rL73/F protein, in which the amino-terminal 73 amino acids of ARL1 replaced those of ARF1, activated the A subunit of cholera toxin, whereas the rF73/L protein, in which the NH2-terminal 73 amino acids of ARF1 replaced those of ARL1, was inactive. The two chimeric proteins had quite opposite effects on PLD activity. rF73/L activated PLD as effectively as rARF1, whereas rL73/F protein activated PLD only slightly. It appears that the amino-terminal region of ARF1 is not critical for its action as a GTP-dependent activator of cholera toxin, whereas it is necessary for activation of the putative effector enzyme, PLD.