Effects of autophosphorylation on casein kinase II activity: evidence from mutations in the beta subunit

Casein kinase II is a heterotetramer composed of two catalytic (alpha) and two regulatory (beta) subunits. To examine the effects of autophosphorylation of the beta subunit on enzyme activity, two mutants of the beta subunit from Drosophila were constructed in which either Ser4 or Ser2-4 was changed to alanine residues by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis and the proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli. The wild-type alpha and individual beta subunits present in inclusion bodies were renatured, and the biochemical properties of the reconstituted holoenzymes were examined. Analysis of autophosphorylation revealed that phosphate incorporation was about 0.8 mol/mol of beta subunit for the wild type and Ala4 mutant; Ser2 and Ser3 were the major sites of autophosphorylation with some phosphate in Ser4 as shown by Edman degradation. No autophosphorylation was observed with the Ala2-4 mutant. Substitution of alanine for serine residues at positions 4 or 2-4 of the beta subunits did not influence the reassociation of the alpha and beta subunits to form holoenzyme, or the function of the beta subunit in stimulating catalytic activity or in responding to basic compounds. To measure the effects of autophosphorylation on casein kinase II activity, the wild-type and mutant holoenzymes were preincubated in the presence and absence of ATP, and the rate of phosphorylation was measured with various substrates. In the absence of autophosphorylation, the wild-type, Ala4, and Ala2-4 forms of the holoenzyme displayed similar rates of phosphorylation of glycogen synthase. After preincubation with ATP, the rate of phosphorylation of glycogen synthase by the wild-type and Ala4 enzymes was inhibited by 30%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)