Studies on the specificity of phosphorylase kinase using peptide substrates

Abstract

The action of phosphorylase kinase on synthetic peptides is reported. These peptides are variants of the amino acid sequence. Ser-Asp-Gln-Glu-Lys-Arg-Lys-Gln-Ile-Ser-Val-Arg-Gly-Leu, found in the natural substrate, phosphorylase b. The effects of size, the cluster of basic groups at the NH2-terminal side, the phosphorylatable seryl residue, the hydrophobic groups surrounding serine, and the arginyl function at the COOH-terminal side were tested and analyzed by evaluation of the kinetic parameters, Km and Vmax. The first 6 residues were found to be nonessential, but substitution of residues in the sequence. Lys-Gln-Ile-Ser-Val-Arg, had a large effect on phosphorylation. A comparison was made between the action of nonactivated and activated phosphorylase kinase on selected peptides and phosphorylase b. Various forms of phosphorylase b were tested as substrates for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the presence of effectors and salts. Although phosphorylase would not serve as a substrate for protein kinase, the aforementioned synthetic peptide of the phosphorylase b sequence would do so, indicating that the primary sequence surrounding the phosphorylatable serine did not block phosphorylation, which suggests that higher order structural features prohibit the phosphorylation.