B-50 phosphorylation and polyphosphoinositide metabolism in nerve growth cone membranes

The neuron-specific phosphoprotein B-50 (Mr 48 kDa, isoelectric point, IEP, 4.5), which is identical to GAP43, is a member of a family of growth-associated proteins. Protein B-50 is a major phosphoprotein in nerve growth cones isolated from fetal rat brain. In a growth cone particulate fraction (GCp), endogenous B-50 phosphorylation is Ca2+- dependent and is unaffected by cAMP. Addition of purified protein kinase C (PKC) to GCP enhances B-50 phosphorylation. In heat- inactivated GCp, B-50 is one of the major substrates of purified PKC. Endogenous B-50 phosphorylation in GCP is stimulated in a dose- dependent manner by 4 beta-phorbol diesters, known to activate PKC, but not by the inactive 4 alpha-phorbol derivatives. In synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) isolated from adult rat brain, the degree of B-50 phosphorylation has been implicated in the modulation of receptor- mediated polyphosphoinositide (PPI) hydrolysis. In addition to B-50 and its kinase, PKC, the GCp fraction was also shown to contain all other components of such a modulatory system: the phosphatidylinositol 4- phosphate (PIP)-kinase, as shown on Western blots with affinity- purified IgGs against PIP-kinase, and the polyphosphoinosides, PIP and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), since the addition of gamma-32P-ATP to the GCp fraction not only results in B-50 phosphorylation but also in the labeling of phosphatidic acid (PA), PIP, and PIP2. ACTH1-24, which inhibits B-50 phosphorylation in the GCp fraction in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 5 x 10(-6) M), stimulates PIP2 labeling dose-dependently in the same preparation

Muscarinic receptor activation stimulates B-50/GAP43 phosphorylation in isolated nerve growth cones

A characteristic feature of neurite formation is high expression of the phosphoprotein B-50/GAP43. Previous studies with growth cone membranes have indicated that this neuron-specific protein kinase C substrate may be involved in transmembrane signal transduction at the growth cone. We monitored the degree of phosphorylation of B-50 by quantitative B-50 immunoprecipitation from intact nerve growth cones, isolated from 5-day- old rat brain and prelabeled with 32P-orthophosphate. B-50 phosphorylation in nerve growth cones is stimulated by 4 beta-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) and 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol (DOG) in a concentration-dependent manner, but not by 4 alpha-phorbol 12,13- didecanoate (4 alpha-PDD). These results confirm that B-50 is a substrate of PKC in intact growth cones. Depolarization induced by 30 mM K+ produces a transient increase in B-50 phosphorylation, which is maximal after 15 sec and declines to basal level within 5 min. This rise in B-50 phosphorylation can be partially blocked by atropine (10(- 3)-10(-4) M), suggesting the involvement of muscarinic receptors. Indeed, the cholinergic receptor agonist carbachol enhances B-50 phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner (50% at 10(-3) M). Since the effect of carbachol (10(-3) M) can be blocked by atropine (10(-7) M), we conclude that this increase in B-50 phosphorylation is mediated through activation of the muscarinic receptors on the growth cones. The carbachol-induced stimulation is further increased by concurrent K+-depolarization. The effects of carbachol and depolarization are additive. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing receptor-mediated effects on the PKC substrate B-50 in growth cones. Our data support the hypothesis that phosphorylation of B-50 by PKC is involved in signal transduction in nerve growth cones