Phosphorylation by protein kinase C decreases catalytic activity of avian phospholipase C-β

The potential role of protein kinase C (PKC)-promoted phosphorylation has been examined in the G-protein-regulated inositol lipid signalling pathway. Incubation of [P-32]P-i-labelled turkey erythrocytes with either the P2Y, receptor agonist 2-methylthioadenosine triphosphate (2MeSATP) or with PMA resulted in a marked increase in incorporation of P-32 into the G-protein-activated phospholipase C PLC-beta T. Purified PLC-beta T also was phosphorylated by PKC in vitro to a stoichiometry (mean +/- S.E.M.) of 1.06 +/- 0.2 mol of phosphate/mol of PLC-beta T. Phosphorylation by PKC was isoenzyme-specific because, under identical conditions, mammalian PLC-beta 2 also was phosphorylated to a stoichiometry near unity, whereas mammalian PLC-beta 1 was not phosphorylated by PKC, The effects of PKC-promoted phosphorylation on enzyme activity were assessed by reconstituting purified PLC-beta T with turkey erythrocyte membranes devoid of endogenous PLC activity. Phosphorylation resulted in a decrease in basal activity, AlF4-stimulated activity, and activity stimulated by 2MeSATP plus guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate in the reconstituted membranes. The decreases in enzyme activities were proportional to the extent of PKC-promoted phosphorylation. Catalytic activity assessed by using mixed detergent/phospholipid micelles also was decreased by up to 60% by phosphorylation. The effect of phosphorylation on G(q)alpha-stimulated PLC-beta T in reconstitution experiments with purified proteins was not greater than that observed on basal activity alone. Taken together, these results illustrate that PKC phosphorylates PLC-beta T in vivo and to a physiologically relevant stoichiometry in vitro. Phosphorylation is accompanied by a concomitant loss of enzyme activity, reflected as a decrease in overall catalytic activity rather than as a specific modification of G-protein-regulated activity.