A New Phosphodiesterase in Rat Tissues

1. A phosphodiesterase that cleaves glycerophosphoinositol into glycerophosphate and inositol has been detected in rat tissues. 2. The enzyme requires Mg2+(Mn2+) and has a pH optimum of 7.7. 3. The richest sources of the enzyme are kidney and intestinal mucosa. In pancreas subcellular fractions it occurs largely in the microsomal fraction. 4. The enzyme is inhibited by excess substrate and by the reaction product glycerophosphate. 5. Temperature-stability studies and other observations distinguish the enzyme from other membranebound phosphodiesterases active at an alkaline pH e.g. glycerophosphoinositol inositophosphohydrolase, glycerophosphocholine diesterase, inositol cyclic phosphate phosphodiesterase and phosphodiesterase I.