The triphenylethylene antiestrogen tamoxifen has been shown previously to inhibit both calmodulin and protein kinase C activities, which are involved in the control of cell proliferation. We have studied the effect of several derivatives of the triphenylethylene antiestrogen family on the inhibition of both calmodulin-dependent cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-phosphodiesterase activity and...

Pancreatic islets contain enzyme activity which catalyzes the phosphorylation by MgATP of cardiac, skeletal, or smooth muscle myosin light chains. The enzyme is activated by calcium (Ka = 10 microM) and calmodulin (Ka = 2 nM) and inhibited by trifluoperazine (Ki = 10 microM), a known inhibitor of calmodulin and of insulin secretion. The enzyme binds to a calmodulin affinity column when Ca2+ is ...

Dehydrouramil hydrate hydrochloride (DHU), a stable analogue of alloxan, inhibited the phosphorylation of an endogenous protein of Mr 53,000 catalysed by a Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase in extracts of islets of Langerhans. The concentration of DHU required for 50% inhibition was 0.09 mM. DHU did not inhibit islet cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and caused only slight inhibition o...

Caldesmon, a major actin- and calmodulin-binding protein of smooth muscle, has been implicated in regulation of the contractile state of smooth muscle. The isolated protein can be phosphorylated by a co-purifying Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, and phosphorylation blocks inhibition of the actomyosin ATPase by caldesmon [Ngai & Walsh (1987) Biochem. J. 244, 417-425]. We have examined t...

DNA topoisomerase (topo) IIα is a major target for many anticancer agents. However, progress towards understanding how these agents interact with this enzyme in human cells and how resistance to these agents arises is greatly impeded by difficulties in expressing this gene. Here, we report on achieving a high level of expression of a full-length human topo IIα gene in human cells. We started wi...

A calcium-dependent protein kinase was partially purified and characterized from the green alga Dunaliella salina. The enzyme was activated at free Ca2+ concentrations above 10(-7) molar. and half-maximal activation was at about 3 x 10(-7) molar. The optimum pH for its Ca(2+)-dependent activity was 7.5. The addition of various phospholipids and diolein had no effects on enzyme activity and d...

Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIα (PI4KIIα), a membrane-associated PI kinase, plays a central role in cell signalling and trafficking. Its kinase activity critically depends on palmitoylation of its cysteine-rich motif (-CCPCC-) and is modulated by the membrane environment. Lack of atomic structure impairs our understanding of the mechanism regulating kinase activity. Here we present the crysta...

Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated that neurohumoral stimulation of the exocrine pancreas is associated with the phosphorylation of the Mr 29,000 ribosomal protein S6. In a cell-free system using pancreatic postmicrosomal supernatant as the kinase donor, we found that the following co-factors stimulate the phosphorylation of the Mr 29,000 ribosomal protein: calcium with calmodul...