Activators of phosphorylase kinase alter the cross-linking of its catalytic subunit to the C-terminal one-sixth of its regulatory alpha subunit.

Phosphorylase kinase, a regulatory enzyme of glycogenolysis in skeletal muscle, is a hexadecameric oligomer consisting of four copies each of a catalytic subunit (gamma) and three regulatory subunits (alpha, beta, and delta, the last being endogenous calmodulin). The enzyme is activated by a variety of effectors acting through its regulatory subunits. To probe the quaternary structure of nonactivated and activated forms of the kinase, we used the heterobifunctional, photoreactive cross-linker N-5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyloxysuccinimide. Mono-derivatization of the holoenzyme with the succinimidyl group, followed by photoactivation of the covalently attached azido group, resulted in intramolecular cross-linking to form two distinct heterodimers: a major (alphagamma) and a minor (betadelta) conjugate. Formation of both conjugates was significantly altered in activated conformations of the enzyme induced by phosphorylation, alkaline pH, and several allosteric activators (ADP, exogenous calmodulin/Ca2+, and Ca2+ alone). Of these activating mechanisms, all increased formation of alphagamma, except Ca2+ alone, which inhibited its formation. When cross-linking was carried out at alkaline pH or in the presence of ADP or exogenous calmodulin/Ca2+, the cross-linked enzyme remained activated following removal of the activators; however, cross-linking in the presence of Ca2+ resulted in sustained inhibition. The results indicate that perturbations in the subunit cross-linking forming the alphagamma dimer reflect the subsequent extent of sustained activation of the holoenzyme that is measured. The region cross-linked to the catalytic gamma subunit was confined to the C-terminal 1/6th of the alpha subunit, which contains known regulatory regions. These results suggest that activators of the phosphorylase kinase holoenzyme perturb interactions between the C-terminal region of the inhibitory alpha subunit and the catalytic gamma subunit, ultimately leading to activation of the latter.