Protease inhibitors but not proteases inhibit the glucose-6-phosphatase of native rat liver microsomes.

Controlled proteolytic digestion by trypsin or bacterial proteases limited to the cytosolic side of the native microsomal membrane is not efficient to inhibit glucose-6-phosphate hydrolysis. Modification of the microsomes with deoxycholate prior to protease treatment is prerequisite to allow accessibility of the integral protein and inhibition of enzyme activity. Glucose-6-phosphatase of native microsomes, however, is rapidly inactivated by micromolar concentrations of TPCK as well as TLCK. In deoxycholate-modified microsomes both reagents do not affect glucose-6-phosphate hydrolysis. These results indicate that in the native, intact microsomal membrane glucose-6-phosphatase is not accessible to proteolytic attack from the cytoplasmic surface. The putative inhibitory effect of some trypsin or bacterial protease preparations on glucose-6-phosphatase of native microsomes observed most possibly is a result of contaminating agents as TPCK or TLCK.