Phosphatidylinositol kinase of bovine adrenal chromaffin granules: kinetic properties and inhibition by low concentrations of Ca2+.

The kinetics and regulatory properties of phosphatidylinositol (PI) kinase were studied in chromaffin granule ghosts isolated from the bovine adrenal medulla. Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PIP) was the major 32P-labelled phospholipid formed when the isolated membranes were phosphorylated by [gamma-32P]ATP. The PI kinase activity was rather independent of pH, but highly dependent on Mg2+ with a maximal stimulation at 60 mM Mg2+. By contrast, KCl and NaCl had a slight inhibitory effect. The Km value for MgATP was 44 and 62 microM in the presence of 1 and 20 mM MgCl2, respectively. The PI kinase was almost fully and reversibly inhibited by free Ca2+ (calmodulin-independent) in the nanomolar and low micromolar range, depending on the concentration of Mg2+. The inhibition was not dependent on Ca2+-stimulated protein phosphorylation, and it could not be explained by a dephosphorylation of PIP.