Adenosine diphosphate ribosylation of G proteins by pertussis and cholera toxin in isolated membranes. Different requirements for and effects of guanine nucleotides and Mg2+.

ADP ribosylation of membranes by pertussis toxin (PT) and cholera toxin (CT) was studied as a function of addition of ATP, various guanine nucleotides, Mg2+, and inorganic phosphate (Pi). ADP ribosylation of a 40 kilodalton (kDa) band by PT is markedly enhanced by ATP and GTP and is strongly inhibited by Pi or Mg2+. GTP analogs (GTP gamma S and GMP-adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate) were less effective. In contrast, ADP ribosylation of two substrates for CT (of 42 and 50 kDa) is stimulated by Pi, Mg2+, and GTP or GTP analogs such as GTP gamma S, but is unaffected by ATP. These stimulatory conditions correlate well with GTP-mediated activation of stimulated nucleotide-binding regulatory component of adenyl cyclase. Optimal conditions for ADP ribosylation by PT do not correlate simply with conditions thought to lead to stabilization of an inactive form of inhibitory nucleotide-binding regulatory component of adenyl cyclase (Gi) or Gi-like protein; rather, the data suggest the involvement of both a stimulatory nucleotide site on PT (positively affected by either ATP or GTP) and a stabilizing site on the PT substrate (affected by GDP, GDP beta S, or GTP). Treatment of membranes with Lubrol PX increased ADP ribosylation by PT by as much as 25- to 30-fold, but inhibited the action of CT. Using defined conditions for ADP ribosylation by PT and CT, distinct labeling patterns were observed in thyroid, brain, corpus luteum, liver, heart, and erythrocytes membranes. All membranes were more intensely labeled by PT rather than CT.