Protein kinase activity in membrane preparations from ox brain. Stimulation of intrinsic activity by adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate.

1. Properties of the stimulation by cyclic AMP of the intrinsic protein kinase activity of membrane fragments from ox brain were studied. 2. Stimulation of activity declined from about 100% at 1min to less than 20% at 10min. The time-course was explained by the observation that cyclic AMP did not stimulate turnover of protein-bound serine phosphate once the membrane protein was fully phosphorylated. 3. Cyclic AMP accelerated the activity of a component of the basal activity rather than activating a different kinase. 4. The pH optimum for both the stimulated and basal activities was 7.2-7.4. NaCl (100mm) and KCl (10-100mm) inhibited the stimulated activity but did not affect the basal activity. 5. Strychnine and theophylline inhibited both activites equally, but the stimulated activity was more sensitive to inhibition by adenosine, bicuculline, vinblastin, veratrine, N-ethylmaleimide and cysteine. 6. No firm evidence for a role for endogenous cyclic AMP in the basal activity was found, but the possibility was not excluded. 7. Some 90% of both the stimulated and basal activities remained in an insoluble form after treatment of the membrane fragments with Triton X-100 (0.5%).