Cytosolic protein phosphatases of rat ascites hepatoma AH-13 as compared with those of rat liver: isolation and characterization of a novel protein phosphatase.

To investigate the alterations of phosphoseryl/phosphothreonyl-protein phosphatases in neoplastic tissues, the cytosols of rat liver and AH-13, a strain of rat ascites hepatoma, were chromatographed on DEAE-cellulose and the fractions obtained were assayed for protein phosphatase with glycogen synthase D and phosphorylase alpha as phosphoprotein substrates. While the glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities of liver cytosol were largely due to phosphatases IA and II, respectively, as previously reported, these phosphatases were absent or present in only small amounts in AH-13 cytosol, whose glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities were due almost wholly to a novel protein phosphatase that appeared to be absent in liver. This phosphatase, termed phosphatase H, was purified further by aminohexyl-Sepharose-4B and Sephadex G-200 chromatography without altering its glycogen synthase D/phosphorylase alpha activity ratio. Purified phosphatase H required Mg2+ or Mn2+ for activity and had a molecular weight of about 330,000. It displayed a substrate specificity broader than that of either phosphatase IA or II.