Proof of alkaline phosphodiesterase I as a phosphatidylinositol-anchor enzyme.

1. Ectoenzyme release from kidney brush border membranes of Rattus norvegicus and Sus scrofa domesticus by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PIPLC) of Bacillus thuringiensis was studied. 2. The levels of specific activities of ectoenzymes in R. norvegicus kidney brush border membranes were higher than those in S. scrofa domesticus. About 10-fold higher values were found for specific activities of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in R. norvegicus. 3. Alkaline phosphodiesterase I, alkaline phosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase were released from both R. norvegicus and S. scrofa domesticus brush border membranes, while gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and dipeptidyl peptidase IV were not solubilized. The enzyme release by the action of PIPLC was suppressed when purified anti-PIPLC antibody was added to the reaction mixture. This suggests that enzyme release must be due to the direct action of PIPLC on kidney brush border membranes. 4. The released alkaline phosphodiesterase I from kidney of S. scrofa domesticus had a molecular weight of 240,000 and was activated by Mg2+ and Ca2+, but strongly inhibited by EDTA.