Interactions of lanthanum with purified and intact cell acetylcholinesterase of Electrophorus electricus.

The effects of lanthanum on the activity of purified preparations of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from the electric organ of E. electricus and on the activity of AChE in intact electroplaques from the same species were studied. 0.1 mM LaCl3 produced an initial inhibition of purified AChE which was followed by a delayed activation of the enzyme. Upon pretreatment of purified enzyme with LaCl3, initial activity was markedly increased. LaCl3 exerted a marked, concentration-dependent inhibition of intact cell AChE. La3+ and Ca2+ appear to interact competitively. In the presence of both 10 mM CaCl2 and 0.1 mM LaCl3, the initial activitity of purified AChE was increased at lower ACh concentrations and inhibited at ACh concentrations greater than 3 X 10(-4) M. Inhibition of intact cell enzyme by 0.1 mM LaCl3 was relieved by increasing the CaCl2 concentration to 10 mM at ACh concentrations less than 2 X 10(-4) M. The data were analyzed assuming Michaelis-Menten kinetics and interpreted with reference to the differential binding of divalent and trivalent cations to regulatory anionic sites which are separate and distinct from the anionic site of the active center of the enzyme.