Phosphorylation by protein kinase C decreases catalytic activity of avian phospholipase C-β

The potential role of protein kinase C (PKC)-promoted phosphorylation has been examined in the G-protein-regulated inositol lipid signalling pathway. Incubation of [³²P]P_i-labelled turkey erythrocytes with either the P2Y₁ receptor agonist 2-methylthioadenosine triphosphate (2MeSATP) or with PMA resulted in a marked increase in incorporation of ³²P into the G-protein-activated phospholipase C PLC-βT. Purified PLC-βT also was phosphorylated by PKC in vitro to a stoichiometry (mean±S.E.M.) of 1.06±0.2 mol of phosphate/mol of PLC-βT. Phosphorylation by PKC was isoenzyme-specific because, under identical conditions, mammalian PLC-β2 also was phosphorylated to a stoichiometry near unity, whereas mammalian PLC-β1 was not phosphorylated by PKC. The effects of PKC-promoted phosphorylation on enzyme activity were assessed by reconstituting purified PLC-βT with turkey erythrocyte membranes devoid of endogenous PLC activity. Phosphorylation resulted in a decrease in basal activity, AlF₄^--stimulated activity, and activity stimulated by 2MeSATP plus guanosine 5´-[γ-thio]triphosphate in the reconstituted membranes. The decreases in enzyme activities were proportional to the extent of PKC-promoted phosphorylation. Catalytic activity assessed by using mixed detergent/phospholipid micelles also was decreased by up to 60% by phosphorylation. The effect of phosphorylation on G_qα-stimulated PLC-βT in reconstitution experiments with purified proteins was not greater than that observed on basal activity alone. Taken together, these results illustrate that PKC phosphorylates PLC-βT in vivo and to a physiologically relevant stoichiometry in vitro. Phosphorylation is accompanied by a concomitant loss of enzyme activity, reflected as a decrease in overall catalytic activity rather than as a specific modification of G-protein-regulated activity.