Detection of NAD: arginine ADPribosyltransferases in animal tissues using ¹²⁵I-labeled 1-(p-hydroxyphenyl) 2-guanidinoethane as ADPribose acceptor

¹²⁵I-labeled 1-(p-hydroxyphenyl) 2-guanidinoethane (N-guanyltyramine), previously used to assay for the bacterial toxin choleragen (Mekalanos, J.J., Collier, R.J. And Romig, W.R. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 5894-5854) was utilized to identify NAD: arginine ADPribosyltransferases in animal tissues. The use of this radiolabelled ADPribose acceptor, rather than radiolabelled NAD, would bypass the problem posed by the almost ubiquitous presence of enzymes that degrade NAD. With a homogeneous ADPribosyltransferase from turkey erythrocytes, NAD and ¹²⁵I-labelled guanyltyramine as ADPribose acceptor, formation of ADPribosyl ¹²⁵-I-guanyltyramine was linear with time and enzyme concentration. The product was distinguishable on both thin-layer and high-performance liquid chromatography from that formed by cholerangen. Using ¹²⁵I-guanyltyramine, ADPribosyltransferase acitivity was also demonstrated in crude turkey erythrocyte cytosolic and membrane fractions. When rat liver was fractioned, apparent activity was detected primarily in the microsomes. The NAD-dependent product of the microsomal reaction was, however, distinguished from the turkey erythrocyte transferase by thin-layer and DEAE-Sephadex chromatography; this product had a retention time identical to that of free ¹²⁵I on high-performance liquid chromatography. In addition to NAD, the microsomal deiodinase activity was supported by NADH, NADP and NADPH. Phenyl boronate selectively bound ADPribosyl ¹²⁵I-guanyltyramine and other metabolites of ¹²⁵I-guanyltyramine which were formed by microsomes in a NAD-dependent process. These metabolites were distinguished from ADPribosyl ¹²⁵I-guanyltyramine by high-performance liquid chromatography. These results indicate that in some cases, for example, turkey erythrocyte cytosolic and membrane fractions, ¹²⁵I-guanyltyramine can be used to quantify ADPribosyltransferases in crude mixtures, whereas in others, for example, rat liver microsomes, high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis must be used to identify products.