Effect of liver plasma membranes on G-actin. I. Possible implication of membrane NPases in inactivation of G-actin

G-actin incubated in the presence of a liver fraction enriched in plasma membranes is rapidly inactivated, as indicated by the biphasic loss of polymerizability and DNase inhibition. The rates of inactivation as measured by viscosity are greatly influenced by temperature, but almost independent of membrane concentrations at least in the low range of concentrations tested (< 250 μg protein/mL). The loss of DNase inhibition capacity proceeds at rates two to three times slower than the loss of polimerizability. The inactivation of actin in the presence of membranes cannot be attributed to proteolysis nor to a phosphorylation of actin by membranes. However, it is shown that in the course of the incubation, medium ATP is rapidly converted into AMP and adenosine and that the destruction of ATP is almost complete at the start of the inactivation process. A mechanism is presented relating the destruction of ATP to actin inactivation.