Identification of a Gamma Subunit Associated with the Adenylyl Cyclase Regulatory Proteins Ns and Ni

The subunit composition of the Ns and Ni, the human erythrocyte stimulatory and inhibitory regulatory proteins of adenylyl cyclase, respectively, were analyzed by a sodium dodecyl sulfate-containing discontinuous urea and polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis system designed for the study of low molecular weight polypeptides. This system disclosed that these proteins, in addition to their known alpha and beta subunits, contain an additional small peptide of apparent molecular weight of 5,000 (5K). This "5K peptide" is also present in preparations of another protein which we termed "40K protein" on the basis of its hydrodynamic behavior and whose primary protein constituent is the Mr 35,000 beta subunit of the above regulatory proteins. Analyzing Ni, the 5K peptide was functionally related to the protein by showing that its apparent Stokes radius changes from 5.9 to 5.1 nm after treatment with guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate and magnesium in parallel with the alpha and beta subunits. These data are interpreted as evidence for the existence of a third subunit associated with the regulatory proteins of adenylyl cyclase. We call this subunit gamma and propose a minimum subunit structure for these proteins of the alpha beta gamma type.