Oocyte adenylyl cyclase contains Ni, yet the guanine nucleotide-dependent inhibition by progesterone is not sensitive to pertussis toxin

Membranes were obtained from Xenopus laevis oocytes after removal of follicular cells by collagenase treatment. [32P]ADP-ribosylation with pertussis toxin showed them to contain a single Mr = 40 000 substrate for this toxin that co-migrates on sodium dodecylsufate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with pure human erythrocyte Ni, the inhibitory regulatory component of adenylyl cyclase. [32P]ADP-ribosylation of oocyte membranes with cholera toxin also showed presence of a single substrate but of Mr = 42 000. These results indicate, that the adenylyl cyclase system of oocytes, like that of somatic cells and unlike that of spermatozoids, contains the catalytic unit C and both of the known regulatory N components. The possible susceptibility to pertussis toxin of the guanine nucleotide-dependent inhibition of oocyte adenylyl cyclase by progesterone was investigated. This action of progesterone is mediated by a membrane bound receptor as opposed to a receptor of cytosolic or nuclear locali