Basal and stimulated levels of inositol phosphates were determined in the protozoan Paramecium labelled with myo-[3H]inositol. Under resting conditions, intracellular InsP6 (phytic acid), InsP5 and InsP4 concentrations were 140, 10 and 2 microM, respectively. InsP5 was comprised of 56% Ins(1,2,3,4,5)P5 and/or Ins(1,2,3,5,6)P5, 40% Ins(1,2,4,5,6)P5 and/or Ins(2,3,4,5,6)P5 and small amounts of Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 and Ins(1,2,3,4,6)P5. InsP4 was mainly Ins(1, 4, 5, 6)P4 and/or Ins(3, 4, 5, 6)P4. Other inositol phosphates were not detected at a detection limit of 50-85 nM. Using various depolarizing and hyperpolarizing stimuli, no significant changes in level of inositol phosphates were observed in vivo, indicating that in the ciliate a contribution of inositol phosphates to signal-transduction mechanisms is unlikely. In homogenates prepared from myo-[3H]inositol-labelled cells, a marked relative increase in InsP3 and InsP4 over the concentrations in vivo was observed. These inositol phosphates were identified as degradation products of endogenous InsP6. A novel separation methodology for inositol phosphates was established to allow unequivocal assignment of phosphate locations of all dephosphorylated InsP6-derived products. The dephosphorylation was catalyzed by a phytase-like enzyme with a molecular mass of 240 kDa, most likely of a hexameric structure. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 7.0 and did not require divalent cations for activity. Substrate concentrations above 300 microM were inhibitory. Dephosphorylation of InsP6 by the Paramecium enzyme differs from that of phytases from plants in that it proceeds via a sequential release of phosphate groups from positions 6, 5, 4 and 3 of the myo-inositol ring or/and positions 4, 5, 6 and 1.
