ADP-ribosyl cyclase and CD38 catalyze the synthesis of a calcium-mobilizing metabolite from NADP

ADP-ribosyl cyclase catalyzes the cyclization of NAD⁺ to produce cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), which is emerging as an endogenous regulator of the Ca²⁺-induced Ca²⁺ release mechanism in cells. CD38 is a lymphocyte differentiation antigen which has recently been shown to be a bifunctional enzyme that can synthesize cADPR from NAD⁺ as well as hydrolyze cADPR to ADP-ribose. In this study, we Show that both the cyclase and CD38 can also catalyze the exchange of the nicotinamide group of NADP⁺ with nicotinic acid (NA). The product is nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP⁺), a metabolite we have previously shown to be potent in Ca²⁺ mobilization (Lee, H. C., and Aarhus, R. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 2152-2157). The switch of the catalysis to the exchange reaction requires acidic pH and NA. The half-maximal effective concentration of NA is about 5 mM for both the cyclase and CD38. In the absence of NA or at neutral pH, the cyclase converts NADP⁺ to another metabolite, which is identified as cyclic ADP-ribose 2′-phosphate. Under the same conditions, CD38 converts NADP⁺ to ADP-ribose 2′-phosphate instead, which is the hydrolysis product of cyclic ADP-ribose 2′-phosphate. That two different products of ADP-ribosyl cyclase and CD38, cADPR and NAADP⁺, are both involved in Ca²⁺ mobilization suggests a crucial role of these enzymes in Ca²⁺ signaling.