The properties of phosphatidylinositol kinase and diphosphoinositide kinase from rat kidney cortex were studied. The enzymes were completely Mg2+-dependent. Cutscum detergent activated phosphatidylinositol kinase, but diphosphoinositide kinase was inhibited by all detergents tested. The pH optima were 7.7 for phosphatidylinositol kinase and 6.5 for diphosphoinositide kinase. On subcellular fractionation of kidney-cortex homogenates by differential centriflgation, the distribution of phosphatidylinositol kinase resembled that of the marker enzymes for brush-border, endoplasmic-reticulum and Golgi membranes. Diphosphoinositide kinase distribution resembled that of thiamin pyrophosphatase (assayed in the absence of ATP), diphosphoinositide phosphatase and triphosphoinositide phosphatase. Activities of both kinases were low in purified brush-border fragments. Diphosphoinositide kinase is probably localized in the Golgi complex.
