Soluble CD14 participates in the response of cells to lipopolysaccharide.

CD14 is a 55-kD protein found both as a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol-linked protein on the surface of mononuclear phagocytes and as a soluble protein in the blood. CD14 on the cell membrane (mCD14) has been shown to serve as a receptor for complexes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with LPS binding protein, but a function for soluble CD14 (sCD14) has not been described. Here we show that sCD14 enables responses to LPS by cells that do not express CD14. We have examined induction of endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 expression by human umbilical vein endothelial cells, interleukin 6 secretion by U373 astrocytoma cells, and cytotoxicity of bovine endothelial cells. None of these cell types express mCD14, yet all respond to LPS in a serum-dependent fashion, and all responses are completely blocked by anti-CD14 antibodies. Immunodepletion of sCD14 from serum prevents responses to LPS, and the responses are restored by addition of sCD14. These studies suggest that a surface anchor is not needed for the function of CD14 and further imply that sCD14 must bind to additional proteins on the cell surface to associate with the cell and transduce a signal. They also indicate that sCD14 may have an important role in potentiating responses to LPS in cells lacking mCD14.

Enteropathogenic E. coli translocated intimin receptor, Tir, interacts directly with alpha-actinin.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) triggers a dramatic rearrangement of the host epithelial cell actin cytoskeleton to form an attaching and effacing lesion, or pedestal. The pathogen remains attached extracellularly to the host cell through the pedestal for the duration of the infection. At the tip of the pedestal is a bacterial protein, Tir, which is secreted from the bacterium into the host cell plasma membrane, where it functions as the receptor for an EPEC outer membrane protein, intimin [1]. Delivery of Tir to the host cell results in its tyrosine phosphorylation, followed by Tir-intimin binding. Tir is believed to anchor EPEC firmly to the host cell, although its direct linkage to the cytoskeleton is unknown. Here, we show that Tir directly binds the cytoskeletal protein alpha-actinin. alpha-Actinin is recruited to the pedestal in a Tir-dependent manner and colocalizes with Tir in infected host cells. Binding is mediated through the amino terminus of Tir. Recruitment of alpha-actinin occurs independently of Tir tyrosine phosphorylation. Recruitment of actin, VASP, and N-WASP, however, is abolished in the absence of this tyrosine phosphorylation. These results suggest that Tir plays at least three roles in the host cell during infection: binding intimin on EPEC; mediating a stable anchor with alpha-actinin through its amino terminus in a phosphotyrosine-independent manner; and recruiting additional cytoskeletal proteins at the carboxyl terminus in a phosphotyrosine-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate the first known direct linkage between extracellular EPEC, through the transmembrane protein Tir, to the host cell actin cytoskeleton via alpha-actinin.

Site of pertussis toxin-induced ADP-ribosylation on Gi is critical for receptor modulation of GDP interaction with Gi.

In this study, the influence of the inhibitory mu-opioid receptor on the potencies of 5'-guanosine alpha-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S) and GDP at the inhibitory GTP-binding protein (Gi) were investigated in an adenylyl cyclase system. It was hoped that a receptor-mediated change in the potency of either GTP gamma S or GDP in affecting adenylyl cyclase activity may elucidate how a receptor alters cyclase activity via its G-protein. In an adenylyl cyclase system employing 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate as substrate, GTP gamma S, a nonhydrolyzable analog of GTP, inhibited forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in the absence of morphine; morphine failed to significantly affect the apparent potency of GTP gamma S. GDP blocked the GTP gamma S-induced inhibition of adenylyl cyclase; morphine profoundly diminished the ability of GDP to block the inhibitory effect of GTP gamma S. The IC50 values of GTP gamma S were 0.02 +/- 0.01, 0.18 +/- 0.04, and 2.2 +/- 0.5 microM in the absence of other drugs, in the presence of a combination of 100 microM GDP and morphine, and in the presence of 100 microM GDP, respectively. GDP blocked the inhibitory effect of GTP gamma S (0.3 microM) in a concentration-dependent manner; the EC50 for GDP was 16 +/- 2.6 microM in the absence of morphine and 170 +/- 32 microM in the presence of morphine. Exposure of 7315c cells to pertussis toxin for 3 h resulted in a small decrease in the potency of GTP gamma S in inhibiting cyclase. However, the relative potency of GDP in blocking the GTP gamma S-mediated inhibition of cyclase was increased: the EC50 values of GDP were 11 +/- 4 and 0.81 +/- 0.2 microM in untreated and pertussis toxin-treated membranes, respectively. In untreated membranes, there was a brief lag in the GTP gamma S-induced inhibition of adenylyl cyclase; morphine diminished this lag. In membranes treated with pertussis toxin, there was an exaggerated lag in the onset of GTP gamma S inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity; morphine could no longer affect this lag. Thus, uncoupling the mu-opioid receptor from Gi appeared to increase the affinity of Gi for GDP. These data suggest that the effect of an inhibitory receptor is to decrease the affinity of Gi for GDP by virtue of its interaction with the carboxy-terminal region of Gi alpha.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A mu-opiate receptor in 7315c tumor tissue mediates inhibition of immunoreactive prolactin release and adenylate cyclase activity.

Cells of the 7315c tumor released immunoreactive PRL (IR-PRL). Cholera toxin enhanced this release. Morphine and other opiate agonists inhibited IR-PRL release from both untreated and cholera toxin-treated tumor cells. The opiate-induced inhibition of IR-PRL release was concentration dependent and naloxone sensitive. Cholera toxin also enhanced the adenylate cyclase activity of 7315c tumor tissue. Opiates inhibited enzyme activity in both untreated and cholera toxin-treated 7315c tissue in a concentration-dependent and naloxone-sensitive manner. FK 33824 was more potent than [D-Ala2,D-Leu5]enkephalin in inhibiting IR-PRL release and adenylate cyclase activity. In cholera toxin-treated 7315c tumor tissue, GTP was required for opiate-induced inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity. Nonhydrolyzable analogs of GTP inhibited toxin-stimulated cyclase activity in the absence of an opiate. These results suggest that the 7315c tumor possesses a mu-opiate receptor; stimulation of this receptor inhibits both IR-PRL release and adenylate cyclase activity. An inhibitory guanyl nucleotide component may link the mu-opiate receptor to adenylate cyclase.

[3H]spiroperidol identifies a D-2 dopamine receptor inhibiting adenylate cyclase activity in the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland.

[3H]Spiroperidol ([3H]SPIRO) binds with high affinity (Kd = 0.3 nM) to cell-free homogenates of the neurointermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland. The neurointermediate lobe contains 19.2 fmol of specific binding sites, 86% of which occur in the intermediate lobe (IL). Compounds active upon the D-2 dopamine receptor in the IL compete with [3H]SPIRO for occupancy of the specific binding site. Guanosine 5'-triphosphate decreases the affinity of agonists, but not antagonists, for the specific binding site. For each drug tested, methods derived from competitive enzyme kinetics were used to calculate the apparent affinity constants of the drug for the binding site and for the receptor regulating adenylate cyclase activity. The pharmacological properties of the specific [3H]SPIRO binding site were compared to the pharmacological properties of the D-2 dopamine receptor inhibiting adenylate cyclase activity in the IL. The similarity between the affinities determined from the binding and enzyme assays suggests that some or all of the specific [3H]SPIRO binding sites in the IL are D-2 dopamine receptors inhibiting adenylate cyclase activity.

Bromocriptine-induced changes in the biochemistry, physiology, and histology of the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland.

Treatment of rats with 2-Br-alpha-ergocryptine (bromocriptine; CB 154) elicits biochemical, physiological, and histological changes in the intermediate lobe (IL) of the rat pituitary gland, suggesting a decrease in activity in the IL. CB 154 treatment decreases 1) the capacity of the IL to synthesize proopiomelanocortin (POMC), 2) the content of mRNA directing the synthesis of POMC, and 3) the capacity of the IL to synthesize the peptides desacetyl alpha MSH, N,O-diacetyl alpha MSH, and alpha MSH. CB 154 treatment also causes a 40% loss of IL protein and an atrophy of the IL. CB 154 treatment has a biphasic effect upon the IL content of alpha MSH-like peptides; the drug first increases and then diminishes the content of these molecules. Control experiments using CB 154-treated IL tissue suggest that these effects of CB 154 are not a toxic effect of CB 154 on the IL. Spiroperidol reverses the effects of CB 154 on POMC synthesis and POMC mRNA content; by itself, spiroperidol increases the IL synthesis of POMC, the IL content of POMC mRNA, and the capacity of the IL to synthesize immunoreactive alpha MSH. Stalk section of rat pituitary gland also results in an increase in the capacity of the IL to synthesize POMC. These results suggest that a D-2 dopamine receptor mediates a tonic inhibition of the function of the IL.

Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-mediated enhancement of calcium-evoked prolactin release from electrically permeabilised 7315c tumour cells.

1. The 7315c tumour cell was used as a model system for the investigation of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP)-mediated enhancement of calcium-evoked prolactin release. 2. 7315c cells were permeabilised by subjecting the cells to intense electric fields. Studies investigating the penetration of the dye ethidium bromide indicated that the cells were completely permeabilised after 2 discharges of 2000 volts and that the pores remained open for at least 30 min before beginning to reseal. These permeabilisation parameters were consistent with those which gave maximal calcium-stimulated prolactin release. 3. In the absence of calcium and in the presence of EGTA (1 mM), permeabilised 7315c cells secreted prolactin at a rate of 0.23 ng min-1 per 10(6) cells. When EGTA was replaced by 1.5 mM calcium, permeabilised cells secreted prolactin at a rate of 2.20 +/- 0.30 ng min-1 per 10(6) cells in the first 5 min of exposure. Maximal calcium-dependent prolactin secretion from permeabilised cells occurred at 37 degrees C. 4. The amount of prolactin secreted, in a 5 min incubation at 37 degrees C, from permeabilised cells depended upon the free calcium concentration in the permeabilisation medium. Calcium stimulated prolactin release from permeabilised cells in the concentration range 0.1-10 microM (half maximal = 5.8 microM). When permeabilised cells were exposed to cyclic AMP (100 microM) for 5 min prior to and during a 5 min challenge with various concentrations of calcium, the amount of prolactin secreted at each effective concentration of calcium was increased. However, cyclic AMP did not alter the potency of calcium as a stimulant of prolactin secretion. 5. The results suggest that cyclic AMP potentiates calcium-evoked secretion from 7315c cells, not by increasing the entry of calcium into the cytosol, but at a step in the secretory process, distal to calcium entry, which modulates the ability of an increase in cytosolic calcium concentration to stimulate prolactin release.

The mu-opioid receptor in the 7315c tumor cell.

Experiments were carried out to show that the 7315c tumor cell possesses mu-, but apparently not delta- or kappa-opioid receptors. The binding data for [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Me-Phe-Gly-ol ([3H]DAGO) indicate the presence of one class of high affinity site (Kd = 1.5 +/- 0.3 nM, Bmax = 50 fmol/mg). An irreversible alkylating agent, 2-(p-ethoxybenzyl) 1-diethylaminoethyl-5-isothiocyanobenzimidazole isothiocyanate (BIT), with selectivity for mu- over delta-opioid receptors, completely blocked [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-Met-NH2 ([3H]DALAMID) binding to 7315c cell membranes. Another irreversible alkylating agent, fentanyl isothiocyanate (FIT) with selectivity for delta- over mu-opioid receptors, had no effect on [3H]DALAMID binding. Since [3H]DALAMID binds equally well to mu- and delta-opioid receptors, these results indicate the presence of mu- but not delta-opioid receptors on 7315c cells. The Ki of U50488, a kappa selective ligand, for [3H]ethylketocyclazocine ([3H]EKC) binding sites was 400 +/- 100 nM, suggesting the absence of kappa-opioid receptors on the 7315c tumor cell. These results are consistent with the presence of mu-opioid receptors in 7315c tumor cells.

Characterization of the leukotriene D4 receptor in dimethylsulphoxide-differentiated U937 cells: comparison with the leukotriene D4 receptor in human lung and guinea-pig lung.

The leukotriene D4 receptor has been fully characterized by radioligand binding in membrane preparations from dimethyl sulphoxide-differentiated U937 cells, a human monocyte leukemia cell line, and, in parallel experiments, compared with leukotriene D4 receptor found in human lung and guinea-pig lung preparations. [3H]Leukotriene D4 specific binding in differentiated U937 cell membranes is of high affinity (KD = 0.35 nM), saturable (Bmax = 287 fmol/mg protein), with differentiation resulting in a 3-5-fold increase in the number of detectable binding sites. [3H]Leukotriene D4-specific binding in differentiated U937 cell membranes displays several features of G-protein-coupled receptors, being inhibited by GTP analogues and sodium ions, but increased by divalent cations. These characteristics are shared with [3H]leukotriene D4-specific binding in human and guinea-pig lung preparations. However, differences between these leukotriene D4 receptor types were observed. [3H]Leukotriene D4 equilibrium binding to differentiated U937 cell membranes could be dissociated to non-specific binding levels by 1000-fold excess of competing ligand, whereas binding to guinea-pig lung membranes was only partially dissociated under these conditions. In addition, differences in potency were demonstrated in competition studies with leukotriene E4 and leukotriene C4, although leukotriene D4 and the leukotriene D4-receptor antagonists MK-571 and ICI 204,219 were equipotent in competing for [3H]leukotriene D4-specific binding in all three membranes preparations. In conclusion, the leukotriene D4 receptor in differentiated U937 cell membranes resembles that in human lung, validating the use of this cell line as a suitable source of receptor in the development of potent specific antagonists.

Reconstitution of the solubilized mu-opioid receptor coupled to a GTP-binding protein.

A mu-opioid receptor-GTP binding protein (mu-opioid receptor-G-protein) complex from the 7315c cell was solubilized with CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate) and reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. Pretreatment of the tissue with either [3H]etorphine or morphine greatly improved recovery of the receptor and maintained it in a GTP-sensitive state. GTP sensitivity was consistent with the hypothesis that a receptor-G-protein complex had been obtained. Other evidence consistent with this hypothesis was that recovery of the solubilized, prelabelled receptor was decreased by approximately 70% by pretreatment of 7315c cells with pertussis toxin. The reconstituted receptor was mu-selective: DAGO (Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Met-Phe- NH(CH2)2OH), but not ICI 174864 or U50488-H, displaced [3H]etorphine binding with high affinity. The affinity of the reconstituted receptor for [3H]etorphine (1.25 +/- 0.20 nM) was similar to that observed for the membrane-associated receptor (0.53 +/- 0.25 nM). GTP gamma S decreased this affinity 3-fold without changing the number of binding sites. The potencies of GTP gamma S and GTP in diminishing [3H]etorphine binding were similar in the membrane and vesicle preparations, but were 10-fold lower than the potencies observed in diminishing binding to the solubilized receptor. The ability to reconstitute a functional mu-opioid receptor-G-protein complex will facilitate further study of the structure and function of the receptor and the specific identification of the associated GTP-binding protein(s).

Characterization of the leukotriene D4 receptor in hyperreactive rat lung.

A [3H]leukotriene D4 radioreceptor binding assay has been established in rat lung and has been used to fully characterize the leukotriene D4 receptor in lung membranes from an inbred strain of rats displaying non-specific bronchial hyperreactivity. [3H]leukotriene D4 specific binding in this tissue is of high affinity (KD 0.12 nM), saturable (Bmax 42 fmol/mg protein), inhibited by both guanine nucleotide analogues and sodium ions and increased by divalent cations. In addition, Ki values show that agonists, but not antagonists, compete for [3H]leukotriene D4 binding in rat lung with the same potency as they compete for [3H]leukotriene D4 binding in guinea-pig lung, the classical tissue for leukotriene D4 receptor studies. Finally, [3H]leukotriene D4 binding in hyperreactive rat lung has been compared with [3H]leukotriene D4 binding in lung tissue from Fischer rats, which are a less responsive strain.

Evidence that the D-2 dopamine receptor in the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland is associated with an inhibitory guanyl nucleotide component.

Stimulation of the D-2 dopamine receptor in the intermediate lobe (IL) of the rat pituitary gland diminishes both basal and isoproterenol-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Cholera toxin increases IL adenylate cyclase activity and reduces the ability of beta-adrenergic agonists to further enhance enzyme activity but does not alter the functioning of the D-2 dopamine receptor. Indeed, cholera toxin-treated IL tissue provides a useful experimental system to investigate the involvement of guanyl nucleotides in the functioning of the IL D-2 dopamine receptor. GTP is obligatory for dopaminergic agonists to inhibit adenylate cyclase activity of cholera toxin-treated IL tissue. Furthermore, 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate (Gpp[NH]p), a nonhydrolyzable analog of GTP, inhibits adenylate cyclase activity in the absence of a dopaminergic agonist. GTP reverses the Gpp(NH)p-induced inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity; apomorphine, a dopaminergic agonist, abolishes this effect of GTP. It is hypothesized that the D-2 dopamine receptor in the IL interacts with an inhibitory guanyl nucleotide component (Ni); stimulation of the D-2 dopamine receptor alters the properties of Ni so that Ni can interact with GTP and inhibit adenylate cyclase activity.

A comparison of cyclic guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate and muscarinic excitatory responses in the superior cervical ganglion of the rat.

The relationship between the magnitude of atropine-sensitive afterdischarge (AD), which is generated from slow excitatory postsynaptic potentials and the ganglionic cyclic guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cGMP) concentration was investigated in the rat superior cervical ganglion in vitro. Parallel increases in the magnitude of atropine-sensitive AD and cGMP concentration occurred with increasing frequency of preganglionic nerve stimulation up to 40 Hz for 10 sec. However, AD was completely antagonized by atropine, 0.1 to 1 microM, whereas the cGMP response was not significantly affected by up to 25 microM atropine. Although bethanechol, 0.5 mM, causes an asynchronous firing which can be recorded from the postganglionic nerve, bethanechol had no effect on the ganglionic cGMP concentration even in ganglia preincubated with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, 1 mM. The methylxanthine did increase the resting cGMP concentration and the concentration of cGMP immediately after stimulation of the preganglionic nerve. It is concluded that muscarinic AD and the slow excitatory postsynaptic potentials of rat sympathetic ganglia are not generated by a mechanism involving an increase in ganglionic cGMP.

Lipopolysaccharide induces apoptosis in a bovine endothelial cell line via a soluble CD14 dependent pathway.

We investigated the mode of bovine endothelial cell death induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Inter-nucleosomal DNA fragmentation was observed indicating apoptotic cell death. Apoptosis was confirmed by examining cell morphology using confocal laser scanning and transmission electron microscopy, which revealed characteristic nuclear condensation in LPS-treated endothelial cells. Apoptosis was blocked by a monoclonal antibody against CD14, suggesting that LPS triggers apoptosis via a soluble CD14 (sCD14) dependent mechanism.

Angiotensin II receptor recognized by DuP753 regulates two distinct guanine nucleotide-binding protein signaling pathways.

The 7315c cell, derived from a rat anterior pituitary tumor, expresses an angiotensin II (AII) receptor. [3H]AII binds to 7315c membranes specifically and saturably (Kd = 2.1 +/- 0.6 x 10(-6) M, Bmax = 282 +/- 33 fmol/mg of protein). GTP diminished the affinity of the membranes for [3H]AII (Kd = 4.1 +/- 0.4 x 10(-9) M, Bmax = 210 +/- 26 fmol/mg of protein). [3H]AII binding was displaced by AII (Ki = 1.3 +/- 0.6 x 10(-9) M), angiotensin III (AIII) (Ki = 0.9 +/- 0.4 x 10(-9) M), and the nonpeptide AII antagonist DuP753 (Ki = 1.4 +/- 0.6 x 10(-8) M). In contrast, a second nonpeptide AII ligand, PD123177, did not compete for [3H]AII binding sites. In intact cells, AII and AIII stimulated inositol trisphosphate (IP3) production (EC50 = 1.1 +/- 0.6 x 10(-8) M and 1.1 +/- 0.5 x 10(-8) M, respectively); this response to AII was antagonized by DuP753 (Ki = 1.7 +/- 0.3 x 10(-7) M). Pertussis toxin treatment failed to affect the ability of AII to stimulate IP3 production. In a crude membrane preparation, GTP was required for maximal AII-induced IP3 stimulation; guanosine thio-diphosphate abolished the agonist-GTP stimulation of IP3 production, in a concentration-dependent fashion. AII and AIII also inhibited adenylyl cyclase (EC50 = 2.9 +/- 1.1 x 10(-8) M and 6.0 +/- 1.0 x 10(-8) M, respectively). DuP753 antagonized the inhibition by AII of adenylyl cyclase (Ki = 2.8 +/- 0.4 x 10(-8) M). PD123177 failed to antagonize AII-induced cyclase inhibition. Pertussis toxin treatment abolished the AII and AIII inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. GTP was required for AII-induced inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. These data suggest that, in 7315c cells, a single subtype of AII receptor, identified by DuP753, is capable of regulating two different guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein) signalling pathways; one G protein, which is insensitive to pertussis toxin, stimulates IP3 production and the other G protein, which is sensitive to pertussis toxin, inhibits adenylyl cyclase.

Altered activity of the inhibitory guanyl nucleotide-binding component (Ni) induced by pertussis toxin. Uncoupling of Ni from receptor with continued coupling of Ni to the catalytic unit.

The D-2 dopamine receptor mediates inhibition of adenylate cyclase in rat intermediate lobe; this receptor is linked to cyclase by the inhibitory guanyl nucleotide-binding protein (Ni). The functioning of components in the inhibitory system was compared in control and pertussis toxin-treated tissues. (-)-N-n-Propylnorapomorphine ((-)-NPA), a dopamine agonist, and 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p), a nonhydrolyzable GTP analog, caused a dose-dependent inhibition of adenylate cyclase in control tissue. Pertussis toxin abolished dopamine receptor-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase but did not alter Gpp(NH)p-induced inhibition of cyclase. In control tissue, GTP blocked Gpp(NH)p inhibition of cyclase in the absence, but not in the presence of (-)-NPA. Following pertussis toxin treatment, GTP blocked the inhibitory effect of Gpp(NH)p either in the absence or in the presence of (-)-NPA. Pertussis toxin did not alter the number of dopamine receptors or the affinity of the receptor for [3H]spiroperidol, a dopamine antagonist. However, pertussis toxin decreased the potency of (-)-NPA in the binding assay and abolished the ability of GTP to affect agonist binding. Furthermore, pertussis toxin abolished the dopamine receptor-mediated inhibition of immunoreactive alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone release, and induced the ADP-ribosylation of the Mr = 41,000 subunit of Ni.

Forskolin enhances calcium-evoked prolactin release from 7315c tumor cells without increasing the cytosolic calcium concentration.

The 7315c prolactin-secreting tumor cell was used as a model of a normal pituitary cell in order to study the enhancement by adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) of calcium-evoked hormone release. Forskolin and, by implication, cAMP had little effect on basal hormone release during a 10-min incubation period. Ionomycin and a high potassium concentration, treatments which enhanced the cytosolic calcium concentration, increased hormone release. When cells were exposed to forskolin prior to and during a challenge with either ionomycin or high potassium, a synergistic effect on prolactin release was observed. 8-Bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate mimicked forskolin in enhancing ionomycin-evoked prolactin release while having little effect of its own on hormone release. Forskolin did not alter the increase in cytosolic calcium concentration elicited by either ionomycin or high potassium, nor did it increase the potency of ionomycin in enhancing prolactin release. The calcium channel antagonist, D-600, did not alter ionomycin-induced release or its enhancement by forskolin; D-600 blocked potassium-induced prolactin release. Ionomycin had no effect on basal cAMP synthesis by tumor cells and inhibited slightly the forskolin-induced increase in nucleotide synthesis. The results suggest that cAMP acts, at a site distal to the entry of calcium into the cytosol, to enhance the amount of prolactin released in response to an increase in the cytosolic calcium concentration.

Coupling of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor to phospholipase C by a GTP-binding protein distinct from the inhibitory or stimulatory GTP-binding protein.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulated a rapid rise in inositol trisphosphate (IP3) formation and prolactin release from 7315c tumor cells. The potencies (half-maximal) of TRH in stimulating IP3 formation and prolactin release were 100 +/- 30 and 140 +/- 30 mM, respectively. Pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (for up to 24 h) had no effect on either process. Pretreatment of the cells with cholera toxin (30 nM for 24 h) also failed to affect basal or TRH-stimulated IP3 formation. TRH was also able to stimulate IP3 formation with a half-maximal potency of 118 +/- 10 nM in a lysed cell preparation of 7315c cells; the TRH-stimulated formation of IP3 was enhanced by GTP. 5'-Guanosine gamma-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S) and 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p), nonhydrolyzable analogs of GTP, stimulated IP3 formation in the absence of TRH with half-maximal potencies of 162 +/- 50 and 7500 +/- 4300 nM, respectively. In contrast to the lack of effect of pertussis toxin on the TRH receptor system, treatment of 7315c cells with pertussis toxin for 3 h or longer completely abolished the ability of morphine, an opiate agonist, to inhibit either adenylate cyclase activity or prolactin release. During this 3-h treatment, pertussis toxin was estimated to induce the endogenous ADP ribosylation of more than 70% of Ni, the inhibitory GTP-binding protein. GTP gamma S and Gpp(NH)p inhibited cholera toxin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity (presumably by acting at Ni) with half-maximal potencies of 25 +/- 9 and 240 +/- 87 nM, respectively. Finally, Gpp(NH)p was also able to inhibit the [32P]ADP ribosylation of Ni with a half-maximal potency of 300 nM. These results suggest that a novel GTP-binding protein, distinct from Ni, couples the TRH receptor to the formation of IP3.

Haemophilus influenzae lipopolysaccharide disrupts confluent monolayers of bovine brain endothelial cells via a serum-dependent cytotoxic pathway.

An in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) model consisting of primary cultures of bovine brain microvascular endothelial cells was used to examine the effect of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) on the BBB. Whole bacteria and purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS; greater than 10 ng/ml) caused marked cytotoxicity on the bovine brain endothelial cells. This effect could be completely blocked by polymyxin B. Similar cytotoxic effects were observed with a cultured bovine pulmonary endothelial cell line. Serum was essential for the LPS-mediated cytotoxic effect, and human, horse, bovine, or fetal calf serum all had similar effects. The serum factor was not a complement component. A monoclonal antibody against CD14, a receptor involved in mediating the effect of LPS in monocytes, completely blocked the cytotoxic effect in both brain and pulmonary endothelial cells. These results suggest that Hib LPS disrupts an in vitro BBB model via a serum- and CD14-dependent pathway and that LPS has cytotoxic effects on bovine endothelial cells without the involvement of monocytic cells, an effect that may be important in gram-negative meningitis and in endotoxic shock.