Coupling of beta2-adrenoceptors to XLalphas and Galphas: a new insight into ligand-induced G protein activation.

Galpha(s) and extra-large Galpha(s) (XLalpha(s)) can both transduce receptor activation into intracellular cAMP generation. It is unknown, however, whether these two GNAS-locus products display distinct properties with respect to receptor coupling. Here, we show that XLalpha(s) couples to the beta2-adrenoceptor more efficiently than Galpha(s). In transfected human embryonic kidney 293 cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts null for both Galpha(s) and XLalpha(s) (2B2 cells), basal cAMP accumulation mediated by XLalpha(s) was higher than that mediated by Galpha(s). Inverse agonist treatment reduced Galpha(s)-mediated basal activity, whereas its effect was markedly blunted on XLalpha(s)-mediated basal activity. Rank order of ligand efficacies regarding cAMP accumulation was the same when the receptor was coupled to XLalpha(s) or Galpha(s). However, ligand-induced and XLalpha(s)-mediated cAMP generation was higher than that mediated by Galpha(s). The relatively high efficiency of XLalpha(s)-mediated cAMP generation was conditional, disappearing with increased level of receptor expression or increased efficacy of ligand. Full-agonist responses in XLalpha(s)- and Galpha(s)-expressing cells were comparable even at low receptor levels, whereas partial agonist responses became comparable only when the receptor expression was increased (>3 pmol/mg). Radioligand binding studies showed that the high-affinity component in agonist binding to beta2-adrenoceptor was more pronounced in cells expressing XLalpha(s) than those expressing Galpha(s). We discuss these findings in the framework of current receptor-G protein activation models and offer an extended ternary complex model that can fully explain our observations.

Ca2+-induced inhibition of adenylyl cyclase in turkey erythrocyte membranes.

We investigated the effects of calcium ions (Ca2+) on the adenylyl cyclase activity in purified turkey erythrocyte membranes. Results showed the following: (i) Ca2+ inhibits cAMP accumulation stimulated by isoproterenol (1 micromol/l), NaF + AlCl3 (10 mmol/l + 20 micromol/l) or forskolin (10 micromol/l) in EGTA-washed turkey erythrocyte membranes. IC50 of free [Ca2+] is approximately 0.1 mmol/l in the presence of Mg2+ (2.5 mmol/l) and isobutylmethylxanthine (1 mmol/l). (ii) The potency of Ca2+ to inhibit cAMP accumulation is independent of the type of stimulus used to activate the adenylyl cyclase. We also evaluated the calcium sensitivity of the basal cAMP accumulation in the presence of GTP (10 micromol/l) and Mg2+ (2.5 mmol/l) which was also inhibited by Ca2+ with the same potency. (iii) The inhibition pattern of cAMP accumulation is not affected by the presence of added calmodulin (100 nmol/l). (iv) Ca2+ is ineffective on the binding of isoproterenol to the beta-adrenoceptors. (v) Increasing the concentration of Ca2+ does not induce an observable activation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase in the present experimental conditions. Thus, we concluded that the inhibition of cAMP accumulation is due to an inhibition of the adenylyl cyclase rather than the activation of phosphodiesterase(s). The presence of a yet unidentified isoform of adenylyl cyclase that can be directly inhibited by Ca2+ or a Gi protein that can be activated by Ca2+ seems to explain these results. In either case, these results provide an additional mode of cross-talk that can take place between the Ca2+- and cAMP-signaling systems.

Allosteric equilibrium model explains steady-state coupling of beta-adrenergic receptors to adenylate cyclase in turkey erythrocyte membranes.

We used a simple experimental approach to clarify some contradictory predictions of the collision coupling and equilibrium models (e.g. ternary complex, two-state ternary complex or quinternary complex), which describe G-protein-mediated beta-adrenergic receptor signalling in essentially different manners. Analysis of the steady-state coupling of beta-adrenoceptors to adenylate cyclase in turkey erythrocyte membranes showed that: (1) in the absence of an agonist, Gpp(NH)p (a hydrolysis-resistant analogue of GTP) can activate adenylate cyclase very slowly; (2) this activity reaches a steady state in approx. 5 h, the extent of activity depending on the concentration of the nucleotide; (3) isoprenaline-activated steady-state adenylate cyclase can be inactivated by propranolol (a competitive antagonist that relaxes the receptor activation), in the presence of Gpp(NH)p (which provides a virtual absence of GTPase) and millimolar concentrations of Mg2+ (the rate of this inactivation is relatively fast); (4) increasing the concentration of Gpp(NH)p can saturate the steady-state activity of adenylate cyclase. The saturated enzyme activity was lower than that induced by isoprenaline under the same conditions. This additional agonist-induced activation was reversible. In the light of these results, we conclude that agonist can also activate the guanine nucleotide-saturated system in the absence of GTPase by a mechanism other than guanine nucleotide exchange. We explain these phenomena in the framework of a quinternary complex model as an agonist-induced and receptor-mediated dissociation of guanine nucleotide-saturated residual heterotrimer, the equilibrium concentration of which is not necessarily zero. These results, which suggest a continuous interaction between receptor and G-protein, can hardly be accommodated by the collision coupling model that was originally suggested for the present experimental system and then applied to many other G-protein systems. Therefore we attempt to unify the equilibrium and collision coupling approaches to provide a consistent theoretical basis for the G-protein-mediated beta-adrenergic receptor signalling in turkey erythrocyte membranes.

Drug efficacy at guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein-linked receptors: thermodynamic interpretation of negative antagonism and of receptor activity in the absence of ligand.

The mutual effects that a hormonal ligand (H) and a guanine nucleotide regulatory protein (G protein) exert on each other when simultaneously occupying distinct sites of the receptor molecule (R) can be viewed as the molecular mechanism of drug efficacy. These effects are predictable on the basis of a model assuming that the ternary complex between the three partners (HRG) reaches equilibrium in the membrane [J. Biol. Chem. 255:7108-7117 (1980)]. Ligands can be classified as agonists, neutral antagonists, or negative antagonists, depending on whether they enhance, leave unchanged, or reduce, respectively, the spontaneous tendency of R to interact with G. Using this model and the assumption that the G protein response observed in membranes reflects the sum of ligand-independent (RG) and ligand-dependent (HRG) receptor-G protein complexes, we can explain virtually all the phenomenology reported earlier for opioid receptor-mediated stimulation of GTPase, i.e., 1) existence of ligands with both "positive" and "negative" intrinsic activity (the latter termed negative antagonists), 2) equipotency of neutral antagonists for the competitive blockade of the responses elicited both by agonists and by negative antagonists, and 3) apparent heterogeneity of binding sites for the binding isotherms of negative antagonists. The ternary complex model can also explain the differential effects of sodium on ligand binding and ligand-dependent GTPase activity, if we assume that this ion reduces the stability constant between receptor and G protein in membranes. Computer simulations predict that a negative antagonist exhibits a discrepancy between "biological" Ki (obtained by Schild plots) and true dissociation constant for the receptor, which increases as the fraction of "precoupled" receptors in the membrane increases. The demonstration of negative antagonism is definitive evidence for the existence of receptor coupling (hence activity) in the absence of ligand. Using this experimental paradigm, we show here that spontaneous receptor activity occurs in isolated membranes but not in intact NG108-15 cells.

Role of alpha-adrenoceptors in the effects of buspirone and 5-carboxamidotryptamine in rabbit isolated thoracic aorta.

1. The role of alpha-adrenoceptors in the vascular effects of buspirone (BUS) and 5-carboxamidotryptamine (5-CT) was investigated in rabbit thoracic aorta. 2. Buspirone produced a concentration-dependent contraction. The non-selective 5-HT1 and 5-HT2-receptor antagonist methysergide and the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist ketanserin did not alter the contractile effect of buspirone. However, the competitive antagonist of alpha 1-adrenoceptors, prazosin, shifted the concentration-response curve of buspirone to the right without changing the maximal response. 3. Benextramine tetrahydrochloride monohydrate (BHC), a noncompetitive antagonist of alpha 1-adrenoceptors, inhibited the contraction induced by buspirone in a noncompetitive manner. After pretreatment with two different concentrations of BHC, the estimated apparent dissociation constants of buspirone were found to be identical. 4. In addition, buspirone antagonized the concentration-response curve of phenylephrine again showing a similar dissociation constant, suggesting a partial agonistic action of buspirone at the level of alpha 1-adrenoceptors. 5. The concentration-response curve of 5-HT showed two components in the thoracic aorta obtained from reserpine treated and untreated animals as verified by different pD2 values. The second component was observed with relatively higher concentrations of 5-CT and could be blocked by prazosin or BHC. Neither of these compounds altered the first component. After Pretreatment with BHC, the first component of 5-CT was competitively antagonized by methysergide and ketanserin, having pA2 values of 8.81 and 9.1 respectively. 6. These results suggest that the contraction induced by buspirone is mainly mediated by alpha 1-adrenoceptors, while the higher concentrations of 5-CT caused contraction via alpha 1-adrenoceptor stimulation in addition to its 5-HT2 agonistic effect.