Phospholipase C and termination of G-protein-mediated signalling in vivo.

In Drosophila photoreceptors, phospholipase C (PLC) and other signalling components form multiprotein structures through the PDZ scaffold protein INAD. Association between PLC and INAD is important for termination of responses to light; the underlying mechanism is, however, unclear. Here we report that the maintenance of large amounts of PLC in the signalling membranes by association with INAD facilitates response termination, and show that PLC functions as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP). The inactivation of the G protein by its target, the PLC, is crucial for reliable production of single-photon responses and for the high temporal and intensity resolution of the response to light.

Morphological changes in rat pancreatic slices associated with inhibition of enzyme secretion by high concentrations of secretagogues.

Stimulation of enzyme secretion in rat pancreatic slices by cholinergic agonists or by cholecystokinin-pancreozymin (CCK-PZ) and its peptide analogs showed a biphasic dose response curve. The optimal concentrations eliciting an efficient rate of enzyme secretion were 1 microM for carbamylcholine or acetylcholine, and 5 nM and 20 nM for CCK-PZ octapeptide and CCK-PZ, respectively. At higher concentrations of secretagogues, however, the rate of secretion progressively declined, and almost complete inhibition was achieved at 1 mM of carbamylcholine or acetylcholine and at 0.1 microM of CCK-PZ or its octapeptide analog. Atropine displaced the dose-response curve for carbamylcholine to the right so that in the presence of 7 microM atropine a concentration of 1 mM carbamylcholine now gave an optimal rate of enzyme secretion. The ionophore A-23187 which bypasses the receptor and elicits enzyme secretion did not relieve the inhibition caused by supraoptimal concentrations of secretagogues, indicating that the inhibition occurs at the cellular rather than at the receptor level. Secretin had no effect on the inhibition of enzyme secretion by a high concentration of carbamylcholine, indicating that the inhibition was not caused by lack of water and electrolyte secretion. The energy-producing metabolism was not affected since the ATP level in the pancreatic slices was the same in the presence of either inhibitory or optimal concentrations of secretagogues. The inhibition of enzyme secretion was reversible since restoration of efficient enzyme secretion occurred after removal of carbamylcholine (1 mM) by washing, followed by addition of an optimal concentration of CCK-PZ octapeptide. Morphological studies revealed that the presence of inhibitory concentrations of secretagogues caused severe distortion of the lumen structure: disruption of the filamentous system surrounding the lumen, disappearance of microvilli, and production of distended evaginations of the luminal membrane containing cellular material. These changes eventually caused a reduction in the size of the lumen which becomes plugged with secretory material. It is suggested that these changes in the microtubular microfilamentous system could account for the inhibition of enzyme secretion.

Concomitant synthesis of membrane protein and exportable protein of the secretory granule in rat parotid gland.

After enzyme secretion the membrane of the secretory granule, which had been fused to the cell membrane, was resorbed into the cell. Experiments were therefore carried out to test whether formation of new secretory granules involves reutilization of the resorbed membrane or synthesis of a new membrane, de novo, from amino acids. Incorporation of amino acids-(14)C into proteins of various cell fractions was measured in vivo, 30, 120, and. 300 min after labeling. At all times the specific radioactivity of the secretory granule membrane was about equal to that of the granule's exportable content. At 120 and 300 min the specific radioactivity of the granule membrane and of the granule content was much higher than that of any other subcellular fraction. It is therefore concluded that the protein of the membrane is synthesized de novo concomitantly with the exportable protein. The proteins of the granule membrane could be distinguished from those of the granule content by gel electrophoresis. All major bands were labeled proportionately to their staining intensity. The amino acid composition of the secretory granule membrane was markedly different from that of the granule's content and also from that of the mitochondrial membrane. The granule membrane showed a high proline content, 30 moles/100 moles amino acids. The analyses show that the radioactivity of the granule membrane is indeed inherent in its proteins and is not due to contamination by other fractions. The possibility is considered that the exportable protein leaves the endoplasmic reticulum already enveloped by the newly synthesized membrane.

Message transmission: receptor controlled adenylate cyclase system.

The adenylate cyclase system is composed of an activating hormone or neurotransmitter (H), its receptor (R), the guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding protein (Gs), and the catalytic unit (C). The activation of the receptor R involves a transient change in conformation, from a loose binding of the neurotransmitter H to an extremely tight interaction, termed locking. The system is regulated in the activation steps and also by three deactivation processes. A guanosine triphosphatase activity is built into the Gs protein so that the active GsGTP has only a limited lifetime during which it is able to activate C. In addition, the continued occupation of R by H causes desensitization of R. Finally, there are inhibitory receptors, such as alpha-adrenergic and opiate receptors, which inhibit the adenylate cyclase by way of a specific GTP binding protein (Gi). Yet to be determined are the conformational transformations of pure R on binding of an agonist or a partial agonist; the genes that code for the many different receptors that activate the adenylate cyclase, and the possibility that the G components interact with systems in the cell other than the adenylate cyclase.

Potassium ion release and enzyme secretion: adrenergic regulation by alpha- and beta-receptors.

Epinephrine caused amylase secretion and K(+) release in rat parotid slices. Propranolol, which blocks beta-receptors, inhibited amylase secretion; phentolamine, which blocks alpha-receptors, inhibited K(+) release. Since enzyme secretion was associated with fusion of secretory granules to the cell membrane and K(+) release was associated with vacuole formation, it could be shown that both alpha- and beta-receptors are present in the same exocrine cell. The findings appear to exclude cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate as an intermediate in the alpha-receptor response.

Calmodulin regulation of calcium stores in phototransduction of Drosophila.

Phototransduction in Drosophila occurs through the ubiquitous phosphoinositide-mediated signal transduction system. Major unresolved questions in this pathway are the identity and role of the internal calcium stores in light excitation and the mechanism underlying regulation of Ca2+ release from internal stores. Treatment of Drosophila photoreceptors with ryanodine and caffeine disrupted the current induced by light, whereas subsequent application of calcium-calmodulin (Ca-CaM) rescued the inactivated photoresponse. In calcium-deprived wild-type Drosophila and in calmodulin-deficient transgenic flies, the current induced by light was disrupted by a specific inhibitor of Ca-CaM. Furthermore, inhibition of Ca-CaM revealed light-induced release of calcium from intracellular stores. It appears that functional ryanodine-sensitive stores are essential for the photoresponse. Moreover, calcium release from these stores appears to be a component of Drosophila phototransduction, and Ca-CaM regulates this process.

Substrate assisted catalysis -- application to G proteins.

The idea that both the substrate and the enzyme contribute to catalysis (substrate assisted catalysis; SAC) is applicable to guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins). Naturally occurring SAC uses GTP as a general base in the GTPase reaction catalyzed by G proteins. Engineered SAC has identified a putative rate-limiting step for the GTPase reaction and shown that GTPase-deficient oncogenic Ras mutants are not irreversibly impaired. Thus, anti-cancer drugs could potentially be designed to restore the blocked GTPase reaction.

The roles of trp and calcium in regulating photoreceptor function in Drosophila.

Invertebrate photoreceptors use the ubiquitous inositol-lipid signaling pathway for phototransduction. This pathway depends on Ca2+ release from internal stores and on Ca2+ entry via light-activated channels to replenish the loss of Ca2+ in those stores. The Drosophila transient receptor potential (TRP) protein is essential for the high Ca2+ permeability and other biophysical properties of these light-activated channels, which affect both excitation and adaptation in photoreceptor cells. Physiological and heterologous expression studies indicate that TRP is a putative subunit of a surface membrane channel that can be activated by depletion of internal Ca2+ stores. Furthermore, trp is an archetypal member of a multigene family whose products share a structure that is highly conserved throughout evolution, from worms to humans.

Modulation of the light response by cAMP in Drosophila photoreceptors.

Phototransduction in Drosophila is mediated by a G-protein-coupled phospholipase C transduction cascade in which each absorbed photon generates a discrete electrical event, the quantum bump. In whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings, cAMP, as well as its nonhydrolyzable and membrane-permeant analogs 8-bromo-cAMP (8-Br-cAMP) and dibutyryl-cAMP, slowed down the macroscopic light response by increasing quantum bump latency, without changes in bump amplitude or duration. In contrast, cGMP or 8-Br-cGMP had no effect on light response amplitude or kinetics. None of the cyclic nucleotides activated any channels in the plasma membrane. The effects of cAMP were mimicked by application of the non-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX and the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin; zaprinast, a specific cGMP-phosphodiesterase inhibitor, was ineffective. Bump latency was also increased by targeted expression of either an activated G(s) alpha subunit, which increased endogenous adenylyl cyclase activity, or an activated catalytic protein kinase A (PKA) subunit. The action of IBMX was blocked by pretreatment with the PKA inhibitor H-89. The effects of cAMP were abolished in mutants of the ninaC gene, suggesting this nonconventional myosin as a possible target for PKA-mediated phosphorylation. Dopamine (10 microM) and octopamine (100 microM) mimicked the effects of cAMP. These results indicate the existence of a G-protein-coupled adenylyl cyclase pathway in Drosophila photoreceptors, which modulates the phospholipase C-based phototransduction cascade.

A common mechanism underlies vertebrate calcium signaling and Drosophila phototransduction.

Drosophila phototransduction is an important model system for studies of inositol lipid signaling. Light excitation in Drosophila photoreceptors depends on phospholipase C, because null mutants of this enzyme do not respond to light. Surprisingly, genetic elimination of the apparently single inositol trisphosphate receptor (InsP(3)R) of Drosophila has no effect on phototransduction. This led to the proposal that Drosophila photoreceptors do not use the InsP(3) branch of phospholipase C (PLC)-mediated signaling for phototransduction, unlike most other inositol lipid-signaling systems. To examine this hypothesis we applied the membrane-permeant InsP(3)R antagonist 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), which has proved to be an important probe for assessing InsP(3)R involvement in various signaling systems. We first examined the effects of 2-APB on Xenopus oocytes. We found that 2-APB is efficient at reversibly blocking the robust InsP(3)-mediated Ca(2+) release and store-operated Ca(2+) entry in Xenopus oocytes at a stage operating after production of InsP(3) but before the opening of the surface membrane Cl(-) channels by Ca(2+). We next demonstrated that 2-APB is effective at reversibly blocking the response to light of Drosophila photoreceptors in a light-dependent manner at a concentration range similar to that effective in Xenopus oocytes and other cells. We show furthermore that 2-APB does not directly block the light-sensitive channels, indicating that it operates upstream in the activation of these channels. The results indicate an important link in the coupling mechanism of vertebrate store-operated channels and Drosophila TRP channels, which involves the InsP(3) branch of the inositol lipid-signaling pathway.

Catecholamine-stimulated GTPase activity in turkey erythrocyte membranes.

Determination of specific GTPase (EC 3.6.1.--) activity in turkey erythrocyte membranes was achieved using low concentration of GTP (0.25 muM), inhibition of nonspecific nucleoside triphosphatases by adenosine 5'(beta,gamma-imino-triphosphate (App(NH)p) and suppression of the transfer of gamma-32P from GTP to ADP with an ATP regeneration system. Under these conditions catacholamines caused a 30--70% increase in GTP hydrolysis. The stimulation of GTPase activity by catecholamines required the presence of Mg2+ or Mn2+. DIfferent batches of membranes revealed the following specific activities (pmol 32Pi/mg protein min): basal GTPase (determined in the absence of catecholamine), 6-- 11; catecholamine-stimulated TTPase, 3--7; and residual non-specific NTPase 3--5. The stimulation of GTPase activity by catecholamines fulfilled the stereospecific requirements of the beta-adrenergic receptor, and was inhibited by propranolol. The concentrations of DL-isoproterenol which half-maximally activated the GTPase and adenylate cyclase were 1 and 1.2 muM, respectively. The following findings indicate that the catecholamine-stimulated GTPase is independent of the catalytic production of cyclic AMP by the adenylate cyclase. Addition of cyclic AMP to the GTPase assay did not change the rate of GTP hydrolysis. Furthermore, treatment of the membrane with N-ethylmaleimide (MalNEt) at 0 degrees C which caused 98% inhibition of the adenylate cyclase, had no effect on the catecholamine-stimulated GTPase. The affinity and specificity for GTP in the GTPase reactions are similar to those previously reported for the stimulation of the adenylate cyclase. The apparent Km for GTP in the basal and the catecholamine-stimulated GTPase reaction was 0.1 muM. These GTPase activities were inhibited by ITP but not by CTP and UTP. It is proposed that a catecholamine-stimulated GTPase is a component of the turkey erythrocyte adenylate cyclase system.

beta-Adrenergic receptors stimulated peroxidase secretion from rat lacrimal gland.

Incubation of rat extraorbital lacrimal gland slices with the beta-agonist isoproterenol caused peroxidase secretion but no K+ release. The peroxidase secretion was inhibited by propranolol. Addition of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or adenosine 3'5'-cyclic phosphorothioate to lacrimal slices produced peroxidase secretion at a higher rate than that obtained with optimal concentration of isoproterenol. Methyl isobutylxanthine is also a strong stimulator of peroxidase secretion. Peroxidase activity was determined by a modified sensitive guaiacol method. Membrane fraction of lacrimal cells was shown to contain an isoproterenol-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. It is therefore suggested that there is a beta-adrenergic receptor in the rat lacrimal gland and that its stimulation causes activation of an adenylate cyclase which leads to peroxidase secretion.

Substance P degrading systems of rat parotid and hypothalamus.

Inactivation of substance P and its C-terminal hexapeptide analog [p-Glu6]substance P6-11 was studied in rat parotid and hypothalamic slices. It was found that in the parotid slice system the decay of substance P induced K+ release occurs concurrently with a decrease in the biologically active concentration of the peptide in the medium. The inactivation was further studied using [p-Glu6]substance P6-11 as substrate in the parotid and in the hypothalamic slice systems. In both tissue preparations the hexapeptide is degraded to small peptide fragments by metalloendopeptidase. Separation of the peptide fragments by high performance liquid chromatography and determination of their amino acid composition showed that in the hypothalamic slice system the major cleavage of the hexapeptide analog occurs between Phe8-Gly9 with minor cleavage sites between Phe7-Phe8 and Gly9-Leu10. In the rat parotid slice system the major cleavage occurs between Gly9-Leu10 with a minor cleavage site between Phe7-Phe8. The degradation of the hexapeptide analog in the hypothalamic system was inhibited 77% and 67% by treatment with 1 mM p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonate and p-chloromercuribenzoate, respectively, whereas in the parotid system these reagents inhibited the degradation of the hexapeptide only by 15% and 8%. These results may indicate that different proteases in the parotid and hypothalamus are involved in degradation of substance P. Kinetic studies, including the use of various inhibitors as well as competition by the peptide hormones somatostatin, LHRH, TRH and Leu-enkephalin-NH2, revealed that in both tissues the hexapeptide analog is a preferred substrate for degradation by protease of considerable specificity towards the C-terminal sequence of substance P. It is suggested that this metalloendopeptidase may be important in the termination of the substance P response.

Lanthanum reduces the excitation efficiency in fly photoreceptors.

Lanthanum (La3+), a known inhibitor of Ca2+ binding proteins, was applied to the extracellular space of fly retina. Shot noise analysis indicated that a combination of intense light and La3+ caused a large (down to zero) reduction in the rate of occurrence of the quantal responses to single photons (quantum bumps) which sum to produce the photoreceptor potential. Light in the presence of La3+ also increased the effective bump duration. These effects are very similar to the effects of the mutations trp of Drosophila and nss of Lucilia flies on the quantum bump rate and duration. La3+ applied to the nss mutant caused only a small reduction in the bump rate, suggesting that La3+ may affect the nss gene product which is deficient in the mutant. The close similarity in the properties of the receptor potential of the La(3+)-treated photoreceptor of the wild type and of the nss mutant together with existing evidence for the highly reduced intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) level in nss photoreceptors suggest that both La3+ and the mutation cause a severe reduction in [Ca2+]i. This effect may arise from an inhibition of a Ca2+ transporter protein located in the surface membrane that normally replenishes Ca2+ pools in the photoreceptors, a process essential for light excitation.

Light reduces the excitation efficiency in the nss mutant of the sheep blowfly Lucilia.

The nss (no steady state) phototransduction mutant of the sheep blowfly Lucilia was studied electrophysiologically using intracellular recordings. The effects of the nss mutation on the receptor potential are manifested in the following features of the light response. (a) The responses to a flash or to dim lights are close to normal, but the receptor potential decays close to the baseline level during prolonged illumination after a critical level of light intensity is reached. (b) The decline of the response is accompanied by a large reduction in responsiveness to light that recovers within 20 s in the dark. (c) The full reduction in responsiveness to light is reached when approximately 13% of the photopigment molecules are converted from rhodopsin (R) to metarhodopsin (M). (d) A maximal net pigment conversion from R to M by blue light induces persistent inactivation in the dark, without an apparent voltage response. This inactivation could be abolished at any time by M-to-R conversion with orange light. The above features of the mutant indicate that the effect of the nss mutation on the light response of Lucilia is very similar to the effects of the transient receptor potential (trp) mutation on the photoreceptor potential of Drosophila. Noise analysis and voltage measurements indicate that the decay of the receptor potential is due to a severe reduction in the rate of occurrence of the elementary voltage responses (bumps). The bumps are only slightly modified in shape and amplitude during the decline of the response to light of medium intensity. There is also a large increase in response latency during intense background illumination. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that separate, independent mechanisms determine bump triggering and bump shape and amplitude. The nss mutation affects the triggering mechanism of the bump.

Chemical excitation and inactivation in photoreceptors of the fly mutants trp and nss.

The Drosophila and Lucilia photoreceptor mutants, trp and nss, respond like wild-type flies to a short pulse of intense light or prolonged dim light; however, upon continuous intense illumination, the trp and nss mutants are unable to maintain persistent excitation. This defect manifests itself by a decline of the receptor potential toward baseline during prolonged intense illumination with little change in the shape or amplitude of the quantal responses to single photons (quantum bumps). Previous work on the trp and nss mutants suggests that a negative feedback loop may control the rate of bump production. Chemical agents affecting different steps of the phototransduction cascade were used in conjunction with light to identify a possible branching point of the feedback loop and molecular stages which are affected by the mutation. Fluoride ions, which in the dark both excite and adapt the photoreceptors of wild-type flies, neither excite nor adapt the photoreceptors of the trp and nss mutants. The hydrolysis-resistant analogue, GTP gamma S, which excites the photoreceptors of wild-type flies, resulting in noisy depolarization, markedly reduces the light response of both mutant flies. Intracellular recordings revealed, however, that the inhibitory effect of GTP gamma S on the nss mutant was accompanied neither by any significant depolarization nor by an increase in the noise, and thus was very different from the effect of a dim background light. The combination of inositol trisphosphate and diphosphoglycerate (InsP3 + DPG), which efficiently excites the photoreceptors of wild-type Lucilia, also excites the photoreceptors of nss Lucilia mutant. The InsP3 + DPG together act synergistically with light to accelerate the decline of the response to light in the mutant flies. These results suggest that the fly phototransduction pathway involves a feedback regulatory loop, which branches subsequent to InsP3 production and regulates guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein)-phospholipase C activity. A defect in this regulatory loop, which may cause an unusually low level of intracellular Ca2+, severely reduces the triggering of bumps in the mutants during intense prolonged illumination.

Role of Drosophila TRP in inositide-mediated Ca2+ entry.

Inositol lipid signaling relies on an InsP3-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores and on extracellular Ca2+ entry, which takes place when the Ca2+ stores become depleted of Ca2+. This interplay between Ca2+ release and Ca2+ entry has been termed capacitative Ca2+ entry and the inward current calcium release activated current (CRAC) to indicate gating of Ca2+ entry by Ca2+-store depletion. The signaling pathway and the gating mechanism of capacitative Ca2+ entry, however, are largely unknown and the molecular participants in this process have not been identified. In this article we review genetic, molecular, and functional studies of wild-type and mutant Drosophila photoreceptors, suggesting that the transient receptor potential mutant (trp) is the first putative capacitative Ca2+ entry mutant. Furthermore, several lines of evidence suggest that the trp gene product TRP is a candidate subunit of the plasma membrane channel that is activated by Ca2+ store depletion.

Lipid requirements for reconstitution of the delipidated beta-adrenergic receptor and the regulatory protein.

The role of lipids in the interaction of the beta-adrenergic receptor (R) with the regulatory protein (Gs) was investigated. Solubilized preparations of R and of Gs from turkey erythrocytes were delipidated by gel filtration. They were subsequently combined and reconstituted by the addition of various lipids. When reconstitution was carried out in the presence of soybean lipids, Gs could be fully activated via R by addition of hormone plus GTP gamma S. In contrast, purified phospholipids or a phospholipid fraction from soybean failed to produce an active system. Fractionation of soybean lipids revealed that acetone-soluble neutral lipids are essential for the reconstitution of a hormone responsive system. The acetone fraction could be replaced by specific neutral lipids such as alpha-tocopherol or cholesteryl arachidonate while a mixture of phosphatidylethanolamine, -choline and -serine satisfied the phospholipid requirement of the system.

GTP analogue hydrolysis by the Gs protein: implication for the role of catalytic glutamine in the GTPase reaction.

Hydrolysis of GTP, bound to members of the G-protein superfamily, terminates their downstream signaling activity. A conserved glutamine serves a critical role in this pivotal guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) reaction. However, the role of the catalytic glutamine in GTP hydrolysis is still not well understood. We have employed substrate-assisted catalysis to probe the catalytic mechanism of Gs alpha using GTP analogues. These GTP analogues, each having different functional groups, were designed to support or refute particular putative GTPase mechanisms. We have found that a hydrogen donor group, in close proximity to the gamma-phosphate of GTP, is necessary and sufficient to substitute for the function of the catalytic glutamine in the GTPase reaction.

Neurochemical mediators of the behavioural effects of receptor-selective substance P agonists administered intrathecally in the rat.

Recently, two compounds have been developed, designated septide and senktide, which are highly selective agonists for the substance P receptor, types NK-1 and NK-3, respectively. Each of these, when injected intrathecally in awake rats, produced a distinct and non-overlapping constellation of sensory and behavioural effects which were subsets of the symptoms evoked by intrathecal administration of substance P. Prior systemic administration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), alpha-adrenergic and opiate receptor antagonists, at doses sufficient to block the behavioural effects of the corresponding receptor agonists, did not alter responses to intrathecally injected septide or senktide. This was so, even for symptoms which suggested inhibitory mediation, hypoalgesia and (transient) motor flaccidity. Septide and senktide, administered by lumbar puncture and by indwelling catheter, produced identical results. Finally, in contrast to some other peptides, flaccid paralysis induced by senktide was not accompanied by spinal necrosis.