Activation Of GTP-binding Protein Research Articles

Mastoparan and Rab3AL peptide potentiation of calcium-independent secretory activity in rat melanotrophs is inhibited by GDPβS

The whole-cell patch-clamp membrane capacitance measurement was used to monitor secretory activity in rat melanotrophs, while rab3AL, putative effector domain peptides of Rab3 small GTPases (20–30 kDa), were introduced into cytosol. In melanotrophs dialyzed with calcium free solutions membrane capacitance tends to decrease slightly. This decrease is further potentiated with GDPβS (500 μM). We found that rab3AL (100 μM) stimulated secretory activity in the absence of calcium. The rab3AL response was qualitatively comparable to the response to mastoparan (1 μM), an activator of certain heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins. Interestingly, inclusion of GDPβS (500 μM) resulted in a blockade of both rab3AL and mastoparan induced responses. We conclude that rab3AL and mastoparan induce calcium-independent stimulation of secretory activity in rat melanotrophs by activation of a downstream heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein.

Halothane attenuation of calcium sensitivity in airway smooth muscle. Mechanisms of action during muscarinic receptor stimulation.

In airway smooth muscle, muscarinic receptor stimulation is thought to increase calcium (Ca2+) sensitivity via a guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein/protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated mechanism. This study treated the hypothesis that halothane reduces Ca2+ sensitivity during muscarinic receptor stimulation by inhibiting these second messenger pathways. A beta-escin permeabilized canine tracheal smooth muscle preparation was used in which the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) is controlled and the GTP-binding protein/ PKC pathways remain intact and can be activated. The muscarinic receptor was activated with acetylcholine plus GTP; the GTP-binding proteins were directly activated with a nonhydrolyzable form of GTP, guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate; GTP gamma S); and PKC was directly activated with the PKC agonist phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu). Free Ca2+ caused a concentration-dependent increase in force. Acetylcholine plus GTP significantly decreased the median effective concentration for free Ca2+ from 0.52 +/- 0.06 microM to 0.21 +/- 0.02 microM, demonstrating an increase in Ca2+ sensitivity. Halothane (0.99 +/- 0.04 mM, equivalent to approximately 4 minimum alveolar concentration in dogs) significantly attenuated this increase in Ca2+ sensitivity induced by acetylcholine plus GTP, increasing the median effective concentration for free Ca2+ from 0.21 +/- 0.02 microM to 0.31 +/- 0.03 microM. However, halothane did not affect the increases in Ca2+ sensitivity induced by GTP gamma S or PDBu. Halothane had no effect on increased Ca2+ sensitivity caused by direct activation of GTP-binding proteins with GTP gamma S or PKC with PDBu, suggesting that halothane attenuates acetylcholine-induced Ca2+ sensitization via a mechanism independent of these pathways in beta-escin-permeabilized canine tracheal smooth muscle.

Inhibitory Action of Sphingosine or Ceramide on Amylase Secretion from Isolated Rat Pancreatic Acini

Sphingosine and ceramide, products of sphingomyelin hydrosis by sphingomyelinase, have recently been regarded as second messengers for cell biological actions. On the other hand, exocrine pancreas is a typical organ to perform regulatory secretion of digestive enzymes, depending upon extracellular signals. We investigated the effects of sphingosine or ceramide on amylase secretion from isolated rat pancreatic acini. Either sphingosine or cell-permeable ceramide inhibits CCK8- or carbachol-induced enzyme secretion from isolated rat pancreatic acini in a dose-dependent manner. Sphingosine or ceramide itself does not affect basal amylase secretion from the acini. Ceramide also inhibits NaF-induced amylase secretion, indicating that it acts post the activation of receptor-linked GTP-binding protein. In our experiments, ceramide inhibited Ca2+ionophore-induced amylase secretion, but not phorbol ester-induced secretion. These results indicate that ceramide affects secretory processes post intracellular Ca2+mobilization in the exocrine pancreas.

Study of the interaction of the myelin monomeric GTP-binding proteins with other brain proteins.

Although several monomeric GTP-binding proteins have been found in myelin, the signaling pathways in which they operate are not known. To define these signaling pathways we searched for specific target proteins that interact with the myelin monomeric GTP-binding proteins. A blot overlay approach was used. Bovine white matter homogenate, myelin, and oligodendrocyte proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and blotted onto nitrocellulose membranes. The presence of proteins that interact with the myelin GTP-binding proteins was explored by incubating those blots with an enriched fraction of 22- and 25-kDa myelin GTP-binding proteins labeled with radioactive guanine nucleotides. When the GTP-binding proteins were in the inactive state (GDP-bound) they interacted with 28-, 47-, and 58-kDa oligodendrocyte polypeptides. Only the 28-kDa protein was present in myelin. In the active state (GTP-bound), they interacted only with a 47-kDa protein in myelin but with 31-, 38-, 47-, 58-, 60-, 68-, and 71-kDa proteins in oligodendrocytes and total homogenate. Under these experimental conditions the 28-kDa protein did not interact with the GTP-binding proteins. The fact that the myelin GTP-binding proteins in the active state formed complexes with a different set of proteins than when in the inactive state is a strong indication that these proteins are effector proteins. With the exception of the 31- and 38-kDa proteins that were detected only in the cytoplasmic fraction, these polypeptides were detected in the cytosolic fraction and total membrane fraction. The 25-kDa GTP-binding protein was present in all the complexes. Immunoblot analysis indicated that the 28-kDa polypeptide is RhoGDI, an effector protein that is known to regulate the activation and movement of several GTP-binding proteins between different cellular compartments. Thus, this study opens the way to identify the macromolecules participating in the myelin signaling pathway involving monomeric GTP-binding proteins.

Extracellular Mg 2+ inhibits receptor-mediated Ca 2+-permeable non-selective cation currents in aortic smooth muscle cells

The effects of extracellular Mg 2+ on receptor-mediated Ca 2+-permeable non-selective cation currents were investigated in a cultured aortic smooth muscle cell line (A7r5) from rat thoracic aorta, using the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique. Under the Cs +-containing internal solution, both vasopressin and endothelin-1 (100 nM) activated a long-lasting inward current with a high noise level. The reversal potential of these agonists-induced current was approximately +0 mV, and was not significantly altered by the replacement of [Cl −] i or [Cl −] o, suggesting that the inward current was a cation-selective channel. La 3+ and Cd 2+ (1 mM) almost completely abolished the vasopressin or endothelin-induced non-selective cation current; however, nifedipine (10 μM) failed to inhibit it significantly. Extracellular Mg 2+ (3–20 mM) also markedly inhibited the vasopressin- or endothelin-induced non-selective cation current in a concentration-dependent manner. When a non-hydrolysable GTP-analogue, GTPγS (1 mM), was applied from the patch pipette, the non-selective cation current was gradually activated even in the absence of agonist (vasopressin or endothelin-1), probably due to the direct activation of GTP-binding proteins coupled to the receptors. Extracellular Mg 2+ (3–20 mM) also suppressed the activation of non-selective cation current induced by GTPγS, suggesting that the inhibitory sites of Mg 2+ are not located on the receptors. These results suggest that extracellular Mg 2+ inhibits receptor-mediated non-selective cation current, which may contribute to the relaxation effects of Mg 2+ in vascular smooth muscle cells.

The G-protein G(i) regulates mitosis but not DNA synthesis in growth factor-activated fibroblasts: a role for the nuclear translocation of G(i).

GTP binding proteins, heterotrimeric molecules composed of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits, are known to serve as transducers of information from seven-transmembrane receptors. Activation of G-proteins has been generally considered to involve subunit dissociation, with G(alpha) separating from G(betagamma). However, we have found a receptor activation of G(i) in proliferating cells that differs from these models and involves the subcellular translocation of the alpha-subunit from the cell periphery to the nucleus where G(i alpha) binds to chromatin for the duration of mitosis. This report describes the mechanism of G(i) activation in Swiss 3T3 cells in response to serum, thrombin, and epidermal growth factor, and describes a role for G(i2) in the cell cycle. Agonists were found to be unable to induce the physical dissociation of G(i2) subunits. The alpha- and beta-subunits of G(i2) could be coimmunoprecipitated with a G(i alpha) antibody from both the membrane and nuclear fractions of long-term activated cultures, showing that G(i alpha 2) and G(i beta) are induced to comigrate to the nucleus in response to growth factor receptor activation. G(i2) appears to be activated in part by a postreceptor signal that can be mimicked by protein kinase C activation; this signal may be responsible for the convergence of the signaling mechanisms of these distinct seven-transmembrane and tyrosine kinase receptors. We suggest that translocation of G(i alpha) to the nucleus induced by either thrombin or EGF may occur without subunit dissociation. Functional studies of the role of G(i) showed that pertussis toxin does not block DNA synthesis in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts induced by serum or thrombin, but that cell proliferation is retarded to each. These results provide direct evidence for a novel mechanism of GTP binding protein activation and for an essential role of G(i) in the induction of cell division by a variety of growth factor receptors. G(i) can carry out this role in control of cellular proliferation through its translocation to the nucleus of mitotic cells.

Mechanism of Cardiac Involvement in the WBN/Kob Rat

The cardiac characteristics of the WBN/Kob rat resemble those of rats with catecholamine-induced myocarditis. To determine the etiology of these WBN cardiac characteristics, we assessed the number and affinity ofβ-adrenergic receptors, and investigated adenylate cyclase activity, the cardiac myocyte cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentration and the activity of guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein in 3-month-old WBN/Kob rats. Age-matched Wistar rats served as controls. The mean number ofβ-adrenergic receptors was similar in WBN/Kob and Wistar rats (28.0±9.1v28.3±8.9 fmol/mg protein), and there was no significant difference inβ-adrenergic receptor affinity between groups (1.09±0.54v1.26±0.60 nm). The mean cAMP concentration in cardiac myocytes was significantly higher in WBN/Kob rats than in Wistar rats (975.6±247.8v344.9±83.6 pmol/g wet tissue), (P=0.0112) as was adenylate cyclase activity (33.61±8.32v24.3±12.78 pmol/mg/min), (P=0.0174). The activity of GTP-binding protein was significantly higher in WBN/Kob rats than in Wistar rats. After aβ-agonist binds to aβ-adrenergic receptor, activated adenylate cyclase produces cAMP in myocytes, which in turn opens the Ca2+channel, leading to an influx of Ca2+into myocytes. Our results suggest that the increase in adenylate cyclase activity in WBN/Kob rats have led to an increase in the cAMP concentration in myocytes. This process may have resulted in excessiveβ-adrenergic activity due to high activity of GTP binding protein in WBN/Kob rats, which may explain the hypersensitivity of WBN/Kob rats to isoproterenol and the development of catecholamine-induced myocarditis.

Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor protein (RhoGDI) inhibits exocytosis in mast cells.

Introducing non-hydrolysable analogues of GTP into the cytosolic compartment of mast cells results in exocytotic secretion through the activation of GTP binding proteins. The identity and mechanism of action of these proteins are not established. We have investigated the effects of Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor (RhoGDI) on exocytosis induced by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S) in rat mast cells, introducing the protein into cells by means of a patch pipette and recording the progress of exocytosis by monitoring cell capacitance. To allow time for the protein to enter the cells and find its correct location, stimulation was provided 5-10 min after patch rupture by photolysing caged GTP-gamma-S included in the pipette solution. When bovine RhoGDI was introduced into mast cells, exocytosis was inhibited at concentrations of 200-400 nM for native protein and 800 nM to 8 microM for the recombinant form. Protein denatured by heat or N-ethylmaleimide treatment did not inhibit. In permeabilized cells, recombinant RhoGDI increased the rate at which cells lose their ability to respond to GTP-gamma-S. These data demonstrate that one or more small GTP binding proteins of the Rho family has a central role in the exocytotic mechanism in mast cells.

Requirement of Rigid-Body Motion of Transmembrane Helices for Light Activation of Rhodopsin

Conformational changes are thought to underlie the activation of heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptors. Such changes in rhodopsin were explored by construction of double cysteine mutants, each containing one cysteine at the cytoplasmic end of helix C and one cysteine at various positions in the cytoplasmic end of helix F. Magnetic dipolar interactions between spin labels attached to these residues revealed their proximity, and changes in their interaction upon rhodopsin light activation suggested a rigid body movement of helices relative to one another. Disulfide cross-linking of the helices prevented activation of transducin, which suggests the importance of this movement for activation of rhodopsin.

Enhancement by melatonin of GTP exchange and ADP ribosylation reactions

The pineal hormone melatonin modulates constitutive protein secretion from murine melanoma M2R cells in vitro, in a cholera-toxin (CTX)-sensitive process, without effecting major changes in cAMP. The effects of melatonin on GTP binding proteins and putative CTX substrates in these cells were investigated. Melatonin enhanced GTPγ 35S binding and the incorporation of 32P-P 3-(4-azidoanilido)-P 1-5′-guanosine triphosphate (Az- 32P-GTP) into 94, 40 and 28 kilodalton proteins. Similar changes were induced by CTX treatment. In addition, melatonin enhanced ADP ribosylation of several proteins, among them 94 and 40 kilodalton bands, apparently at arginyl residues. CTX catalyzed the ADP ribosylation of 45 and 40 (both recognized by antibodies specific to the C-terminal peptide of the Gsα subunit) and 94 kilodalton proteins and attenuated melatonin's effect. The melatonin-mediated ADP ribosylation reactions were attenuated by nicotinamide which inhibits mono(ADP ribosyl)transferases and poly(ADP-ribose)synthetase, but not by 3-amino benzamide, a specific inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose)synthetase. Nicotinamide but not 3-amino benzamide prevented the enhancement by melatonin of GTPγ 35S binding. These results indicate that melatonin enhances protein ADP ribosylation and consequently GTP exchange in a number of CTX-sensitive G proteins. They demonstrate a novel route for concerted activation of multiple GTP binding proteins by a single hormone.

Adrenocorticotropic hormone and cAMP inhibit noninactivating K+ current in adrenocortical cells by an A-kinase-independent mechanism requiring ATP hydrolysis.

Bovine adrenal zona fasciculata (AZF) cells express a noninactivating K+ current (IAC) that is inhibited by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) at picomolar concentrations. Inhibition of IAC may be a critical step in depolarization-dependent Ca2+ entry leading to cortisol secretion. In whole-cell patch clamp recordings from AZF cells, we have characterized properties of IAC and the signalling pathway by which ACTH inhibits this current. IAC was identified as a voltage-gated, outwardly rectifying, K(+)-selective current whose inhibition by ACTH required activation of a pertussis toxin-insensitive GTP binding protein. IAC was selectively inhibited by the cAMP analogue 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-pcpt-cAMP) with an IC50 of 160 microM. The adenylate cyclase activator forskolin (2.5 microM) also reduced IAC by 92 +/- 4.7%. Inhibition of IAC by ACTH, 8-pcpt-cAMP and forskolin was not prevented by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitors H-89 (5 microM), cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor peptide (PKI[5-24]) (2 microM), (Rp)-cAMPS (500 microM), or by the nonspecific protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine (100 nM) applied externally or intracellularly through the patch pipette. At the same concentrations, these kinase inhibitors abolished 8-pcpt-cAMP-stimulated A-kinase activity in AZF cell extracts. In intact AZF cells, 8-pcpt-cAMP activated A-kinase with an EC50 of 77 nM, a concentration 2,000-fold lower than that inhibiting IAC half maximally. The active catalytic subunit of A-kinase applied intracellularly through the recording pipette failed to alter functional expression of IAC. The inhibition of IAC by ACTH and 8-pcpt-cAMP was eliminated by substituting the nonhydrolyzable ATP analogue AMP-PNP for ATP in the pipette solution. Penfluridol, an antagonist of T-type Ca2+ channels inhibited 8-pcpt-cAMP-induced cortisol secretion with an IC50 of 0.33 microM, a concentration that effectively blocks Ca2+ channel in these cells. These results demonstrate that IAC is a K(+)-selective current whose gating is controlled by an unusual combination of metabolic factors and membrane voltage. IAC may be the first example of an ionic current that is inhibited by cAMP through an A-kinase-independent mechanism. The A-kinase-independent inhibition of IAC by ACTH and cAMP through a mechanism requiring ATP hydrolysis appears to be a unique form of channel modulation. These findings suggest a model for cortisol secretion wherein cAMP combines with two separate effectors to activate parallel steroidogenic signalling pathways. These include the traditional A-kinase-dependent signalling cascade and a novel pathway wherein cAMP binding to IAC K+ channels leads to membrane depolarization and Ca2+ entry. The simultaneous activation of A-kinase- and Ca(2+)-dependent pathways produces the full steroidogenic response.

G Protein-mediated Activation of a Nonspecific Cation Current in Cultured Rat Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells

We used whole-cell patch-clamp recording techniques to investigate G protein-activated currents in cultured rat retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Using 140 mM KCl intracellular and 130 mM NaCl extracellular solutions, rat RPE cells possessed both inward and outward K+ currents. Upon addition of the nonhydrolyzable guanine triphosphate analogue, guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiophosphate) (GTPgammaS, 0.1 mM), to the recording electrode, a nonspecific cation (NSC) current was elicited. The NSC current had a mean reversal potential of +5.7 mV in 130 mm extracellular NaCl with Cs+-aspartate in the pipette, and was not affected by alterations in the extracellular Ca2+ or Cl- concentration. The GTPgammaS-activated current was found to be permeable to several monovalent cations (K+, Na+, choline, TRIS, and NMDG). Addition of fluoroaluminate, an activator of large molecular weight heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins (G proteins), to the intracellular recording solution activated the NSC current. The G protein involved was pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive, since GTPgammaS failed to activate the NSC current in cells pretreated with PTX. Further investigation of second messenger molecules suggested that activation of the NSC current was not affected by alterations in intracellular Ca2+ or ATP. From these results, we conclude that a G protein-regulated NSC current is present in rat RPE cells. Activation of the NSC current may sufficiently depolarize RPE cells to activate outward K+ currents. This would provide a mechanism by which these cells could rid themselves of accumulated K+.

The small GTP-binding proteins, Rac and Rho, regulate cytoskeletal organization and exocytosis in mast cells by parallel pathways.

In mast cells, activation of GTP-binding proteins induces centripetal reorganization of actin filaments. This effect is due to disassembly, relocalization, and polymerization of F-actin and is dependent on two small GTPases, Rac and Rho. Activities of Rac and Rho are also essential for the secretory function of mast cells. In response to GTP-gamma-S and/or calcium, only a proportion of permeabilized mast cells is capable of secretory response. Here, we have compared actin organization of secreting and nonsecreting cell populations. We show that the cytoskeletal and secretory responses are strongly correlated, indicating a common upstream regulator of the two functions. The secreting cell population preferentially displays both relocalization and polymerization of actin. However, when actin relocalization or polymerization is inhibited by phalloidin or cytochalasin, respectively, secretion is unaffected. Moreover, the ability of the constitutively active mutants of Rac and Rho to enhance secretion is also unaffected in the presence of cytochalasin. Therefore, Rac and Rho control these two functions by divergent, parallel signaling pathways. Cortical actin disassembly occurs in both secreting and nonsecreting populations and does not, by itself, induce exocytosis. A model for the control of exocytosis is proposed that includes at least four GTP-binding proteins and suggests the presence of both shared and divergent signaling pathways from Rac and Rho.

Evidence that phospholipase D mediates ADP ribosylation factor-dependent formation of Golgi coated vesicles.

Formation of coatomer-coated vesicles from Golgi-enriched membranes requires the activation of a small GTP-binding protein, ADP ribosylation factor (ARF). ARF is also an efficacious activator of phospholipase D (PLD), an activity that is relatively abundant on Golgi-enriched membranes. It has been proposed that ARF, which is recruited onto membranes from cytosolic pools, acts directly to promote coatomer binding and is in a 3:1 stoichiometry with coatomer on coated vesicles. We present evidence that cytosolic ARF is not necessary for initiating coat assembly on Golgi membranes from cell lines with high constitutive PLD activity. Conditions are also described under which ARF is at most a minor component relative to coatomer in coated vesicles from all cell lines tested, including Chinese hamster ovary cells. Formation of coated vesicles was sensitive to ethanol at concentrations that inhibit the production of phosphatidic acid (PA) by PLD. When PA was produced in Golgi membranes by an exogenous bacterial PLD, rather than with ARF and endogenous PLD, coatomer bound to Golgi membranes. Purified coatomer also bound selectively to artificial lipid vesicles that contained PA and phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate (PIP2). We propose that activation of PLD and the subsequent production of PA are key early events for the formation of coatomer-coated vesicles.

GTP-binding protein activation underlies LTP induction by Mast Cell Degranulating peptide

Mast cell degranulating peptide (MCD) induces long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CAI region of the hippocampus. MCD has been shown to bind to a voltage-dependent A-type potassium channel with high-affinity (less than 1 nM). However, the concentration necessary to induce UP is more than 500 nM, suggesting that some other functions of MCD are also fundamental to UP induction. The concentration of MCD required for UP induction was greatly reduced by preactivating G proteins. This fact suggests that G protein activation by MCD also plays an important role in LTP induction. MCD-binding proteins were purified from rat brain. G proteins were found to exist in a non-denatured state in this affinity-purified fraction. When reconstituted into a planar lipid bilayer membrane, a potassium-selective and voltage-dependent current could be observed. This channel was blocked by MCD at a high concentration equal to the effective concentration for G protein activation. Addition of GTP-γ-S significantly blocked the reconstituted current. Thus, we identified a pathway for UP induction by MCD in which high concentrations of MCD activate G protein which in turns leads to blocking of a potassium channel.

The in Vitro Generation of Post-Golgi Vesicles Carrying Viral Envelope Glycoproteins Requires an ARF-like GTP-binding Protein and a Protein Kinase C Associated with the Golgi Apparatus

We have developed a system that recreates in vitro the generation of post-Golgi vesicles from an isolated Golgi fraction prepared from vesicular stomatitis virus- or influenza virus-infected Madin-Darby canine kidney or HepG2 cells. In this system, vesicle generation is temperature- and ATP-dependent and requires a supply of cytosolic proteins, including an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor distinct from NSF. Cytosolic proteins obtained from yeast were as effective as mammalian cytosolic proteins in supporting vesicle formation and had the same requirements. The vesicles produced (50-80 nm in diameter) are depleted of the trans Golgi marker sialyltransferase, contain the viral glycoprotein molecules with their cytoplasmic tails exposed, and do not show an easily recognizable protein coat. Vesicle generation was inhibited by brefeldin A, which indicates that it requires the activation of an Arf-like GTP-binding protein that promotes assembly of a vesicle coat. Vesicles formed in the presence of the nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate retained a nonclathrin protein coat resembling that of COP-coated vesicles, and sedimented more rapidly in a sucrose gradient than the uncoated ones generated in its absence. This indicates that GTP hydrolysis is not required for vesicle generation but that it is for vesicle uncoating. The activity of a Golgi-associated protein kinase C (PKC) was found to be necessary for the release of post-Golgi vesicles, as indicated by the capacity of a variety of inhibitors and antibodies to PKC to suppress it, as well as by the stimulatory effect of the PKC activator 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate.

Thrombin induces proliferation of osteoblast-like cells through phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis

We examined the effect of thrombin on phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing phospholipase D activity in osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. Thrombin stimulated the formation of choline dose dependently in the range between 0.01 and 1 U/ml, but not the phosphocholine formation. Diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP)- inactivated thrombin had little effect on the choline formation. The combined effects of thrombin and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, a protein kinase C-activating phorbol ester, on the choline formation were additive. Staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinases, had little effect on the thrombin-induced formation of choline. Combined addition of thrombin and NaF, an activator of heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein, did not stimulate the formation of choline further. Pertussis toxin had little effect on the thrombin-induced formation of choline. Thrombin stimulated Ca2+ influx from extracellular space time and dose dependently. The depletion of extracellular Ca2+ by EGTA exclusively reduced the thrombin-induced choline formation. Thrombin had only a slight effect on phosphoinositide-hydrolyzing phospholipase C activity. Thrombin induced diacylglycerol formation and DNA synthesis, and increased the number of MC3T3-E1 cells, but DFP-inactivated thrombin did not. Thrombin suppressed both basal and fetal calf serum-induced alkaline phosphatase activity in these cells. Propranolol, an inhibitor of phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase, inhibited both the thrombin-induced diacylglycerol formation and DNA synthesis. These results suggest that thrombin stimulates phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing phospholipase D due to self-induced Ca2+ influx independently of protein kinase C activation in osteoblast-like cells and that its proliferative effect depends on phospholipase D activation.

GTP-binding protein activation underlies LTP induction by Mast Cell Degranulating peptide

Mast cell degranulating peptide (MCD) induces long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CAI region of the hippocampus. MCD has been shown to bind to a voltage-dependent A-type potassium channel with high-affinity (less than 1 nM). However, the concentration necessary to induce UP is more than 500 nM, suggesting that some other functions of MCD are also fundamental to UP induction. The concentration of MCD required for UP induction was greatly reduced by preactivating G proteins. This fact suggests that G protein activation by MCD also plays an important role in LTP induction. MCD-binding proteins were purified from rat brain. G proteins were found to exist in a non-denatured state in this affinity-purified fraction. When reconstituted into a planar lipid bilayer membrane, a potassium-selective and voltage-dependent current could be observed. This channel was blocked by MCD at a high concentration equal to the effective concentration for G protein activation. Addition of GTP-γ-S significantly blocked the reconstituted current. Thus, we identified a pathway for UP induction by MCD in which high concentrations of MCD activate G protein which in turns leads to blocking of a potassium channel.

Adenosine inhibitory effect on enhanced growth of aortic smooth muscle cells from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

1. There is evidence to suggest that adenosine may regulate arterial smooth muscle cell (SMC) growth and proliferation, which is a key event in atherogenesis. This regulation may be mediated via adenylate cyclase. As diabetes is a known risk factor for atherosclerosis, we investigated the growth of aortic SMC from diabetic rats in primary culture and their sensitivity to adenosine and to adenylate cyclase activity. 2. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (STZ, 66 mg kg-1, i.p.) Aortic SMC primary cultures were prepared from STZ-diabetic and age-matched rats 5 weeks after the STZ injection. 3. SMC from STZ-diabetic rats grew faster and reached greater densities at confluence than those from non-diabetic animals. 4. Adenosine inhibited growth in both control and diabetic SMC. However, cells from STZ-diabetic rats were apparently more sensitive to adenosine. 5. Direct activation of adenylate cyclase by forskolin induced a dose-dependent growth inhibition, similar in both groups of cells. 6. Cholera toxin, an activator of stimulatory GTP-binding protein (Gs), induced a similar growth inhibitory response in non-diabetic and diabetic SMC. Pertussis toxin (PTX), an inactivator of inhibitory GTP-binding protein (Gi), did not itself affect SMC growth. However, PTX increased dose-dependently the growth inhibition induced by adenosine in SMC from non-diabetic rats but not in SMC from diabetic rats. 7. These findings suggest a functional abnormality in Gi activity in SMC from diabetic rats, that would explain the increased sensitivity to the nucleoside. This impaired inhibitory pathway may reflect changes in the growth regulation of SMC in experimental diabetic states.

Ca2+ channel activation by platelet-derived growth factor-induced tyrosine phosphorylation and Ras guanine triphosphate-binding proteins in rat glomerular mesangial cells.

We investigated the signaling pathways mediating 1-pS Ca2+ channel activation by PDGF in cultured rat mesangial cells. In cell-attached patches, intrapipette PDGF-BB (PDGF B chain homodimer isoform) (50 ng/ml) dramatically stimulates channel activity (P < 0.003, n = 6). Tyrosine kinase inhibition (100 microM genistein or 10 microM tryphostin 9) abolished PDGF-induced channel activation (P < 0.02, n = 6). In excised patches, the effect of tyrosine kinase inhibition could be reversed by 200 microM GTPgammaS (P < 0.02, n = 4). In contrast, 200 microM GDPbetaS inhibited PDGF-induced channel activity (P < 0.04, n = 6). Pertussis toxin (250 ng/ml) had no effect on PDGF-induced channel activity (P = 0.45, n = 6). When excised patches were exposed to anti-Ras antibody (5 microg/ml), PDGF-induced channel activity was abolished (P < 0.002, n = 11). Western immunoblots revealed that PDGF-BB binding stimulates the formation of a membrane-bound complex consisting of growth factor receptor-binding protein 2, son of sevenless, and the PDGF-beta receptor. Complex formation was abolished by genistein. In mesangial cells, the intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity of the PDGF-beta receptor stimulates the formation of a membrane-bound growth factor receptor-binding protein 2/son of sevenless/PDGF-beta receptor complex and activation of the pertussis toxin-insensitive GTP-binding protein, p21-Ras, which leads to the opening of 1-pS Ca2+ channels.