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B R Conklin

Publications and source records attributed to B R Conklin.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Substitution of three amino acids switches receptor specificity of Gq alpha to that of Gi alpha.

Agonist-bound receptors activate heterotrimeric (alpha beta gamma) G proteins by catalysing replacement of GDP bound to the alpha-subunit by GTP. mutations in the C terminus of the alpha-subunit, its covalent modification by pertussis toxin-catalysed ribosylation of ADP, peptide-specific antibodies directed against it, and peptides mimicking C-terminal sequences, all inhibit receptor-mediated activation of G proteins. The logical prediction--that specific amino-acid residues at the C-termini of alpha-subunits can determine the abilities of individual G proteins to discriminate among specific subsets of receptors--has so far not been tested experimentally. Different hormone receptors specifically activate Gq or Gi, whose alpha-subunits (alpha q or alpha i) stimulate phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C or inhibit adenylyl cyclase, respectively. Here we replace C-terminal amino acids of alpha q with the corresponding residues of alpha i2 to create alpha q/alpha i2 chimaeras that can mediate stimulation of phospholipase C by receptors otherwise coupled exclusively to Gi. A minimum of three alpha i2 amino acids, including a glycine three residues from the C terminus, suffices to switch the receptor specificity of the alpha q/alpha i2 chimaeras. We propose that a C-terminal turn, centered on this glycine, plays an important part in specifying receptor interactions of G proteins in the Gi/Go/Gz family.

Adenylate Cyclase Toxin↗

Hormonal stimulation of adenylyl cyclase through Gi-protein beta gamma subunits.

Agonist-bound receptors activate heterotrimeric (alpha beta gamma) G proteins by catalysing replacement by GTP of GDP bound to the alpha subunit, resulting in dissociation of alpha-GTP from the beta gamma subunits. In most cases, alpha-GTP carries the signal to effectors, as in hormonal stimulation and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase by alpha s and alpha i respectively. By contrast, genetic evidence in yeast and studies in mammalian cells suggest that beta gamma subunits of G proteins may also regulate effector pathways. Indeed, of the four recombinant mammalian adenylyl cyclases available for study, two, adenylyl cyclases II and IV, are stimulated by beta gamma. This effect of beta gamma requires costimulation by alpha s-GTP. This conditional pattern of effector responsiveness led to the prediction that receptors coupled to many G proteins will mediate elevation of cellular cyclic AMP, provided that Gs is also active. We now confirm this prediction. Coexpression of mutationally active alpha s with adenylyl cyclase II converted agonists that act through 'inhibitory' receptors (coupled to Gi) into stimulators of cAMP synthesis. Experiments using pertussis toxin and a putative scavenger of beta gamma, the alpha subunit of transducin, suggest that beta gamma subunits of the Gi proteins mediated this stimulation. These findings assign a new signalling function to beta gamma subunits of Gi proteins, the conditional stimulation of cAMP synthesis by adenylyl cyclase II.

Adenylate Cyclase Toxin↗

Gz-mediated hormonal inhibition of cyclic AMP accumulation.

Hormones inhibit synthesis of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in most cells via receptors coupled to pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding (G) proteins. Mutationally activated alpha subunits of Gi2 (alpha i2) constitutively inhibit cAMP accumulation when transfected into cells. Cells have now been transfected with mutant alpha subunits of four other G proteins--Gz, a PTX-insensitive G protein of unknown function, and Gi1, Gi3, and G(o), which are PTX-sensitive. Mutant alpha z, alpha i1, and alpha i3 inhibited cAMP accumulation but alpha o did not. Moreover, expression of wild-type alpha z produced cells in which PTX did not block hormonal inhibition of cAMP accumulation. Thus, Gz can trigger an effector pathway in response to hormone receptors that ordinarily interact with PTX-sensitive Gi proteins.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗

Recombinant Gq alpha. Mutational activation and coupling to receptors and phospholipase C.

Gq mediates hormonal stimulation of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). We mutated the alpha subunit of Gq (alpha q) to replace arginine 183 with cysteine. Mutations that substitute cysteine for the corresponding arginine residues of alpha s and alpha i2 constitutively activate their respective effector pathways, creating the gsp and gip2 oncogenes. Transient expression of alpha q-R183C in COS-7 and HEK-293 cells constitutively activates PI-PLC, but wild type (WT) alpha q does not. This suggests that the mutated arginines in alpha s, alpha i2, and alpha q share a common function in regulating the active state of these proteins and that the alpha q gene may serve as a target for oncogenic mutations in human tumors. In an attempt to develop an assay for receptor stimulation of recombinant alpha q, we co-expressed receptors with alpha q-WT. We found that the alpha 2-adrenoceptor stimulates PI-PLC activation in HEK-293 cells in a fashion that depends completely on co-expression of alpha q-WT. These findings create an experimental model, similar to that provided for alpha s by S49 cyc- cells, that should make it possible to analyze receptor and effector coupling by mutant alpha q against a null background.

Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors↗

A recombinant calcitonin receptor independently stimulates 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate and Ca2+/inositol phosphate signaling pathways.

Calcitonin (CT), a polypeptide hormone, regulates calcium homeostasis by activating surface receptors coupled to stimulation of adenylyl cyclase in bone and kidney cells. CT has also been reported to increase cytoplasmic Ca2+ in osteoclasts and renal tubule cells. Signaling pathways activated by a recombinant porcine renal calcitonin receptor transiently expressed in HEK-293 cells were studied. In cells expressing the recombinant CT receptor, salmon CT stimulated cAMP accumulation (EC50, 0.16 nM) and synthesis of inositol phosphates (IP; EC50, 3.7 nM). Two other recombinant receptors, the m1-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor and the LH receptor, activated synthesis of either IP or cAMP, respectively, but not both. Stable expression of the CT receptor in a CT receptor-deficient cell line, M18, restored the cells' ability to increase cytoplasmic Ca2+ in response to salmon CT. These results show that a single recombinant CT receptor can independently activate effector pathways mediated by cAMP and IP/Ca2+.

Animals↗

Carbachol-induced reverse transformation of Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with and expressing the m5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor.

Reverse transformation was induced in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with and stably expressing the m5 subtype of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor when stimulated with the muscarinic agonist, carbachol. Atropine, a muscarinic antagonist, blocked the carbachol-stimulated reverse transformation. CHO cells not transfected with the muscarinic receptor did not change with added carbachol. PMA induced reverse transformation without increasing cAMP accumulation in CHO cells. Carbachol, prostaglandin E2, and cholecystokinin increased cAMP accumulation but only carbachol caused reverse transformation. Carbachol-stimulated cAMP accumulation occurred at a higher concentration (EC50 10 microM) than did carbachol-stimulated reverse transformation (EC50 63 nM). Muscarinic m5 acetylcholine receptor transfected into CHO cells can induce reverse transformation which may be independent of cAMP.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Stimulation of arachidonic acid release and inhibition of mitogenesis by cloned genes for muscarinic receptor subtypes stably expressed in A9 L cells.

A family of genes encoding four distinct muscarinic receptors (designated m1-m4) has been cloned and stably expressed in A9 L cells. When the m1 and m3 receptors were stimulated with carbachol, there was a rapid rise of liberated arachidonic acid, inositol phosphates, and cAMP, while m2 and m4 receptor stimulation had no detectable stimulation of these second messengers. Pretreatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) caused a marked acceleration and amplification of m1 and m3 receptor-mediated arachidonic acid release. In contrast, m1- and m3-mediated inositol phosphate formation was inhibited by the same PMA pretreatment. Arachidonic acid release was unaffected by manipulations of cAMP levels. Arachidonic acid production was inhibited by calcium-free medium and 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid 8-(diethylamino)octyl ester (TMB-8; an inhibitor of cytosolic calcium mobilization) yet was unaffected by verapamil, a calcium-channel blocker. These experiments show that arachidonic acid release induced by the m1 and m3 receptors is regulated independently of phospholipase C and cAMP accumulation. Carbachol stimulation of the m1 and m3 cAMP accumulation. Carbachol stimulation of the m1 and m3 receptors also markedly decreased mitogenesis as measured by thymidine incorporation. The m1 receptor-mediated inhibition of mitogenesis could be partially blocked by indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor. The inhibition of mitogenesis could be mimicked by cAMP elevation.

Animals↗

Distinct bradykinin receptors mediate stimulation of prostaglandin synthesis by endothelial cells and fibroblasts.

Bradykinin-stimulated prostaglandin synthesis was investigated in Swiss albino 3T3 fibroblasts (Swiss 3T3 cells) and bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (CPAE). Previous studies have indicated that bradykinin stimulates arachidonic acid release in Swiss 3T3 cells by activating phospholipase A2 and by activating phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C in CPAE cells. The dose-response for bradykinin-stimulated prostaglandin synthesis was similar in Swiss 3T3 cells and CPAE cells. Marked differences were found in the effects of several bradykinin analogs in Swiss 3T3 cells and CPAE cells. des-Arg9-bradykinin was a partial agonist in CPAE cells whereas it was completely inactive in Swiss 3T3 cells. [p-chloro-D-Phe6-D-Pro7]-Bradykinin was a full agonist in Swiss 3T3 cells, but only a partial agonist, exhibiting a bell-shaped curve, in CPAE cells. The bradykinin antagonist, [D-Arg0-Hyp3-D-Phe7]-bradykinin, was a several-fold more potent antagonist in Swiss 3T3 cells, compared to CPAE cells. The effects of these bradykinin analogs on prostaglandin synthesis do not fit the previously described BK1, BK2 bradykinin receptor classification. These findings suggest that there are at least two bradykinin receptors which stimulate prostaglandin synthesis. Previous studies have indicated that these two bradykinin receptors may be coupled to different transduction pathways for the release of arachidonate.

Animals↗