Neuronal acetylcholine receptors in Drosophila: the ARD protein is a component of a high-affinity alpha-bungarotoxin binding complex.

The ard gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a structural homologue of vertebrate nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) and is expressed exclusively in nervous tissue. To study the nature of the ARD protein, antibodies were raised against fusion constructs containing two regions of this polypeptide. One segment is putatively extracellular (amino acids 65-212), the other domain is exposed to the cytoplasm (amino acids 305-444). The ARD antisera obtained served to investigate the physical relationship between the ARD protein and alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-Btx) binding sites occurring in Drosophila. Two different high-affinity binding sites for [125I]alpha-Btx, a highly potent antagonist of vertebrate muscle AChR, were detected in fly head membranes. Equilibrium binding and kinetic studies revealed Kd values of approximately 0.1 nM (site 1) and approximately 4 nM (site 2). The estimated maximal binding (Bmax) was approximately 240 and 1080 fmol/mg protein respectively. Both sites exhibited a nicotinic-cholinergic pharmacology. Immunoprecipitation experiments with the ARD antisera indicated that the ARD protein is associated with the [125I]alpha-Btx binding site 1 only. These data support the previously postulated hypothesis that the ARD protein is part of an alpha-Btx binding neuronal AChR of Drosophila. Furthermore, they indicate heterogeneity in nicotinic-cholinergic binding sites in the insect nervous system.     

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor beta-subunit is coded for by the cDNA clone alpha 4

Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) with high affinity for nicotine but no affinity for alpha-bungarotoxin, which have been purified from rat and chicken brains by immuno-affinity chromatography, consist of two types of subunits, alpha and beta. The beta-subunits form the ACh binding sites. Putative nicotinic AChR subunit cDNAs alpha 3 and alpha 4 have been identified by screening cDNA libraries prepared from rat PC12 cells and rat brain with cDNA probes encoding the mouse muscle AChR alpha-subunit. Here we determine the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the rat brain AChR beta-subunit by protein microsequencing to be the same as amino acid residues 27-43 of the protein which could be coded by alpha 4. Further, we present evidence consistent with a subunit stoichiometry of alpha 3 beta 2 for this neuronal nicotinic AChR.     

Partition profile of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in lipid domains upon reconstitution

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is in intimate contact with the lipids in its native membrane. Here we analyze the possibility that it is the intrinsic properties of the AChR that determine its partition into a given lipid domain. Torpedo AChR or a synthetic peptide corresponding to the AChR γM4 segment (the one in closer contact with lipids) was reconstituted into “raft”-containing model membranes. The distribution of the AChR was assessed by Triton X-100 extraction in combination with fluorescence studies, and lipid analyses were performed on each sample. The influence of rapsyn, a peripheral protein involved in AChR aggregation, was studied. Raft-like domain aggregation was also studied using membranes containing the ganglioside GM1 followed by GM1 crosslinking. The γM4 peptide displays a marked preference for raft-like domains. In contrast, AChR alone or in the presence of rapsyn or ganglioside aggregation exhibits no such preference for raft-like domains, but it does cause a significant reduction in the total amount of these domains. The results indicate that the distribution of the AChR in lipid domains cannot be due exclusively to the intrinsic physicochemical properties of the protein and that there must be an external signal in native cell membranes that directs the AChR to a specific membrane domain.     

Production of antibodies to the α7-subunit of human acetylcholine receptor with the use of immunoactive synthetic peptides

Potential B epitopes and T-helper epitopes in the N-terminal extracellular domain of the α7-subunit of human acetylchloline receptor (AChR) were theoretically calculated in order to reveal peptides that can induce the formation of specific antibodies to this domain. Four peptides structurally corresponding to four α7-subunit regions containing 16–23 aa and three of their truncated analogues were synthesized. Rabbits were immunized with both free peptides and protein conjugates of their truncated analogues, and a panel of antibodies to various exposed regions of the N-terminal extracellular domain of the AChR α7-subunit was obtained. All of the four predicted peptides were shown to induce the production of antipeptide antibodies in free form, without conjugation with any protein carrier. The free peptides and the protein conjugates of truncated analogues induced the formation of almost equal levels of antibodies. Most of the obtained antisera contained antibodies that bind to the recombinant extracellular N-terminal domain of the rat AChR α7-subunit and do not react with the analogous domain of the α1-subunit of the ray Torpedo californica AChR.     

Diacylglycerol levels modulate the cellular distribution of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Diacylglycerol (DAG), a second messenger involved in different cell signaling cascades, activates protein kinase C (PKC) and D (PKD), among other kinases. The present work analyzes the effects resulting from the alteration of DAG levels on neuronal and muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) distribution. We employ CHO-K1/A5 cells, expressing adult muscle-type AChR in a stable manner, and hippocampal neurons, which endogenously express various subtypes of neuronal AChR. CHO-K1/A5 cells treated with dioctanoylglycerol (DOG) for different periods showed augmented AChR cell surface levels at short incubation times (30 min–4 h) whereas at longer times (18 h) the AChR was shifted to intracellular compartments. Similarly, in cultured hippocampal neurons surface AChR levels increased as a result of DOG incubation for 4 h. Inhibition of endogenous DAG catabolism produced changes in AChR distribution similar to those induced by DOG treatment. Specific enzyme inhibitors and Western blot assays revealed that DAGs exert their effect on AChR distribution through the modulation of the activity of classical PKC (cPKC), novel PKC (nPKC) and PKD activity.     

The constancy and similarity of the amounts of free amino acids in inbred strains of Drosophila and outbred Calliphora

The composition of the free amino acids are compared in adults of two inbred strains of Drosophila subobscura and their hybrids, three inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster, and in flies from a heterogeneous population of Calliphora erythrocephala. It appears that not only do the amounts of amino acid vary very little from fly to fly, but also very little between inbred lines. Furthermore, the relative amounts of the amino acids in Drosophila are similar to the relative amounts in the blowfly, Calliphora. This characteristic of invariant amounts of the free amino acids in these Diptera occurs in spite of the probably large numbers of genes affecting them.     

Identification of the gene and the protein of RNA polymerase II subunit 9 (Rpb9) from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Both the rpb9 gene and its cDNA encoding the subunit 9 of RNA polymerase II were cloned from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. From the DNA sequences, Rpb9 was predicted to consist of 113 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 13 175. S. pombe Rpb9 is 47, 40 and 36% identical in amino acid sequence to the corresponding subunits from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, human and Drosophila melanogaster, respectively. Previously, we failed to detect Rpb9 in the purified RNA polymerase II by amino-terminal micro-sequencing of proteolytic fragments of subunits separated by SDS-gel electrophoresis. After Western blot analysis using antibodies raised against the protein product of the newly isolated rpb9 gene, we found that the purified RNA polymerase II contains Rpb9.     

Natural α-conotoxins and their synthetic analogues in study of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

α-Conotoxins, peptide neurotoxins from poisonous marine snails of the genus Conus that highly specifically block nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) of various types, are reviewed. Preliminarily, the structural organization of AChRs of the muscular and neuronal types, their involvement in physiological processes, and their role in various diseases are briefly discussed. In this connection, the necessity of quantitative determination of AChR subtypes using neurotoxins and other approaches is substantiated. The chemical structure, spatial organization, and specificity of α-conotoxins are mainly discussed, taking into consideration the recent results on the ability of α-conotoxins to interact with muscular or neuronal hetero-and homooligomeric AChRs exhibiting a high species specificity. Particular emphasis is placed upon a thorough characterization of the surfaces of interaction of α-conotoxins with AChRs using synthetic analogues of α-conotoxins, mutations in AChRs, and pairwise mutations in both α-conotoxins and AChRs. The discovery in 2001 of the acetylcholine-binding protein from the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis and the determination of its crystalline structure led to rapid progress in understanding the structural organization of ligand-binding domains of AChRs with which α-conotoxins also interact. We discuss the interaction of various α-conotoxins with acetylcholine-binding proteins, the recently reported X-ray structure of the complex of the acetylcholine-binding protein from Aplysia californica with the α-conotoxin analogue PnIA, and the application of this structure to the modeling of complexes of α-conotoxins with various AChRs.     

Synaptic contacts between embryonic Xenopus neurons and myotubes formed from a rat skeletal muscle cell line

Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) accumulate at the junctional region during early development. In an attempt to characterize this process of AChR accumulation, we combined embryonic Xenopus neurons with myotubes formed from a rat skeletal muscle cell line. Xenopus neurons in culture are known to induce AChR accumulation in Xenopus muscles [Anderson, M. J., Cohen, M. W., and Zorychta, E. (1977). J. (London), 268, 731–756]. Rat myotubes, however, do not exhibit AChR accumulation in culture even when they are functionally innervated by the fetal rat spinal cord explant [Kidokoro, Y. (1980) Develop. Biol., 78, 231–241]. Establishment of synaptic transmission was examined electrophysiologically by recording synaptic potentials, while the distribution of AChR clusters was visualized using fluorescent α-bungarotoxin. Our results indicate that embryonic Xenopus neurons formed functional synaptic contacts but did not cause AChR accumulation in L6-myotubes. It seems that the ability of a nerve to cause AChR accumulation is separate from that to form the functional synapse. We also found that the mean amplitude of synaptic potentials in L6-myotubes interacted with Xenopus neurons was about half of that in L6-myotubes innervated by fetal rat spinal cord explants. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed.     

Temporal and Spatial Requirements of unplugged/MuSK Function during Zebrafish Neuromuscular Development

One of the earliest events in neuromuscular junction (NMJ) development is the accumulation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at the center of muscle cells. The unplugged/MuSK (muscle specific tyrosine kinase) gene is essential to initiate AChR clustering but also to restrict approaching growth cones to the muscle center, thereby coordinating pre- and postsynaptic development. To determine how unplugged/MuSK signaling coordinates these two processes, we examined the temporal and spatial requirements of unplugged/MuSK in zebrafish embryos using heat-shock inducible transgenes. Here, we show that despite its expression in muscle cells from the time they differentiate, unplugged/MuSK activity is first required just prior to the appearance of AChR clusters to simultaneously induce AChR accumulation and to guide motor axons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of unplugged/MuSK throughout the muscle membrane results in wildtype-like AChR prepattern and neuromuscular synapses in the central region of muscle cells. We propose that AChR prepatterning and axonal guidance are spatio-temporally coordinated through common unplugged/MuSK signals, and that additional factor(s) restrict unplugged/MuSK signaling to a central muscle zone critical for establishing mid-muscle synaptogenesis.     

Characterization of cDNAs encoding p53 of Bombyx mori and Spodoptera frugiperda

Complementary DNAs encoding homologs of the tumor suppressor gene, p53, were characterized from two lepidopteran insects, Bombyx mori (Bm) and Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf). They encoded predicted proteins of 368 (41.2 kDa) (Bm) and 374 (42.5 kDa) (Sf) amino acids. The sequences shared 44% amino acid and 60% nucleotide sequence identity with each other, but exhibited less than 20% amino acid and 46% nucleotide sequence identity to Drosophila melanogaster p53. Despite the sequence diversity, conserved amino acids involved in DNA and zinc binding were present in the lepidopteran sequences. Expression of Sfp53-induced apoptosis in S. frugiperda cells, and antiserum made against recombinant Sfp53 recognized a protein whose abundance increased after treatment with DNA damaging agents.     

Complex gene organization of synaptic protein SNAP-25 in Drosophila melanogaster

The evolutionarily conserved protein SNAP-25 (synaptosome-associated protein 25 kDa (kilodaltons)) is a component of the protein complex involved in the docking and/or fusion of synaptic vesicles in nerve terminals. We report here that the SNAP-25 gene (Snap) in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has a complex organization with eight exons spanning more than 120 kb (kilobases). The exon boundaries coincide with those of the chicken SNAP-25 gene (Bark, 1993). Only a single exon 5 has been found in Drosophila, whereas human, rat, chicken, zebrafish and goldfish have two alternatively spliced versions of this exon. In situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry to whole mount embryos show that SNAP-25 mRNA and protein are detected in stage 14 and later developmental stages, and are mainly localized to the ventral nerve cord. Thus, Snap has an evolutionarily conserved and complex gene organization, and its onset of expression in Drosophila melanogaster correlates with a time in neuronal development when synapses begin to be formed and when other synapse-specific genes are switched on.     

Sciatin: a myotrophic protein increases the number of acetylcholine receptors and receptor clusters in cultured skeletal muscle

Factors present in neural extracts or in media conditioned by neurons have been shown by others to increase both the number of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and the number of receptor clusters in cultures of embryonic skeletal muscle. We have recently shown that the glycoprotein, sciatin, exerts trophic effects on developing muscle in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the effect of sciatin on AChRs in aneural cultures of chick skeletal muscle. Sciatin caused a significant increase in the number of AChRs/dish as measured by binding of ¹²⁵I-α-bungarotoxin (α-Btx) and in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity/dish in differentiating muscle cells. The increase in AChRs elicited by sciatin was due solely to increased receptor synthesis and incorporation. The rate of AChR synthesis in sciatin-treated cultures was as much as five times the control rate and was significantly reduced by cycloheximide (10 μM). AChR degradation was unaffected by the myotrophic protein. Although the number of AChRs/dish was increased by sciatin during myogenesis, AChR specific activity, expressed as picomoles ¹²⁵I-α-Btx bound/mg cell protein, was only transiently increased by the myotrophic protein. This contrasted with AChE specific activity in sciatin-treated cultures which remained elevated throughout differentiation. Autoradiographs of ¹²⁵I-α-Btx-labeled cultures showed that sciatin caused an increase in the number and size of AChR “hot spots” and maintained the integrity of these AChR clusters in aneural muscle cultures for up to 5 weeks. At this time control cultures had completely degenerated. The mechanism by which sciatin enhanced the synthesis of AChRs appeared to be distinct from that of tetrodotoxin (TTX), an agent which abolishes muscle activity. However, like theophylline, sciatin might evoke increased synthesis of AChRs via regulation of cyclic AMP since the myotrophic protein increased cAMP both in cells and in conditioned medium. The results of this study suggest that sciatin may be related to the diffusible factor(s) from motor neurons described by others which has trophic effects on AChRs. Furthermore, we suggest that this myotrophic protein may be responsible for the clustering of AChRs and maintenance of receptor clusters at neuromuscular junctions in developing avian muscle.     

Nucleotide sequence of a Drosophila melanogaster cDNA encoding a calnexin homologue

A cDNA which encodes a calnexin (Cnx)-like protein from Drosophila melanogaster has been characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence shares several regions of homology with Cnx from other sources with two conserved motifs each repeated four times. The gene was found to be transcribed in various tissues and at all developmental stages. We have mapped the gene at chromosomal position 99A and we have also mapped the related gene coding for Drosophila calreticulin at 85E.     

Zinc Finger Binding Motifs Do Not Explain Recombination Rate Variation within or between Species of Drosophila

In humans and mice, the Cys₂His₂ zinc finger protein PRDM9 binds to a DNA sequence motif enriched in hotspots of recombination, possibly modifying nucleosomes, and recruiting recombination machinery to initiate Double Strand Breaks (DSBs). However, since its discovery, some researchers have suggested that the recombinational effect of PRDM9 is lineage or species specific. To test for a conserved role of PRDM9-like proteins across taxa, we use the Drosophila pseudoobscura species group in an attempt to identify recombination associated zinc finger proteins and motifs. We leveraged the conserved amino acid motifs in Cys₂His₂ zinc fingers to predict nucleotide binding motifs for all Cys₂His₂ zinc finger proteins in Drosophila pseudoobscura and identified associations with empirical measures of recombination rate. Additionally, we utilized recombination maps from D. pseudoobscura and D. miranda to explore whether changes in the binding motifs between species can account for changes in the recombination landscape, analogous to the effect observed in PRDM9 among human populations. We identified a handful of potential recombination-associated sequence motifs, but the associations are generally tenuous and their biological relevance remains uncertain. Furthermore, we found no evidence that changes in zinc finger DNA binding explains variation in recombination rate between species. We therefore conclude that there is no protein with a DNA sequence specific human-PRDM9-like function in Drosophila. We suggest these findings could be explained by the existence of a different recombination initiation system in Drosophila.     

The structure and expression of maize genes encoding the major heat shock protein, hsp70

We have isolated and sequenced two maize genomic clones that are homologous to the Drosophila hsp70 gene. One of the maize hsp70 clones contains the entire hsp70 coding region and 81 nucleotides of the 5' nontranslated sequence. The predicted amino acid sequence for this maize protein is 68% homologous to the hsp70 of Drosophila. The second maize hsp70 clone contains only part of the coding sequence and 1.1 kb of the 5' flanking sequence. This 5' flanking sequence contains two sequences homologous to the consensus heat-shock-element sequence. Both maize genes are thermally inducible and each contains an intron in the same position as that of the heat-shock-cognate gene, hsc1, of Drosophila. The presence of an intron in the maize genes is a distinguishing feature in that no other thermally inducible hsp70 genes described to date contain an intron. We have constructed a hybrid hsp70 gene containing the entire hsp70 coding sequence with an intron, and 1.1 kb of the 5' flanking sequence. We demonstrate that this hybrid gene is thermally inducible in a transgenic petunia plant and that the gene is expressed from its own promoter.