An equilibrium study of the cooperative binding of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate and guanosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate to the adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate receptor protein from Escherichia coli

The binding of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and guanosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) to the adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate receptor protein (CRP) from Escherichia coli was investigated by equilibrium dialysis at pH 8.0 and 20 degrees C at different ionic strengths (0.05--0.60 M). Both cAMP and cGMP bind to CRP with a negative cooperativity that is progressively changed to positive as the ionic strength is increased. The binding data were analyzed with an interactive model for two identical sites and site/site interactions with the interaction free energy--RT ln alpha, and the intrinsic binding constant K and cooperativity parameter alpha were computed. Double-label experiments showed that cGMP is strictly competitive with cAMP, and its binding parameters K and alpha are not very different from that for cAMP. Since two binding sites exist for each of the cyclic nucleotides in dimeric CRP and no change in the quaternary structure of the protein is observed on binding the ligands, it is proposed that the cooperativity originates in ligand/ligand interactions. When bound to double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA), CRP binds cAMP more efficiently, and the cooperativity is positive even in conditions of low ionic strength where it is negative for the free protein. By contrast, cGMP binding properties remained unperturbed in dsDNA-bound CRP. Neither the intrinsic binding constant K nor the cooperativity parameter alpha was found to be very sensitive to changes of pH between 6.0 and 8.0 at 0.2 M ionic strength and 20 degrees C. For these conditions, the intrinsic free energy and entropy of binding of cAMP are delta H degree = -1.7 kcal . mol-1 and delta S degree = 15.6 eu, respectively.     

A cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk protein tyrosine kinase in the flagella of boar spermatozoa

A cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein tyrosine phosphorylation is involved in the expression of fertilizing ability in mammalian spermatozoa. However, there are only limited data concerning the identification of protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) that is activated by the cAMP signaling. In this study, we have shown data supporting that boar sperm flagellum possesses a unique cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA) signaling cascade leading to phosphorylation of Syk PTK at the tyrosine residues of the activation loop. Ejaculated spermatozoa were washed and then incubated in a modified Krebs-Ringer HEPES medium (mKRH) containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) plus 0.1 mM cBiMPS (a cell-permeable cAMP analog), 0.25 mM sodium orthovanadate (Na3VO4) (a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) inhibitor) or both at 38.5 degrees C for 180 min. Aliquots of the sperm suspensions were recovered before and after incubation and then used to detect sperm tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins by Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence. In the Western blotting, the anti-phosphotyrosine monoclonal antibody (4G10) recognized several bands including 72-kDa protein in the protein extracts from spermatozoa that were incubated solely with cBiMPS. The tyrosine phosphorylation in these sperm proteins was dependent on cBiMPS and enhanced by the addition of Na3VO4. The 72-kDa tyrosine-phosphorylated protein was apparently reacted with the anti-phospho-Syk antibody (Tyr525/526). Indirect immunofluorescence revealed that the connecting and principal pieces of spermatozoa incubated with cBiMPS and Na3VO4 were stained with the anti-phospho-Syk antibody. However, the reactivity of the 72-kDa protein with the anti-phospho-Syk antibody was reduced by the addition of H-89 (a PKA inhibitor, 0.01-0.1 mM) to the sperm suspensions but not affected by the pretreatment of spermatozoa with BAPTA-AM (an intracellular Ca2+ chelator, 0.1 mM). Fractionation of phosphorylated proteins from the spermatozoa with a detergent Nonidet P-40 suggested that the 72-kDa tyrosine-phosphorylated protein might be a cytoskeletal component. Based on these findings, we have concluded that the cAMP-PKA signaling is linked to the Ca2+-independent tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk in the connecting and principal pieces of boar spermatozoa.     

Inhibition of Escherichia coli growth by cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate

Cyclic AMP inhibits growth rate of E. coli Hfr 3000. Doubling times in glucose minimal medium increased from 60 to about 90 minutes with the addition of 5 mM cAMP. This effect is specific since it was not observed when the cyclic nucleotide was replaced by 5′ AMP, ADP, ATP or adenosine. Half maximal inhibition was obtained with 1 to 3 mM cyclic AMP. This inhibition occurs only with those carbon sources which are known to decrease intracellular cyclic AMP levels, i.e. glucose and pyruvate. No inhibition was observed with succinate, malate or glycerol.     

Compartmentation of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate signaling in caveolae.

The cAMP-signaling pathway is composed of multiple components ranging from receptors, G proteins, and adenylyl cyclase to protein kinase A. A common view of the molecular interaction between them is that these molecules are disseminated on the plasma lipid membrane and random collide with each other to transmit signals. A limitation to this idea, however, is that a signaling cascade involving multiple components may not occur rapidly. Caveolae and their principal component, caveolin, have been implicated in transmembrane signaling, particularly in G protein-coupled signaling. We examined whether caveolin interacts with adenylyl cyclase, the membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ATP to cAMP. When overexpressed in insect cells, types III, IV, and V adenylyl cyclase were localized in caveolin-enriched membrane fractions. Caveolin was coimmunoprecipitated with adenylyl cyclase in tissue homogenates and copurified with a polyhistidine-tagged form of adenylyl cyclase by Ninitrilotriacetic acid resin chromatography in insect cells, suggesting the colocalization of adenylyl cyclase and caveolin in the same microdomain. Further, the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (RIIalpha, but not RIalpha) was also enriched in the same fraction as caveolin. Gsalpha was found in both caveolin-enriched and non-caveolin-enriched membrane fractions. Our data suggest that the cAMP-signaling cascade occurs within a restricted microdomain of the plasma membrane in a highly organized manner.     

Two novel stimuli of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in human lymphocytes.

Polystyrene latex particles (PLP) and zymosan particles (ZP), two commonly employed phagocytic stimuli, were noted to bind to purified human peripheral blood lymphocytes. This interaction was not accompained by ingestion but did lead to a marked increase in intracellular cyclic AMP. The cAMP response to PLP was proportional to the particle cell ratio which, in turn, correlated with the number of membrane-associated particles. After the addition of PLP to lymphocytes, the cAMP response occurred within 2 min, peaked between 4 and 15 min, and returned to baseline by 30 to 60 min. The cAMP response to ZP was similar in onset and duration to that seen with PLP but was less marked (2- to 4-fold vs 25- to 50-fold) and more variable in magnitude. This is probably a reflection of the smaller number of cells interacting with ZP. At high PLP to cell ratios almost all of the lymphocytes bound PLP but only 10 to 28% of the mixed lymphocyte population bound ZP. Two lines of evidence established conclusively that the cAMP response was taking place in the lymphocytes themselves rather than in contaminating cells. 1) When lymphocytes were purified additionally by filtration through a nylon wool column (99 to 100% lymphocytes), they were found to undergo a similar cAMP response to PLP. Since the nylon filtration procedure also removes almost all of the B cells, this further indicates that T cells are capable of undergoing the response. 2) Immunofluorescence studies with anti-cAMP antibody revealed an increase in intralymphocytic cAMP which was primarily adjacent to the site of PLP or ZP attachment. The likely explanation of this data is that PLP and ZP perturb the lymphocyte surface leading to regional activation of membrane-bound adenylate cyclase and subsequent cAMP accumulation. Although the physiologic significance of these observations remains to be determined, the results: 1) provide histologic confirmation for the concept of cAMP compartmentablization, 2) clarify conflicting results regarding the localization of cAMP accumulation during the phagocytosis of PLP by mixed leukocyte populations, and 3) suggest that this experimental system may allow an analysis of the mechanism by which perturbations of the lymphocyte surface modulate cAMP.     

Comparison of cyclic nucleotide binding to adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinases.

Binding sites for [3H]cAMP on purified regulatory dimers of type II A-kinase (II-R2) are independent as assessed by equilibrium binding (KD = 6 +/- 1.3 nM at pH 7.2, 25 degrees; nH = 1.0) and by the lack of effect of unlabeled cAMP on dissociation rate (kd = 1.0 X 10(-3) sec -1 at pH 7.2, 25 degrees). In contrast, binding sites for [3H]cGMP on purified G-kinase displayed positively cooperative interactions in both equilibrium and dissociation assays with convex upward Scatchard plots, an nH of 1.6 and a dissociation rate (kd = 6.2 X 10(-3) sec-1 at pH 6.8, 0 degree) which was slowed by excess unlabeled cGMP (kd = 1.13 X 10(-3) sec-1 at pH 6.8, degree). Calculated transition state free energies of dissociation revealed that dissociation of nucleotide from G-kinase in the presence of cGMP was restrained by an energy barrier (20.8 kcal.mol-1) similar to that of II-R2 (20.9 kcal.mol-1), whereas dissociation from G-kinase without excess nucleotide occurred more easily (18.9 kcal.mol-1).