The interaction of beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs with platelet aggregation, calcium displacement and fluidization of the membrane

beta-Adrenoceptor blocking drugs interfere with adenosine diphosphate-stimulated platelet aggregation. Alprenolol, exaprolol, K? 1124 and propranolol inhibited the aggregation, metipranolol decreased the extent and rate of aggregation significantly. Atenolol potentiated the aggregation measured by amplitude significantly. The interaction of beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs with aggregation correlated with the displacement of calcium ions from binding sites in isolated platelets and the fluidization of the whole platelets and isolated platelet membrane as measured with electron spin resonance of the spin probe. The most potent were highly liposoluble drugs alprenolol, exaprolol, metipranolol and propranolol which increased the calcium displacement and membrane fluidity, the least active was atenolol decreasing these phenomena. The inhibition by beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs of stimulated platelet aggregation is rather a result of unspecific than specific receptor interaction.     

Effects of antimycin and 2-deoxyglucose on adenine nucleotides in human platelets. Role of metabolic adenosine triphosphate in primary aggregation, secondary aggregation and shape change of platelets

1. Human platelet-rich plasma prelabelled with [(3)H]adenine was incubated at 37 degrees C with antimycin A and 2-deoxy-d-glucose. Variations in the amounts of ATP, ADP and P(i), and in the radioactivity of ATP, ADP, AMP, IMP, hypoxanthine+inosine and adenine were determined during incubation. Adrenaline- and ADP-induced platelet aggregation and the ADP-induced shape change of the platelets were determined concurrently. 2. 2-Deoxyglucose caused conversion of [(3)H]ATP to [(3)H]hypoxanthine+inosine. The rate of this conversion increased with increasing 2-deoxyglucose concentration and was markedly stimulated by addition of antimycin, which had no effect alone. At maximal ATP-hypoxanthine conversion rates, the IMP radioactivity remained at values tenfold higher than control, whereas [(3)H]ADP and [(3)H]AMP radioactivity gave variations typical for product/substrates in consecutive reactions. The specific radioactivityof ethanol-soluble platelet ATP decreased during incubation to less than one-tenth of its original value. The amounts and radioactivity of ethanol-insoluble ADP did not vary during incubation with the metabolic inhibitors. 3. The rate of ADP- and adrenaline-induced primary aggregation decreased as the amount of radioactive ATP declined, and complete inhibition of aggregation was obtained at a certain ATP concentration (metabolic ATP threshold). This threshold decreased with increasing concentration of inducer ADP. 4. Secondary platelet aggregation (release reaction) had a metabolic ATP threshold markedly higher than that of primary aggregation. 5. Shape change was gradually inhibited as the ATP radioactivity decreased, and had a metabolic ATP threshold distinctly lower than that of primary aggregation, and which decreased with increasing concentration of ADP. 6. A small but distinct fraction of [(3)H]ATP disappeared rapidly during the combined shape change-aggregation process induced by ADP in platelets incubated with metabolic inhibitors, whereas no ATP disappearance occurred during aggregation in their absence.     

The relationship between pyridine nucleotides and seed dormancy

To investigate the proposed role for NAD metabolism in regulating seed dormancy, NAD metabolites and associated enzyme activities were analysed in seed of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes ranging from Col-0, which has low seed dormancy, to Cvi, which is highly dormant. Seed poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation levels did not correlate well with the depth of seed dormancy but did correlate with the sensitivity of germination to the DNA damaging agent MMS. Cvi seed had relatively high NAD and low NADP levels compared with the less dormant ecotypes and the NAD : NADP ratios correlated well with dormancy. The activity of NAD kinase was relatively low, and NADP phosphatase was relatively high in dormant Cvi seed, indicating that these enzymes may be involved in controlling the NAD : NADP ratio. Dormant fresh Cvi and nondormant after-ripened Cvi seeds were used to investigate further. Measurement of reduced and oxidised pyridine nucleotides indicated that breaking of dormancy was associated with a reduction in NAD levels but not with an increase in NADP levels. It is proposed that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase is involved in protecting the seed from genotoxic stress, whereas the level of NAD affects the depth of dormancy, perhaps by enhancing abscisic acid (ABA) synthesis.     

Effect of some amphiphilic drugs on the membrane morphology and aggregation of rabbit platelets

Treatment of normal, disc-shaped rabbit platelets with lysophosphatidylcholine and chlorpromazine induced respectively spine formation and spherical transformation. In similar concentration ranges to those in which they induced these morphological changes, the drugs suppressed a series of events triggered by thrombin: pseudopod formation, arachidonate release from the membrane phospholipids, and aggregation. Washing the drug-treated platelets reversed the morphological changes and abolished the inhibitory effect on aggregation. These observations suggest that amphiphilic drugs perturb the plasma membrane structure of platelets, inducing the membrane shape change and inhibiting the stimulus-induced aggregation.     

Insulin: interaction with membrane receprots and relationship to cyclic purine nucleotides and cell growth.

Insulin action is discussed with emphasis on events that occur at the plasma membrane. A summary is presented of previous studies which indicate that the insulin receptor of fat and liver cells is a large glycoprotein, partially buried in the outer surface of the plasma membrane, with a high (K-D approximately 10-10 M) and specific affinity for insulin. The participation of membrane phospholipids in the binding of insulin and the role of sialic acid residues in the transmission of the insulin binding signal are discussed. The relation of insulin action to its effects on cyclic nucleotide levels is explored. On the one hand, insulin action (glucose transport) is inhibited by compounds (cholera toxin, ACTH, glucagon and L-norepinephrine) that stimulate adenylate cyclase; conversely, insulin both inhibits the lipolytic action of these compounds, and raises cellular levels of cyclic GMP. An hypothesis is presented whereby a single cyclase species may be responsible for the formation of either cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP, depending on the nature of the hormone stimulus. The role of membrane phosphorylation in the action of insulin is discussed in the context of experiments demonstrating a specific inhibition by ATP of insulin-mediated glucose transport, in association with the phosphorylation of two specific membrane proteins. The ability of insulin to modulate cyclic nucleotide levels in cultured cells and to act as a growth factor is discussed. Insulin stimulates DNA synthesis and the uptake of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid in human fibroblasts, which effects are also mediated by epidermal growth factor. Insulin acts at concentrations much higher than those obtained in vivo, whereas epidermal growth factor acts at concentrations thought to be physiological. The insulin binding sites (K-D is approximately equal to 10-9 M) related to growth, and observed both in human fibroblasts and in lectin-stimulated and leukemic human lymphocytes would not be appreciably occupied at physiological insulin concentrations. The implications of such 'low affinity' binding sites for insulin are discussed in relation to the action of other growth factors.     

Cooperativity between platelet-activating factor and collagen in aggregation of bovine platelets III

In cooperative aggregation of bovine platelets induced by simultaneous addition of PAF and collagen at subthreshold concentrations the following observations were made. (i) Formation of phosphatidic acid and arachidonic acid metabolites, which characterize PAF and collagen alone-induced aggregation, respectively, was observed very obviously. (ii) A thromboxane antagonist did not completely block the cooperative aggregation. The extent of residual aggregation activity was dependent on concentration of collagen used in the simultaneous administration with PAF. These results suggest that both signal transduction pathways activated by PAF and collagen alone at high concentrations are attained by simultaneous addition of both agonists at subthreshold concentrations through unknown mechanisms.     

Transfer of adenine nucleotides between the releasable and nonreleasable compartments of rabbit blood platelets

The metabolic pool of adenine nucleotides in platelets can be labeled by incubating platelets for 1 h in vitro with [14C]adenosine or [32P]orthophosphate. When these platelets are treated with thrombin, the adenine nucleotides released are not labeled. Because of this, Holmsen's suggestion of a metabolically inert pool of granule nucleotides has been generally accepted. We have found that upon incubation of labeled rabbit platelets for longer times (up to 6 h) in vitro, or upon reinjection and reharvesting at times up to 66 h, the releasable pool of adenine nucleotides becomes labeled. Because the rates of 32p and 14C incorporation into this releasable pool are similar, it seems likely that these labels enter the granules as ATP. Equilibrium between the metabolic and granule pools is complete by 18 h. When rabbit platelets are labeled in vivo by intravenous injection of [32P]orthophosphate, peak labeling occurs between 60 and 70 h; this corresponds to their maturation time. The platelets probably incorporate 32P during their production in the megakaryocytes. The specific radioactivity of the adenine nucleotides in the releasable (granule) pool of these platelets is the same as the specific radioactivity in the nonreleasable (metabolic) pool. Since inorganic phosphate in platelets (and undoubtedly in the megakaryocytes) exchanges with inorganic phosphate in plasma, and since the radioactivity of the latter decreases rapidly, the adenine nucleotides in the two pools must exchange to maintain the same specific radioactivity. Transfer of adenine nucleotides into storage granules may represent a general phenomenon because it has been observed in the chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla also.     

Cyclic nucleotides and platelet aggregation. Effect of aggregating agents on the activity of cyclic nucleotide-metabolizing enzymes.

The activities of adenylate and guanylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide 3':5'-phosphodiesterase were determined during the aggregation of human blood platelets with thrombin, ADP, arachidonic acid and epinephrine. The activity of guanylate cyclase is altered to a much larger degree than adenylate cyclase, while cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterease activity remains unchanged. During the early phases of thrombin-and ADP-induced platelet aggregation a marked activation of the guanylate cyclase occurs whereas aggregation induced by arachidonic acid or epinephrine results in a rapid diminution of this activity. In all four cases, the adenylate cyclase activity is only slightly decreased when examined under identical conditions. Platelet aggregation induced by a wide variety of aggregating agents including collagen and platelet isoantibodies results in the "release" of only small amounts (1-3%) of guanylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase and no adenylate cyclase. The guanylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activities are associated almost entirely with the soluble cytoplasmic fraction of the platelet, while the adenylate cyclase if found exclusively in a membrane bound form. ADP and epinephrine moderately inhibit guanylate and adenylate cyclase in subcellular preparations, while arachidonic and other unsaturated fatty acids moderately stimulate (2-4-fold) the former. It is concluded that (1) the activity of platelet guanylate cyclase during aggregation depends on the nature and mode of action of the inducing agent, (2) the activity of the membrnae adenylate cyclase during aggregation is independent of the aggregating agent and is associated with a reduction of activity and (3) cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase remains unchanged during the process of platelet aggregation and release. Furthermore, these observations suggest a role for unsaturated fatty acids in the control of intracellular cyclic GMP levels.     

Cooperativity between platelet-activating factor and collagen in aggregation of bovine platelets, II

When subthreshold amounts of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and collagen were added simultaneously, strong aggregation of platelets was induced. However, each agonist alone at these concentrations could not induce aggregation at all (S. Kojima et al, (1987) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 145, 915-920). This cooperativity was observed not only in aggregation but also in changes of intracellular Ca2+ concentration, 47 kDa protein phosphorylation, and formation of thromboxane. These findings suggest that various steps of signal transduction pathways are enhanced during their cooperativity.     

The relationship between the endoplasmic reticulum and microtubular aggregation and disaggregation

Summary During mitosis groups of microtubules appear consecutively at three different sites in dividing plant cells. They are found at the pre-prophase band encircling the nucleus, at the mitotic poles from which they radiate into the spindle, and at the edge of the cell plate during its development. In the meristematic cells of wheat root-tips it is possible to synchronize the cell divisions by the use of 5-amino-uracil and to layer the organelles of the cells by gentle centrifugation of the whole root. These techniques make it possible to investigate the cell sites at which the microtubules arise during their formation and to see the particular organelles which occur at these sites together with the microtubules. From this type of study it is suggested that profiles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum are concerned with the processes of transport and aggregation of the microtubular sub-units.     

In vitro interactions between membrane, hormone, and cyclic nucleotides as revealed with aequorin

Aequorin was used to study Ca²⁺ movements in an acellular plasma membrane-rich extract from starfish oocyte cortices. Adenosine cyclic nucleotides were found to release Ca²⁺ in this system and to enhance Ca²⁺ release resulting from hormonal stimulation. The natural hormone, 1-methyladenine (1-MeAde), must act directly, independently of cyclic nucleotides, since incubating the extract with phosphodiesterase does not significantly affect the response to the hormone. Moreover, this preparation responds faster to the hormone than to cyclic nucleotides.     

Study of the relationship between shape and aggregation change in human erythrocytes

The relationship between shape and spontaneous and fibrinogen-induced aggregation change in human erythrocytes was studied. Spontaneous and fibrinogen-induced erythrocyte aggregation was investigated using a rheoscope designed according to the method of H. Schmid-Schonbein et al. (1973). The erythrocyte shape was studied by means of light microscopy. It was shown that plasma enriched with lysophosphatidic acid and ATP depletion of erythrocytes led to the change of erythrocyte shape: discocytes transformed into echinocytes. It was found that spontaneous aggregation of such cells was considerably decreased. Aggregation of erythrocytes, treated with lysophosphatidic acid, was diminished more markedly. Fibrinogen-induced aggregation of echinocytes, obtained after treatment with lysophosphatidic acid and produced by ATP depletion, was also greatly reduced.     

Interplay between site-specific mutations and cyclic nucleotides in modulating DNA recognition by Escherichia coli cyclic AMP receptor protein

Mutagenesis of various amino acids in Escherichia coli cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) has been shown to modulate protein compressibility and dynamics [Gekko et al. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 3844-3852]. Cooperativity of cAMP binding to CRP and the apparent DNA binding affinity are perturbed [Lin and Lee (2002) Biochemistry 41, 11857-11867]. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of mutation on the surface chemistry of CRP and to define the consequences of these changes in affecting specific DNA sequence recognition by CRP. Furthermore, the role of the interplay between mutation and specific identity of the bound cyclic nucleotide in this DNA recognition was explored. In the current study, effects of eight site-specific mutations (K52N, D53H, S62F, T127L, G141Q, L148R, H159L, and K52N/H159L) on DNA recognition of four sequences (Class I (site PI of lac), Class II (site PI of gal), and synthetic sequences that are hybrids of Classes I and II sites) modulated by three different cyclic nucleotides (cAMP, cCMP, and cGMP) were investigated. All mutations altered the surface chemistry of CRP as evidenced by the change in elution properties of these proteins from different matrixes. While T127L, S62F, K52N, and H159L exhibited unexpected behavior under combinations of specific experimental conditions, such as the identity of bound cyclic nucleotide and DNA sequence, in general, results showed that the affinities of CRP for DNA were sequence-dependent, increasing in the order of lacgal26 < gal26 < lac26 < gallac26 for all the mutants in the presence of 200 microM cAMP. The apparent association constants significantly increased in the order of no cyclic nucleotide approximately cGMP < cCMP < cAMP for all the examined DNA sequences. Linear correlation between the DeltaG for CRP-DNA complex formation and the cooperativity energy for cAMP binding was observed with gallac26, gal26, and lacgal26; however, the slope of this linear correlation is DNA sequence dependent. Structural information was presented to rationalize the interplay between CRP sequence and cyclic nucleotides in defining the recognition of DNA sequences.