On induction of cell differentiation by cyclic AMP pulses in Dictyostelium discoideum

Repeated pulses of cyclic AMP, applied at intervals of 5 min, efficiently induced differentiation in cells of agip 53, a morphogenetic mutant of Dictyostelium discoideum, strain Ax-2. In contrast, pulses applied at intervals of 2 min did not induce cell differentiation. To analyze this phenomenon the hydrolysis of cyclic AMP between the pulses as well as the effect of the pulses on the intracellular concentrations of cyclic GMP were investigated. Experiments performed in the presence of added cyclic AMP was not the reason of the inefficiency of the pulses applied with a 2-min rhythm. Cyclic AMP pulses applied at intervals of 2 min induced discrete increases of the cyclic GMP concentration. Limited time resolution at the level of cyclic GMP cannot account for the inefficiency of the 2-min pulses.     

On induction of cell differentiation by cyclic AMP pulses in Dictyostelium discoideum

Repeated pulses of cyclic AMP, applied at intervals of 5 min, efficiently induced differentiation in cells of agip 53, a morphogenetic mutant of Dictyostelium discoideum, strain Ax-2. In contrast, pulses applied at intervals of 2 min did not induce cell differentiation. To analyze this phenomenon the hydrolysis of cyclic AMP between the pulses as well as the effect of the pulses on the intracellular concentration of cyclic GMP were investigated. Experiments performed in the presence of added cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase revealed that incomplete hydrolysis of cyclic AMP was not the reason for the inefficiency of the pulses applied with a 2-min rhythm. Cyclic AMP pulses applied at intervals of 2 min induced discrete increases of the cyclic GMP concentration. Limited time resolution at the level of cyclic GMP cannot account for the inefficiency of the 2-min pulses.Based on material presented at the Symposium Intercellular Communication Stuttgart, September 16–17, 1982     

Independent regulation of the extracellular cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase-inhibitor system and membrane differentiation by exogenous cyclic AMP in Dictyostelium discoideum.

When amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum, suspended in buffer, were treated with 100 nM pulses of cAMP, the extracellular cAMP phosphodiesterase (ePD) activity increased dramatically and the synthesis of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDI) was repressed. In addition, the time of appearance on the cell surface of contact sites A, membrane-bound cAMP phosphodiesterase, and cAMP binding sites was accelerated by 3–4 hr and the concentration of intracellular cAMP increased ?20-fold. When the concentration of the cAMP pulse was reduced to 1 nM, the effect of the pulses on membrane differentiation and on the cAMP pool was virtually the same, while the effect on the ePD-PDI system was reduced. When cAMP was added to the suspension continuously, the nucleotide had no effect on membrane differentiation and failed to stimulate the intracellular cAMP pool, however, the ePD-PDI system was regulated normally. When the developmental mutant, HC112, was treated with cAMP pulses, membrane differentiation and the level of the cAMP pool were unaffected, while the ePD-PDI system responded to the exogenous cAMP. In another mutant, HC53, membrane differentiation was stimulated by cAMP pulses and this response was accompanied by a sharp increase in the concentration of the cAMP pool. These results suggest that the ePD-PDI system and membrane differentiation are regulated independently by exogenous cAMP and that regulation of the ePD-PDI system does not require activation of the adenylyl cyclase.     

Identification and cyclic AMP-induced modification of the cyclic AMP receptor in Dictyostelium discoideum

We have recently identified a cell surface cAMP-binding protein by specific photoaffinity labeling of intact Dictyostelium discoideum cells with 8-N3-[32P] cAMP. The major photolabeled protein appears as a doublet (Mr = 40,000-43,000) in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis autoradiography. In this study, the doublet is shown to have the characteristics of the cAMP receptor responsible for chemotaxis and cAMP signaling. Both specific photoaffinity labeling of the doublet and binding of 8-N3-[32P]cAMP are saturable (KD = 0.3 microM), the levels of both peak at 5 h, and both are inhibited by cAMP and several cAMP analogs in the same order of potency and with K1 values similar to those measured for inhibition of [3H]cAMP binding. When cAMP-binding activity was partially purified (40-fold) and then photoaffinity labeled, the same bands (Mr = 40,000-43,000) were observed. The relative intensities of the upper and lower bands of the doublet alternated at the same frequency as the spontaneous oscillations in cAMP synthesis. When oscillations were suppressed, the lower band of the doublet predominated. Following addition of cAMP, the relative intensity gradually shifted to the upper band. When cAMP was removed, there was a gradual restoration of the lower band form. We propose that the lower band form of the receptor activates chemotaxis and cAMP signaling and that the upper band form does not. This reversible receptor modification may then be the mechanism of adaptation, the process by which the physiological responses cease to be stimulated by persistent cAMP. Several developmentally regulated genes in D. discoideum have been reported to be induced or suppressed by pulses of cAMP (adaptive regulation) and others by continuous cAMP (nonadaptive regulation). These observations may be explained by the receptor modification reported here if the two forms of the receptor, which bind cAMP with the same affinity, independently influence gene expression.     

Extracellular cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase accelerates differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Extracellular cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase accelerates the development of aggregation competence in Dictyostelium discoideum when present during the preaggregation stage. The effect on development appears to depend only on hydrolysis of extracellular cyclic AMP and not on other properties of the phosphodiesterase molecule. Extracellular cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase, as a promoter of differentiation, acts mainly throughout the first half of interphase. Our evidence supports the proposal that cyclic AMP oscillations control the rate and possibly the initiation of development. Since extracellular cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase acts from the beginning of interphase cyclic AMP oscillations may also occur from early interphase, at least in the presence of this enzyme. This would imply that the cyclic AMP oscillator is a determinant, but not a product, of the developmental programme.     

Quantitative analysis of cyclic AMP waves mediating aggregation in Dictyostelium discoideum

We have previously reported the detection of cAMP waves within monolayers of aggregating Dictyostelium discoideum cells (K. J. Tomchik and P.N. Devreotes, 1981, Science 212, 443-446). The computer-assisted analysis presented here of the fluorographic images of the cAMP waves reveals (1) all the waves have a consistent width and height; (2) cAMP concentrations within centers of concentric aggregation territories oscillate periodically while at spiral centers the concentration builds up to a plateau value within 2 mm; (3) cells within the region of intersection of two oppositely directed cAMP waves are stimulated to produce more cAMP than those responding to a single wave; (4) cells start to move when the cAMP level begins to increase and cease movement when the peak cAMP concentration reaches the cell.     

Biochemical differentiation in a mutant of Dictyostelium discoideum defective in cyclic AMP chemotaxis and in intercellular cohesion

A temperature-sensitive mutant of Dictyostelium discoideum has been isolated based on its lack of chemotaxis toward cyclic AMP at the restrictive temperature, 27 degrees C. The mutant develops normally at the permissive temperature, 22 degrees C, but fails to aggregate or complete development at the restrictive temperature. The temperature-sensitive phenotype can be bypassed by allowing cultures to grown into late log phase or to starve for 60-90 min at 22 degrees C prior to a shift to 27 degrees C. At 27 degrees C, the mutant overproduces cell surface cyclic AMP receptors of both high and low affinity and is capable of spontaneous oscillations in light scattering in cell suspensions. Despite its complete lack of morphological development, the mutant undergoes extensive biochemical differentiation. At the onset of starvation, it shows increased levels of N-acetylglucosaminidase, it express cyclic AMP receptors at the normal time and, although somewhat slowly, suppresses those receptors as if aggregation had been achieved. Metabolic pulse labellings with [35S]methionine revealed that the mutant at 27 degrees C displays the same changes in the patterns of newly synthesized proteins observed during the vegetative-to-aggregation and the aggregation-to-slug stages of normal development. The only clear difference from wild type was the failure of the culmination-stage isozyme of beta-glucosidase to appear. The mutant is defective in establishment of intercellular cohesion mechanisms, correlated with poor agglutination by concanavalin A, at the restrictive temperature. The properties of the mutant place severe constraints on models regarding the role of chemoreception and intercellular cohesion in regulation of gene expression.     

Purification and characterization of the extracellular cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase of Dictyostelium discoideum

Extracellular phosphodiesterase for adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate [EC 3.1.4.17] was purified from the supernatant of aggregation phase culture of Dictyostelium discoideum, and two types (type I and type II) of the enzyme were found. The type I enzyme was not absorbed on DEAE-Sephacel at pH 8.5 and had an apparent molecular weight of about 67,000 daltons. In contrast, the type II enzyme was adsorbed on DEAE-Sephacel and had an apparent molecular weight of about 120,000 daltons. The Km values of the two types were similar (2-4 microM). Upon SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses, however, both types produced the same bands with molecular weights of 55,000 and 57,000, indicating that they are two different forms composed of common constituents. During the growth phase, the two types of the enzyme were present in culture supernatant in roughly equal amounts, but type II accumulated predominantly in the aggregation phase, suggesting that the ratio of activity of the two forms is under developmental control. Rabbit antiserum prepared against purified type II enzyme cross-reacted with type I as well as membrane-bound enzyme, indicating that the three classes of the enzyme possess some common sequence.     

Control of developmental transitions in the cyclic AMP signalling system of Dictyostelium discoideum

In the first few hours after starvation, the developing cAMP secretory system in Dictyostelium discoideum has been observed to be successively in one of four states: (a) quiescent, (b) excitable (capable of relay), (c) autonomously oscillating, and (d) secreting at a high steady level. A theoretical model is presented which demonstrates that the proximal cause of the transitions between different types of behavior may be slow changes in the activities of the enzymes adenylate cyclase and phosphodiesterase. These changes affect the stability properties of the steady state admitted by the cAMP signalling system. Sustained oscillations develop when the steady state is unstable, whereas relay of cAMP signals occurs upon perturbation of a stable steady state for parameter values close to those which produce oscillations. The developmental path suggested in the adenylate cyclase-phosphodiesterase space for the sequential transitions compares with the time course observed for the synthesis of these enzymes after starvation. It is suggested that there is general significance for the understanding of differentiation in the example given of a state-point following a developmental path in parameter space, moving from one behavioral domain to another, and thereby bringing about shifts in qualitative behavior.     

Localization and levels of cyclic AMP during development of Dictyostelium discoideum

Cyclic AMP functions as the chemotactic signal during aggregation of amoebae of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Evidence suggests that cAMP also acts as a regulatory molecule during Dictyostelium multicellular differentiation. We have used ultramicrotechniques and a sensitive radioimmunoassay to measure the levels of cAMP within the culmination stage individual. We show that there is a peak of cAMP at the culmination stage of development and that in the individual at this stage the molecule is localized in a gradient within the spore mass.     

Cellular responsiveness to cyclic AMP in a phosphodiesterase-defective mutant of Dictyostelium discoideum

Responsiveness of Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae to cAMP, a chemotactic mediator, was investigated in a strain defective in cAMP-phosphodiesterase production. Cells were subjected to a high cAMP signal (10(-6) M) in the presence or absence of exogenous phosphodiesterase, and the changes of intracellular cAMP and cGMP concentrations and of adenylate cyclase activity were measured. In the presence of cAMP hydrolysis, both adenylate and guanylate cyclases are transiently activated. In the absence of hydrolysis, the high and constant extracellular cAMP concentration is sufficient to elicit a re-activation of adenylate cyclase a few minutes after the first transient response. In contrast, levels of cGMP remain basal for at least 20 min after termination of the initial response to the cAMP addition.     

Dictyostelium discoideum lipids modulate cell-cell cohesion and cyclic AMP signaling.

During Dictyostelium discoideum development, cell-cell communication is mediated through cyclic AMP (cAMP)-induced cAMP synthesis and secretion (cAMP signaling) and cell-cell contact. Cell-cell contact elicits cAMP secretion and modulates the magnitude of a subsequent cAMP signaling response (D. R. Fontana and P. L. Price, Differentiation 41:184-192, 1989), demonstrating that cell-cell contact and cAMP signaling are not independent events. To identify components involved in the contact-mediated modulation of cAMP signaling, amoebal membranes were added to aggregation-competent amoebae in suspension. The membranes from aggregation-competent amoebae inhibited cAMP signaling at all concentrations tested, while the membranes from vegetative amoebae exhibited a concentration-dependent enhancement or inhibition of cAMP signaling. Membrane lipids inhibited cAMP signaling at all concentrations tested. The lipids abolished cAMP signaling by blocking cAMP-induced adenylyl cyclase activation. The membrane lipids also inhibited amoeba-amoeba cohesion at concentrations comparable to those which inhibited cAMP signaling. The phospholipids and neutral lipids decreased cohesion and inhibited the cAMP signaling response. The glycolipid/sulfolipid fraction enhanced cohesion and cAMP signaling. Caffeine, a known inhibitor of cAMP-induced adenylyl cyclase activation, inhibited amoeba-amoeba cohesion. These studies demonstrate that endogenous lipids are capable of modulating amoeba-amoeba cohesion and cAMP-induced activation of the adenylyl cyclase. These results suggest that cohesion may modulate cAMP-induced adenylyl cyclase activation. Because the complete elimination of cohesion is accompanied by the complete elimination of cAMP signaling, these results further suggest that cohesion may be necessary for cAMP-induced adenylyl cyclase activation in D. discoideum.     

Cyclic AMP relay and cyclic AMP-induced cyclic GMP accumulation during development of Dictyostelium discoideum

Abstract Cyclic AMP-induced cAMP and cGMP responses during development of Dictyostelium discoideum were investigated. The cAMP-induced cGMP response is maximal when aggregation is in full progress, and then decreases to about 10% of the maximal level during further multicellular development. The cAMP response increases upon starvation, reaches its maximum at the onset of aggregation, and then decreases to about 8% of the maximum level. The dynamics of the post-aggregative cAMP response are in qualitative agreement with the dynamics of the cAMP relay response in aggregation-competent cells.     

Cyclic AMP is an inhibitor of stalk cell differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum

Cyclic AMP and DIF-1 (1-(3,5-dichloro-2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-1-hexanone) together induce stalk cell differentiation in vitro in Dictyostelium discoideum strain V12M2. The induction can proceed in two stages: in the first, cyclic AMP brings cells to a DIF-responsive state; in the second, DIF-1 alone can induce stalk cell formation. We report here that during the DIF-1-dependent stage, cyclic AMP is a potent inhibitor of stalk cell differentiation. Addition of cyclic AMP at this stage to V12M2 cells appreciably delays, but does not prevent, stalk cell formation. In contrast, stalk cell differentiation in the more common strain NC4 is completely suppressed by the continued presence of cyclic AMP. This fact explains earlier failures to induce stalk cells in vitro in NC4. We now consistently obtain efficient stalk cell induction in NC4 by removing cyclic AMP in the DIF-1-dependent stage. Cyclic AMP also inhibits the production of a stalk-specific protein (ST310) in both NC4 and a V12M2 derivative. Adenosine, a known antagonist of cyclic AMP action, does not relieve this inhibition by cyclic AMP and does not itself promote stalk cell formation. Finally, stalk cell differentiation of NC4 cells at low density appears to require factors in addition to cyclic AMP and DIF-1, but their nature is not yet known. The inhibition of stalk cell differentiation by cyclic AMP may be important in establishing the prestalk/prespore pattern during normal development, and in preventing the maturation of prestalk into stalk cells until culmination.     

Cell differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum controls assembly of protein-linked glycans

The prestalk and prespore cells from the Dictyostelium discoideummulticellular slug stage of development differ in assembly ofglycoconjugates. Prespore cells are 2- to 3-fold more activethan prestalk cells in the assembly of N-linked glycans and20-fold more active in their fucosylation. Only prespore cellssynthesize an O-linked glycan consisting in part of Fuc -linkedto N-acetylglucosamine. Incorporation of fucose, glucosamine,mannose and galactose into large pronase-resistant glycoconjugateswas almost exclusively into prespore cells. Such glucosamine-labelledglycoconjugates resist fragmentation by ß-eliminationand include a glycoantigen dependent on the modB genetic locus.In contrast, large fucose-labelled glycoconjugates consistedof multiple, small, O-linked oligosaccharides on carrier peptides.The spore coat protein SP96 has several fucosylated O-linkedoligosaccharides, one of which correlates with a fucose epitopepreviously shown to localize in prespore vesicles and the outerlayer of the spore coat. Dictyostelium discoideum glycoconjugates glycoproteins prespore prestalk     

Dictyostelium discoideum cell membranes contain masked chemotactic receptors for cyclic AMP

Aggregating Dictyostelium discoideum cells possess highly specific receptors for the chemoattractant cAMP on their cell surface. Isolated membranes as well as intact cells are shown to contain a large number of latent cAMP receptors. These are reversibly unmasked in the presence of a high salt concentration (0.1–2 M) or in the presence of millimolar concentrations of Ca²⁺.