Phosphorylation of Endogenous Proteins by Adenosine 3':5'-Monophosphate-Dependent Protein Kinase in Mouse Neuroblastoma Cells

Abstract: Increased intracellular adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP) levels and activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinases (ATP:protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) in vivo were correlated in mouse neuroblastoma cells grown in the presence of 1 mM-⁶ N.O ²-dibutyryl 3':5'-monophosphate (Bt₂cAMP). The time course for activation showed that cAMP-dependent protein kinases were activated by 30 min. A heat-stable inhibitor protein inhibited a majority of activated cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Activation of cAMP—dependent protein kinase caused additional phosphorylation of proteins when compared with untreated control cells, as demonstrated by endogenous phosphorylation of proteins in vitro using [γ-³²P]ATP and analysis by two—dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The phosphorylation data show selective phosphorylation of specific proteins by cAMP-independent and cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Among the proteins in the postmitochondrial supernatant fraction phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinases, two proteins with a molecular weight of 43,000 were heavily phosphorylated. It is suggested that phosphorylation of cellular proteins by cAMP-dependent protein kinases might be involved in the cAMP-modulated biochemical changes in neuroblastoma cells.     

Nerve Growth Factor-Induced Transient Increase in the Phosphorylation of Ribosomal Protein S6 Mediated Through a Mechanism Independent of Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase and Protein Kinase C

Treatment of PC12h cells with nerve growth factor (NGF) induced a transient increase in the phosphorylation of a 35,000-dalton protein. This transient increase was observed also when extracts of NGF-treated cells were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. In the intact-cell phosphorylation system, treatment with N,2'-dibutyryladenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (dBcAMP) or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) also induced a transient increase in the phosphorylation of the 35,000-dalton protein, but the effect was less than that of NGF. An effect comparable to that of NGF was obtained by the combination of dBcAMP and TPA. Pretreatment of PC12h cells with dBcAMP plus TPA for 3 days, which deprived the cells of their ability to respond to a rechallenge with dBcAMP, TPA, or dBcAMP plus TPA by increasing the rate of 35,000-dalton protein phosphorylation, caused only a slight attenuation of the NGF effect, directly indicating a minimal role of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C in the mechanism of the NGF action. Pretreatment of the cells with K-252a, a protein kinase inhibitor, at a concentration of 300 nM almost completely blocked the action of NGF, but scarcely affected the action of dBcAMP, TPA, or dBcAMP plus TPA in intact-cell phosphorylation experiments. This NGF-sensitive 35,000-dalton protein was a ribosomal protein and identified as ribosomal protein S6. The results lead us to conclude that NGF activates some NGF-sensitive component(s), probably some specific protein kinase(s) other than cAMP-dependent protein kinase or protein kinase C, which is suppressed by K-252a and directly or indirectly activates a 35,000-dalton protein kinase(s) [S6 kinase(s)] to increase the rate of phosphorylation of the 35,000-dalton ribosomal protein (S6).     

Hormone-induced protein phosphorylation. III. regulation of the phosphorylation of the secretagogue-responsive 29,000-dalton protein by both Ca2+ and cAMP in vitro

In the preceding papers, we demonstrated that the endogenous phosphorylation of a 29,000-dalton protein is stimulated in response to secretagogue application to intact cells from the rat exocrine pancreas and parotid and dephosphorylated upon termination of secretagogue action. One- and two-dimensional gel analysis of 32Pi-labeled pancreatic and parotid lobules as well as their respective subcellular fractions revealed that the same protein was covalently modified in both tissues and was localized to the ribosomal fraction. To identify the intracellular second messengers which may mediate or modulate the phosphorylation of the 29,000-dalton protein in intact cells, the effects of Ca2+, cAMP, and cGMP on the endogenous phosphorylation of this protein were assessed in subcellular fractions from the rat pancreas and parotid. Our results demonstrate that the phosphorylation of the 29,000-dalton polypeptide may be regulated by both Ca2+ and cAMP in the pancreas and in the parotid. No cGMP-dependent protein phosphorylation was found in either tissue. As in the in situ phosphorylation studies, the Ca2+- and cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of this same protein was localized to the ribosomal fraction. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity was found primarily in the postmicrosomal supernatant in contrast to the Ca2+-dependent protein kinase that appeared to be tightly associated with the substrate in addition to being present in the postmicrosomal supernatant. The data suggest that, in cells from the exocrine pancreas and parotid, secretagogues may regulate the phosphorylation of the 29,000-dalton protein through Ca2+ and/or cAMP.     

Phosphorylation of the carotenoid droplet protein p57 by the catalytic subunit of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase and the effect of fluoride

We have previously shown that the dispersion and aggregation of carotenoid droplets in goldfish xanthophores are regulated, respectively, by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of a carotenoid droplet protein p57. There is a basal level of p57 phosphorylation of p57 in unstimulated cells, which is greatly stimulated by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) acting via cAMP-dependent protein kinase. We have also observed that, in permeabilized xanthophores, pigment dispersion can be induced when cAMP is replaced by fluoride. Since p57 has multiple phosphorylation sites, there is the question of whether all p57 phosphorylation is by cAMP-dependent protein kinase or whether phosphorylation by cAMP-independent protein kinase coupled with inhibition of phosphatase activity by fluoride can replace cAMP-dependent protein kinase and that the ability of fluoride to replace cAMP for pigment dispersion in permeabilized cells is probably due to activation of adenylcyclase. We also show that ACTH causes an approximately threefold increase in the level of cAMP in these cells.     

Post-translational abnormality of the type II cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in psoriasis: Modulation by retinoic acid

Previously, we have reported a decrease in the binding of a cAMP analog to the regulatory subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAMP-PK), as well as a decrease in cAMP-PK activities, in psoriatic cells. Retinoic acid (RA) treatment of these cells can induce an increase in cAMP-PK toward normal levels. To better define the effect of retinoic acid on the cAMP-PK system in psoriatic fibroblasts, Western blot analysis using an RIIα specific antibody and in vivo phosphorylation experiments were carried out to determine possible changes in the RII regulatory subunit. Our results indicate a decrease in the binding of the cAMP analog 8-azido-[³²P]-cAMP with no change in the level of RII protein in psoriatic fibroblasts. In addition, by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis we observed the presence of a phosphorylated form of RII unique to psoriatic cells which is suppressed by RA treatment. This study suggests an altered posttranslational modification of the cAMP-PKII in psoriatic fibrobiasts which can be reversed by exposure of these cells to RA.     

Gastric H+ secretion: histamine (cAMP-mediated) activation of protein phosphorylation

Activation of H+ secretion by the gastric parietal cell involves major changes in morphology, metabolic activity and ion pathways of the secretory membrane. These changes are elicited by histamine binding to the H2 receptor, raising cAMP levels and presumably activating cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Concomitantly, the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, increases. Studies were performed to determine whether cAMP-mediated protein phosphorylation accompanies histamine activation of H+ secretion and to catalogue the major protein species serving as substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the parietal cell. 80% pure rabbit parietal cells, prepared by Nycodenz bouyant density centrifugation, were used. To investigate only cAMP-mediated effects, histamine-dependent changes in [Ca2+]i in these cells were abolished by depleting intracellular Ca2+ stores and performing experiments under Ca2+-free conditions. Acid secretion and steady-state levels of protein phosphorylation were then measured in unstimulated (cimetidine-treated) and histamine-stimulated cells. In intact parietal cells, concommitant with histamine stimulation of H+ secretion, increases in the level of protein phosphorylation were observed. Significantly changing phosphoproteins found in supernatant fractions showed apparent subunit sizes of approx. 148, 130, 47 and 43 kDa, and in microsomal fractions included those at approx. 130, 51 and 47 kDa. In parietal cell homogenates, using [gamma-32P]ATP, cAMP elicited significant phosphorylation of eight supernatant proteins and twelve microsomal proteins, which included the histamine-dependent phosphoproteins found in the intact parietal cell, except for the 51 kDa microsomal protein. As a working hypothesis, these proteins are involved in stimulus-secretion coupling in the parietal cell.     

Phosphorylation of syntaphilin by cAMP-dependent protein kinase modulates its interaction with syntaxin-1 and annuls its inhibitory effect on vesicle exocytosis

cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) can modulate synaptic transmission by acting directly on the neurotransmitter secretory machinery. Here, we identify one possible target: syntaphilin, which was identified as a molecular clamp that controls free syntaxin-1 and dynamin-1 availability and thereby regulates synaptic vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis. Deletion mutation and site-directed mutagenesis experiments pinpoint dominant PKA phosphorylation sites to serines 43 and 56. PKA phosphorylation of syntaphilin significantly decreases its binding to syntaxin-1A in vitro. A syntaphilin mutation of serine 43 to aspartic acid (S43D) shows similar effects on binding. To characterize in vivo phosphorylation events, we generated antisera against a peptide of syntaphilin containing a phosphorylated serine 43. Treatment of rat brain synaptosomes or syntaphilin-transfected HEK 293 cells with the cAMP analogue BIMPS induces in vivo phosphorylation of syntaphilin and inhibits its interaction with syntaxin-1 in neurons. To determine whether PKA phosphorylation of syntaphilin is involved in the regulation of Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis, we investigated the effect of overexpression of syntaphilin and its S43D mutant on the regulated secretion of human growth hormone from PC12 cells. Although expression of wild type syntaphilin in PC12 cells exhibits significant reduction in high K(+)-induced human growth hormone release, the S43D mutant fails to inhibit exocytosis. Our data predict that syntaphilin could be a highly regulated molecule and that PKA phosphorylation could act as an "off" switch for syntaphilin, thus blocking its inhibitory function via the cAMP-dependent signal transduction pathway.     

Regulation of NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase by protein kinases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The active NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase of wild type yeast cells fractionated by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography was inactivated in vitro by the addition of either the cAMP-dependent or cAMP-independent protein kinases obtained from wild type cells. cAMP-dependent inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase activity was not observed in the crude extract of bcy1 mutant cells which were deficient in the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase of CYR3 mutant cells, which has a high K alpha value for cAMP in the phosphorylation reaction, required a high cAMP concentration for the inactivation of NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase. An increased inactivation of partially purified active NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (Mr = 450,000) was observed to correlate with increased phosphorylation of a protein subunit (Mr = 100,000) of glutamate dehydrogenase. The phosphorylated protein was labeled by an NADH analog, 5'-p-fluorosulfonyl[14C]benzoyladenosine. Activation and dephosphorylation of inactive NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase fractions were observed in vitro by treatment with bovine alkaline phosphatase or crude yeast cell extracts. These results suggested that the conversion of the active form of NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase to an inactive form is regulated by phosphorylation through cAMP-dependent and cAMP-independent protein kinases.     

Retinoylation of the cAMP-binding regulatory subunits of type I and type II cAMP-dependent protein kinases in HL60 cells.

Retinoylation (retinoic acid acylation) is a post-translational modification of proteins occurring in a variety of eukaryotic cell lines. There are at least 20 retinoylated proteins in the human myeloid leukemia cell line HL60 (N. Takahashi and T.R. Breitman (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 19, 158-19, 162). Here we found that some retinoylated proteins may be cAMP-binding proteins. Five proteins, covalently labeled by 8-azido-[32P]cAMP which specifically reacts with the regulatory subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, comigrated on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with retinoylated proteins of Mr 37,000 (p37RA), 47,000 (p47RA), and 51,000 (p51RA) labeled by [3H]retinoic acid treatment of intact cells. Furthermore, p47RA coeluted on Mono Q anion exchange chromatography with the type I cAMP-dependent protein kinase holoenzyme and p51RA coeluted on Mono Q anion exchange chromatography with the type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase holoenzyme. An antiserum specific to RI, the cAMP-binding regulatory subunit of type I cAMP-dependent protein kinase, immunoprecipitated p47RA. An antiserum specific to RII, the cAMP-binding regulatory subunit of type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase, immunoprecipitated p51RA. These results indicate that both the RI and the RII regulatory subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinase are retinoylated. Thus, an early event in RA-induced differentiation of HL60 cells may be the retinoylation of subpopulations of both RI and RII.     

Changes in content and cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of specific proteins in granulosa cells of preantral and preovulatory ovarian follicles and in corpora lutea

The responsiveness of granulosa cells to the gonadotropins and cAMP increases as ovarian follicles mature. To determine if this change in response might be related to either the content or cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of specific proteins, we labeled proteins in 30,000 X g supernatant fractions (cytosol) with [gamma-32P] ATP in the presence or absence of cAMP. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we observed that granulosa cells of preantral follicles exhibited low amounts of cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of two proteins with apparent molecular weights of 54,000-56,000 and 43,000. Using [32P]8-N3cAMP and photoaffinity labeling procedures, the Mr = 54,000-56,000 protein was identified as RII, the regulatory subunit of type II protein kinase. Polychromatic silver staining, as well as the photoaffinity labeling, revealed that RII exists in three forms, each of which was also labeled by [gamma-32P] ATP. Based on the relative isoelectric points and specific silver staining of highly purified actin and phosphorylated actin, the Mr = 43,000 protein has been provisionally identified as actin. Five proteins (Mr = 37,500, 27,500, 22,500, 19,000, and 15,000), in addition to RII and actin, were phosphorylated in cytosol of granulosa cells from preovulatory follicles. By adding increasing concentrations of exogenous catalytic subunit to the cytosols, we demonstrated that the content, as well as the phosphorylation of these proteins, was increased selectively in granulosa cells of antral follicles. By using hypophysectomized rats, we demonstrated that these five proteins are induced by follitropin (FSH). Because they were not present in cytosols of thecal cells or corpora lutea, they appear to be specific markers for granulosa cells. The content and phosphorylation of RII was also dramatically increased in cytosols of granulosa cells from antral follicles, whereas that of actin remained unchanged. These observations indicate that granulosa cell differentiation involves regulation by FSH of specific proteins which are substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Thus, FSH and cAMP appear to regulate the intracellular content and phosphorylation of a cAMP response system in granulosa cells. The extent to which RII and the five specific phosphoproteins themselves regulate granulosa cell responsiveness remains to be determined.     

Genetic and biochemical evidence that trehalase is a substrate of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in yeast

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, trehalase activity in crude extracts obtained from wild type cells was activated about 3-fold by preincubation with cAMP and ATP. The inactive trehalase fractionated by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography was activated by the addition of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase fraction from wild type cells in the presence of cAMP and ATP. Using the crude extract obtained from bcy1 mutant cells which were deficient in the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the stimulation of trehalase activity was observed in the absence of cAMP. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase of CYR3 mutant cells which had a high Ka value for cAMP in the phosphorylation reaction required a high cAMP concentration for activation of trehalase. Increased activation of partially purified inactive trehalase (Mr = 320,000) was observed to correlate with increased phosphorylation of a protein (Mr = 80,000) identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The assay results using various mutants altered in cAMP metabolism indicated that the activation and phosphorylation of inactive trehalase fractions depended on the cAMP concentration accumulated in mutant cells. Inactivation and dephosphorylation of active trehalase fractions were observed by treatment with alkaline phosphatase or crude cell extracts. The results indicated that the conversion of inactive form of trehalase to the active form is regulated by cAMP through cAMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Phosphorylation of phospholipase C-gamma by cAMP-dependent protein kinase

The mechanism by which cAMP modulates the activity of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PLC) was studied. Elevation of cAMP inhibited both basal and norepinephrine-stimulated phosphoinositide breakdown in C6Bu1 cells which contain at least three PLC isozymes, PLC-beta, PLC-gamma, and PLC-delta. Treatment of C6Bu1 cells with cAMP-elevating agents (cholera toxin, isobutylmethylxanthine, forskolin, and 8-bromo-cAMP) increased serine phosphate in PLC-gamma, but the phosphate contents in PLC-beta and PLC-delta were not changed. In addition, cAMP-dependent protein kinase selectively phosphorylated purified PLC-gamma among the three isozymes and added a single phosphate at serine. The serine phosphorylation, nevertheless, did not affect the activity of PLC-gamma in vitro. We propose, therefore, that the phosphorylation of PLC-gamma by cAMP-dependent protein kinase alters its interaction with putative modulatory proteins and leads to its inhibition.     

Demonstration of protein kinase activities in the coronary artery of cattle]

Protein kinase activities were identified in a soluble and a particulate fraction from the A. coronaria of cattle. For both protein kinase activities Mg++ is essential. Protamine was used as a substrate of the protein kinase activity of the soluble fraction. The pH optimum of the protein kinase activity of the soluble fraction is around 6.5. The Km-value of the protein kinase for ATP is 1.9 +/- 0.4 - 10(-5) M. cAMP stimulates the protein kinase activity more effectively than cGMP. Ca++ cannot replace Mg++; monovalent cations (Na+ and K+) show no influence. The protein kinase activity of the fraction was determined via endogenous phosphorylation. By means of the cAMP-dependent particulate protein kinase 72 to 80 percent of the serine residues are phosphorylated. The pH optimum of the protein kinase activity of the particulate fraction lies around 7.0. The Km-value of the enzyme for ATP is 6.6 +/- 0.8 - 10(-5) M. cGMP stimulates the protein kinase of the particulate fraction better than cAMP. For the protein kinase activity of this fraction Ca++ replaces Mg++ in the endogenous phosphorylation but not in the exogenous phosphorylation (protamine). In the presence of Mg++ and in the additional presence of Na+ or K+, the protein kinase activity is suppressed in the endogenous phosphorylation whereas it is stimulated in the exogenous phosphorylation.     

The multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase mediates Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase

Stimulation of rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells with ionophore A23187, carbachol, or high K+ medium, agents which increase intracellular Ca2+, results in the phosphorylation and activation of tyrosine hydroxylase (Nose, P., Griffith, L. C., and Schulman, H. (1985) J. Cell Biol. 101, 1182-1190). We have identified three major protein kinases in PC12 cells and investigated their roles in the Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase and other cytosolic proteins. A set of PC12 proteins were phosphorylated in response to both elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and to protein kinase C (Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase) activators. In addition, distinct sets of proteins responded to either one or the other stimulus. The three major regulatory kinases, the multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, and protein kinase C all phosphorylate tyrosine hydroxylase in vitro. Neither the agents which increase Ca2+ nor the agents which directly activate kinase C (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate or 1-oleyl-2-acetylglycerol) increase cAMP or activate the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, thereby excluding this pathway as a mediator of these stimuli. The role of protein kinase C was assessed by long term treatment of PC12 cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, which causes its "desensitization." In cells pretreated in this manner, agents which increase Ca2+ influx continue to stimulate tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation maximally, while protein kinase C activators are completely ineffective. Comparison of tryptic peptide maps of tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylated by the three protein kinases in vitro with phosphopeptide maps generated from tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylated in vivo indicates that phosphorylation by the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase most closely mirrors the in vivo phosphorylation pattern. These results indicate that the multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase mediates phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase by hormonal and electrical stimuli which elevate intracellular Ca2+ in PC12 cells.     

Steroid hormones may regulate autophosphorylation of adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase in target tissues

A protein in rat liver cytosol whose phosphorylation was regulated by hydrocortisone administration in vivo was tentatively identified as the regulatory subunit of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Evidence that this protein, whose phosphorylation was regulated by steroid and cyclic AMP, is the regulatory subunit of type-II cAMP-dependent protein kinase included: (a) co-purification of the steroid/cAMP-regulated protein and the regulatory subunit during DEAE-cellulose, Sepharose 4B, and hydroxylapatite column chromatography, (b) co-migration of the two proteins on dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide slab gels during the various steps of purification, (c) specific adsorption of the two proteins onto 8(6-aminohexylamino)-cAMP--Sepharose 4B, and (d) a similar pattern of distribution of the two proteins in various subcellular fractions prepared from rat liver homogenate. By each of these criteria, it was found that the steroid/cAMP-regulated protein present in rat liver cytosol behaved identically with the regulatory subunit of type-II cAMP-dependent protein kinase in that tissue. Results qualitatively similar to those obtained in the study of the effect of hydrocortisone on rat liver were also obtained in studies of the effects of other steroid hormones on other target tissues in the rat, including uterus (17 beta-estradiol), ventral prostate and seminal vesicle (testosterone), and epididymal fat pad (hydrocortisone). The tentative identification of the steroid/cAMP-regulated protein as the regulatory subunit of the type-II cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the cytosol of several tissues indicates that autophosphorylation of the regulatory subunit of type-II protein kinase may be regulated by the steroid hormones. The fact that three different classes of steroid hormones appear to affect the phosphorylation of the regulatory subunit of type-II cAMP-dependent protein kinase in their target tissues raises the possibility that this common biochemical action may play an important role in the mechanism of steroid hormone action. It is also possible that this effect of the steroid hormones may provide a molecular basis for some of the known physiological interactions of the steroid hormones with those hormones that act through using cAMP as a second messenger.     

Substrates for adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase in the rat pituitary gland

1. Substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase were investigated in anterior, intermediate, and neural lobes of the rat pituitary gland. In a cell-free assay system, cAMP increased phosphorylation of 17 K, 33 K, and 60 K macromolecules of the anterior lobe, 17 K, 33 K, 60 K, and 80 K macromolecules of the intermediate lobe, and 60 K, 80 K, and 85 K macromolecules of the neural lobe. 2. Other nucleotides were tested in the intermediate lobe; 8 Br-cAMP mimicked cAMP, cGMP was much less effective than cAMP or 8 Br-cAMP, and 5'-AMP showed no significant effect. The purified catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase evoked the same phosphorylation pattern as the endogenous kinase. 3. Maximum cAMP-dependent phosphorylation occurred at between 1 and 2 min of incubation; after 20 min, phosphorylation was reduced by 80%. This suggests the presence of phosphatase activity in the intermediate lobe. 4. When tested upon dispersed intermediate lobe cells permeabilized by high-voltage electrical discharges, cAMP increased phosphorylation of the 17 K and 33 K macromolecules.     

Transmodulation of epidermal growth factor receptor function by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.

Binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its receptor (EGFR) augments the tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor and autophosphorylation. Exposure of some tissues and cells to EGF also stimulates adenylyl cyclase activity and results in an increase in cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels. Because cAMP activates the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA), we investigated the effect of PKA on the EGFR. The purified catalytic subunit of PKA (PKAc) stoichiometrically phosphorylated the purified full-length wild type (WT) and kinase negative (K721M) forms of the EGFR. PKAc phosphorylated both WT-EGFR as well as a mutant truncated form of EGFR (Delta1022-1186) exclusively on serine residues. Moreover, PKAc also phosphorylated the cytosolic domain of the EGFR (EGFRKD). Phosphorylation of the purified WT as well as EGFRDelta1022-1186 and EGFRKD was accompanied by decreased autophosphorylation and diminished tyrosine kinase activity. Pretreatment of REF-52 cells with the nonhydrolyzable cAMP analog, 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP, decreased EGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins as well as activation of the WT-EGFR. Similar effects were also observed in B82L cells transfected to express the Delta1022-1186 form of EGFR. Furthermore, activation of PKAc in intact cells resulted in serine phosphorylation of the EGFR. The decreased phosphorylation of cellular proteins and diminished activation of the EGFR in cells treated with the cAMP analog was not the result of altered binding of EGF to its receptors or changes in receptor internalization. Therefore, we conclude that PKA phosphorylates the EGFR on Ser residues and decreases its tyrosine kinase activity and signal transduction both in vitro and in vivo.     

Regulation of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase activity and phosphorylation in rat hepatocytes: lack of effect of elevated cAMP levels.

Immunoprecipitation of 32P-labeled CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase from freshly isolated rat hepatocytes followed by trypsin digestion and two-dimensional peptide mapping revealed multiple phosphorylation sites. Treatment of the hepatocytes with 0.5 mM of the cAMP analog, 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate or elevation of intracellular cAMP levels by cholera toxin activated the cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity in intact cells. Despite the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase no change in the rate of [3H]choline incorporation into phosphatidylcholine was detected. In addition, the activity of cytidylyltransferase in total cell homogenates and its distribution between soluble and particulate fractions remained unchanged. Comparison of peptide maps of 32P-labeled cytidylyltransferase obtained from control and cholera-toxin-treated hepatocytes did not reveal any differences in the phosphorylation state of cytidylyltransferase. Furthermore, only [32P]phosphoserine residues were detected following phosphoamino acid analysis. We conclude that cytidylyltransferase activity is not altered solely by the activation of the cAMP-dependent kinase in fresh hepatocytes.     

Bi-directional regulation of dephosphorylation of cAMP-dependent phosphorylated proteins by cAMP and calcium in permeabilized rat heart cells

We studied the regulation of dephosphorylation of cAMP-dependent phosphorylated proteins of isolated, permeabilized (skinned) myocardial cells from adult rat. Staurosporine, a potent inhibitor of protein kinase, inhibited cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of phospholamban and troponin-I, the key proteins in the control of contraction and relaxation of the myocardial cells. Staurosporine antagonized the stimulatory action of cAMP on the spontaneous beating of the myocytes accompanied by dephosphorylation of phospholamban but not of troponin-I at pCa 7-8. In cold ATP dilution experiments with apparent stoppage of protein phosphorylation, dephosphorylation of phospholamban was accelerated both by Ca2+ and staurosporine but that of troponin-I took place only in the presence of Ca2+ ion (pCa less than 6.5). These phenomena suggest a bi-directional regulation of dephosphorylation of the key proteins by the intracellular messengers cAMP and Ca2+.