Adenylyl Cyclase Signaling Mechanism of Relaxin Action

In connection with our discovery of the adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanism (ACSM) of action of some peptides belonging to the insulin superfamily, a possibility of its involvement in action of another insulin superfamily peptide, relaxin, was studied. It was shown for the first time that human relaxin-2 (10^–12–10^–8 M) activated adenylyl cyclase (AC) in a dose-dependent manner. The maximal peptide effect was revealed at a concentration of 10^–8 M. Under condition of the hormonal action the basal enzyme activity increased by +310% in human myometrium, by +117%, in rat skeletal muscles, and by +49%, in foot smooth muscles of the bivalve mollusc Anodonta cygnea. Insulin and mammalian insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) also produced the AC activating effect in these muscles. The order of efficiency of these peptides, based on their ability to induce the maximal AC stimulating effect, was as follows: relaxin > IGF-I > insulin (human myometrium); IGF-I > relaxin > insulin (rat skeletal muscle); insulin-like peptide of Anodonta (ILPA) > IGF-I > insulin > relaxin (molluscan muscle). The relaxin activating effect on AC was potentiated by a guanine nucleotide, the non-hydrolyzed analog of GTP, guanylylimidodiphosphate (Gpp[NH]p), which indicates participation of G_s-protein in realization of this effect. This effect was inhibited by a tyrosine kinase selective blocker, tyrphostin 47, and a phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3-K) selective blocker, wortmannin. Thus, for the first time, participation of ACSM in the relaxin action has been established. This mechanism, as suggested at the present time state of its study, includes the following signal pathway: receptor-tyrosine kinase PI-3-K G_s-protein AC.     

Study of structural-functional arrangement of the adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanism of action of insulin-like growth factor 1 revealed in muscle tissue of representatives of vertebrates and invertebrates

Based on the earlier discovered by the authors adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanisms (ACSM) of action of insulin and relaxin, a study was performed of the existence of a similar action mechanism of another representative of the insulin superfamily-the insulin—like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in the muscle tissue of vertebrates (rat) and invertebrates (mollusc). For the first time there was detected participation of ACSM in the IGF-1 action, including the six-component signaling cascade: receptor tyrosine kinase → Gi-protein (βγ-dimer) → phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3K) → protein kinase Cζ (PKCζ) → Gs-protein → adenylyl cyclase. By structural-functional organization at postreceptor stages, it coincides completely with that of insulin and relaxin, which we revealed in rat skeletal muscle. In smooth muscle of the mollusc Anodonta cygnea this ACSM of action of IGF-1 has only one difference-the protein kinase C included in this mechanism is represented not by the PKCζ isoform, but by another isoform close to PKCε of the vertebrate brain. Earlier we revealed the same differences in muscles of this mollusc in the ACSM of action of insulin and relaxin.     

A novel view on the mechanisms of action of insulin and other insulin superfamily peptides: involvement of adenylyl cyclase signaling system

A new signaling mechanism common to mammalian insulin, insulin-like growth factor I, relaxin and mollusc insulin-like peptide, and involving receptor-tyrosine kinase==>G(i) protein (betagamma)==>phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase==>protein kinase Czeta==>adenylyl cyclase==>protein kinase A was discovered in the muscles and some other tissues of vertebrates and invertebrates. The authors' data were used to reconsider the problem of participation of the adenylyl cyclase-cAMP system in the regulatory effects of insulin superfamily peptides. A hypothesis has been put forward according to which the adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanism producing cAMP has a triple co-ordinating role in the regulatory action of insulin superfamily peptides on the main cell processes, inducing the mitogenic and antiapoptotic effects and inhibitory influence on some metabolic effects of the peptides. It is suggested that cAMP is a key regulator responsible for choosing the transduction pathway by concerted launching of one (proliferative) program and switching off (suppression) of two others, which lead to cell death and to the predomination of anabolic processes in a cell. The original data obtained give grounds to conclude that the adenylyl cyclase signaling system is a mechanism of signal transduction not only of hormones with serpentine receptors, but also of those with receptors of the tyrosine kinase type (insulin superfamily peptides and some growth factors).     

Regulation of adenylyl cyclase signaling system by insulin, biogenic amines and glucagon at their separate and combined action in muscle membranes of mollusc Anodonta cygnea

In the smooth muscles of mollusc Anodonta cygnea the regulatory action of hormones on adenylyl cyclase signaling system (ACSS) are realized through the receptors of serpentine type (biogenic amines, isoproterenol, glucagon) and receptor tyrosine kinase (insulin) type. Intracellular mechanisms of their interaction are interconnected. Application of hormones, their antagonists and pertussis toxin in combination with insulin and biogenic amines or glucagon on adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity allows revealing the possible sites of cross-linking in the mechanisms of their action. Combined influence of insulin and serotonin or glucagon leads to decreased stimulation of adenylyl cyclase (AC) by these hormones, whereas combined application of insulin and isoproterenol suppresses AC-stimulating effect of insulin, but AC-inhibiting effect of isoproterenol is maintained in the presence and absence of non-hydrolysable analog of GTP—guanylyl imido diphosphate (GIDP). The specific blockage of AC-stimulating effect of serotonin by cyproheptadine—antagonist of serotonin receptors, did not change AC stimulation by insulin. Beta-adrenoblockers (propranolol and alprenolol) prevent inhibition of AC activity by isoproterenol, but did not change AC stimulation by insulin. Pertussis toxin blocked AC-inhibiting effect of isoproterenol and weakened AC-stimulating action of insulin. Thus, in the muscles of Anodonta cygnea negative interaction between ACS have been revealed, which are realized under combined influence of insulin and serotonin or glucagon, most probably, at the level of receptor of serpentine type (serotonin, glucagon), whereas under action of insulin and isoproterenol at the level of G_i protein and AC interaction.     

Experimental models of diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2 in rats: Regulation of activity of glycogen synthase by peptides of the insulin superfamily and by epidermal growth factor in skeletal muscles

The regulatory effect of peptides of the insulin superfamily—insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), and relaxin, as well as of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on activity of glycogen synthase (GS) in rat skeletal muscles was studied in normal state and in experimental diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2 (DM1, DM2). Normally, the peptides stimulated GS activity to the maximum at a concentration of 10⁻⁸ M in vitro. The efficiency ranking of the peptide action was as follows: insulin > IGF-1 > relaxin. In DM1 the basal GS activity did not change, while the effect of insulin in vitro decreased more sharply on the 30th day of diabetes as compared to IGF-1 and relaxin, i.e. the efficiency ranking was as follows: IGF-1 = relaxin > insulin. Administration of insulin in vivo did not recover the sensitivity of the enzyme to the action of the hormone in DM1. In DM2, GS activity (both in total and in the active form) decreased while the stimulatory effect of the peptides and EGF on the enzyme was absent. Insulin administered in vivo did not lead to the recovery of the enzyme activity. We conclude that it is insulin resistance pronounced in DM2 that mostly affects the basal GS activity as well as the enzyme regulation by peptides of insulin type and EGF in rat skeletal muscles, while insulin deficiency in DM1 is of lesser importance.     

Role of cysteine sulfhydryl groups in activation of adenylyl cyclase signaling system by biogenic amines in molluscan and rat tissues

It has been shown that in smooth muscles of the freshwater bivalve molluscAnodonta cygnea as well as in skeletal muscles and brain striatum of rats a blocker of SH-groups,para-chlormercury benzoate (ChMB), and an alkylating agent,N-ethylmaleimide, inhibit both the basal adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity and the activity of the enzyme stimulated by non-hormonal agents (NaF, Gpp[NH]p) and by hormonal agents such as serotonin (mollusc muscles, rat brain) or isoproterenol (rat muscles and rat brain). The inhibitory effects of ChMB andN-ethylmaleimide on AC are partly eliminated by an SH-group containing reagent, β-mercaptoethanol (ME, 5 mM). Restoration of the basal and of the stimulated enzyme activity inhibited by ME is better in the case of the ChMB than of theN-ethylmaleimide action. It has also been found that ME stimulates both the basal and the stimulated by non-hormonal agents AC activity. In the presence of ME the hormonal stimulating effects on the enzyme are also preserved, except for the effect of isoproterenol on AC in rat skeletal muscles; this effect is inhibited by ME. Potentiation of the stimulating effect of the hormones on AC by Gpp[NH]p is only preserved in the molluscan smooth muscles (the effect of serotonin—90%). The data obtained indicate that cysteine sulfhydryl groups play a key role in hormonal regulation of the functional activity of the components of the hormone-sensitive adenylyl cyclase signaling system.     

On the mechanism of relaxin action: the involvement of adenylyl cyclase signalling system

The molecular mechanism of relaxin action was studied taking into account the evolutionary relationship of the peptides belonging to the insulin superfamily and using the authors' previous data on the involvement of the adenylyl cyclase (AC) signalling system in the action of insulin and related peptides. Human relaxin 2 (10(-12)-10(-8) M) has been shown to cause a dose-dependent activating effect on AC in the human myometrium (+370%), in rat skeletal muscles (+117%) and the smooth foot muscles of the bivalve mollusc Anodonta cygnea (+73%). In these tissues mammalian insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) also had the AC activating effect. The order of efficiency of the above peptides based upon their ability to induce the maximal AC activating effect was as follows: relaxin > IGF-1 > insulin (human myometrium); IGF-1 > relaxin > insulin (rat skeletal muscle); molluscan insulin-like peptide > IGF-I > insulin > relaxin (molluscan muscle). The relaxin AC activating effect was inhibited with a selective tyrosine kinase blocker tyrphostin 47 and potentiated with Gpp[NH]p providing evidence for the participation of the receptor-tyrosine kinase and G-protein of the stimulatory type (Gs) in the regulatory action of relaxin. The conclusion is that the signalling chain: receptor tyrosine kinase ==> Gs protein ==> AC is involved in the mechanism of relaxin action.     

Regulatory Action of Synthetic Cationic Peptides Containing Residues of Glutamic Acid on Functional Activity of Components of the Adenylyl Cyclase Signal System

One of the most important stages of hormonal signal transduction in cells through the hormone-sensitive adenylyl cyclase signal system (ACS) is functional coupling of receptor of the serpentine type to heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G-protein). The main role in realization of such coupling is played by spiralized regions of the receptor cytoplasmic loops proximal in relation to membrane, most of them carrying positive charge. To study molecular mechanisms of interaction of the receptor with G-protein, we compared effects of synthetic cationic peptides containing residues of glutamic acid on the process of regulation of ACS by hormones (biogenic amines) and non-hormonal agents in smooth muscles of the freshwater bivalve mollusc Anodonta cygnea and skeletal muscles of rat. All peptides had the clearly expressed ability to form -helices. Peptides H-(Leu-His-Glu-Lys)₄-Leu-NH₂ (I), H-(Leu-His-Glu-Lys)₃-Lys-His-Glu-Lys-Leu-NH₂ (II), H-(Leu-Lys-Glu-Lys)₄-Leu-NH₂ (III), and H-(Ile-His-Glu-Lys)₄-Ala-NH₂ (IV) at concentrations of 10^–6–10^–3 M reduced dose-dependently the value of stimulating effects of serotonin (in mollusc muscles) and isoproterenol (in rat muscles) on the adenylyl cyclase (AC) and protein kinase A (PKA) activities. Values of concentration of these peptide causing a 50% decrease of the hormone-stimulating effect (IC₅₀) vary from 150 to 750 µM. According to the degree of this inhibitory action on stimulating effects of hormones, they may be arranged in the following series: III II > IV I. The peptides I–IV were more effective than the peptide H-(Glu-Lys)₈-Ala-NH₂ (V) with the charge close to zero, but much less effective than the studied earlier cationic peptides containing only positively charged amino acid residues. The inhibitory effect of the peptides I-IV on stimulation of AC by non-hormonal agents, NaF, Gpp[NH]p, and forskolin, was essentially less pronounced and was marked only at 10^–4–10^–3 M concentrations. Thus, the inclusion of negatively charged amino acid residues in the primary structure of polycationic peptides leads to a decrease in their ability to inhibit hormonal stimulation of AC and PKA, which indicates importance both of the total positive charge of peptides and of distribution of the charged amino acids in the formed helices for realization of the uncoupling action on the ACS components—the receptor and G-protein.     

Structural and functional organization of the adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanism of insulin-like growth factor 1 revealed in the muscle tissue in vertabrates and invertebrates

Based on the earlier discovered by the authors adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanisms (ACSM) of action of insulin and relaxin, the study was performed of the presence a similar action mechanism of another representative of the insulin superfamily--the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in the muscle tissues of vertebrates (rat) and invertebrates (mollusc). For the first time there was detected participation of ACSM in the IGF-1 action, including the six component signaling cascade: receptor tyrosine kinase --> G(i)-protein (betagamma-dimer) --> phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3-K) --> protein kinase Czeta (PKCzeta) --> G(-)protein --> adenylyl cyclase. By this mechanism structural-functional organization at postreceptor stages, in coincides completely with the mechanism of insulin and relaxin, which we revealed in rat skeletal muscle. In smooth muscle of the mollusc Anodonta cygnea this ACSM of action of IGF-1 has only one difference--the protein kinase C included in this mechanism is represented not by PKCzeta isoform, but by another isoform close to PKCepsilon of the vertabrate brain. Earlier we revealed the same differences in muscle of this mollusc in the ACSM of action of insulin and relaxin.     

Stimulatory Effect of Insulin and Epidermal Growth Factor on Activity of Protein Kinase A, Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase, and Glycogen Synthase in Skeletal Muscles of Chick Embryos and Chickens

Insulin is able to produce two types of regulatory effects on muscles—metabolic and growth stimulating. Study of the effect of insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6PDH), a starting enzyme of pentosephosphate pathway (PPP), and glycogen synthase (GS), a key enzyme of the glycogen synthesis, has shown that both types of the insulin effects do not arise simultaneously in the course of embryogenesis. The growth-stimulating effect mediated by adenylyl cyclase—cAMP is revealed since the 10th embryonal day. It was established for the first time that insulin could participate in growth stimulation by activating PKA in vivo and in vitro in muscles of the 10–14-day old embryos and the 8–10-day old chickens. The stimulating effect of insulin on G-6PDH activity is revealed since the same embryonal period and gradually increases. Insulin in vivo and in vitro simulates the glycogen synthase activity by increasing its conversion from non-active to active (GS-I) form only in the 15-day old embryos and in chickens. The stimulating effects of insulin and EGF on both G-6PDH activity (in embryos and chickens) and GS (in chickens) was shown to blocked by selective inhibitors of tyrosine kinases, thyrphostin 47 and genestein, in the dose-dependent manner, which indicates involvement of receptor of the tyrosine kinase type in these effects. The complex of the established facts permits concluding that insulin at early embryonal stages stimulates in the chicken muscles the PKA and G-6PDH activities involved in action of this hormone on growth, which is especially pronounced at the stage of myoblast proliferation. Meanwhile, the metabolic insulin effect (stimulation of the glycogen synthase system) appears in the second half of embryonal period and coincides in time with the period of muscle cell differentiation and active muscle contractures.     

Involvement of adenylyn cyclase signaling mechanisms in relaxing effect of relaxin and insulin on the rat uterus, trachea and human myometrium

Participation of adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanisms of relaxin and insulin action in their regulating influence on the process of relaxation of the rat uterine and tracheal smooth muscles and human myometrium was shown. The study was based on the discovery of novel adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanisms of relaxin and insulin action in the muscle of vertebrates which involve: receptor --> Gi protein (betagamma dimer) --> phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase --> protein kinase Csigma (zeta) --> Gs protein --> adenylyl cyclase --> cAMP. In the rat uterus, trachea and human myometrium, relaxin, insulin and isoproterenol induced relaxation of KCl-contraction. The order of efficiency of the agents based upon their ability to induce the inhibiting effect on the KCl-contraction was as follows: relaxin = insulin > isoproterenol. The hormones induce activating effect on adenylyl cyclase leading to production of cAMP in the rat uterine and tracheal smooth muscles and human myometrium. It is shown that cAMP reproduces relaxing effect of the hormones under study. Thus, the involvement of novel adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanisms of relaxin and insulin action in realization of their relaxation effect on rat uterus, trachea and human myometrium was revealed for the first time.     

Insulin-Regulated Adenylyl Cyclase Signaling System in Rat Skeletal Muscles under Conditions of in vivo Insulin Administration and of Insulin Insufficiency Produced by Streptozotocin Diabetes

Possibility of the appearance of functional defects in the adenylyl cyclase (AC) signaling mechanism (ACSM) of insulin action, which was discovered by the authors earlier [1–3], is studied in skeletal muscles of rats with acute insulin insufficiency produced by streptozotocin diabetes (24 h). This ACSM includes the signaling chain: receptor-tyrosine kinase Gi-protein phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase protein kinase C-zeta Gs-protein adenylyl cyclase protein kinase A. At comparative evaluation of the functional state of individual molecular blocks of ACSM and the entire mechanism as a whole in skeletal muscles of diabetic rats in comparison with control animals, the following facts have been revealed: (1) an increase of the AC basal activity and a decrease of effects of non-hormonal activators of AC (guanine nucleotides, NaF, forskolin) ; (2) reduction of reactivity of the whole ACSM to insulin (10_–8 M, in vitro) and to combined action of the hormone and GIDP (10_–6 M) ; (3) a decrease of the activating action of insulin on key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism—glycogen synthase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDG). It is concluded that insulin insufficiency leads to several disturbances in the insulin ACSM: at the level of its catalytic component—AC, Gs protein and its coupling with AC, as well as to a decrease of regulatory metabolic effects of the hormone. These data indicate a decrease of sensitivity of skeletal muscles of diabetic rats to insulin and an involvement of this hormone in maintenance of functionally active status of the ACSM of insulin signal transduction.     

Receptor of Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 in Tissues of the Mollusc Anodonta cygnea

To identify insulin-like receptors in the mollusc Anodonta cygnea, specific binding of ¹²⁵I-insulin and ¹²⁵I-IGF-1 by WGA-purified glycoprotein fractions of foot muscles and neural ganglia is studied. The binding sites for IGF-1 are detected for the first time in invertebrates, both in the muscles, and in the neural tissue of the mollusc. The level of ¹²⁵I-IGF-1 binding in the muscle tissue was equal to 2.8 ± 0.1, in the neural tissue, to 4.0 ± 0.2% per 5 µg of protein. The equilibrium dissociation constant (K _d) was equal to 4.8 ± 0.3 and 4.3 ± 0.2 nM, respectively. The relative affinity of the binding sites to insulin did not exceed 1% of their affinity to IGF-1. Binding of ¹²⁵I-insulin in the muscle tissue was not detected; the level of labeled insulin binding in the neural tissue was equal to 0.5% per 5 µg of protein. In the sarcolemmal fraction of the mollusc foot, IGF-1 and, to a lesser degree, insulin at a dose of 100 nM initiated phosphorylation of tyrosine in a protein with mol. mass of 70 kDa. The minor band of the phosphorylation was also detected in the zone of protein of 80 kDa. The conclusion is made about the existence in molluscan tissues of high-conserved receptors-tyrosine kinases identical by functional parameters to the mammalian receptor of IGF-1. From this, it is suggested that the peptides close by structure to vertebrate IGF-1 may be involved in physiological processes in A. cygnea. The problem of the nature of the insulin-binding sites in the molluscan neural tissue is discussed.     

Comparative study of biological activity of insulins of lower vertebrates in the novel adenylyl cyclase test-system

The biological activity of insulins of lower vertebrates (teleosts-Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, Scorpaena porcus, chondrosteans-Acipenser guldenstaedti and cyclostomates-Lamperta fluviatilis) was studied and compared with that of standard pig insulin. The determination of biological activity was made using the novel adenylyl cyclase (AC) test-system based on the adenylyl cyclase signaling mechanism (ACSM) of insulin action discovered earlier by the authors. The biological activity of insulins was estimated as EC(50), i.e. concentration leading to half-maximal activating effect of the hormone (10(-11)-10(-7) M), in vitro, on adenylyl cyclase in two types of the target tissues: in membrane fractions of the muscles of rat and mollusc Anodonta cygnea. In rat, the efficiency of insulins was found to decrease in the following order: pig insulin>scorpaena insulin>gorbuscha insulin>sturgeon insulin>lamprey insulin. In the mollusc, the order was different: sturgeon insulin>scorpaena insulin>pig insulin>gorbuscha insulin. Lamprey insulin at the same concentrations did not apparently reach the maximal adenylyl cyclase activating effect. The suggestion was made that differences in the biological activity of insulins depend on the hormone structure and a number of indexes characteristic of the adenylyl cyclase test-system in the vertebrate and invertebrate tissues. The proposed adenylyl cyclase test-system is highly sensitive to insulin at physiological concentrations, has good reproduction and is easy to apply.     

Experimental models of diabetes mellitus of the 1st and 2nd types in rats: regulation of activity of glycogen synthase by peptides of the insulin superfamily and by epidermal growth factor in skeletal muscles

The regulatory effect of peptides of the insulin hyperfamily--insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), and relaxin, as well as of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on activity of glycogen synthase (GS) in rat skeletal muscles was studied in norm and in experimental diabetes mellitus of the 1st and 2nd types (DM1, DM2). In norm, peptides in vitro stimulated maximally the GS activity at a concentration of 10-8 M. The row of efficiency of the peptide action was as follows: insulin > IGF-1 > relaxin. In DM1 the basal GS activity did not change, while effect of insulin in vitro was decreased more sharply as compared with action of IGF-1 and relaxin at the 30th day of development of diabetes, i. e., the efficiency row was as follows: IGF-1 = relaxin > insulin. Administration of insulin in vivo did not restore sensitivity of the enzyme to the action of hormone in DM1. In DM2, the GS activity (both the total and active form) decreased. while the stimulatory effect ofpeptides and EGF on the enzyme was absent. Insulin introduced in vitro did not lead to restoration of the enzyme reaction. The conclusion has been made that the insulin resistance affects the basal GS activity in rat skeletal muscles as well as the regulation of the enzyme by peptides of the insulin nature and by EGF, which is more obvious in DM2, than in DM1.     

Effects of thiols and blockers of sulfhydryl groups on negative regulation of the adenylyl cyclase signaling system by biogenic amines

Effect of a thiol-containing compound, β-mercaptoethanol, and of blockers of cysteine sulfhydryl groups (para-chlormercury benzoate andN-ethylmaleimide) on hormonal negative regulation of functional activity of the adenylyl cyclase system was studied in smooth muscles of the freshwater bivalve molluscAnodonta cygnea (agonist of ß-adrenoreceptors—isoproterenol) and in the rat skeletal muscles (serotonin). It was found that in the presence of ß-mercaptoethanol the inhibitory effects of isoproterenol (mollusc) and serotonin (rat) were preserved. At the same time, the blockers of SH-groups disturb essentially both the hormonal effects and their potentiation in the presence of Gpp[NH]p, this process being practically irreversible in the presence ofN-ethylmaleimide. Thus, it has been shown that the negative hormonal regulation in the muscle membranes of the mollusc and rat is dependent on the SH-group state in the protein components of the hormonesensitive adenylyl cyclase system.     

Streptozotocin model of diabetes mellitus in the mollusc <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anodonta cygnea</Emphasis>: functional state of the adenylyl cyclase mechanisms of action of insulin superfamily peptides and their effect on carbohydrate metabolism enzymes

In terms of development of evolutionary biomedicine using invertebrate animals as models for study of molecular grounds of various human diseases, for the first time the streptozotocin (ST) model of insulin-dependent diabetes in the mollusc Anodonta cygnea has been developed. This model is based on the following authors’ data: (1) redetection of insulin-related peptides (IRP) in mollusc tissues: (2) discovery of the adenylyl cyclase signal mechanism (ACSM) of action of insulin and other peptides of the insulin superfamily in tissues of mammals, human, and mollusc A. cygnea; (3) concept of molecular defects in hormonal signal systems as causes of endocrine diseases. Studies on the ST model have revealed in mollusc smooth muscle on the background of hyperglycemia at the 2nd, 4th, and 8th day after the ST administration a decrease of the ACSM response to activating action of insulin, IGF-1, and relaxin. These functional disturbances were the most pronounced at the 2nd day of development and rather less marked at the 4th and 8th day. Analysis of data on effect of hormonal and non-hormonal (NaF, GIDP, and forskolin) ACSM activators has shown that the causes of impair of signal-transducing function of this mechanism are (1) a hyperglycemia-induced increase of the basal AC activity and as a consequence—a decrease of the enzyme catalytic potentials in response to hormone; (2) a decrease of functions of G_s-protein and of its coupling with AC. Besides, administration of ST produced in the mollusc muscle an attenuation of regulation by insulin of carbohydrate metabolism enzyme (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glycogensynthase). The pattern of disturbances in the studied parameters in the mollusc is very similar to that revealed by the authors in rat and human muscle tissues in type 1 diabetes.     

Human-Xenopus chimeras of Gsα reveal a new region important for its activation of adenylyl cyclase

G proteins are heterotrimeric GTPases that play a key role in signal transduction. The α subunit of G_s bound to GTP is capable of activating adenylyl cyclase. The amino acid sequences derived from two X. laevis cDNA clones that apparently code for G_sα subunits are 92% identical to those found in the short form of human G_sα. Despite this high homology, the X. laevis G_sα clones expressed in vitro, yielded a protein that are not able to activate the adenylyl cyclase present in S49 cyc⁻ membranes in contrast with human G_sα similarly expressed. This finding suggested that the few amino acid substitutions found in the amphibian subunit are important in defining the functionality of the human G_sα. The construction of chimeras composed of different fractions of the cDNAs of the two species was adopted as an approach in determining the regions of the molecule important in its functionality in this assay. Four pairs of chimeras were constructed using reciprocal combinations of the cDNAs coding for human and Xenopus G_sα. These eight constructs were expressed in vitro and equivalent amounts of the resulting proteins were assayed in the activation of adenylyl cyclase with GTPγs and isoproterenol. The results obtained here clearly indicate that the Gα sequence that extends from amino acid 70 to 140, is important for the functionality of human G_sα in activating adenylyl cyclase.     

Study of the Functional Organization of a Novel Adenylate Cyclase Signaling Mechanism of Insulin Action

In this study we continued decoding the adenylate cyclase signaling mechanism that underlies the effect of insulin and related peptides. We show for the first time that insulin signal transduction via an adenylate cyclase signaling mechanism, which is attended by adenylate cyclase activation, is blocked in the muscle tissues of the rat and the mollusk Anodonta cygnea in the presence of: 1) pertussis toxin, which impairs the action of the inhibitory GTP-binding protein (G_i); 2) wortmannin, a specific blocker of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; and 3) calphostin C, an inhibitor of different isoforms of protein kinase C. The treatment of sarcolemmal membrane fraction with cholera toxin increases basal adenylate cyclase activity and decreases the sensitivity of the enzyme to insulin. We suggest that the stimulating effect of insulin on adenylate cyclase involves the following stages of hormonal signal transduction cascade: receptor tyrosine kinase → G_iprotein (βγ) → phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase → protein kinase C (ζ?) → G_sprotein → adenylate cyclase → cAMP.     

Regulation of Adenylyl Cyclase Signaling System in Cell Cultures of Infusoria Dileptus anser and Tetrahymena pyriformis by Peptides of Insulin Superfamily

Hormone-sensitive adenylyl cyclase signaling system (ACS) provides transduction of a wide spectrum of hormonal signals in cells of the higher eucaryotes. At the same time, ACS in the lower eucaryotes at present is practically not studied. We studied regulatory effects on ACS of the infusoria Dileptus anser and Tetrahymena pyriformis of peptide hormones of the higher eukaryotes—insulin, IGF-1, and relaxin, whose action on ACS of the higher eucaryotes was the subject of our earlier studies. The action of these hormones at concentrations of 10^–10–10^–8 M on the AC activity in infusoria had clearly stimulating character, the dose–effect curves being of a bell-shaped form with a maximum of the stimulating effect of the hormones at concentrations of 10^–9–10^–8 M. the shape of the curves and the value of the stimulating effect of the peptide hormones depended substantially on the level of the AC basal activity in homogenates of infusorian cell cultures. All the hormones (10^–8 M) stimulated GTP-binding activity of G-proteins. It was shown by the example of relaxin that its stimulating effect on GTP-binding in infusorian cells was dose-dependent and increased in the range of hormone concentrations from 10^–10 to 10^–8 M to reach its maximum at concentrations of 10^–8–10^–7 M. In the presence of suramin, an inhibitor of heterotrimeric G-proteins, the stimulating effects of the hormones on the GTP-binding and the AC activity decreased essentially or were absent completely. This indicates that the heterotrimeric G-proteins are ones of components of the signaling cascade that mediates regulatory effects of the hormones of the insulin group on the AC activity in infusorian cell cultures. Based on the obtained data, it is suggested that the basic molecular mechanisms of regulation of ACS by insulin and the related peptides that are similar to those found in the higher vertebrates already begin to be formed as early as at the level of the lower eucaryotes.