Characterization of adenylyl cyclase in heart sarcolemma in the absence or presence of alamethicin

Alamethicin is commonly used as an agent for unmasking the latent enzyme activities in vesicular membrane preparations; however, relatively little is known about the effect of this agent on the characteristics of adenylyl cyclase in heart sarcolemma. By employing rat heart sarcolemmal preparation, we observed 5 to 6 fold increase in adenylyl cyclase activity upon treatment with alamethicin. Kinetic experiments using various concentrations of MgATP revealed that the increase in adenylyl cyclase activity in alamethicin treated membranes was associated with an increase in V_max as well as affinity of the substrate for the enzyme. Dose-responses of the control and alamethicin-treated preparations to various activators of adenylyl cyclase revealed that the sensitivity of the enzyme to forskolin, NaF and GppNHp, was markedly increased upon treating sarcolemma with alamethicin. The activation of adenylyl cyclase by forskolin was also enhanced by increasing the concentration of alamethicin in the incubation medium. Furthermore, there was a greater increase in adenylyl cyclase activity with different concentrations of Mn²⁺ in the presence of alamethicin. These results suggest that alamethicin treatment alters the characteristics of adenylyl cyclase in addition to unmasking the enzyme activity in the purified sarcolemmal vesicular preparation.     

Structure-based inhibitor discovery against adenylyl cyclase toxins from pathogenic bacteria that cause anthrax and whooping cough

Edema factor (EF) and CyaA are adenylyl cyclase toxins secreted by pathogenic bacteria that cause anthrax and whooping cough, respectively. Using the structure of the catalytic site of EF, we screened a data base of commercially available, small molecular weight chemicals for those that could specifically inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity of EF. From 24 compounds tested, we have identified one quinazoline compound, ethyl 5-aminopyrazolo[1,5-a]quinazoline-3-carboxylate, that specifically inhibits adenylyl cyclase activity of EF and CyaA with approximately 20 microm Ki. This compound neither affects the activity of host resident adenylyl cyclases type I, II, and V nor exhibits promiscuous inhibition. The compound is a competitive inhibitor, consistent with the prediction that it binds to the adenine portion of the ATP binding site on EF. EF is activated by the host calcium sensor, calmodulin. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopic analysis shows that this compound does not affect the binding of calmodulin to EF. This compound is dissimilar from a previously described, non-nucleoside inhibitor of host adenylyl cyclase. It may serve as a lead to design antitoxins to address the role of adenylyl cyclase toxins in bacterial pathogenesis and to fight against anthrax and whooping cough.     

Isolation and characterization of constitutively active mutants of mammalian adenylyl cyclase

A genetic screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae identified mutations in mammalian adenylyl cyclase that activate the enzyme in the absence of G(s)alpha. Thirteen of these mutant proteins were characterized biochemically in an assay system that depends on a mixture of the two cytosolic domains (C(1) and C(2)) of mammalian adenylyl cyclases. Three mutations, I1010M, K1014N, and P1015Q located in the beta4-beta5 loop of the C(2) domain of type II adenylyl cyclase, increase enzymatic activity in the absence of activators. The K1014N mutation displays both increased maximal activity and apparent affinity for the C(1) domain of type V adenylyl cyclase in the absence of activators of the enzyme. The increased affinity of the mutant C(2) domain of adenylyl cyclase for the wild type C(1) domain was exploited to isolate a complex containing VC(1), IIC(2), and G(s)alpha-guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate (GTPgammaS) in the absence of forskolin and a complex of VC(1), IIC(2), forskolin, and P-site inhibitor in the absence of G(s)alpha-GTPgammaS. The isolation of these complexes should facilitate solution of crystal structures of low activity states of adenylyl cyclase and thus determination of the mechanism of activation of the enzyme by forskolin and G(s)alpha.     

A comparison of the properties of the cardiac beta-adrenergic receptor adenylyl cyclase system in the rat and the marmoset monkey

1. A comparison was made between adrenergic receptor binding properties and catecholamine-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in cardiac membrane fractions from the rat and the marmoset monkey. 2. [125I]HEAT and [125I]ICYP were used to determine respectively, the alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptor binding in cardiac membrane fractions. 3. Greatest adrenergic receptor density and degree of specific binding was evident using membranes sedimenting between 6000 and 46,000 g. 4. In rat heart, the ratio of beta- to alpha-adrenergic receptors was 57:43, while for the marmoset this ratio was 92:8. 5. Basal, isoproterenol, sodium fluoride and forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities in the rat and marmoset monkey were investigated in several different cardiac membrane fractions. 6. The highest-fold stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity was present in membranes sedimenting between 0 and 500 g. 7. Adenylyl cyclase activities were higher in the marmoset heart membrane preparations, however the rat heart adenylyl cyclase exhibited greater sensitivity to isoproterenol; ED50 3.8 X 10(-7) M compared with 7.5 X 10(-7) M for the marmoset. 8. Differences between rat and marmoset catecholamine-sensitive adenylyl cyclase activity were apparent when a variety of adrenergic agonists and antagonists were tested. 9. In the marmoset but not the rat, adrenergic antagonists alone stimulated basal adenylyl cyclase activity. 10. Differences in the activation of cardiac adenylyl cyclase by GTP and GMP-PNP were also evident between the rat and the marmoset monkey, particularly with regard to basal and isoproterenol-stimulated activity.     

Activation of Opioid and Muscarinic Receptors Stimulates Basal Adenylyl Cyclase but Inhibits Ca2+/Calmodulin- and Forskolin-Stimulated Enzyme Activities in Rat Olfactory Bulb

Abstract: In rat olfactory bulb, muscarinic and opioid receptor agonists stimulate basal adenylyl cyclase activity in a GTP-dependent and pertussis toxin-sensitive manner. However, in the present study, we show that in the same brain area activation of these receptors causes inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity stimulated by Ca²⁺ and calmodulin (CaM) and by forskolin (FSK), two direct activators of the catalytic unit of the enzyme. The opioid and muscarinic inhibitions consist of a decrease of the maximal stimulation elicited by either CaM or FSK, without a change in the potency of these agents. [Leu⁵]Enkephalin and selective δ- and μ-, but not κ-, opioid receptors agonists inhibit the FSK stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity with the same potencies displayed in stimulating basal enzyme activity. Similarly, the muscarinic inhibition of FSK-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity shows agonist and antagonist sensitivities similar to those characterizing the muscarinic stimulation of basal enzyme activity. Fluoride stimulation of adenylyl cyclase is not affected by either carbachol or [Leu⁵]enkephalin. In vivo treatment of olfactory bulb with pertussis toxin prevents both opioid and muscarinic inhibition of Ca²⁺/CaM- and FSK-stimulated enzyme activities. These results indicate that in rat olfactory bulb δ- and μ-opioid receptors and muscarinic receptors, likely of the M4 subtype, can exert a dual effect on cyclic AMP formation by interacting with pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding protein(s) and possibly by affecting different molecular forms of adenylyl cyclase.     

Studies of the thermal inactivation of cardiac adenylyl cyclase: evidence for a conformational change in the reaction mechanism

Membrane bound cardiac adenylyl cyclase was shown to undergo a spontaneous and irreversible thermal inactivation with a t1/2 of approximately 10 min. The loss of activity could not be explained by the action of endogenous proteases. Repeated freeze-thaw of membrane preparations resulted in a much increased rate of thermal inactivation (t1/2 = approx. 2 min). ATP, adenylimidodiphosphate, ADP, and PPi protected the enzyme from thermal inactivation with dissociation constants (Kd) of 193, 5.04, 84.4, and 6.3 microM, respectively. 5'-AMP and cyclic AMP were ineffective as protectors at concentrations as high as 3 mM. Activators of adenylyl cyclase such as Mn2+, forskolin, 5-guanylylimidodiphosphate, and NaF and 9 mM Mg2+ protected against thermal inactivation with Kd of 16.8 microM, 8.81 microM, 0.23 microM and 1.04 mM, respectively. Mg2+ alone was without effect. Thermal inactivation was first order under all conditions tested. Arrhenius plots of the rate constants for inactivation vs temperature were linear. The increased stability of ligand bound adenylyl cyclase was shown to be associated with an increased free energy of activation (delta G 0). These data provide evidence for the existence of two distinct conformations of cardiac adenylyl cyclase based on different susceptibilities to thermal inactivation. These enzyme conformations, termed E1 and E2, may be important reaction intermediates. The thermal stability of E1 was highly influenced by the enzyme's membrane lipid environment. The formation of E2 from E1 was enhanced by interaction with substrate, PPi, activators of adenylyl cyclase, and by interaction with dissociated stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein-alpha beta gamma heterotrimers.     

Stimulation of Postsynaptic and Inhibition of Presynaptic Adenylyl Cyclase Activity by Metabotropic Glutamate: Receptor Activation

Abstract: To determine the subcellular distribution of cyclic AMP-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), the effects of glutamate agonists on adenylyl cyclase activity were examined using two hippocampal membrane preparations. These were synaptosomes (SY), which are composed of presynaptic terminals, and synaptoneurosomes (SN), which are composed of both pre-and postsynaptic elements. In SY, a water-soluble analogue of forskolin (7β-forskolin) increased enzyme activity ˜ 10-fold at the highest concentration tested. The selective metabotropic receptor agonist (1S,3 R )-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (1S,3 R -ACPD) inhibited enzyme activity as did glutamate and quisqualate. l -Amino-4-phosphobutanoate ( l -AP4) had no effect on enzyme activity at any concentration tested. The metabotropic receptor antagonist l -2-amino-3-phosphopropionic acid ( l -AP3) was not effective in the SY in antagonizing the agonist-induced decreases in adenylyl cyclase activity by glutamate or 1S,3 R -ACPD. It was, however, effective at antagonizing quisqualate-induced decreases in enzyme activity. In SN, at the highest concentration tested, 7β-forskolin produced a 60-fold increase in adenylyl cyclase activity. As was observed in SY, glutamate decreased adenylyl cyclase activity in SN. In contrast, 1S,3 R -ACPD, quisqualate, and l -AP4 increased adenylyl cyclase activity. In the SN, l -AP3 was ineffective in antagonizing any agonist-induced increases (1S,3 R -ACPD, l -AP4, and quisqualate) or decreases (glutamate) in adenylyl cyclase activity. The data suggest that postsynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptor activation results in stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity, whereas inhibition of this enzyme appears to be mediated at least partly through presynaptic mechanisms.     

Modulation of Escherichia coli Adenylyl Cyclase Activity by Catalytic-Site Mutants of Protein IIAGlc of the Phosphoenolpyruvate:Sugar Phosphotransferase System

It is demonstrated here that in Escherichia coli, the phosphorylated form of the glucose-specific phosphocarrier protein IIA^Glc of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system is an activator of adenylyl cyclase and that unphosphorylated IIA^Glc has no effect on the basal activity of adenylyl cyclase. To elucidate the specific role of IIA^Glc phosphorylation in the regulation of adenylyl cyclase activity, both the phosphorylatable histidine (H90) and the interactive histidine (H75) of IIA^Glc were mutated by site-directed mutagenesis to glutamine and glutamate. Wild-type IIA^Glc and the H75Q mutant, in which the histidine in position 75 has been replaced by glutamine, were phosphorylated by the phosphohistidine-containing phosphocarrier protein (HPr~P) and were equally potent activators of adenylyl cyclase. Neither the H90Q nor the H90E mutant of IIA^Glc was phosphorylated by HPr~P, and both failed to activate adenylyl cyclase. Furthermore, replacement of H75 by glutamate inhibited the appearance of a steady-state level of phosphorylation of H90 of this mutant protein by HPr~P, yet the H75E mutant of IIA^Glc was a partial activator of adenylyl cyclase. The H75E H90A double mutant, which cannot be phosphorylated, did not activate adenylyl cyclase. This suggests that the H75E mutant was transiently phosphorylated by HPr~P but the steady-state level of the phosphorylated form of the mutant protein was decreased due to the repulsive forces of the negatively charged glutamate at position 75 in the catalytic pocket. These results are discussed in the context of the proximity of H75 and H90 in the IIA^Glc structure and the disposition of the negative charge in the modeled glutamate mutants.     

Treatment of oocyte membranes with the 2',3'-dialdehyde of guanosine triphosphate reduces progesterone inhibition of adenylyl cyclase

Treatment of Xenopus laevis membranes with the 2',3'-dialdehyde of GTP (dial GTP) drastically inhibits their adenylyl cyclase activity. Optimal inhibition is obtained by treatment with 1 mM dial GTP for 1h at 32 degrees C. Using guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate, F-, forskolin and Mn2+ as activators of the enzyme it can be concluded that dial GTP preferentially reacts with the stimulatory subunit (Ns) and slightly with the catalytic subunit. Dial GTP treatment greatly reduces the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase by progesterone. Pure exogenous Ns stimulates the enzyme but does not restore progesterone inhibition. Treatment with dial [alpha-32P]GTP labels several membrane proteins some of which have similar Mr to Ns and Ni.     

The adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase superfamily

New structures solved in 1997 revealed that the adenylyl cyclase core consists of a pair of catalytic domains arranged in a wreath. Homologous catalytic domains are arranged in diverse adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases as symmetric homodimers or pseudosymmetric heterodimers. The kinship of the adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases has been confirmed by the structure-based interconversion of their nucleotide specificities. Catalysis is activated when two metal-binding aspartate residues on one domain are juxtaposed with a key aspargine—arginine pair on the other. Allosteric activators of mammalian adenylyl cyclase, forskolin and the stimulatory G protein α subunit, promote the catalytically optimal juxtaposition of the two domains.     

Adenylyl cyclase from a prolactin producing tumor cell: The effect of phenothiazines

An adenylyl cyclase stimulated by low concentrations of chlorpromazine was observed in homogenates of a clonal pituitary tumor cell line (GH₃/C14) which releases prolactin and growth hormone. A half-maximal increase in activity of the GH₃/C14 cyclase occurred in the presence of 0.5 × 10^?6M chlorpromazine and a significant increase in activity was observed with a concentration of chlorpromazine as low as 10^?7M. Several derivatives (7-methoxychlorpromazine, 7-hydroxychlorpromazine and 8-hydroxychlorpromazine) were found to mimic the stimulatory action of chlorpromazine on adenylyl cyclase, whereas chlorpromazine-5, N-dioxide was ineffective. Under the assay conditions used, sodium fluoride caused a four-fold increase in activity. However, dopamine at concentrations up to 2 × 10^?4M was ineffective in stimulating or inhibiting the enzyme whether present alone or in combination with chlorpromazine. The ergot alkaloids, ergotamine and ergocryptine, blocked the stimulation of cyclase activity observed in the presence of chlorpromazine (10^?5M). Homogenates of normal pituitaries showed no enhancement of adenylyl cyclase activity by chlorpromazine alone. However, when chlorpromazine was tested in the presence of 5′ guanylimidophosphate [GPP(NH)P], there was a significant increase in cyclase activity in the pituitary similar to that observed in the GH₃/C14 preparation. These results suggest that hyperprolactinemia resulting as a side effect of phenothiazine treatment may be attributable to a direct action of these drugs to increase adenylyl cyclase activity in prolactin-producing cells of the anterior pituitary.     

Receptor-controlled phosphorylation of alpha 1 soluble guanylyl cyclase enhances nitric oxide-dependent cyclic guanosine 5'-monophosphate production in pituitary cells

It is generally accepted that G protein-coupled receptors stimulate soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC)-mediated cGMP production indirectly, by increasing nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity in a calcium- and kinase-dependent manner. Here we show that normal and GH(3) immortalized pituitary cells expressed alpha(1)beta(1)-sGC heterodimer. Activation of adenylyl cyclase by GHRH, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and forskolin increased NO and cGMP levels, and basal and stimulated cGMP production was abolished by inhibition of NO synthase activity. However, activators of adenylyl cyclase were found to enhance this NO-dependent cGMP production even when NO was held constant at basal levels. Receptor-activated cGMP production was mimicked by expression of a constitutive active protein kinase A and was accompanied with phosphorylation of native and recombinant alpha(1)-sGC subunit. Addition of a protein kinase A inhibitor, overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of regulatory protein kinase A subunit, and substitution of Ser(107)-Ser(108) N-terminal residues of alpha(1)-subunit with alanine abolished adenylyl cyclase-dependent cGMP production without affecting basal and NO donor-stimulated cGMP production. These results indicate that phosphorylation of alpha(1)-subunit by protein kinase A enlarges the NO-dependent sGC activity, most likely by stabilizing the NO/alpha(1)beta(1) complex. This is the major pathway by which adenylyl cyclase-coupled receptors stimulate cGMP production.     

Cytoplasmic domain of natriuretic peptide receptor C constitutes Gi activator sequences that inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity

We have recently demonstrated that a 37-amino acid peptide corresponding to the cytoplasmic domain of the natriuretic peptide receptor C (NPR-C) inhibited adenylyl cyclase activity via pertussis toxin (PT)-sensitive G(i) protein. In the present studies, we have used seven different peptide fragments of the cytoplasmic domain of the NPR-C receptor with complete, partial, or no G(i) activator sequence to examine their effects on adenylyl cyclase activity. The peptides used were KKYRITIERRNH (peptide 1), RRNHQEESNIGK (peptide 2), HRELREDSIRSH (peptide 3), RRNHQEESNIGKHRELR (peptide 4), QEESNIGK (peptide X), ITIERRNH (peptide Y), and ITIYKKRRNHRE (peptide Z). Peptides 1, 3, and 4 have complete G(i) activator sequences, whereas peptides 2 and Y have partial G(i) activator sequences with truncated carboxyl or amino terminus, respectively. Peptide X has no structural specificity, whereas peptide Z is the scrambled peptide control for peptide 1. Peptides 1, 3, and 4 inhibited adenylyl cyclase activity in a concentration-dependent manner with apparent K(i) between 0.1 and 1 nm; however, peptide 2 inhibited adenylyl cyclase activity with a higher K(i) of about 10 nm, and peptides X, Y, and Z were unable to inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity. The maximal inhibitions observed were between 30 and 40%. The inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity by peptides 1-4 was absolutely dependent on the presence of guanine nucleotides and was completely attenuated by PT treatment. In addition, the stimulatory effects of isoproterenol, glucagon, and forskolin on adenylyl cyclase activity were inhibited to different degrees by these peptides. These results suggest that the small peptide fragments of the cytoplasmic domain of the NPR-C receptor containing 12 or 17 amino acids were sufficient to inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity through a PT-sensitive G(i) protein. The peptides having complete structural specificity of G(i) activator sequences at both amino and carboxyl termini were more potent to inhibit adenylyl cyclase activity as compared with the peptides having a truncated carboxyl terminus, whereas the truncation of the amino-terminal motif completely attenuates adenylyl cyclase inhibition.     

The regulation of type 7 adenylyl cyclase by its C1b region and Escherichia coli peptidylprolyl isomerase, SlyD

Mammalian membrane-bound adenylyl cyclase consists of two highly conserved cytoplasmic domains (C1a and C2a) separated by a less conserved connecting region, C1b, and one of two transmembrane domains, M2. The C1a and C2a domains form a catalytic core that can be stimulated by forskolin and the stimulatory G protein subunit alpha (Galpha(s)). In this study, we analyzed the regulation of type 7 adenylyl cyclase (AC7) by C1b. The C1a, C1b, and C2a domains of AC7 were purified separately. Escherichia coli SlyD protein, a cis-trans peptidylprolyl isomerase (PPIase), copurifies with AC7 C1b (7C1b). SlyD protein can inhibit the Galpha(s)- and/or forskolin-activated activity of both soluble and membrane-bound AC7. Mutant forms of SlyD with reduced PPIase activity are less potent in the inhibition of AC7 activity. Interestingly, different isoforms of mammalian membrane-bound adenylyl cyclase can be either inhibited or stimulated by SlyD protein, raising the possibility that mammalian PPIase may regulate enzymatic activity of mammalian adenylyl cyclase. Purified 7C1b-SlyD complex has a greater inhibitory effect on AC7 activity than SlyD alone. This inhibition by 7C1b is abolished in a 7C1b mutant in which a conserved glutamic acid (amino acid residue 582) is changed to alanine. Inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity by 7C1b is further confirmed by using 7C1b purified from an E. coli slyD-deficient strain. This inhibitory activity of AC7 is also observed with the 28-mer peptides derived from a region of C1b conserved in AC7 and AC2 but is not observed with a peptide derived from the corresponding region of AC6. This inhibitory activity exhibited by the C1b domain may result from the interaction of 7C1b with 7C1a and 7C2a and may serve to hold AC7 in the basal nonstimulated state.     

The intracellular location of adenylyl cyclase in the cellular slime molds Dictyostelium discoideum and Polysphondylium pallidum

Adenylyl cyclase activity was low or not detectable on intact cells and in isolated plasma membranes, phagocytic vacuoles and nuclei of the two slime mold species examined. The entire activity of homogenates was sedimentable and concentrated in a light membrane fraction. When this fraction was centrifugated through sucrose density gradients the adenylyl cyclase activity sedimented differently from all other enzymes measured. The gradient fractions with the highest specific activity of adenylyl cyclase consisted mainly of small vesicles. No changes in adenylyl cyclase distribution were associated with development. The possibility that cellular slime mold adenylyl cyclase activity is associated with vesicles in vivo, as already suggested by Maeda & Gerisch [10], is discussed.     

Augmentation of receptor-mediated adenylyl cyclase activity by Gi-coupled prostaglandin receptor subtype EP3 in a Gbetagamma subunit-independent manner.

We previously demonstrated that the mouse EP3beta receptor and its C-terminal tail-truncated receptor (abbreviated T-335) expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells showed agonist-dependent and fully constitutive Gi activity in forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation, respectively. Here we examined the effect of the EP3beta receptor or T-335 receptor on adenylyl cyclase activity stimulated by the Gs-coupled EP2 subtype receptor in COS-7 cells. As a result, sulprostone, a selective EP3 agonist, dose dependently augmented butaprost-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in EP3beta receptor- or T-335 receptor-expressing COS-7 cells. However, such adenylyl cyclase augmentation was not attenuated by either pertussis toxin treatment or expression of the PH domain of rat betaARK1, which serves as a scavenger of Gbetagamma subunits, but was partially attenuated by treatment with either 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetra(acetoxymethyl)ester, an intracellular Ca(2+) chelator, or W-7, a calmodulin inhibitor. These findings suggest that the C-terminal tail of the EP3beta receptor is not essentially involved in activation of EP2 receptor-stimulated adenylyl cyclase in a Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent but Gbetagamma subunit-independent manner.     

Exposure to intermittent high altitude induces different changes in adenylyl cyclase activity in hearts of young and adult Wistar rats

This study investigates changes of adenylyl cyclase activity in the heart of young and adult Wistar rats exposed to experimental conditions simulating high altitude hypoxia as a model for interpretation of some adaptive changes of adenylyl cyclase observed in human. The exposure of rats to intermittent high altitude (IHA) hypoxia (5000 m) showed significant adaptive changes. The right ventricular weight and the ratio of right/left ventricular weights of adult rats exposed to IHA were significantly increased when compared to appropriate controls; adaptive changes of cardiac adenylyl cyclase being dependent on the age of the animals. The isoprenaline-stimulated activity was higher in the left than in the right ventricle, and in both ventricles it was higher in young rats than in adult rats. When compared to controls, isoprenaline stimulation was decreased in the right ventricles of adapted young rats and, by contrast, it was increased in the left ventricles of adapted adult rats. This decrease and increase of adenylyl cyclase activity evoked by isoprenaline was paralleled by forskolin-induced adenylyl cyclase activity in these experimental groups. It seems therefore that the changes in the pattern of total adenylyl cyclase activity observed under IHA hypoxia may at least be partially explained by the changes of beta-adrenergic receptor susceptibility following IHA hypoxia.     

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.