Cyclic adenosine monophosphate: selective increase in caudate nucleus after administration of L-dopa

Treatment with the dopamine precursor L-dopa produced a significant accumulation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in the caudate nucleus of the rat. In contrast, there was no change in the amount of cyclic AMP in the cerebellum. Accumulation of cyclic AMP in the caudate nucleus after administration of L-dopa was prevented by prior treatment with the decarboxylase inhibitor RO 4-4602. These observations and those in other laboratories support the assumption that dopamine formed from L-dopa selectively activates striatal adenylate cyclase. The in vivo activation of adenylate cyclase after treatment with L-dopa may be a useful model for studying neurological and psychiatric disorders that are thought to involve the dopaminergic system of the brain.     

Growth arrest and morphological change of human breast cancer cells by dibutyryl cyclic AMP and L-arginine

The growth in vitro of human breast cancer cells, line MCF-7, was inhibited by a daily supplement of L-arginine (1 milligram per milliliter). Arginine acted synergistically with dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) (10(-6) molar) to enhance the growth inhibitory effect: the cell replication ceased completely within 2 days after treatment. The growth arrest accompanied a change in cell morphology and was preceded by increases in the cellular concentration of cyclic AMP, adenylate cyclase, and type II cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activities as well as a decrease of estrogen binding activity. The results suggest that growth of human breast cancer cells is subject to cyclic AMP-mediated regulation and that arginine may play a specific role in this process.     

Adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate waves in Dictyostelium discoideum: a demonstration by isotope dilution--fluorography

The distribution of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in fields of aggregating amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum was examined by a novel isotope dilution-fluorographic technique. Cellular cyclic AMP was visualized by its competition with exogenous 3H-labeled cyclic AMP for high-affinity binding sites on protein kinase immobilized on a Millipore filter used to blot the monolayer. The cyclic AMP was distributed in spiral or concentric circular wave patterns which centered on the foci of the aggregations. These patterns were correlated with those of cell shape change that propagate through the monolayers: cells in regions of high concentrations of cyclic AMP were elongated (presumably moving up a cyclic AMP gradient), whereas those in regions of low cyclic AMP concentrations were randomly directed. The highest cyclic AMP concentrations were about 10(-6)M. The widths of the regions of elevated cyclic AMP were about 0.3 to 1 millimeter which, assuming a wave velocity of 300 micrometers per minute, suggests that a cell signals for about 1 to 3 minutes. These observations support the hypothesis that the aggregation process in Dictyostelium is mediated by the periodic relay of cyclic AMP signals and suggest a simple scheme for the dynamics of the aggregation process.     

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone: regulation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in ovarian granulosa cells

The antigonadal effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in ovarian granulosa cells are due to attenuation of the adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) response to follicle-stimulating hormone. Agonists of gonadotropin-releasing hormone progressively inhibit adenylate cyclase and stimulate phosphodiesterase activities in cultured granulosa cells, indicating that blockade of gonadotropin action is attributable to the combined effects of decreased production and increased degradation of cyclic AMP.     

A chemoattractant receptor controls development in Dictyostelium discoideum

During the early stages of its developmental program, Dictyostelium discoideum expresses cell surface cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) receptors. It has been suggested that these receptors coordinate the aggregation of individual cells into a multicellular organism and regulate the expression of a large number of developmentally regulated genes. The complementary DNA (cDNA) for the cyclic AMP receptor has now been cloned from lambda gt-11 libraries by screening with specific antiserum. The 2-kilobase messenger RNA (mRNA) that encodes the receptor is undetectable in growing cells, rises to a maximum at 3 to 4 hours of development, and then declines. In vitro transcribed complementary RNA, when hybridized to cellular mRNA, specifically arrests in vitro translation of the receptor polypeptide. When the cDNA is expressed in Dictyostelium cells, the undifferentiated cells specifically bind cyclic AMP. Cell lines transformed with a vector that expresses complementary mRNA (antisense) do not express the cyclic AMP receptor protein. These cells fail to enter the aggregation stage of development during starvation, whereas control and wild-type cells aggregate and complete the developmental program within 24 hours. The phenotype of the antisense transformants suggests that the cyclic AMP receptor is essential for development. The deduced amino acid sequence of the receptor reveals a high percentage of hydrophobic residues grouped in seven domains, similar to the rhodopsins and other receptors believed to interact with G proteins. It shares amino acid sequence identity and is immunologically cross-reactive with bovine rhodopsin. A model is proposed in which the cyclic AMP receptor crosses the bilayer seven times with a serine-rich cytoplasmic carboxyl terminus, the proposed site of ligand-induced receptor phosphorylation.     

Hypothyroidism elicits electrophysiological noradrenergic subsensitivity in rat cerebellum

discharge rats of Purkinje neurons were compared in control and hypothyroid adult rats. Purkinje neurons in hypothyroid rats fired significantly faster and were less sensitive to iontophoretically applied norepinephrine than those in control rats. The subsensitivity of the Purkinje neurons appeared to be primarily due to an alteration in the beta-receptor--adenylate cyclase complex, because the sensitivity of these cells to locally applied N6-monobutyryl adenosine 3'-5'-monophosphate (N6 cyclic AMP) did not change significantly. The sensitivity of the Purkinje neurons to norepinephrine could be restored in hypothyroid rats by administration of triiodothyronine.     

Receptor-associated resistance to growth hormone-releasing factor in dwarf "little" mice

Anterior pituitaries from the dwarf mouse strain "little" did not release growth hormone or accumulate adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in response to human and rat growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF). Dibutyryl cyclic AMP, as well as the adenylate cyclase stimulators forskolin and cholera toxin, markedly stimulated growth hormone (GH) release. The basis of the GH deficiency in the little mouse may therefore be a defect in an early stage of GRF-stimulated GH release related either to receptor binding or to the function of the hormone-receptor complex.     

Phagocyte impotence caused by an invasive bacterial adenylate cyclase

For unknown reasons, humans infected with the bacterium Bordetella pertussis are exceptionally vulnerable to secondary infections. Bordetella species elaborate a soluble, heat-stable, and highly active adenylate cyclase. This enzyme is internalized by phagocytic cells and catalyzes the unregulated formation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP), thereby disrupting normal cellular function. This unusual phenomenon may explain Bordetella-induced aphylaxis and may prove to be useful for investigating a variety of cyclic AMP-governed processes.     

Adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate: inhibition of complement-mediated cell lysis

An increase in adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in rat mast cells, achieved by stimulating the cells with prostaglandin E(1), by preventing cyclic AMP breakdown with aminophylline, or by adding exogenous dibutyryl cyclic AMP, prevented complement-mediated cytolysis as assessed by both histamine release and vital dye exclusion. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP also suppressed water-induced osmotic lysis.     

Reversal of catecholamine refractoriness by inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis

The generation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in response to catecholamines in the 2B subclone of RGC6 rat glioma cells previously exposed to norepinephrine and refractory to further norepinephrine addition is substantially increased by addition of inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis. The time course of the effect of these inhibitors on cyclic AMP concentration suggests that rapid protein synthesis and turnover are involved in catecholamine refractoriness. Norepinephrine induction of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase is demonstrable in RGC6 cells but not in the 2B subclone. Thus, catecholamine refractoriness cannot be attributed to induction of phosphodiesterase. This implies that induction of a protein or proteins, important in catecholamine refractoriness, affects the synthesis rather than the degradation of cyclic AMP.     

Tyrosine aminotransferase: enzyme induction independent of adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate

The importance of adenyl cyclase and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in the induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by adrenocorticosteroids has been tested in HTC cells derived from a rat hepatoma and grown in tissue culture. Adrenocorticosteroids cause a 10-to 15-fold increase in the rate of synthesis of tyrosine aminotransferase in these cells. Under various experimental conditions, with or without glucocorticoids, neither adenyl cyclase nor cyclic adenosine mono-phosphate could be detected in HTC cells. In addition, neither the cyclic nucleotide nor N(6), O(2')-dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate caused increased activity of the transaminase in HTC cells. We conclude that induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by glucocorticoids is not mediated by the adenyl cyclase-cyclic adenosine monophosphate system.     

Compartmentalization of cyclic AMP during phagocytosis by human neutrophilic granulocytes

Immunocytochemistry shows that early during phagocytosis of zymosan, adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) appears on the cell surface before the phagosome is internalized. The appearance of cyclic AMP on the cell surface is coincident with that of granule products and regulatory subunit of type I cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate is not associated with the initiation site of phagocytosis, but is observed throughout the granular cytoplasmic region. This sharply localized accumulation of cyclic AMP may serve as a signal for the initiation of phagocytosis.     

Regulation of muscle differentiation: stimulation of myoblast fusion in vitro by catecholamines

Epinephrine and isoproterenol provoke primary chick myoblasts to initiate precocious cell fusion. Both the rise in intracellular adenosine 3' ,5-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and cell fusion generated by these effectors are prevented by propranolol, which is a specific blocker of the beta-adrenergic receptor. Propranolol has no effect either on the precocious cell fusion provoked by prostaglandin E or on cell fusion in control cultures. The results support the idea that a rise in cyclic AMP is the critical intracellular change responsible for initiating events that culminate in myoblast differentiation 4 to 5 hours later. They also indicate that the culminate in myoblast differentiation 4 to 5 hours later. They also indicate that the hormone responsible for the positive regulation of myoblast differentiation in vitro is not acting through the beta-adrenergic receptor.     

Isolated adrenal cells: adrenocorticotropic hormone, calcium, steroidogenesis, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate

Corticosterone production by isolated adrenal cells in response to adrenocorticotropic hormone is reduced when the cells are incubated in a medium that contains no calcium. This reduction is associated with an equal reduction of accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Production of corticosterone and accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate are increased when the calcium concentration in the medium is increased (from zero to 7.65 millimolar). This is in contrast to the situation in "subcellular membrane fragments" of adrenal tissue where high calcium in the medium (> 1.0 millimolar) inhibits cyclic adenosine monophosphate accumulation. We propose that adenyl cyclase in the intact plasma membrane is located in a compartment wherein calcium concentration is low and remains unaffected by the concentration of calcium in the extracellular space. It is proposed that, as the concentration of calcium in the incubation medium is increased from zero to 7.65 millimolar, the strength of the signal generated by the interaction of adrenocorticotropic hormone with its receptor and transmitted to the adenyl cyclase compartment is proportionately increased.     

Growth inhibition by adenosine 3',5-monophosphate derivatives does not require 3',5' phosphodiester linkage

Analogs of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) inhibit the growth of cultured cell lines. The effects of 8-bromo- and N6-butyryl-substituted analogs of cyclic and noncyclic AMP on six cell lines were examined and were equally inhibitory. Variant cell lines with altered cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase were more resistant to both cyclic and noncyclic nucleotides. We conclude that growth inhibition by analogs of cyclic AMP (i) does not require a 3',5' phosphodiester bond and (ii) may be mediated by a pathway involving endogenous cyclic AMP.     

Adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate modulates thyrotropin receptor clustering and thyrotropin activity in culture

A biologically active rhodamine conjugate of thyrotropin binds at 4 degrees C to diffusely distributed membrane thyrotropin receptors which patch and become endocytosed into thyroid cells in a temperature-sensitive process. When the cells are first incubated with 8-bromo-cyclic adenosine monophosphate at 37 degrees C, the conjugate also binds to clustered receptors at 4 degrees C. Furthermore, 8-bromo-cyclic adenosine monophosphate reduces the amount of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) induced by thyrotropin. Hence, increased intracellular cyclic AMP induces receptor patching and reduces the concentration of cyclic AMP normally induced by thyrotropin. This suggests that cyclic AMP acts both as the second messenger of thyrotropin and also as the regulator of the level of thyrotropin receptors.     

Failure to confirm cyclic AMP as second messenger for norepinephrine in rat cerebellum

Microiontophoretic applications of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) to spontaneously active, electrophysiologically identified Purkinje cells of the rat cerebellum failed to mimic the strong depressant action of norepinephrine on the same cells. These findings, in combination with a reevaluation of other studies, cast doubt on the hypothesis that cyclic AMP mediates the depressant actions of norepinephrine in the cerebellum.     

A parathyroid hormone-like protein from cultured human keratinocytes

Parathyroid hormone-like factors have been found in extracts of tumors associated with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy, many of which are of squamous epithelial origin. Cultured, nonmalignant human keratinocytes were examined for the production of similar factors. Keratinocyte-conditioned medium from ten cultures stimulated the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in clonally derived rat osteosarcoma cells sensitive to parathyroid hormone. Bovine [Nle8,18, Tyr34]PTH-(3-34)NH2, a competitive inhibitor of parathyroid hormone, stopped the adenylate cyclase production stimulated by keratinocyte-conditioned medium, but antisera to parathyroid hormone had no effect on such adenylate cyclase activity. The active component of keratinocyte-conditioned medium has a molecular weight exceeding that of native parathyroid hormone. These characteristics are shared by the parathyroid hormone receptor agonists associated with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy, which suggests that normal human keratinocytes may produce a factor related to that produced by malignant tumors associated with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy.     

Regulation of phosphodiesterase synthesis: requirement for cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase

Endogenous cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and its dibutyryl derivative increase cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in cultured lymphoma cells. This effect is prevented by cycloheximide. A variant population of cells deficient in cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase contains lower basal phosphodiesterase activity, which cannot be induced by cyclic AMP.