Immunomorphological localization of adenosine deaminase in rat tissues during ontogeny

Purines as potential morphogens during embryonic development

Components of purinergic signalling are expressed in the early embryo raising the possibility that ATP, ADP and adenosine may contribute to the mechanisms of embryonic development. We summarize the available data from four developmental models—mouse, chick, Xenopus and zebrafish. While there are some notable examples where purinergic signalling is indeed important during development, e.g. development of the eye in the frog, it is puzzling that deletion of single components of purinergic signalling often results in rather minor developmental phenotypes. We suggest that a key step in further analysis is to perform combinatorial alterations of expression of purinergic signalling components to uncover their roles in development. We introduce the concept that purinergic signalling could create novel morphogenetic fields to encode spatial location via the concentration of ATP, ADP and adenosine. We show that using minimal assumptions and the known properties of the ectonucleotidases, complex spatial patterns of ATP and adenosine can be set up. These patterns may provide a new way to assess the potential of purinergic signalling in developmental processes.

Purinergic signaling in embryonic and stem cell development

Nucleotides are of crucial importance as carriers of energy in all organisms. However, the concept that in addition to their intracellular roles, nucleotides act as extracellular ligands specifically on receptors of the plasma membrane took longer to be accepted. Purinergic signaling exerted by purines and pyrimidines, principally ATP and adenosine, occurs throughout embryologic development in a wide variety of organisms, including amphibians, birds, and mammals. Cellular signaling, mediated by ATP, is present in development at very early stages, e.g., gastrulation of Xenopus and germ layer definition of chick embryo cells. Purinergic receptor expression and functions have been studied in the development of many organs, including the heart, eye, skeletal muscle and the nervous system. In vitro studies with stem cells revealed that purinergic receptors are involved in the processes of proliferation, differentiation, and phenotype determination of differentiated cells. Thus, nucleotides are able to induce various intracellular signaling pathways via crosstalk with other bioactive molecules acting on growth factor and neurotransmitter receptors. Since normal development is disturbed by dysfunction of purinergic signaling in animal models, further studies are needed to elucidate the functions of purinoceptor subtypes in developmental processes.

Effects of trifluoromethylaniline isomers on enzyme activities in lymphatic organs and hematology of the rat

Three isomers of trifluoromethylaniline (TFMA) were investigated for their possible different toxic effects on the hematopoietic system in male Wistar rats. The effects of isomeric 2-, 3- and 4-TFMA were compared with those of aniline, the prototypic drug. Strong leukocytosis manifested by considerable increase in the number of all respective white blood elements was observed in the peripheral blood 1 day after the administration of 4-TFMA. In contrast, erythropoiesis, as ascertained by erythrocyte count and hemoglobin concentration, was inhibited by 4-TFMA. The determination of the ED50 revealed lymphocytes to be the most responsive elements towards 4-TFMA administration. Besides hyperemic and proliferative splenomegaly the histological changes in maturation of immunocompetent cells following the 4-TFMA administration were found also in thymus. In accord with an enhanced incorporation of [3H]thymidine, the specific activity of thymidine kinase (TdK) in spleen was increased after a single dose of 4-TFMA. Activities of the catabolic enzymes adenosine deaminase (ADA) and inosine phosphorylase (IP) decreased in both organs with the exception of IP activity in thymus. The effects evoked by the 3-TFMA isomer were regularly less pronounced, and 2-TFMA was nearly inactive.

Adenosine deaminase and thymocyte maturation

The congenital absence of adenosine deaminase in humans results in severe combined immunodeficiency. To clarify the process whereby thymocytes are destroyed in the absence of adenosine deaminase activity, we induced a parallel condition in mice through the injection of an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, deoxycoformycin. We have observed that deoxycoformycin, in addition to maintaining high levels of dATP in thymocytes, blocks the progression of thymocyte differentiation at two points. As a result of the first block, the cortex is depleted of immature cortical thymocytes while CD4+CD8+ thymocytes with functionally rearranged T-cell receptors survive. As a result of the second block, the CD4+CD8+ thymocytes are prevented from further differentiation to mature CD4+CD8- or CD4-CD8+ T lymphocytes and accumulate at the corticomedullar junction and in the medulla. These observations suggest that the maintenance of dNTP pools by adenosine deaminase is critical to at least two stages of thymocyte differentiation.

Developmental expression of adenosine deaminase in the upper alimentary tract of mice

The distribution and localization of adenosine deaminase (ADA) was studied during postnatal development of the alimentary tract in mice. There was detectable enzyme activity in all organs examined, but a range of more than 10,000 fold in the relative levels of specific activity was observed among adult tissues. A comprehensive survey of multiple adult tissues revealed that the highest levels of ADA occur in the upper alimentary tract (tongue, esophagus, forestomach, proximal small intestine). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that ADA was predominantly localized to the epithelial lining of the alimentary mucosa: the keratinized squamous epithelium that lines the forestomach, esophagus, and surface of the tongue; and the simple columnar epithelium of the proximal small intestine (duodenum, proximal jejunum). Biochemical analysis revealed that ADA was one of the most abundant proteins of these mucosal tissue layers, accounting for 5%-20% of the total soluble protein. Tissue-specific differences in ADA activity correlated both with levels of immunoreactive protein and RNA abundance. The level of ADA activity in the upper alimentary tissues was subject to pronounced developmental control, being low at birth and achieving very high levels within the first few weeks of postnatal life. The appearance in development of ADA-immunoreactivity coincided with maturation of the mucosal epithelium. These results suggest that ADA is subject to strong cell-specific developmental regulation during functional differentiation of certain foregut derivatives in mice.

Early postimplantation embryolethality in mice following in utero inhibition of adenosine deaminase with 2'-deoxycoformycin

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) catalyzes the hydrolytic deamination of adenosine (or 2'-deoxyadenosine) to inosine (or 2'-deoxyinosine). Previously, we have shown that ADA activity is subject to strong cell-specific developmental regulation in placental tissues of mice between days 6 and 11 of gestation (Knudsen et al.:Biology of Reproduction 39:937-951, 1988). In the present study, we examined the effects of intrauterine exposure to 2'-deoxycoformycin (dCF; pentostatin), a potent irreversible inhibitor of ADA, on early postimplantation development. Deoxycoformycin was administered to pregnant ICR mice as a single intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 5 mg/kg on one of days 6 through 11 of gestation (plug day 0). A marked increase in the incidence of implantation site resorptions was observed following treatment specifically on days 7 (61% resorbed) or 8 (78% resorbed). No effect was observed following treatment on days 6, 9, 10, or 11. ADA-immunoreactive protein was shown, by ABC-immunoperoxidase staining on days 7 or 8 of gestation, to be present at high levels in decidual cells of the antimesometrial region but at below-detectable levels in the embryo. Treatment of pregnant dams with dCF on day 7 produced a complete (greater than 99%) inhibition of ADA activity in the antimesometrial decidua by 30 min, induced excessive cell death in the prospective neural plate and primary mesenchyme of the trilaminar disc by 6 h, and arrested embryonic development at an early somite stage. These results suggest that the antimesometrial decidua plays a protective role in preventing an inappropriate accumulation of endogenous ADA substrates in the implantation site.

Differential deoxyadenosine toxicity to immature rabbit cartilage in vitro. A model for the chondro-osseous dysplasia of adenosine deaminase deficiency

Deoxyadenosine metabolism was investigated in rabbit growth plate and articular cartilage to elucidate the biochemical basis for the chondro-osseous dysplasia observed in adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. Models of ADA deficiency, the combination of deoxy-adenosine and either of 2 ADA inhibitors, were selectively toxic to immature cartilage, supporting the hypothesis that the chondro-osseous dysplasia of ADA deficiency is the consequence of the enzyme deficiency. Depletion of ATP may play a role in the altered chondrocyte viability and function observed in this model.

5'-Nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase in developing fetal guinea pig brain and the effect of maternal hypoxia

The activity of key enzymes of adenosine metabolism was studied in the developing fetal guinea pig brain. The activities of 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase were determined in the brains of fetal guinea pigs at 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 days of gestation. The level of 5'-nucleotidase activity was extremely low at 30 and 35 days of gestation but increased rapidly during the 40 to 60 day period. The enzyme activity increased in the presence of Mg2+ with the Mg2+ - dependent activation increasing with the age of gestation. This Mg2+ - dependent activity was primarily associated with the membrane fraction. Prenatal hypoxia significantly increased the fetal brain M2+ - independent 5'-nucleotidase activity at 45 days of gestational age and beyond. Prior to this age, no effect was evident. Furthermore, following hypoxia, the Mg2+ - dependent activation of 5'-nucleotidase activity was lost. The activity of adenosine deaminase was present at 30 days of gestation and, unlike 5'-nucleotidase, it remained at the same level until 60 days. The results indicate that the term fetal guinea pig brain has the enzymatic mechanisms of adenosine metabolism and thus the potential for adenosine-mediated regulation of cerebrovasculature during hypoxia.

Evidence for negative control of growth by adenosine in the mammalian embryo: induction of Hmx/+ mutant limb outgrowth by adenosine deaminase

We investigated the growth-regulatory actions of adenosine and adenosine deaminase (ADA) during embryonic limb development in the mouse. Polydactylous outgrowth, an expression of the Hemimelia-extra toe (Hmx/+) mutant phenotype, was experimentally regulated in hindlimb buds explanted into a serum-free in vitro system at stage 18 of gestation. Its expression was promoted by exposure to 0.1 or 0.2 IU/ml exogenous ADA and suppressed by co-exposure to 10 nM (-)-N6-(R-phenylisopropyl)-adenosine (N6-PIA). Evidence that N6-PIA acted as a high-affinity agonist against the external adenosine receptor was provided by experiments in which 100 microM caffeine, a known antagonist, competitively blocked its effect. The endogenous adenosine content was analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection following its conversion to the 1,N6-ethenoadenosine derivative. At stage 18, the adenosine levels were 0.5 pmol/micrograms DNA in whole embryos and 0.08 pmol/micrograms DNA in hindlimb buds. At the same stage, partially purified extracts of the embryonal plasma enriched fraction contained high levels of ADA activity (0.04-0.06 IU/embryo, or 0.7-1.0 IU/mg protein). In contrast, blood cells contained 0.0001 IU/embryo (or 0.01 IU/mg protein). This enzyme occurred as a single kinetic form with a molecular weight of 45000-47000 daltons and an apparent Km of 36-38 microM. Its presence in the embryonal plasma argues against an endocrine mechanism of adenosine secretion in favor of autocrine (self-regulatory) or paracrine (proximate-regulatory) mechanisms. Taken together, our results suggest that the in vitro outgrowth of the prospective polydactylous region is induced upon escape from the local growth-inhibitory influence of extracellular adenosine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Ontogenesis of adenosine deaminase activity in rat brain

The activity of adenosine deaminase (ADA) was determined in whole brain of rats at the embryonic age of 15 days through to adulthood and in nine brain regions in rats 1 day old through to adulthood. In 1-day-old rats, the highest activity was seen in olfactory bulbs (550 +/- 15 nmol/mg protein/30 min) and this was 4.5-fold higher than that in the pons, which was the lowest. In adult animals, olfactory bulb still contained the greatest activity, which was about eightfold higher than hippocampus, which had the lowest. Except for hypothalamus, where ADA activity increased nearly twofold in rats between the ages of 1 and 50 days, significant decreases of as much as fivefold were found in whole brain, superior colliculus, cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, olfactory bulbs, and olfactory nucleus. In contrast, ADA activity in pons and subcortex remained relatively constant throughout the developmental period. The Km values for ADA in whole brain at 18 days gestation (48 +/- 5 microM) were not significantly different from that observed in adult rats (38 +/- 7 microM), whereas the Vmax values decreased significantly from 339 +/- 9 to 108 +/- 8 nmol/mg protein/30 min. Taken together, the developmental patterns observed in the various brain regions appear not to correspond to any one particular process such as periods of rapid cell proliferation, cell death, synaptogenesis, or myelination. Nor do they correspond to known developmental profiles of transmitters, their receptors, or their metabolic enzymes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Distribution of adenosine deaminase in some rat tissues. Inhibition by ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide

The level of adenosine deaminase in various rat tissues has been tested. The enzyme activity of cytosolic fractions decreased in the following order: lung greater than spleen greater than small intestine greater than stomach greater than kidney greater than heart greater than liver greater than skeletal muscle greater than forebrain greater than cerebellum. The enzyme had identical patterns from tissue to tissue with respect to Km, V, and Ki values for ethanol and for dimethyl sulfoxide, with respect to electrophoretic behaviour and to inhibition by antibodies anti-rat brain adenosine deaminase.