Coupling of receptors in brain membranes by fusion to the adenylate cyclase system of a foreign effector cell

Lateral mobility of tetramethylrhodamine (TMR) labelled G protein alpha and beta gamma subunits in NG 108-15 cells

Multi-step signal transducing events, such as those mediated by G proteins, have been difficult to study in intact cells. We prepared fluorescently labelled G protein subunits, tetramethylrhodamine-alpha o (TMR-alpha o) and TMR-beta gamma, in order to study their subcellular distribution and lateral mobility. Heterotrimeric G proteins labelled in the alpha (TMR-alpha o/beta gamma) or beta (TMR-beta gamma/alpha o) subunit were reconstituted into lipid vesicles and fused to NG-108-15 cells using polyethylene glycol (PEG). Vesicles fused completely to the cells as determined by dequenching of a fluorescent lipid probe, octadecyl rhodamine B. The orientation of G protein beta gamma subunits after fusion followed the expected random distribution; the quenching of surface fluorescence with anti-fluorescein antibodies showed that about 50% of the label was accessible extracellularly. G proteins incorporated by the fusion method were able to couple to endogenous alpha 2 adrenergic receptors based on the restoration of high affinity agonist binding to pertussis toxin-treated cells. The subcellular localization of TMR-alpha o and TMR-beta gamma determined by differential centrifugation and confocal microscopy indicated that TMR-alpha o was present in the plasma membrane and in intracellular membranes, whereas TMR-beta gamma was mainly localized in the plasma membrane. The lateral mobility of TMR-alpha o and TMR-beta gamma measured using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) demonstrated low mobile fractions of 0.34 +/- 0.03 and 0.16 +/- 0.03, respectively. The translational diffusion coefficients of the mobile components were similar, 4.0 x 10(-9) and 2.0 x 10(-9) cm2/s, for alpha and beta gamma respectively. Neither activation of Gi-linked receptors nor cytoskeletal disruption with nocodozole or cytochalasin D changed the mobile fraction or diffusion coefficient of the alpha or beta gamma subunits. The FRAP data combined with the localization of fluorescent subunits by confocal microscopy suggest that the beta gamma subunits are highly constrained to localized regions of the plasma membrane while the alpha subunit may diffuse in intracellular regions to transmit signals from receptors to effector proteins.

Analysis by cell hybridization of mechanisms that regulate beta-adrenergic responses in reticulocytes and in differentiating erythroid cells

In intact reticulocytes, but not in fragmented membranes, the loss of adenylate cyclase activity during cell maturation followed a biphasic time course. A rapid phase (t1/2 approximately 2 h) during which the initial activity was reduced by 40-50% was followed by a slow phase with t1/2 close to 3 days. The fast decay seemed to occur on the adenylate cyclase level since (-)isoprenaline- or forskolin-stimulated activities behaved similarly and bacterial toxin-monitored Gs and Gi proteins remained stable. The mechanism of the initial decrease in hormonal responsiveness was further analysed in hybrid cells prepared by fusing reticulocytes with Friend erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. The hybrids contained reticulocyte-derived beta-adrenoceptors and MEL cell-derived adenylate cyclase and G proteins. Fusion of reticulocytes to native MEL cells caused adenylate cyclase activity to drop by 30% at 2 h and 45% at 18 h after fusion. By contrast, hybrids prepared after dimethylsulfoxide-induced differentiation of MEL cells showed stable or increasing rates of receptor-coupled cAMP formation between 2 and 18 h after fusion, concomitant with the enhanced activity of the Gs protein in these cells. A cyclase-stimulating factor present in the cytosol of MEL cells and of reticulocytes appeared not to be involved in short-term regulation of hormonal responsiveness. We conclude that the strength of beta-adrenergic responses in erythroid progenitor cells is primarily regulated by modulating G protein-mediated receptor cyclase coupling while reticulocytes, during early maturation, seem to rely on direct inactivation of adenylate cyclase, probably via a cytosolic proteolytic pathway.

Innervation of the mink pineal gland with neuropeptide Y (NPY)-containing nerve fibers. An experimental immunohistochemical study

An immunohistochemical investigation of the mink pineal gland was performed by use of antibodies raised in rabbits against neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Cys-NPY (32-36)-amide recognizing neuropeptide Y with an amidation at position 36 (NPYamide). NPY-immunoreactive nerve fibers were located predominantly in the rostral part of the pineal gland and in the pineal stalk. Immunoreactive nerve fibers were found throughout the pineal gland, but the number of fibers in the caudal part of the gland was low. The fibers were present both in the perivascular spaces and between the pinealocytes. Many NPY-immunoreactive fibers were also located in the posterior and habenular commissures; some of these fibers were connected with the fibers in the rostral part of the mink pineal gland, indicating that at least some of the NPY-immunoreactive nerve fibers are of central origin. The nerve fibers immunoreactive to amidated NPY were distributed in a similar manner. However, the number of fibers immunoreactive to NPYamide was lower than the number of fibers immunoreactive to NPY itself. After removal of the superior cervical ganglia bilaterally 22 days or 12 months before sacrifice, NPY-immunoreactive nerve fibers remained in the gland. This immunohistochemical study of the mink pineal gland therefore shows that the NPY/NPYamide-immunoreactive nerve fibers innervating the pineal gland in this species are a component of the central innervation or originate from extracerebral parasympathetic ganglia.