Purification and characterization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from skeletal muscle

Pathway-specific effect of caffeine on protection against UV irradiation-induced apoptosis in corneal epithelial cells

PURPOSE

To define the role of molecular interaction between the UV-induced JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) cascade and corneal epithelial cell apoptosis and protection against apoptosis by caffeine.

METHODS

Rabbit and human corneal epithelial cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 medium containing 10% FBS and 5 microg/mL insulin at 37 degrees C in 5% CO(2). DNA fragmentation and ethidium bromide/acridine orange (EB/AO) nuclear staining were performed to detect cell death. Western blot, immunoprecipitation, and kinase assays were used to measure UV-induced mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity.

RESULTS

UV irradiation-induced apoptosis through apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and MAKK4 (SEK1) upstream from JNK was caffeine sensitive. Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), an agent that is one of the most popular additions to food consumed in the world and a potential enhancer of chemotherapy, effectively protected corneal epithelial cells against apoptosis by its specific effect on the JNK cascade. Theophylline (1,3-dimethylxanthine) exhibited an effect similar to that of caffeine on prevention of UV irradiation-induced apoptosis. However, alterations of either intracellular cAMP or Ca(2+) levels did not alter the effect of caffeine on the JNK signaling pathway. In addition, the blockade of PI3K-like kinases by wortmannin had no impact on the protective effect of caffeine against UV irradiation-induced apoptosis, suggesting that the protective effect of caffeine acts through a specific mechanism involving UV irradiation-induced activation of ASK1 and SEK1. In contrast, caffeine had no effects on melphalan-, hyperosmotic stress-, or IL-1beta-induced activation of the JNK signaling pathway in these cells.

CONCLUSIONS

UV irradiation stress-induced activation of the ASK1-SEK1-JNK signaling pathway leading to apoptosis is a caffeine-sensitive process, and caffeine, as a multifunctional agent in cells, can specifically interact with the pathway to protect against apoptosis.

Estrogen receptor, calcium mobilization and rat sperm motility

Oral treatment with 0.4 mg/kg/day of tamoxifen citrate, an antiestrogen, has been reported to reduce the fertility of adult male rat, presumably through estrogen receptors expressed throughout the male reproductive tract. During the course of these studies, tamoxifen was observed to gradually alter the pattern of sperm motility in the cauda epididymides without reducing sperm counts. Studies were carried out to understand the mechanism involved in tamoxifen induced change in the sperm motility pattern. In order to study the direct effects of tamoxifen on motility, biochemical levels/activities of sperm calcium, cAMP, phosphodiesterase and dynein ATPase, normally implicated in sperm motility were studied In view of the fact that tamoxifen is a ligand of estrogen receptor, estrogen receptor alpha protein and transcript were localized on rat sperm membrane and the effect of tamoxifen studied. The present study demonstrated presence of estrogen receptor protein and mRNA in the rat sperm by immunofluorescence, western blotting and in situ hybridization respectively. Specificity of sperm estrogen receptors was confirmed by conventional binding studies using [3H]-estradiol. There was no effect of tamoxifen treatment on estrogen receptors in rat sperms. Biochemical analysis of the sperms from tamoxifen treated cauda epididymides revealed a significant increase in the levels of calcium and cAMP. A significant reduction was also apparent in the activity of dynein ATPase. Tamoxifen treatment did not alter phosphodiesterase activity. Estrogen receptors could be identified both in the control as well as tamoxifen treated rat sperms. It was concluded that tamoxifen treatment mobilized calcium from the intra- or extra-cellular pools with a concomitant increase in cAMP and presumably activation of PKA (protein kinase A). Tamoxifen altered the pattern of sperm motility through a calcium induced block in the activity of dynein ATPase, presumably through the activation of sperm phosphatase. The putative estrogen receptor mediated signal transduction pathway appears to be directly affected in the tamoxifen treated, sub-motile rat sperm.

Alternative splicing of the high affinity cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE7A) mRNA in human skeletal muscle and heart

To further our understanding of the structure and function of phosphodiesterases of the newly identified family of high affinity cAMP-specific phosphodiesterases (PDE7), we identified and characterized the isozyme expressed in human skeletal muscle and the protein product of the previously isolated isozyme HCP1 (designated HSPDE7A1). We report the isolation of a cDNA encoding the full-length skeletal muscle isoform of human PDE7A (HSPDE7A2). The DNA sequence of this skeletal muscle cDNA indicates that PDE7A2 is a novel 5' splice variant of PDE7A encoding an isoform with a novel, hydrophobic N terminus. The 456-amino acid PDE7A2 protein is detected on Western blots as a band with an apparent mobility of 50 kDa. PDE7A2 is a high affinity cAMP-specific PDE (Km = 0.1 microM), which is localized to particulate cellular fractions. The PDE7A1 (HCP1) isozyme is detected on Western blots as a band with an apparent mobility of 57 kDa, demonstrating that the previously isolated HCP1 cDNA encodes the full-length PDE7A1 protein. The even distribution of PDE7A mRNA among fetal tissues and the relative abundance of its two mRNAs strongly suggest that the expression of PDE7A is regulated throughout development.

Identification and tissue-specific expression of PDE7 phosphodiesterase splice variants

Type 7 cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE7s) are a newly described family of enzymes having high affinity and specificity for cAMP. However, little is known about their structure, function, or regulation. We have isolated a mouse skeletal muscle cDNA representing a new alternative splice variant (PDE7A2) of the PDE7 gene. The ORF encodes a 456-amino acid protein having a predicted molecular weight of 52.4 kDa. The 5' end of the mouse PDE7A2 is divergent from the 5' end of the human PDE7A1 sequence and is more hydrophobic. A comparison of the 5' ends of the two cDNA clones with human genomic sequence indicates that they represent alternate splice products rather than species variation. RNase protection analysis of several mouse tissues indicates that PDE7 is expressed widely with highest levels in skeletal muscle. HPLC fractionation and Western blot analysis of two human lymphocyte T-cell lines shows that an unknown PDE activity described by Ichimura and Kase [Ichimura, M. & Kase, H. (1993) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 193, 985-990] is most likely to be PDE7A1. A single immunoreactive band of approximately 55 kDa, which comigrates with PDE7A1, is seen in fractions of the HPLC profile containing this activity suggesting that the original human PDE7A1 clone contains a full-length ORF, and is not truncated at the 5' end as was originally postulated. In a human lymphocyte B-cell line and also in mouse skeletal muscle, a large amount of PDE7 mRNA but little PDE7 protein or activity is expressed suggesting that the translation or stability of PDE7 protein may be highly regulated in these tissues.

Age-related changes in 5'-nucleotidase and alkaline phosphatase activities in mouse thymocytes

Enzymatic activities of thymocytes isolated from Swiss albino mice were studied at various ages from immediately post weaning until 100 weeks of age, approaching the life expectancy of these animals. Between 5 and 10 weeks of age, the activities of lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase decreased to a level that was maintained throughout the remainder of the aging profile. Neutral beta-glycerophosphatase (pH 7.5) activity in a thymus membrane preparation was similar in all age groups. The activity of membrane-bound 5'-nucleotidase, that is, AMP-hydrolyzing activity inhibited by 100 microM alpha, beta-methyleneadenosine 5'-diphosphate, progressively increased as a function of age, indicating thymocyte population changes occurring very late in life. In thymocytes of the oldest mice examined (100 weeks of age), 5'-nucleotidase specific activity was approximately ten-fold greater than the activity found in 5-week-old mice. Thus, membrane-bound 5'-nucleotidase activity in thymocytes increased markedly as a function of age in Swiss albino mice; yet several other enzymatic activities, including alkaline phosphatase, remained relatively unchanged in mature mice.