Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “CAMPS”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Immunochemical localization of CAMP factor (protein B) in Streptococcus agalactiae.

Biochemical and immunochemical investigations were used in order to study the quantitative and qualitative localization of CAMP factor (protein B) in the cell fractions of Streptococcus agalactiae during the logarithmic growth phase. The dynamic quantitative distribution of CAMP factor activity showed that higher concentrations of CAMP factor were found in the cytoplasm than in the cell envelopes. A maximal intracellular accumulation of CAMP factor activity was observed in the late log phase. Immunoblotting analysis using specific anti-CAMP-IgG showed that CAMP factor could be detected in the different cell fractions of S. agalactiae. During the early log phase, CAMP factor was present as a single 25 kD protein band in the cytoplasm; white it was found together with its 26 and 24 kD satellite proteins in the cytoplasmic membrane and the cell wall as well as in all the cell fractions in the mid- and late log phases. Intracellular CAMP factor exhibited the same antigenic and amphiphilic behaviour as the extracellular species. Additionally, a newly discovered amphiphilic protein of approximately 54 kD which exhibited similar antigenicity with the CAMP factor was present in all the cell fractions. Immunoelectron microscopic examinations using ferritin-labelled antibodies revealed that CAMP factor was mainly found in the cytoplasm, whereas it was associated to a minor extent with the cell envelopes. Interestingly, an accumulation of CAMP factor was also localized either at the sites of cross-wall initiation or at the cell surfaces where the cell wall became autolysed.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2000

Impact of a camp experience on phenylalanine levels, knowledge, attitudes, and health beliefs relevant to nutrition management of phenylketonuria in adolescent girls.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of an education intervention in a summer camp setting on knowledge, attitudes, and health beliefs regarding metabolic control of phenylketonuria and dietary compliance. DESIGN: An observational study of a weeklong metabolic camp for adolescent girls with phenylketonuria (PKU) who were followed up over the course of 1 year. Observations also were made in 3 subsequent years of camp. INTERVENTION: The camp experience consisted of diet and disease education, sessions on reproductive development, and recreation. Group discussions on attitudes and perceptions about PKU related to dietary compliance were held with nutritionists and a pediatric psychologist. OUTCOME MEASURES: Biochemical and psychological data were collected on the first and last days of the camp to assess short-term effects of the intervention, then at quarterly intervals during the year to determine the long-term impact of the camp. Precamp and Postcamp plasma amino acid data for the subsequent 3 years were also collected. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Analyses were based on 13 adolescent girls with PKU in the first year of a camp at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga, and compared with data from 11 additional campers enrolled the second year, 8 in the third year, and 7 in the fourth year. Mean age +/- standard deviation of first-year campers was 13 +/- 2 years, mean IQ +/- standard deviation was 98 +/- 16, and 9 of 13 girls had menstruated. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Short-term effects of the intervention were computed by comparing mean levels of response from the baseline period to those from the last day of camp using t tests for dependent samples. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess the long-term effects of the camp experience over the course of a year at regular quarterly intervals. RESULTS: Short-term effects of the education intervention were significant reductions in dietary phenylalanine intake, plasma phenylalanine levels, and perceived isolation. However, these effects progressively returned to baseline levels over the course of a year. The significant short- and long-term effects of increased knowledge of diet and disease persisted throughout the study period. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Short-term effects of the education intervention resulted in improved metabolic control associated with improved attitudes, increased knowledge of diet and disease, increased perceived support, and decreased barriers to dietary compliance in a camp setting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Summer and winter recondition camps for children with cystic fibrosis.

Summer and winter recondition camps are organized for children aged 6 to 17 years. Both types of camps include sportive activity where the methods of therapeutic physical training are used with the stress on the psychosocial rehabilitation. The paper describes the camps' program: daily regimen of children, motion activity, psychology of forming children's subgroups, psychosocial attitudes. Team attitude of medical, rehabilitation and psychological care is reported. The results of a questionnaire study of 72 children show that the stay in recondition camps enables the patients to acquire more realistic view on themselves. Here take place: 1. informal testing of physical and mental abilities of the patients which enables the comparison with equally affected contemporaries, 2. testing of new skills, 3. assessment of own attitudes to the disease, 4. experience of succes or failure in competition games, 5. creation of friendly relations, 6. modeling of life situations as cooperation and competition. The acquired experience and skill from the camps enable the patients optimal adaptation to the disease and an easier assertion into the collective of healthy children at school. Since 1986, summer and winter camp have been repeatedly organized in Jabkenice and Záton-Lenora for the patients with CF. Psychosocial therapy is realized with the group of child patients (45 children in summer recondition camp Jabkenice and 25 children in winter recondition camp Záton-Lenora). Their aims was recondition, rehabilitation, recreation and socialization. The summer camp has the administration: medical staff--3 physicians, 1 physiotherapist, 5 specialists for camp programme, 4 cooks, 1 provision coordinator, 1 driver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Camping↗
PubMed1991

Control of cAMP-induced gene expression by divergent signal transduction pathways.

A compilation of literature data and recent experiments led to the following conclusions regarding cyclic adenosine 3':5' monophosphate (cAMP) regulation of gene expression. Several classes of cAMP-induced gene expression can be discriminated by sensitivity to stimulation kinetics. The aggregation-related genes respond only to nanomolar cAMP pulses. The prestalk-related genes respond both to nanomolar pulses and persistent micromolar stimulation. The prespore specific genes respond only to persistent micromolar stimulation. The induction of the aggregation- and prestalk-related genes by nanomolar cAMP pulses may share a common transduction pathway, which does not involve cAMP, while involvement of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)/Ca2+ pathway is unlikely. Induction of the expression of prespore and prestalk-related genes by micromolar cAMP stimuli utilizes divergent signal processing mechanisms. cAMP-induced prespore gene expression does not involve cAMP and probably also not cyclic guanosine 3'.5' monophosphate (cGMP) as intracellular intermediate. Involvement of cAMP-induced phospholipase C (PLC) activation in this pathway is suggested by the observation that IP3 and 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) can induce prespore gene expression, albeit in a somewhat indirect manner and by the observation that Li+ and Ca2+ antagonists inhibit prespore gene expression. Cyclic AMP induction of prestalk-related gene expression is inhibited by IP3 and DAG and promoted by Li+, and is relatively insensitive to Ca2+ antagonists, which indicates that PLC activation does not mediate prestalk-related gene expression. Neither prespore nor prestalk-related gene expression utilizes the sustained cAMP-induced pHi increase as intracellular intermediate.

Cyclic AMP↗
PubMed1989

cAMP inhibits the OKT3-induced increase in cytoplasmic free calcium in the Jurkat T cell line: the degree of inhibition correlates inversely with the amount of CD3 binding ligand used.

We have investigated the effect of cAMP concentration on the CD3-mediated rise in intracellular Ca2+ induced by anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody in the human T cell leukemia line Jurkat. Forskolin, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and dibutyryl cAMP (db-cAMP) were used to increase intracellular cAMP concentrations. Treatment of Jurkat cells with forskolin or db-cAMP for 3 h inhibited the subsequent rise in intracellular Ca2+ concentration induced by an optimally mitogenic dose of 100 ng/ml of the anti-CD3 OKT3, whereas PGE2 counteracted the Ca2+ rise only marginally. The inhibitory effect of forskolin and PGE2 on the Ca2+ signal correlated with their abilities to induce increased cAMP levels in Jurkat cells. The suppression of the Ca2+ response was dependent on the concentration of the cAMP-elevating agent and the time of pre-incubation with the drug. The cAMP-mediated inhibition of the Ca2+ response diminished or disappeared when increasing concentrations of OKT3 were used to stimulate the rise in intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The results indicate that cAMP participates in the regulation of T lymphocyte activation at the level of signal transduction. Our findings, which stress the crucial role of the concentration of the ligand used to trigger Ca2+ responses, provide an explanation to previous contradictory reports on the impact of cAMP on the signal transduction in T cells.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1986

cAMP metabolism in B16 melanoma clones during the formation of experimental and spontaneous metastases.

The ability of B16 melanoma clones to form tumor colonies in the lung after i.v. injection (experimental metastases) correlates positively with their capacity to respond to activators of cyclic adenosine 3-, 5-monophosphate (cAMP) metabolism (such as melanocyte-stimulating hormone and forskolin). To investigate whether this relationship is causal, the cAMP responses of 4 B16 melanoma clones of differing colonizing potential have been examined in freshly established stock cell cultures, in pulmonary colonies in vivo and in cultures established from these lesions. In all cases, the cAMP responsiveness of the excised colonies (and cultures derived from them) mimicked the responsiveness of the cultures from which they arose. B16 clones exhibiting low cAMP responsiveness gave rise to few experimental metastases all of which were poorly responsive to activators of cAMP metabolism. Similarly, clones with high cAMP responsiveness formed multiple lung colonies which displayed a marked sensitivity to agents that stimulated cAMP production. Parallel experiments on the spontaneous metastatic behavior of the same clones revealed that the cAMP responsiveness of cells in the primary (intrafootpad) tumor and spontaneous metastatic lesions in the lung faithfully reflected the response profile of the original tumor-cell inoculum but no correlation was found between cAMP responsiveness and the capacity to form spontaneous metastases. These data suggest that cAMP-dependent events may influence the survival, arrest and organ colony formation by cells injected directly into the circulation but appear to be of little or no importance in determining the early event(s) involved in the evolution of spontaneous metastases prior to the entry of cells into the circulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Biphasic effect of cAMP-elevating agents on ICAM-1 expression stimulated by retinoic acid and interferon gamma.

Incubation of the human glioma cell line HS 683 in the presence of IFN-gamma or retinoic acid strongly stimulates the cell-surface expression of the intercellular adhesion molecule ICAM-1. We have investigated the role of the cAMP-mediated signal transduction pathway in this process and report that pharmacological agents which increased the intracellular levels of cAMP exhibited a biphasic action on ICAM-1 expression in human glioma cell line HS 683. Treatment for 1 hr with 25 microM forskolin or 1 mM isobutylmethylxanthine, or for 12 hr with 100 ng/ml pertussis toxin or 50 micrograms/ml cholera toxin transiently stimulated ICAM-1 expression with a maximal level of expression 8 hr post treatment, after which time ICAM-1 expression returned to the basal level. On the other hand, such pretreatments inhibited the inducing effects of either retinoic acid or IFN-gamma. Indeed, 24 hr after treatment with cAMP-elevating agents, both the retinoic-acid- and the IFN-gamma-induced ICAM-1 expression were inhibited by 60 to 80%, with a maximal 90 to 100% inhibition 72 hr post treatment. This inhibition of the cell-surface expression of ICAM-1 was confirmed at the mRNA level. The intracytoplasmic levels of cAMP were also quantified following treatments with forskolin, retinoic acid or IFN-gamma. In response to forskolin, cAMP levels increased 30-fold within 5 min, whereas a 10-fold increase occurred 60 min following treatment with 10 microM retinoic acid. Interferon gamma, in contrast, did not induce cAMP accumulation. These results were also correlated with an in vitro activation of adenylyl cyclase activity by retinoic acid and inhibition of this activity by IFN-gamma, in a dose-dependent and a GTP-dependent manner. Our results suggest that the suppression of IFN-gamma-induced ICAM-1 expression, obtained upon pre-treatment with cAMP-elevating agents, is due to direct antagonism with IFN-gamma action on adenylyl cyclase. However, the inhibition of retinoic-acid-induced ICAM-1 expression cannot be explained by the same mechanisms. The timing of adenylyl cyclase stimulation and cAMP accumulation, as well as the levels of cAMP accumulation, are probably involved in this inhibition. Our results also emphasize the fact that the induction of ICAM-1 expression is a multi-step process implicating different transductional signals among which cAMP might be involved as a second messenger.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1989

Modulatory function of protein kinase C in the activation of ornithine decarboxylase and in cAMP production in rat osteoblasts.

The effect of activation of protein kinase C on stimulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and cAMP production was studied in fetal rat osteoblasts. Both phorbol 12-myristate, 13-acetate (PMA), an activator of protein kinase C, and 4 alpha-phorbol, ineffective in activating protein kinase C, failed to stimulate ODC activity and cAMP production. We tested the effect of protein kinase C on stimulation of ODC activity by parathyroid hormone (PTH) and forskolin. In contrast to PTH-stimulated ODC activity, which was not affected by PMA, forskolin-stimulated (1 and 10 microM) ODC activity was dose dependently reduced. PMA (400 nM) reduced both 1 and 10 microM forskolin-stimulated ODC activity to the same level, approximately 3 nmol CO2/mg protein, which suggests a controlling role of protein kinase C in forskolin-stimulated ODC activity. The study of the effect of protein kinase C on PTH- and forskolin-stimulated cAMP production also revealed differences between PTH and forskolin. When PMA was added simultaneously with PTH (4 and 20 nM) or forskolin (1 and 10 microM) the PTH-stimulated cAMP production was dose-dependently potentiated by PMA, whereas forskolin-stimulated cAMP production was not affected. However, both PTH- and forskolin-stimulated cAMP production was dose-dependently augmented when PMA was added 3 min prior to PTH or forskolin. With increasing preincubation periods (up to 24 h) with PMA instead of a potentiation an inhibition was observed. This inhibition is not due to PTH receptor desensitization, although, on basis of the present results desensitization can not completely be excluded. In all cases 4 alpha-phorbol was without effect. The present results show that protein kinase C modulates stimulation of ODC activity and cAMP production in fetal rat osteoblasts. The modulation of both ODC activity and cAMP production appears to be dependent on the nature of the stimulator. The present data suggest a role for protein kinase C in limiting the cAMP-mediated stimulation of ODC activity in these cells. Furthermore, it is suggested that protein kinase C can interfere at more than one site in the cAMP-generating system.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Anti-inflammatory activities of cAMP-elevating agents: enhancement of IL-10 synthesis and concurrent suppression of TNF production.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) exert key roles in some acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. In this study we investigated (1) the potency of different cAMP-elevating agents in enhancing IL-10 synthesis, (2) the involvement of protein kinase A in this enhancement, and (3) the mutual dependence of cAMP-enhanced IL-10 formation and cAMP-suppressed TNF synthesis. Rolipram, a specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor and cicaprost, a prostacyclin analogue, were applied as cAMP-elevating agents. The stable cAMP antagonist (Rp)-cAMPS was used to abrogate activation of protein kinase A. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). TNF was quantified by radioimmunoassay, IL-10 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and mRNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. After LPS stimulation alone 253+/-45 pg/mL IL-10 was synthesized, which increased to 644+/-117 pg/mL in the presence of 1 microM rolipram. (Rp)-cAMPS reversed this increase of IL-10 formation. In the same samples, the LPS-stimulated production of TNF was markedly attenuated by rolipram or cicaprost. A kinetic analysis revealed a significant increase in TNF production before IL-10 formation was detectable. These results demonstrate that (1) cAMP-elevating agents enhance IL-10 synthesis and suppress TNF production; (2) these regulative functions of cAMP-elevating agents are mediated by activation of protein kinases A; (3) suppression of TNF synthesis by cAMP in the early phase is not mediated by endogenous IL-10. Taken together, rolipram and cicaprost exert a dual regulatory function by enhancing IL-10 formation and attenuating TNF synthesis.

Cyclic AMP↗
PubMed1994

Lipolytic membrane release of two phosphatidylinositol-anchored cAMP receptor proteins in yeast alters their ligand-binding parameters.

Two new cAMP-binding proteins have been discovered recently in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They are genetically distinct from the regulatory subunit of cytoplasmic cAMP-dependent protein kinase A and are distinguished from the latter, in addition, by their anchorage through phosphatidylinositol-containing lipid and glycolipid structures to mitochondrial and plasma membranes, respectively (Müller and Bandlow, 1989 Biochemistry 28, 9957-9967, 1991, Biochemistry 30, 10181-10190). A nutritional upshift induces the cleavage of the anchor by a phospholipase C (Müller and Bandlow, 1993, J. Cell Biol. 122, 225-236). To test the idea that anchorage by (glycosyl)phosphatidyl-inositol influences cAMP-binding and has a regulatory function, we analyzed ligand binding to the two purified cAMP receptors (46,000 and 54,000 Da) in comparison to the regulatory subunit of the cytoplasmic protein kinase A (52,000 Da). We find that lipolytic cleavage of the two membrane anchors by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipases C and D results in significantly higher association and lower dissociation rates of cAMP, thus leading to a dramatic increase in ligand affinity of the two cAMP receptors. Use of cAMP analogues identifies two different cAMP-binding centers in each membrane-embedded protein, one of which is noticeably affected by the cleavage of the anchor. In both phosphatidylinositol-anchored cAMP receptor proteins a single Trp residue in one of the binding centers is photoaffinity-labeled by 8-N3-cAMP, whereas two amino acids, Trp and Tyr, are modified after lipolytic removal of the anchor. The differences in the labeling patterns are interpreted as to result from a conformational rearrangement induced by the cleavage of the anchor. Together with the increased affinity to the ligand these changes document alterations of the properties and folding structure of lipid-anchored proteins following cleavage of the PI-containing anchor by specific phospholipases and provide the first molecular evidence for a regulatory role of the anchorage by a lipid structure. The cytoplasmic regulatory subunit of yeast protein kinase A is not photolabeled to a significant extent under any condition.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1999

Transcriptional regulation of 5-aminolevulinate synthase by phenobarbital and cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

5-Aminolevulinate synthase (ALA-S) is a mitochondrial matrix enzyme that catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step of the heme biosynthesis. There are two ALA-S isozymes encoded by distinct genes. One gene encodes an isozyme that is expressed exclusively in erythroid cells, and the other gene encodes a housekeeping isozyme that is apparently expressed in all tissues. In this report we examine the mechanisms by which phenobarbital and cAMP regulate housekeeping ALA-S expression. We have determined that cAMP and phenobarbital effects are additive and the combined action is necessary to observe the cAMP effect on ALA-S mRNA in rat hepatocytes. The role of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) has been examined. A synergism effect on ALA-S mRNA induction is observed in rat hepatocytes treated with pairs of selective analogs by each PKA cAMP binding sites. A 870-bp fragment of ALA-S 5'-flanking region is able to provide cAMP and phenobarbital stimulation to chloramphenicol O-acetyltranferase fusion vectors in transiently transfected HepG2 cells. ALA-S promoter activity is induced by cotransfection with an expression vector containing the catalytic subunit of PKA. Furthermore, cotransfection with a dominant negative mutant of the PKA regulatory subunit impairs the cAMP analog-mediated increase, but the phenobarbital-mediated induction is not modified. Our data suggest that the transcription factor cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) is probably involved in PKA induction of ALA-S gene expression. Finally, heme addition greatly decreases the basal and phenobarbital or cAMP analog-mediated induction of ALA-S promoter activity. The present work provides evidence that cAMP, through PKA-mediated CREB phosphorylation, and phenobarbital induce ALA-S expression at the transcriptional level, while heme represses it.

5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗
PubMed2000

Dual anticancer activity of 8-Cl-cAMP: inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptotic cell death.

8-Cl-cAMP induces apoptotic cell death in human cancer cells. To look at this more closely, we examined the changes in the levels of Bcl-2 family proteins during 8-Cl-cAMP-induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Following the treatment with 8-Cl-cAMP, Bcl-2 was transiently down-regulated and Bad was increased continuously up to day 5. In addition, overexpression of Bcl-2 efficiently blocked the 8-Cl-cAMP-induced apoptosis, suggesting Bcl-2 family proteins may be involved in the 8-Cl-cAMP-induced apoptosis. The contribution of the apoptotic cell death and the inhibition of cell proliferation in the 8-Cl-cAMP-induced growth inhibition was closely monitored in the Bcl-2-overexpressing cells. Though the apoptosis was reduced significantly, no significant difference was observed in the inhibition of cell proliferation up to day 2 of 8-Cl-cAMP treatment. These results suggest that 8-Cl-cAMP exerts anticancer activity by two distinct mechanisms, i.e. , through the inhibition of cell proliferation as well as the induction of apoptosis. Supporting this notion was the observations that (1) suppression of apoptosis by zVAD did not abrogate 8-Cl-cAMP-induced inhibition of cell proliferation, and (2) 8-Cl-cAMP did not show additive inhibition of cell proliferation in RIIbeta-overexpressing cells.

8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate↗
PubMed1995

B cell differentiation factor-induced B cell maturation: regulation via reduction in cAMP.

We have previously described a novel human B cell differentiation factor (BCDF), 446-BCDF, that is distinct biochemically and functionally from other cytokines. Since signal transduction pathways involved in human B cell differentiation have been incompletely studied and are poorly understood, we assessed the effects of 446-BCDF on various intracellular second messenger systems. After exposure of B cells to 446-BCDF, intracellular cAMP concentration started to decrease at 5 min and was significantly lower at 30 min and reached the lowest level at 4 hr. In most cases, cAMP concentrations returned toward baseline by 24 hr. A cAMP analog (dibutyryl cAMP), a stimulator of adenyl cyclase (forskolin), and phosphodiesterase inhibitors (aminophylline and IBMX) which inhibited the 446-BCDF-induced decrease in intracellular cAMP, inhibited 446-BCDF-induced B cell differentiation, suggesting that the fall in intracellular cAMP was a critical event in this process. To understand the mechanism involved in the reduction of cAMP, B cells were treated with pertussis toxin (PTX), a Gi protein inhibitor. Pertussis toxin blocked 446-BCDF-induced B cell differentiation as well, suggesting that 446-BCDF may function by stimulation of a Gi-linked receptor resulting in the inhibition of adenylate cyclase with a consequent reduction in cAMP. Other cytokines known to promote Ig secretion (IL2 and IL6) also caused a reduction in cAMP, suggesting that this pathway may be generally important in B cell differentiation. Taken together, these data suggest that at least one pathway of terminal maturation in B cells may involve the reduction of intracellular cAMP.

Adenylate Cyclase Toxin↗
PubMed1998

Induction of optical density waves and chemotactic cell movement in Dictyostelium discoideum by microinjection of cAMP pulses.

The development of most multicellular organisms involves coordinated cell movement. The early aggregation of Dictyostelium cells has been shown to be mediated by chemotactic movement to propagating waves of cAMP. We have proposed that propagating waves of a chemoattractant, most likely cAMP, also control the movement of cells in mounds and slugs. We have now used periodic pressure injection of pulses of cAMP in the extracellular space of aggregation streams, mounds, and slugs to investigate whether these signals can be relayed and control cell movement, using quantitative digital time-lapse microscopy. Our major findings are (1) short (0.1 s) pulses of cAMP (10(7) molecules) were able to elicit optical density (OD) waves in fields of aggregating amoebae. They propagate from the micropipet outward and interact with endogenous OD waves. (2) Periodic injection of cAMP pulses into aggregation streams blocked the pulses coming from the center and led to the rapid accumulation of cells downstream of the pipet around the pipet. (3) Injection of pulses of cAMP into mounds elicited OD waves, which propagated from the pipet outward and interacted with the endogenous waves, indicating that the same propagator carries them. (4) Periodic microinjection of cAMP in the prespore zone of slugs led to accumulation of anterior-like cells around the micropipet followed by tip formation. Furthermore, the cAMP signal could control the spacing of the endogenous sorting pattern. These results strongly support the hypothesis that the optical density waves observed during early development up to the mound stage represent propagating cAMP waves. They suggest furthermore that cAMP is the morphogen that controls cell movements in slugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Counteracting effects of E1a transformation on cAMP growth inhibition.

Several signaling molecules have been identified which act as inhibitors of epithelial cell growth. The mechanisms for this negative growth regulation are still poorly understood. In the case of TGF-beta, inhibition of keratinocyte cell growth can be totally prevented by transformation with an intact early region 1a (E1a) oncogene. We show here that E1a-transformed keratinocytes become also partially resistant to growth inhibition by elevated 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, as induced by treatment with forskolin, dibutyryl-cAMP, 8Br-cAMP, or 8Cl-cAMP. Resistance to cAMP is due to interference of E1a with signaling pathways downstream of protein kinase A (PKA) activation, as intracellular cAMP levels and PKA activity were found to be similar in control and E1a-transformed cells. Induction of c-fos expression by 8Br-cAMP occurs at the same time in both cell lines. Interestingly however, this effect is maintained longer in the case of E1a-transformed cells compared to the control. A truncated E1a mutant which is still able to bind to the p105-Rb gene product, p107, and p60/cyclin A, induces cAMP resistance at levels which are only slightly lower than those induced by an intact E1a oncogene. In contrast, an E1a mutant which binds only to a p300 cellular protein and induces a substantial level of TGF-beta resistance fails to induce cAMP resistance. Thus, E1a transformation counteracts the growth-inhibitory effects of cAMP as well as TGF-beta, but to a different degree and through an only partially overlapping mechanism.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗
PubMed1994

Combinatorial action of cAMP and phorbol ester on synergistic expression of the human activin A gene.

A number of synergistic effects of cAMP and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) that mimic diacylglycerol function on transcription have been studied, implying the existence of "cross-talk" regulation. However, there is still less information available on the combinatorial action of such signal transduction convergence on cellular gene expression. In the present study, we have first examined the synergistic effects of cAMP and TPA on the gene expression of activin A, an important regulator of cell growth and differentiation, and next we revealed their ordered action in HT1080 cells. A combined treatment of these cells with cAMP and TPA synergistically increased accumulation of the activin A mRNA. Interestingly, this synergistic response also occurred when cells were treated with cAMP following short preexposure to TPA. In contrast, the increase in activin A mRNA levels in those cells preexposed to cAMP with subsequent treatment by TPA was limited to that caused by TPA alone, suggesting an importance of ordered stimulation. Addition of cycloheximide (CHX), an inhibitor of protein synthesis, to cultures led to superinduction of activin mRNA transcripts regardless of TPA exposure, but significantly attenuated the cAMP-induced mRNA levels. Moreover, the observed synergism between TPA and cAMP was not inhibited by CHX, showing that de novo protein synthesis was required for the mRNA induction by cAMP but not for those induced by TPA or those induced by both. These results demonstrated that transient stimulation of HT1080 cells by TPA with subsequent exposure to cAMP is sufficient for the synergistic induction of the activin A gene expression and suggested that the combinatorial action of TPA followed by cAMP stimulation plays an important role in regulating activin synthesis in these cells.

Activins↗
PubMed1998

Molecular analysis of the regulation of csiD, a carbon starvation-inducible gene in Escherichia coli that is exclusively dependent on sigma s and requires activation by cAMP-CRP.

The general stress-induced sigma subunit sigma s of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase is closely related to the vegetative sigma factor sigma 70. In view of their very similar promoter specificity in vitro, it is unclear how sigma factor selectivity in the expression of sigma s-dependent genes is generated in vivo. The csiD gene is such a strongly sigma s-dependent gene. In contrast to sigma s, which is induced in response to many different stresses, csiD, whose expression is driven from a single promoter, is induced by carbon starvation only. To our knowledge, the csiD promoter is the first characterized promoter which is not only exclusively dependent on sigma s-containing RNA polymerase (E sigma s), but also requires an activator, cAMP-CRP. In addition, leucine-responsive regulatory protein (Lrp) acts as a positive modulator of csiD expression. Also in vitro, E sigma s is more efficient than E sigma 70 in csiD promoter binding, open complex formation and run-off transcription, which might be due to the poor match of the csiD -35 region to the sigma 70 consensus and to transcription by E sigma s being less dependent on contacts in this region. By DNase I protection experiments, a cAMP-CRP binding site centered at -68.5 nucleotides upstream of the csiD transcriptional start site was identified. While cAMP-CRP stimulates E sigma 70 binding, it does not promote open complex formation by E sigma 70, but does so in conjunction with E sigma s. With linear templates, cAMP-CRP significantly stimulates E sigma s-mediated in vitro transcription, whereas transcription by E sigma 70 is negligible and hardly stimulated by cAMP-CRP. These findings may reflect different or less stringent positional requirements for an activator site for E sigma s than for E sigma 70, and indicate that cAMP-CRP contributes to sigma factor selectivity at the csiD promoter. In vitro transcription experiments with super-coiled templates, however, revealed significant cAMP-CRP-stimulated transcription also by E sigma 70. Yet, under these conditions, H-NS was found to restore E sigma s specificity by strongly interfering with cAMP-CRP/E sigma 70-dependent transcription. Lrp strongly and cooperatively binds to multiple sites located between positions -14 and -102 (in a way that suggests DNA wrapping around multiple Lrp molecules) and moderately stimulates in vitro transcription, especially with E sigma s. In summary, we conclude that the csiD promoter has an intrinsic preference for E sigma s, but that also protein factors such as cAMP-CRP, Lrp and probably H-NS as well as DNA conformation contribute to its strong E sigma s selectivity. Furthermore, this strong E sigma s preference in combination with a requirement for high concentrations of the essential activator cAMP-CRP ensures csiD expression under conditions of carbon starvation, but not other stress conditions.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1994

Use of the cyclic AMP antagonist, Rp-cAMPS, to distinguish between cyclic AMP-dependent and cyclic AMP-independent contractile responses in rat ventricular cardiomyocytes.

Conventional inhibitors of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase lack membrane-permeability or selectivity, or both. The Rp diastereomer of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphorothioate, Rp-cAMPS, is a novel membrane-permeable antagonist of cyclic AMP. We have assessed the ability of this compound to distinguish between cyclic AMP-dependent and cyclic AMP-independent contractile responses elicited in ventricular cardiomyocytes isolated from the hearts of adult rats. Cardiomyocytes were stimulated to contract at 0.5 Hz in the presence of calcium ion (2 mM) and adenosine deaminase (5 units/ml). Contractile shortening was expressed as maximum shortening relative to prestimulus cell length (delta L%). In the presence of a maximally-effective concentration of isoprenaline (100 nM), which acts by a cyclic AMP-dependent mechanism, Rp-cAMPS inhibited the contractile response in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Following preincubation for 30 min with Rp-cAMPS (100 microM), the contractile response to isoprenaline (100 nM) was 14% of that elicited in the absence of this inhibitor. An incubation time of 30 min was chosen for all subsequent studies. Rp-cAMPS (< or = 200 microM) inhibited the contractile response to isoprenaline (100 nM) significantly and in a concentration-dependent manner, but failed to inhibit the contractile responses elicited by phenylephrine (2 microM) and calcium ion (7 mM) which act by cyclic AMP-independent mechanisms. In the presence of Rp-cAMPs (200 microM), the contractile response to isoprenaline (100 nM) was 24% of that in the absence of inhibitor. Rp-cAMPS was used subsequently to investigate the contractile-coupling mechanisms associated with some novel inotropic agents. Rp-cAMPS (< or = 200 microM) also inhibited the contractile responses to secretin (20 nM) and VIP (20 nM) significantly. In the presence of Rp-cAMPS (200 microM), the contractile response elicited by secretin (20 nM) was 19% of that in the absence of inhibitor, while that elicited by VIP (20 nM) was abolished completely. Rp-cAMPS (< or = 200 microM) failed to inhibit the contractile response elicited by CGRP (1 nM). In summary, Rp-cAMPS is a membrane-permeable, selective antagonist of cyclic AMP in ventricular cardiomyocytes and can be used, in conjunction with the bioassay of the intracellular accumulation of cyclic AMP, to distinguish between cyclic AMP-dependent and cyclic AMP-independent contractile coupling mechanisms in these cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adenosine Deaminase↗