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PubMed1989

Molecular characterization of Drosophila gene encoding G0 alpha subunit homolog.

A Drosophila melanogaster gene (dgo) encoding a G protein alpha subunit has been isolated by screening genomic and adult head cDNA libraries using bovine transducin alpha subunit cDNA as probe. The gene, which maps to 47A on the second chromosome, encodes two proteins which are both 354 amino acids long but differ in seven amino acids in the amino-terminal region. The deduced amino acid sequences of the two proteins are 81% identical to that of a rat Go alpha subunit. Analysis of genomic clones revealed that there are eight coding exons and that the putative transcripts for the two proteins differ in the 5'-noncoding regions and the first coding exons but share the remaining six coding exons. The arrangement of two different 5'-noncoding regions on the gene suggests that two different promoters regulate the expression of the transcripts encoding the two proteins. RNA blot analysis detected three transcripts: a 3.9-kilobase (kb) transcript found at all stages of development; a 5.4-kb transcript present predominantly in adult heads; and a 3.4-kb transcript present only in adult bodies. In situ hybridizations of a cDNA probe to adult tissue sections showed that the gene is expressed abundantly in neuronal cell bodies in the brain, optic lobe, and thoracic ganglia.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

[A study of the interaction of immobilized delipidized rhodopsin with G-proteins].

It was shown that delipidated rhodopsin immobilized on concanavalin A-Sepharose (Rimm) binds with high selectivity transducin from total extracts of rod outer segment protein as well as the regulatory GTP-binding Gi- and Go-like proteins from solubilized membranes of bovine brain. The Rimm-bound proteins are eluted in the presence of the nonionic detergent, octyl glucoside, and GTP. This suggests that Rimm can be used as an affinity adsorbent for the isolation and purification of G-proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Postnatal development of photoreceptor proteins in mutant mice and Abyssinian cats with retinal degeneration.

Using immunocytochemical techniques, development of opsin, transducin alpha and S-antigen in photoreceptor cells of the mice homozygous or heterozygous for the rd or rds genes has been found to be similar to that of control animals during the first postnatal week. Even though the absolute amounts of these proteins are low (eg. opsin in the rds retina) or decrease in the postnatal period (as in the rd retina), we can demonstrate their persistence during the entire degeneration process. In fact, the content of the proteins in the photoreceptor perikarya actually appear to be higher after postnatal day 11 in all mutants studied. Thus, one of the major manifestations of the mutant retinae is a loss of polarity of the photoreceptor cells at the time of ROS degeneration without a loss in the ability to synthesize these important proteins of the visual cycle. This correlates well with the apparent defect in IRBP secretion and its intracellular accumulation in mutant photoreceptor cells as previously observed (van Veen et al. 1986). In the Abyssinian cat model for progressive retinal atrophy, the development an cellular distribution of all the proteins studied are similar in affected and control retinae until the beginning of stage 2 of the disease. At this time, outer segments begin to degenerate and immunoreactivity increases in the photoreceptor perikarya. The IRBP content of the retina declines markedly at stage 2, preceding extensive loss of photoreceptors.

Aging↗
PubMed1986

Phosphorylation of rhodopsin by protein kinase C in vitro.

Calium/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) was purified from bovine retinae rod outer segments (ROS). In the presence of 0.1-2 microM calcium protein kinase C binds tightly to ROS and phosphorylates rhodopsin in the absence or presence of illumination. This property of protein kinase C contrasts with that of rhodopsin kinase, which in vitro phosphorylates only bleached rhodopsin. Peptide maps of rhodopsin phosphorylated by protein kinase C or rhodopsin kinase were compared using limited Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease digestion or complete tryptic digestion. Phosphorylation sites map to serine and threonine residues on the cytoplasmic carboxylterminal domain of rhodopsin for both kinases. The functional consequence of protein kinase C phosphorylation of rhodopsin was a reduced ability to stimulate the light-dependent rhodopsin activation of [35S]guanosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) binding to transducin, the GTP-binding regulatory protein present in ROS. Properties of the calcium-stimulated interaction of protein kinase C with membranes and in vitro phosphorylation of intrinsic proteins are discussed based upon the findings.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of adenylate cyclase. Effects of guanyl nucleotides and rhodopsin.

Hormonal inhibition of adenylate cyclase is mediated by inhibitory receptors and a guanyl nucleotide-binding coupling protein, termed Gi. Similarly, transducin (T), a guanyl nucleotide-binding protein, mediates activation of cGMP phosphodiesterase by the retinal photon receptor, rhodopsin. Gi and T are both heterotrimers consisting of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits; Gi alpha and G beta are similar to T alpha and T beta, respectively. T alpha hydrolyzes GTP in the presence of photolyzed, but not dark, rhodopsin and T beta gamma. Gi alpha and G beta gamma substituted for T alpha and T beta gamma to yield active hybrid complexes, T alpha G beta gamma and Gi alpha T beta gamma. In the absence of T components, rhodopsin-dependent GTPase activity of Gi alpha G beta gamma was observed. Pertussis toxin ADP-ribosylates both T alpha and Gi alpha; ADP-ribosylation of Gi alpha was negligible in the absence of G beta gamma. With G beta gamma, photolyzed, but not dark, rhodopsin unhibited ADP-ribosylation of Gi alpha. In the presence of G beta gamma and photolyzed rhodopsin, GDP and GDP beta S, but not Gpp(NH)p and GTP gamma S, increased the ADP-ribosylation of Gi alpha. The requirements for ADP-ribosylation of Gi alpha by pertussis toxin were similar to those for ADP-ribosylation of T alpha. Rhodopsin appears to interact with Gi in a manner similar to the inhibitory hormone receptors; photolyzed rhodopsin, the active species, corresponds to the agonist-occupied receptor, while dark rhodopsin, the inactive species, can be equated to the free receptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗
PubMed1994

Insertional mutagenesis as a probe of rhodopsin's topography, stability, and activity.

This paper reports a study of rhodopsin's structure and function using insertional mutagenesis with a flexible epitope. Sixteen rhodopsin derivatives were constructed, each of which carried a 12-amino acid epitope derived from the c-Myc protein flanked by penta-glycine linkers. For eight of the insertion mutants, the membrane sideness of the epitope insert was determined by immunostaining of intact or permeabilized cells. The results confirm the sidedness of each of the six helix connecting loops and the amino and carboxyl termini as postulated by the current seven-helix models of G-protein-coupled receptors and provide the first experimental evidence for the existence of the third extracellular loop. In general, inserts that were either closer to the amino terminus or on the extracellular face were more likely to disrupt folding and/or stability than were inserts near the carboxyl terminus or on the cytosolic face. Epitope insertion at positions 139 or 239, in the second and third cytosolic loops, respectively, failed to activate transducin, whereas an insertion at position 333 in the carboxyl-terminal tail was fully functional. The experimental approach described here should prove generally useful for elucidating structural and functional properties of both membrane and globular proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

A rhodopsin gene mutation responsible for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa results in a protein that is defective in localization to the photoreceptor outer segment.

Over 45 mutations in the rhodopsin gene have been identified in patients with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, including a cluster near the extreme carboxy-terminus, a region of the protein for which no function has yet been assigned. To elucidate the biochemical defect(s) in this group of mutants, we have studied a naturally occurring stop codon mutation that removes the last five amino acids of rhodopsin (Q344ter). When produced in transfected tissue culture cells, the mutant protein is indistinguishable from the wild type in light-dependent activation of the photoreceptor G-protein (transducin), and in serving as a light-dependent substrate for rhodopskin kinase. Mice that express a Q344ter transgene in rod photoreceptors show nearly normal light responses as determined by suction electrode recordings of the membrane current from single rod outer segments; the main difference between transgenic and nontransgenic responses is a 15% longer time-to-peak in the response of transgenic rods. In the Q344ter transgenic retina, direct immunofluorescent staining with antibodies specific for either wild-type or Q344ter rhodopsin shows abnormal accumulation of the Q344ter, but not the endogenous rhodopsin, in the plasma membrane of the photoreceptor cell body. These data indicate that rhodopsin's carboxy-terminus is required for efficient transportation to or retention in the outer segment.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Photoreceptor-specific proteins in the mammalian pineal organ: immunocytochemical data and functional considerations.

The mammalian pineal organ contains photoreceptor-specific proteins, whose distribution shows conspicuous variation among different species of mammals. Nevertheless, the following general conclusions can be drawn: immunoreactions for S-antigen and recoverin labeled more pinealocytes than the rod-opsin immunoreaction. The intensity of the recoverin- and S-antigen immunoreactions varied from cell to cell. alpha-Transducin immunoreaction was absent from the pineal organ of all mammals investigated with the exception of the blind mole rat. Immunoreaction for the cyclic GMP-gated cation channel was undetectable in the pineal organ of all mammals investigated. The functional significance of photoreceptor-specific proteins in the mammalian pineal organ remains unknown. It has been speculated that the S-antigen might be involved in adrenergic transduction mechanisms. To test this assumption, we have started to analyze calcium responses of single rat pinealocytes to norepinephrine stimulation using the Fura-2 technique. The cells were subsequently labeled by means of S-antigen immunocytochemistry. These combined investigations showed that variation in S-antigen immunoreactivity is not correlated with differences in the rapid calcium response to stimulation with norepinephrine. It remains to be determined whether cells displaying different intensities of the S-antigen immunoreaction show different cyclic AMP responses to noradrenergic stimulation. Investigations along this line should help to clarify further whether there is indeed a relation between the expression of S-antigen and noradrenergic transduction mechanisms in the mammalian pineal organ.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Involvement of cGMP and calcium in the photoresponse in vertebrate photoreceptor cells.

The biochemical and physiological events responsible for reaction of the rod photoreceptor cells in the vertebrate eye have provided insight into the mechanisms involved in signal transduction in other cells. The light-mediated changes in the photopigment, rhodopsin, in the photoreceptive region of these photoreceptors initiates a cascade of events that result in changes in conductance through a specific ligand-gated receptor. This process involves activation of a specific heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein, transducin, and is mediated by changes in the intracellular concentration of two intracellular second messengers, cGMP and calcium. The current hypotheses are discussed of the mechanisms involved in various aspects of the photoresponse, particularly photoexcitation, termination, and recovery.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Inhibition of GTP-utilizing enzymes by tyrphostins.

Tyrphostins are a group of organic compounds which are widely used as a tool to specifically inhibit protein tyrosine kinases (Yaish, P., Gazit, A., Gilon, C., and levitzki A. (1988) Science 242, 933-935; Gazit, A., Yaish, P., Gilon, C., and Levitzki A. (1989) J. Med. Chem. 32, 2344-2352; Lyall, R. M., Zilberstein, A., Gazit, A., Gilon, C., Levitzki, A., and Schlessinger J. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 14503-14509; Osherov, N., Gazit, A., Gilon, C., and Levitzki, A. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 11134-11142). We report here that members of the tyrphostin family inhibit the GTPase activity of transducin and the enzymatic activities of other GTP-utilizing proteins in retinal rod outer segments, such as guanylyl cyclase or fructose-6-phosphate kinase. In contrast, ATP-utilizing enzymes such as hexokinase or rhodopsin kinase were not effected.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1994

Regulation of phospholipase C-beta 4 by ribonucleotides and the alpha subunit of Gq.

The fourth member of mammalian beta-type phospholipase C isozymes, PLC-beta 4, was recently purified from bovine retina, and the corresponding cDNA was cloned from rat brain and sequenced. PLC-beta 4 has now been shown to differ from the other three mammalian beta-type isozymes (PLC-beta 1, -beta 2, and -beta 3) in that it is selectively inhibited by ribonucleotides. The inhibition requires the 5'-phosphate and 2'-hydroxyl groups of ribose as well as the base moiety. Thus, deoxyribonucleotides and ribose 5-phosphate were not inhibitory. The monophosphate, diphosphate, and triphosphate nucleoside derivatives were all inhibitory, whereas cyclic nucleotides were ineffective. Purine nucleotides were more potent inhibitors than pyrimidine nucleotides; the 50% inhibitory concentrations were 20-30 microM for AMP and GMP, and 100-200 microM for UMP and CMP. Unlike the other beta-type isozymes, PLC-beta 4 contains the GX4GKS consensus sequence for the recognition of the phosphoryl group of nucleotides. In the absence of ribonucleotides, the specific activity of PLC-beta 4 toward phosphatidyl-inositol 4,5-bisphosphate was four to five times the average specific activity of PLC-beta 1 and PLC-beta 3. Thus, nucleotide-dependent inhibition may serve to reduce the activity of PLC-beta 4 in the absence of a hormonal signal. The regulation of PLC-beta 4 by G-proteins was also studied. Similar to the other three PLC-beta isozymes, PLC-beta 4 was activated by the alpha subunit of Gq but not by the transducin alpha subunit. However, unlike other PLC-beta isozymes, PLC-beta 4 was not responsive to activation by G beta gamma subunits.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Enhancement of rod outer segment GTPase accelerating protein activity by the inhibitory subunit of cGMP phosphodiesterase.

The cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) of retinal rod outer segments (ROS) is activated by the GTP-bound form of the G protein, transducin (Gt alpha). This activation can be reversed by the inhibitory gamma subunit of PDE through two distinct mechanisms: acceleration of GTP hydrolysis and direct inactivation independent of GTP hydrolysis. We have found that acceleration of Gt alpha GTPase by PDE gamma does not occur upon formation of a Gt alpha PDE gamma complex but rather reflects enhanced activity toward this complex of a membrane-bound GTPase accelerating protein. GTPase rate constants for Gt alpha in the presence of 3.3 microM PDE gamma were as high as 0.7 s-1 with hypotonically washed ROS membranes at 40 microM rhodopsin but were more than 10-fold lower when protein-free vesicles containing ROS lipids were substituted for ROS membranes. Acceleration of Gt alpha GTPase by PDE gamma was also barely detectable at low ROS concentrations (e.g. 4 microM rhodopsin) or if ROS treated with trypsin or urea were used. GTPase-independent inactivation by PDE gamma occurred efficiently at much lower membrane concentrations. Inhibition of Gt alpha-activated PDE was much slower than inhibition of PDE alpha beta by PDE gamma. Effects of PDE gamma upon successive additions of GTP suggested formation of a complex of PDE gamma and Gt alpha-GDP that is refractory to reactivation.

3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMed1993

Movement of the retinylidene Schiff base counterion in rhodopsin by one helix turn reverses the pH dependence of the metarhodopsin I to metarhodopsin II transition.

The environment of the retinylidene Schiff base in bovine rhodopsin has been studied by movement of its carboxylic acid counterion from position 113 to position 117 by site-specific mutagenesis. Replacement of the counterion at position 113 by a neutral amino acid residue has been shown to produce a lowering of the Schiff base acidity constant (pKa) from > 8.5 to about 6. The aim of the present work was to change the position of the counterion without causing a significant effect on the Schiff base pKa. A triple replacement mutant (Glu113-->Ala/Ala117-->Glu/Glu122-->Gln) was designed to move the position of the counterion by one helix turn in the third putative transmembrane helix (helix C). The mutant bound 11-cis-retinal to form a chromophore with a visible absorbance maximum (lambda max) of 490 nm which was independent of pH in the range of about 5-8.5. Upon illumination under conditions in which rhodopsin was converted to the active metarhodopsin II (MII) photoproduct, the mutant was converted to a metarhodopsin I (MI)-like species (lambda max = 475 nm). Furthermore, the effect of pH on the photobleaching behavior of the mutant was the reverse of that reported for rhodopsin. In the mutant, acidic pH favored the formation of the MI-like photoproduct, and basic pH favored the formation of an MII-like photoproduct (lambda max = 380 nm). The MII-like photoproduct of the mutant pigment was able to activate the guanine nucleotide-binding protein, transducin. We conclude that the Schiff base counterion in rhodopsin can be repositioned to form a pigment with an apparently unperturbed Schiff base pKa. Furthermore, a specific amino acid residue that acts as a Schiff base proton acceptor is not strictly required for photoconversion of rhodopsin to its active MII form.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Phosphorylation and desensitization of human m2 muscarinic cholinergic receptors by two isoforms of the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase.

Studies of the human m2 (hm2) muscarinic cholinergic receptors (mAChR) have been performed to provide further insights into the potential regulation of these receptors by isoforms of the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK). The hm2 mAChR and the isoforms beta ARK1 and beta ARK2 were individually expressed in, and purified from, insect Sf9 cells infected with recombinant baculoviruses. The expressed hm2 receptors were tested as substrates for beta ARK1 and beta ARK2 in vitro using concentrations of receptors and kinases similar to those found in intact cells. The hm2 mAChR were phosphorylated in an agonist-dependent manner to 4-5 mol of phosphate/mol of receptor by beta ARK1 or beta ARK2. The reactions were highly dependent on agonist; the antagonist atropine, and heparin, a beta ARK inhibitor, both prevented the beta ARK-mediated phosphorylation. The rates of phosphorylation catalyzed by both isoforms were similar, with half-maximal phosphorylation occurring in less than 5 min. Under the conditions employed the stoichiometries, but not the rates, of phosphorylation catalyzed by both kinases were increased 2-3-fold by either the heterotrimeric G-protein G(o) or the beta gamma subunits of transducin. Phosphopeptide mapping experiments indicated that similar sites were phosphorylated by the two beta ARK isoforms. In order to test for functional effects of the phosphorylation mediated by the beta ARK isoforms, the receptors were reconstituted with purified G(o) and were tested for their ability to stimulate guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate (GTP gamma S) binding. The conditions leading to maximal receptor phosphorylation resulted in a 30-50% reduction in the ability of the receptors to stimulate GTP gamma S binding to G(o). The results demonstrate that the hm2 mAChR are excellent substrates in vitro for both beta ARK1 and beta ARK2 and that extensive phosphorylation by these enzymes occurs in the presence of the beta gamma subunits of G proteins. The beta ARK-mediated phosphorylation of the m2 mAChR causes a perturbation of receptor/G-protein coupling.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The molecular mechanism of visual transduction].

Light absorbtion by the visual pigment rhodopsin triggers, through Gt-protein (transducin) coupling, a cascade of events--in the outer segment of the rod cell of the retina--that results in membrane hyperpolarization and nerve excitation. Activated rhodopsin is removed from the cascade of reactions by rhodopsin kinase and arrestin that stop the visual transduction pathway. Thus, when light stimulation ceases, the transduction system is restored to its resting state.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Differential expression of alpha-gustducin in taste bud populations of the rat and hamster.

The G-protein subunit alpha-gustducin, which is similar to rod transducin, has been implicated in the transduction of both sweet- and bitter-tasting substances. In rodents, there are differences in sensitivity to sweet and bitter stimuli in different populations of taste buds. Rat fungiform taste buds are more responsive to salts than to sweet stimuli, whereas those on the palate respond predominantly to sweet substances. In contrast, hamster fungiform taste buds are more sensitive to sweet-tasting stimuli. Taste buds in the vallate and foliate papillae of both species are sensitive to bitter compounds. These differences in sensitivity should be reflected in the numbers of gustducin-containing cells in different taste bud populations. We examined taste buds in the rat and hamster for immunoreactivity to an antibody against alpha-gustducin. Immunofluorescence of labeled taste cells was examined by confocal microscopy, and the cells were counted. Gustducin-positive cells were seen in all taste bud regions; they were spindle-shaped, with circular cross-sections and apical processes that extended to the taste pore. Cells with this characteristic shape in rat vallate taste buds are Type II (light) cells. In the rat, taste buds of the fungiform papillae had fewer gustducin-positive cells (3.1/taste bud) than those of other regions, including the posterior tongue and palate (>8.9/taste bud). Hamster fungiform taste buds contained twice as many gustducin-expressing cells (6.8/taste bud) as those of the rat. These data support the hypothesis that alpha-gustducin is involved in the transduction of both sweet- and bitter-tasting stimuli by mammalian taste receptor cells.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Analysis of oligodendroglial differentiation using cDNA arrays.

We used cDNA arrays to investigate molecular aspects of the differentiation of an immortalized line of oligodendroglial progenitors, and of immunopan-purified primary cultures of oligodendroglial progenitors, to immature oligodendroglia. Developmental regulation of the proteolipid and 2-hydroxyacylsphingosine 1-galactosyltransferase genes was tighter in the primary than in the immortalized cells. Our data suggest that increased expression of genes encoding the following proteins are involved in oligodendroglial differentiation: Fyn, Erk, p85, G-alpha-12 guanine nucleotide binding, and transducin beta-2 signal transduction molecules; glial maturation factor; the proteasomal subunits C8 and C3; the proteasomal targeting molecule polyubiquitin; the cell cycle regulatory proteins Set, protein phosphatase 2A, and nuclear tyrosine phosphatase (PRL-1); and the high-affinity glutamate cotransporter EAAC-1.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A novel mutation within the rhodopsin gene (Thr-94-Ile) causing autosomal dominant congenital stationary night blindness.

More than 100 mutations within the rhodopsin gene have been found to be responsible for some forms of retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive retinal degeneration characterized by night blindness and subsequent disturbance of day vision that may eventually result in total blindness. Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) is an uncommon inherited retinal dysfunction in which patients complain of night vision difficulties of a nonprogressive nature only and in which generally there is no involvement of day vision. We report the results of molecular genetic analysis of an Irish family segregating an autosomal dominant form of CSNB in which a previously unreported threonine-to-isoleucine substitution at codon 94 in the rhodopsin gene was found to segregate with the disease. Computer modeling suggests that constitutive activation of transducin by the altered rhodopsin protein may be a mechanism for disease causation in this family. Only two mutations within the rhodopsin gene have been previously reported in patients with congenital stationary night blindness, constitutive activation also having been proposed as a possible disease mechanism.

Amino Acid Substitution↗