cAMP, not Ca2+/calmodulin, regulates the phosphorylation of acetylcholine receptor in Torpedo californica electroplax

Phosphorylation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in myotube-cholinergic neuron cocultures

Acetylcholine receptor (AChR) stability in the postsynaptic membrane is affected by serine kinases. AChR are phosphorylated by protein kinase C (PKC) and PKA, and we have shown that activation of PKA and PKC have opposite effects on AChR stability and that this may play some role in the selective, activity-dependent synapse loss that occurs during development of the neuromuscular junction. Myotube cultures with and without added spinal motor neurons were probed with immunoaffinity-purified antibodies prepared against phosphorylated peptides with amino acid sequences from different AChR subunits. Different treatments activating PKC (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate; PMA) or PKA (dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate; cAMP) or blocking electrical activity (tetrodotoxin; TTX) of the cocultures were chosen because of their known effects, direct or indirect, on receptor stability. We asked whether the phospho-specific antibody staining in conjunction with alpha-bungarotoxin (BTX) identification of AChR aggregates could provide a direct demonstration of changes in receptor phosphorylation produced by the treatments. We found that PMA treatment did increase phosphorylation of the delta subunit and cAMP increased phosphorylation of the epsilon subunit relative to total BTX labeling in muscle-nerve cocultures, but not in muscle-only cultures. Blockade of electrical activity with TTX increased the incidence of aggregates that showed no phospho-epsilon staining. Myotube cultures grown in the absence of neurons did not show the responses of myotubes in cocultures. The results show that manipulations that alter receptor stability also produce changes in receptor phosphorylation. We suggest that phosphorylation may be a mechanism mediating the changes in receptor stability.

Regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at the rat neuromuscular junction

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) from the electric organ of T. californica is highly phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in vivo. In contrast, tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR in rat myotube cultures is barely detectable. To determine whether this low level of tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR in muscle cell cultures is due to a lack of neuronal innervation, we examined tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR in rat diaphragm in vivo. Immunofluorescent double labeling of cryostat sections of rat diaphragm using antibodies specific for phosphotyrosine or the AChR showed a direct colocalization of phosphotyrosine with the AChR at the neuromuscular junction. Using anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies, immunoblots of AChR partially purified from rat diaphragm demonstrated that the rat AChR contains high levels of phosphotyrosine. Denervation of rat diaphragm induced a time-dependent decrease in tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR, as measured by immunocytochemical and immunoblot techniques. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR occurred late in the development of the neuromuscular junction, between postnatal days 7 and 14. These studies suggest that muscle innervation regulates tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR and that tyrosine phosphorylation may play an important role in the developmental regulation of the AChR.

Protein phosphorylation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAcChR) is a ligand-gated ion channel found in the postsynaptic membranes of electric organs, at the neuromuscular junction, and at nicotinic cholinergic synapses of the mammalian central and peripheral nervous system. The nAcChR from Torpedo electric organ and mammalian muscle is the most well-characterized neurotransmitter receptor in biology. It has been shown to be comprised of five homologous (two identicle) protein subunits (alpha 2 beta gamma delta) that form both the ion channel and the neurotransmitter receptor. The nAcChR has been purified and reconstituted into lipid vesicles with retention of ion channel function and the primary structure of all four protein subunits has been determined. Protein phosphorylation is a major posttranslational modification known to regulate protein function. The Torpedo nAcChR was first shown to be regulated by phosphorylation by the discovery that postsynaptic membranes contain protein kinases that phosphorylate the nAcChR. Phosphorylation of the nAcChR has since been shown to be regulated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C, and a tyrosine-specific protein kinase. Phosphorylation of the nAcChR by cAMP-dependent protein kinase has been shown to increase the rate of nAcChR desensitization, the process by which the nAcChR becomes inactivated in the continued presence of agonist. In cultured muscle cells, phosphorylation of the nAcChR has been shown to be regulated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, a Ca2+-sensitive protein kinase, and a tyrosine-specific protein kinase. Stimulation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase in muscle also increases the rate of nAcChR desensitization and correlates well with the increase in nAcChR phosphorylation. The AcChR represents a model system for how receptors and ion channels are regulated by second messengers and protein phosphorylation.

Regulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by protein phosphorylation

Neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels play a critical role in the transduction of signals at chemical synapses. The modulation of neurotransmitter receptor and ion channel function by protein phosphorylation is one of the major regulatory mechanisms in the control of synaptic transmission. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAcChR) has provided an excellent model system in which to study the modulation of neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels by protein phosphorylation since the structure and function of this receptor have been so extensively characterized. In this article, the structure of the nAcChR from the electric organ of electric fish, skeletal muscle, and the central and peripheral nervous system will be briefly reviewed. Emphasis will be placed on the regulation of the phosphorylation of nAcChR by second messengers and by neurotransmitters and hormones. In addition, recent studies on the functional modulation of nicotinic receptors by protein phosphorylation will be reviewed.

Phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol associated with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of Torpedo californica

When isolated, detergent solubilized and affinity chromatographically purified nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of Torpedo californica electric organ is incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP/Mg2+, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PIP) is formed from receptor associated phosphatidylinositol (PI). This receptor associated endogenous kinase activity is enhanced by orthovanadate and, remarkably, also by acetylcholine. Exogenously added PI-kinase only increases the phosphorylation rate if vanadate is present. PIP as the main phosphorylation product (up to 95%) remains bound to the beta-, gamma- and delta-subunits of the receptor and to the receptor associated v-protein. The alpha-subunits do not carry 32p phosphate; no phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate formation has been observed. Concomitant to lipid phosphorylation tyrosine and serine residues are phosphorylated (5% of total incorporated 32P phosphate).

Multiple types of neurotransmitter binding sites in the rat neuroblastoma B 50 cell line. II. Response of second messenger systems to physiological stimuli in proliferating and differentiated cells

The functionality of the alpha 1-, beta-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic binding sites of neuroblastoma B 50 is investigated under proliferating and differentiating conditions. In proliferating cells, the stimulation of the alpha 1-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic binding sites by their respective agonists causes an increase in both extracellular calcium association with the cells and phosphatidylinositol (PI) turnover; effects usually associated with functional receptors. When the cells are induced to differentiate morphologically with dibutyryl cyclic AMP (db-cAMP), extracellular calcium or a combination of both, the activity of the muscarinic receptor-coupled PI turnover is strictly correlated with the binding affinity of the receptor. This is not the case for the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor stimulation of PI turnover. The latter result, however, may be explained in terms of the intrinsic properties of the inducing agents used to cause neurite extension. The stimulation of the beta-adrenergic binding site with isoproterenol in proliferating cells, both with and without a phosphodiesterase inhibitor present, does not result in cellular cAMP accumulation. In morphologically differentiated cells, only the db-cAMP-induced state exhibits an increase in [3H]adenosine incorporation into cellular cAMP upon isoproterenol stimulation. This happens only in the presence of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The data presented in this study are discussed in terms of the affinity of the receptors for their respective ligands and in terms of the intrinsic properties of the inducing agents.

Multiple types of neurotransmitter binding sites in the rat neuroblastoma B 50 cell line. I. Characterization and binding affinity changes during various differentiation paradigms

In this study, it is shown that the neuroblastoma B 50 cell line of rat central nervous system origin possesses both adrenergic and cholinergic binding sites. The adrenergic binding site population comprises a major alpha 1-adrenergic component (using [3H]prazosin as ligand; KD = 0.55 nM; 19.3 fmol/mg protein), and a minor beta-adrenergic species (KD = 0.45 nM; 3.4 fmol/mg protein using [125I]cyanopindolol as ligand). The cholinergic binding site is of a muscarinic type. Binding studies with quinuclidinyl benzylate (QNB) indicate the presence of two binding sites with different affinities. This is supported by competition studies with agonists. However, in view of this unusual binding behavior of the antagonist, the possibility of a one-site model for QNB is also considered and affords the following parameters: KD = 0.247 nM, Bmax = 29.6 fmoles/mg protein. When the cells are induced to differentiate with dibutyryl cyclic AMP (db-cAMP) or high extracellular calcium, all of these binding sites undergo a variety of changes in their affinities for their respective ligands. Db-cAMP increases the affinity of the alpha 1-site for prazosin while high extracellular calcium lowers it. In both cases the number of binding sites remains unchanged. The affinity of the beta-adrenergic component is markedly enhanced upon induction of differentiation with either extracellular calcium or/and db-cAMP. Finally, the muscarinic cholinergic binding sites exhibit a decrease in receptor number upon db-cAMP treatment and an apparent loss of one of the binding sites upon calcium treatment. The significance of these affinity changes is discussed for each type of binding site.

The cAMP cascade in the nervous system: molecular sites of action and possible relevance to neuronal plasticity

Many intercellular messages regulate the activity of their target cells by altering the intracellular level of cAMP and, as a consequence, the phosphorylation state of proteins which serve as substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Such regulation plays a crucial role in neuronal development, neuronal function, and neuronal plasticity (e.g., elementary learning mechanisms). Ample information has been accumulated in recent years on the enzymes that regulate the level of cAMP or respond to it, on the regulation of cAMP synthesis by neurohormones, neurotransmitters, ions, and toxins, on neuronal-specific substrate proteins that are phosphorylated by the cAMP-dependent kinase, and on the interaction of the cAMP-cascade with other second-messenger systems within neurons. Such data, obtained by a combination of molecular-biological, biochemical, and cellular approaches, shed light on the detailed mechanisms by which modulation of a ubiquitous molecular cascade leads to a great variety of short-term as well as long-term specific neuronal responses and alterations.

nu 1, a Mr 43,000 component of postsynaptic membranes, is a protein kinase

Acetylcholine receptor-enriched membranes from the electric organ of Torpedo californica show a major band at Mr 43,000 on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels. This band is composed of three polypeptides: nu 1, nu 2, and nu 3. Polypeptide nu 1 has been found to be localized exclusively at the innervated face of the electrocyte and at the neuromuscular junction in rat muscle. We show here that monoclonal antibody to nu 1 precipitates a radioactive Mr 43,000 polypeptide from detergent-solubilized extracts of Torpedo membranes covalently labeled with periodate-oxidized [alpha-32P]ATP. The monoclonal antibody also precipitates protein kinase activity from neutralized pH 11 extracts of the acetylcholine receptor-rich membranes. These data suggest that nu 1 is a postsynaptic membrane protein kinase.

Phosphorylation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by an endogenous tyrosine-specific protein kinase

Postsynaptic membranes from the electric organ of Torpedo californica, rich in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, were shown to contain an endogenous tyrosine protein kinase. This endogenous kinase phosphorylated three major proteins with molecular masses corresponding to 50 kDa, 60 kDa, and 65 kDa. The phosphorylation of these three proteins occurred exclusively on tyrosine residues under the experimental conditions used and was abolished by 0.1% Nonidet P-40 and stimulated by Mn2+. The 50-kDa, and 60-kDa, and 65-kDa phosphoproteins were demonstrated to be the beta, gamma, and delta subunits, respectively, of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by purification of the phosphorylated receptor using affinity chromatography. The endogenous tyrosine kinase specifically phosphorylated the beta, gamma, and delta subunits rapidly to a final stoichiometry of approximately equal to 0.5 mol of phosphate per mol of sub-unit. Two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping of the phosphorylated beta, gamma, and delta subunits, after limit proteolysis with trypsin or thermolysin, indicated that each subunit was phosphorylated on a single site. Locations are proposed for the amino acid residues phosphorylated on the receptor by the tyrosine-specific protein kinase and by two other protein kinases (cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C) which phosphorylate the receptor.