A mnemonical or negative-co-operativity model for the activation of adenylate cyclase by a common G-protein-coupled calcitonin-gene-related neuropeptide (CGRP)/amylin receptor

Endogenous αCGRP protects against concanavalin A-induced hepatitis in mice

To evaluate hepatoprotective effect of alpha-calcitonin gene-related peptide (alphaCGRP), we compared the susceptibilities of alphaCGRP-/- and wild-type mice to concanavalin A (Con A)-induced hepatitis. Twelve hours after Con A administration, serum transaminases were markedly higher in alphaCGRP-/- than wild-type mice, and much more extensive TUNEL-positive lesions and DNA fragmentation were detected in the livers of alphaCGRP-/- mice. Notably, expression of IL-6 was selectively diminished in alphaCGRP-/- mice, suggesting that induction of IL-6 during acute inflammatory responses is blunted in alphaCGRP-/- mice. In addition, primary cultured alphaCGRP-/- hepatocytes were more susceptible to IFN-gamma-induced cell death than hepatocytes from wild-type mice. Administration of exogenous alphaCGRP reduced the incidence of apoptosis among hepatocytes and endothelial cells. It thus appears that alphaCGRP exerts a hepatoprotective effect by modulating cytokine expression and preventing apoptosis.

Islet amyloid: a complication of islet dysfunction or an aetiological factor in Type 2 diabetes?

The role of islet amyloidosis in the onset and progression of Type 2 diabetes remains obscure. Islet amyloid polypeptide is a 37 amino-acid, beta-cell peptide which is co-stored and co-released with insulin. Human islet amyloid polypeptide refolds to a beta-conformation and oligomerises to form insoluble fibrils; proline substitutions in rodent islet amyloid polypeptide prevent this molecular transition. Pro-islet amyloid polypeptide (67 amino acids in man) is processed in secretory granules. Refolding of islet amyloid polypeptide may be prevented by intragranular heterodimer formation with insulin (but not proinsulin). Diabetes-associated abnormal proinsulin processing could contribute to de-stabilisation of granular islet amyloid polypeptide. Increased pro-islet amyloid polypeptide secretion as a consequence of islet dysfunction could promote fibrillogenesis; the propeptide forms fibrils and binds to basement membrane glycosamino-glycans. Islet amyloid polypeptide gene polymorphisms are not universally associated with Type 2 diabetes. Transgenic mice expressing human islet amyloid polypeptide gene have increased islet amyloid polypeptide concentrations but develop islet amyloid only against a background of obesity and/or high fat diet. In transgenic mice, obese monkeys and cats, initially small perivascular deposits progressively increase to occupy 80% islet mass; the severity of amyloidosis in animal models is related to the onset of hyperglycaemia, suggesting that islet amyloid and the associated destruction of islet cells cause diabetes. In human diabetes, islet amyloid can affect less than 1% or up to 80% of islets indicating that islet amyloidosis largely results from diabetes-related pathologies and is not an aetiological factor for hyperglycaemia. However, the associated progressive beta-cell destruction leads to severe islet dysfunction and insulin requirement.

Effects of protein kinase a activation on the responses of primate spinothalamic tract neurons to mechanical stimuli

Behavioral and anatomical studies by our group have suggested that the protein kinase A (PKA) signal transduction cascade contributes to long-term changes in nociceptive processing at the spinal cord level. In this study, we have examined the effects of activation of the PKA cascade on the responses of spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons to peripheral mechanical stimuli in anesthetized and paralyzed monkeys. PKA in the spinal cord was activated by intra-spinal infusion of forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, by microdialysis. There was a consistent increase in responses to mechanical pressure and pinch stimuli in all STT cells tested when forskolin was administered. Enhanced responses remained at relatively high levels when forskolin had been washed out for 30 min. However, in most STT cells tested (65%), the responses to brushing stimuli were not obviously changed when forskolin was given. Background activity was slightly increased when forskolin was administered. An inactive isomer of forskolin, D-forskolin, did not produce significant effects on cellular activity. The sensitization of STT cells to noxious mechanical stimuli produced by forskolin could be blocked by pretreatment of the spinal cord with the PKA inhibitor, N-[2-((p-bromocinnamyl)amino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamine (H89). The same dose of H89 did not affect the enhanced responses to mechanical stimuli produced by activation of protein kinase G by intra-spinal infusion of 8-bromo-cGMP, indicating that the effect of forskolin was selective. The present data suggest that activation of PKA can preferentially enhance the responses of STT cells to noxious mechanical stimuli without producing an increase in responses to innocuous brushing stimuli. We speculate that the PKA signal transduction cascade may contribute more to secondary mechanical hyperalgesia than to secondary mechanical allodynia.

Activation of the cAMP transduction cascade contributes to the mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia induced by intradermal injection of capsaicin

1. The spinal role of the cAMP transduction cascade in nociceptive processing was investigated in awake behaving rats (male, Sprague-Dawley) by activating or inhibiting this pathway spinally. Microdialysis fibres were implanted into the dorsal horn to infuse drugs directly to the spinal cord. 2. Animals, without peripheral tissue injury, were tested for responses to repeated applications (10 trials) of von Frey filaments and threshold to mechanical stimulation before and after infusion of 8-bromo-cAMP. In this group of animals treated spinally with 8-br-cAMP (1-10 mM) a dose-dependent hyperalgesia and allodynia were produced. This was manifested as an increased number of responses to 10 trials of von Frey filaments (10, 50, 150, 250 mN) and a decrease in mechanical threshold. 3. A second series of experiments studied the manipulation of the cAMP pathway spinally in a model of tissue injury induced by intradermal injection of capsaicin. Animals were either pre- or post-treated spinally with the adenylate cyclase inhibitor, tetrahydrofuryl adenine (THFA) or the protein kinase A inhibitor, myrosilated protein kinase (14-22) amide (PKI). Injection of capsaicin resulted in an increased number of responses to repeated applications of von Frey filaments and a decrease in threshold to mechanical stimuli outside the site of injection, secondary mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia. 4. Pre-treatment with either THFA (1 mM) or PKI (5 mM) had no effect on the capsaicin-evoked secondary hyperalgesia and allodynia. 5. In contrast, post-treatment spinally with THFA (0.01-1 mM) or PKI (0.05-50 mM) dose-dependently reduced the mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia produced by capsaicin injection. Furthermore, the mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia blocked by the adenylate cyclase inhibitor, THFA (1 mM), was reversed by infusion of 8-bromo-cAMP (0.01-10 mM) in a dose-dependent manner. 6. Thus, this study demonstrates that activation of the cAMP transduction cascade at the spinal cord level results in mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia and that the secondary mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia following intradermal injection of capsaicin is mediated by this same transduction cascade.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide induces the formation of second messengers in primary cultures of neonatal rat spinal cord

This study investigated second messengers formed in response to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in primary cultures of neonatal rat spinal cord. CGRP increased the level of cAMP above basal levels (50 pmol/mg protein) over a large range of concentrations. The concentration-response curve had an intermediate plateau at 180 pmol cAMP/mg protein in response to 0.01-0.1 nM CGRP and a maximal plateau of 850 pmol cAMP/mg protein at 300 nM CGRP. The biphasic concentration-response curve (EC50S of 0.7 pM and 22 nM) suggests activation of high- and low-affinity receptors for CGRP. Both neurons and nonneuronal cells contributed to the increase in cAMP formation in response to CGRP. The CGRP receptor blocker, CGRP8-37, inhibited the response to both 1 and 100 nM CGRP, providing additional support for the hypothesis that both high- and low-affinity receptors mediate the formation of cAMP. Only a high concentration of CGRP (1 microM) increased the formation of cGMP, and CGRP had no effect on the formation of inositol phosphates at any of the concentrations tested (0.1-1 microM). These results suggest that CGRP-induced responses in the spinal cord are mediated predominately via the formation of cAMP. The observation that both neurons and nonneuronal cells responded to CGRP indicate that this peptide may have multiple actions in the spinal cord.

Lack of effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide and amylin on major markers of glucose metabolism in hepatocytes

Effects of amylin and calcitonin gene-related peptide on several processes involved in carbohydrate metabolism were investigated in rat hepatocytes, non-parenchymal cells (Kupffer, Ito and endothelial cells) and alveolar macrophages. In hepatocytes, cAMP levels were increased 25-fold by glucagon (10 nM), less than 2-fold by calcitonin gene-related peptide (100 nM) and not at all by amylin (100 nM). In non-parenchymal cells and cultured alveolar macrophages, calcitonin gene-related peptide potently, and amylin weakly, stimulated cAMP levels. In hepatocytes neither amylin nor calcitonin gene-related peptide affected glycogen phosphorylase activity, glucose output, lactate uptake, glycogen synthesis, glycogen mass or tyrosine aminotransferase activity. The density of calcitonin gene-related peptide specific binding sites in parenchymal cells was 10-fold less then seen in non-parenchymal cells. We found no significant evidence of specific amylin binding sites. These results are consistent with the notion that amylin does not exert a direct effect in hepatocytes. However, we do not rule out that amylin may affect hepatic glucose output indirectly through Cori cycling of lactate derived from skeletal muscle or from interactions through non-parenchymal cells.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor in human placental syncytiotrophoblast brush-border and basal plasma membranes

Minerals, such as calcium and potassium, are essential for fetal development, but their transplacental transport, and in particular, the effect of hormones on this process has not been extensively studied. Human alpha-calcitonin gene-related peptide (h alpha CGRP), a hormone constituted of 37 amino acids, is obtained by the alternative splicing of the mRNA from the calcitonin gene, and could be implicated in placental ion transport. In order to study the presence of this receptor, brush-border and basal plasma membranes were purified, and membrane binding studies were conducted using [125I]h alpha CGRP. The initiation of binding of [125I]h alpha CGRP to both membranes was rapid and reached maximal value after 10 min of incubation at 37 degrees C. Scratchard analysis revealed single-affinity binding sites for h alpha CGRP with Kd equal to 4412.45 +/- 604.81 pM and 2673.24 +/- 552.51 pM for brush-border and basal plasma membranes, respectively, which were significantly different. Moreover, the maximal number of receptors was significantly different (P < 0.001) in both membranes, with Bmax of 627.94 +/- 31.40 fmol/mg protein for brush-border membranes and 343.70 +/- 43.52 fmol/mg protein in basal-plasma membranes. Competitive displacement of [125I]h alpha CGRP with other ligands showed the following potencies; h alpha CGRP approximately h beta CGRP approximately Cys (acm)2,7 CGRP > CGRP (8-37), but no competition was observed with human and salmon calcitonin. Half-maximal displacement for human alpha- and beta CGRP was reached at approximately 10(-10)M for brush-border and basal-plasma membranes. alpha- and beta CGRP, and their fragment and analogue, stimulated cyclic AMP production in placental homogenate ranging from 143-163 per cent. Thus, our results show the presence of CGRP-specific receptors in both the syncytiotrophoblast membranes of human placenta. The role(s) of this related peptide in placenta remains to be investigated.

Dose-dependent elevation of cyclic AMP, activation of glycogen phosphorylase, and release of lactate by amylin in rat skeletal muscle

We report here our investigation of the role of cyclic AMP (cAMP) in amylin signal transduction in isolated strips of soleus muscle. Rat amylin, at 100 nM, increased cAMP levels, from 0.431 +/- 0.047 to a peak of 1.24 +/- 0.01 pmol cAMP/mg wet wt. after 5 min, in the absence of added phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The EC50 of the response was 0.48 nM (+/- 0.12 log units) in the absence of insulin and 0.3 nM (+/- 0.18 log units) in the presence of 7.1 nM insulin. The response seen with a maximally effective concentration of amylin (10 nM) was similar to that seen with a maximally effective concentration of epinephrine (1 microM) under the same conditions. Consistent with the observed rise in cAMP there was an increase in glycogen phosphorylase a (EC50 2.2 nM +/- 0.25 log units), decreased glycogen content (EC50 0.9 nM +/- 0.22 log units) and enhanced production of lactate (EC50 1.5 nM +/- 0.33 log units). These data support the concept that amylin promotes glycogenolysis in skeletal muscle and enhances production of lactate through glycolysis as a result of activation of Gs coupled receptors, stimulation of adenylate cyclase, elevation of cAMP levels and activation of glycogen phosphorylase.

Analysis of the adenylate cyclase signalling system, and alterations induced by culture with insulin, in a novel SV40-DNA-immortalized hepatocyte cell line (P9 cells)

An immortalized cell line, called P9, was derived from hepatocytes by transfection with SV40 DNA. These cells expressed enzyme activities characteristic of hepatocytes, namely glucose-6-phosphatase, glycogen phosphorylase, bilirubin glucuronyltransferase and both glucagon- and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1)-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities, albeit at decreased levels compared with native hepatocytes. Levels of the G-protein subunits alpha-Gi-2, alpha-Gi-3, G beta and the 'long' form of alpha-G2 (45 kDa) were approximately 4-fold higher relative to native hepatocytes, whereas those of the 'short' form of alpha-G2 (42 kDa) were lower by approximately 40%. Associated with this were marked alterations in the guanine nucleotide regulation of adenylate cyclase. Receptor-mediated stimulation, achieved by either PGE1 or glucagon, was apparent in P9 cells, although the latter was only evident upon amplification with forskolin. Glucagon-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in P9 cells did not exhibit desensitization, as in hepatocytes, nor was the phosphorylation of alpha-Gi-2 evident. Culture of P9 cells with insulin led to a dose-dependent decrease (EC50 0.2 +/- 0.1 nM) in the ability of PGE1 to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity, with the maximum effect attained after approximately 6 h. A comparable attenuation of stimulation was seen for glucagon- and guanine-nucleotide-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities. In cells cultured with insulin, lower levels of GTP were required to stimulate adenylate cyclase, ADP-ribosylation of the 45 kDa form of alpha-Gs with cholera toxin was attenuated, and the expression of both alpha Gi-2 and alpha-Gi-3 was increased. It is suggested that the expression of alpha-Gi-2 and alpha-Gi-3 may be directly regulated by the action of insulin in hepatocytes and P9 cells.

Regulation of hepatocyte adenylate cyclase by amylin and CGRP: a single receptor displaying apparent negative cooperatively towards CGRP and simple saturation kinetics for amylin, a requirement for phosphodiesterase inhibition to observe elevated hepatocyte cyclic AMP levels and the phosphorylation of Gi-2

Challenge of intact hepatocytes with amylin only succeeded in elevating intracellular cyclic AMP levels and activating phosphorylase in the presence of the cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX. Both amylin and CGRP similarly activated adenylate cyclase, around 5-fold, although approximately 400-fold higher levels of amylin were required to elicit half maximal activation. Amylin activated adenylate cyclase though apparently simple Michaelien kinetics whereas CGRP elicited activation by kinetics indicative of apparent negative co-operativity. Use of the antagonist CGPP(8-37) showed that both CGRP and amylin activated hepatocyte adenylate cyclase through a common receptor by a mnemonical mechanism where it was proposed that the receptor co-existed in interconvertible high and low affinity states for CGRP. It is suggested that this model may serve as a paradigm for G-protein linked receptors in general. Amylin failed to both stimulate inositol phospholipid metabolism in hepatocytes and to elicit the desensitization of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase. Amylin did, however, elicit the phosphorylation of the inhibitory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein Gi-2 in hepatocytes and prevented the action of insulin in reducing the level of phosphorylation of this G-protein.

Molecular physiology of amylin

Amylin is a 37-amino acid peptide first isolated, purified, and characterized from the amyloid deposits in the pancrease of type 2 diabetics. It is synthesized and secreted primarily from pancreatic beta cells along with insulin. The ability of amylin to potently reduce insulin-stimulated incorporation of glucose into glycogen in skeletal muscle requires both an intact 2Cys-7Cys disulfide bond and a COOH-terminal amide. Amylin has structural and functional relationships to two other messenger proteins, calcitonin and CGRP. Amylin has relatively potent calcitonin-like activity on bone metabolism and weaker CGRP-like activity on the vasculature. CGRP is a slightly weaker agonist than amylin for metabolic responses. Although rat calcitonins are weak, teleost fish calcitonins are very potent agonists for amylin's metabolic effects. This group of peptides appears to act on a family of related G protein-coupled receptors; several variant calcitonin receptors have recently been cloned and expressed. These receptors appear to be coupled to adenylyl cyclase in many instances; recent evidence supports the view that amylin's effects on skeletal muscle occur, at least in large part, through activation of the cAMP pathway.