Nuclear run-on assay to study gene transcription in vascular cells

Glutamine increases stability of TPH1 mRNA via p38 mitogen-activated kinase in mouse mastocytoma cells

Expression changes for tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1), the rate-limiting enzyme in serotonin synthesis, by environmental glutamine (GLN) were examined in mouse mastocytoma-derived P815-HTR cells. GLN-treated cells exhibited a robust increase in TPH1 mRNA after a 6 h exposure to GLN. 6-Diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON), a glutamine-utilizing glutaminase inhibitor, significantly inhibited the GLN-induction of TPH1 mRNA. Nuclear run-on assays and mRNA decay experiments demonstrated that the primary mechanism leading to increased TPH1 mRNA levels was not due to transcriptional changes, but rather due to increased TPH1 RNA stability induced by GLN. Treatment with GLN also led to activation of p38 MAP kinase, but not p42/44 MAPK. In addition, SB203580, a p38 MAP kinase specific inhibitor, completely abolished the GLN-mediated increase of TPH1 mRNA levels, suggesting the pathway stabilizing TPH1 mRNA might be mediated by the activated p38 MAP kinase pathway. Additionally, SB203580 significantly reduced the stability of TPH1 mRNA, and this reduction of the stability was not affected by GLN in the culture medium, implying a sequential signaling from GLN being mediated by p38 MAP kinase, resulting in alteration of TPH1 mRNA stability. TPH1 mRNA stability loss was also dependent on de novo protein synthesis as shown by treatment of cells with a transcriptional/translational blocker. We provide evidence that TPH1 mRNA levels are increased in response to increased exogenous GLN in mouse mastocytoma cells via a stabilization of TPH1 mRNA due to the activity of the p38 MAP kinase.