Pertussis Toxin-Sensitive G-Protein Activation Does Not Influence the Response to BAY K 8644 in Embryonic Chick Myocytes

1990 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 681 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Anderson ◽  
G. P. Duncan ◽  
M. Spedding ◽  
L. Patmore
2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. H2069-H2075 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. P. Thompson ◽  
C. P. Weiner

We hypothesized that pregnancy modulates receptor-mediated responses of the uterine artery (UA) by altering G protein activation or coupling. Relaxation and contraction to NaF (0.5–11.5 mM), acetylcholine (10−9–10−5 M), and bradykinin (10−12–3 × 10−5 M) were measured in isolated UA of pregnant and nonpregnant guinea pigs. Responses were measured in the presence and absence of either cholera toxin (2 μg/ml) or pertussis toxin (Gαs and Gαiinhibitors, respectively). NaF relaxation was endothelium dependent and nitro-l-arginine sensitive (a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor). Relaxation to NaF, acetylcholine, and bradykinin were potentiated by pregnancy. Cholera but not pertussis toxin increased relaxation to acetylcholine and bradykinin in UA from nonpregnant animals, had no effect in UA from pregnant animals, and abolished the pregnancy-induced differences in acetylcholine relaxation. Cholera toxin potentiated the bradykinin-induced contraction of UA of both pregnant and nonpregnant animals, whereas pertussis toxin inhibited contraction of UA from pregnant animals only. Therefore, pregnancy may enhance agonist-stimulated endothelium-dependent relaxation and bradykinin-induced contraction of UA by inhibiting GTPase activity or enhancing Gαs but not Gαi activation in pregnant animals. Thus the diverse effects of pregnancy on UA responsiveness may result from hormonal modulation of G proteins coupled to their specific receptors.


Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (5) ◽  
pp. 645-654
Author(s):  
X. Shi ◽  
S. Amindari ◽  
K. Paruchuru ◽  
D. Skalla ◽  
H. Burkin ◽  
...  

ZP3 is a protein in the mammalian egg coat (zona pellucida) that binds sperm and stimulates acrosomal exocytosis, enabling sperm to penetrate the zona pellucida. The nature of the ZP3 receptor/s on sperm is a matter of considerable debate, but most evidence suggests that ZP3 binds to beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase-I (GalTase) on the sperm surface. It has been suggested that ZP3 induces the acrosome reaction by crosslinking GalTase, activating a heterotrimeric G protein. In this regard, acrosomal exocytosis is sensitive to pertussis toxin and the GalTase cytoplasmic domain can precipitate G(i) from sperm lysates. Sperm from mice that overexpress GalTase bind more soluble ZP3 and show accelerated G protein activation, whereas sperm from mice with a targeted deletion in GalTase have markedly less ability to bind soluble ZP3, undergo the ZP3-induced acrosome reaction, and penetrate the zona pellucida. We have examined the ability of GalTase to function as a ZP3 receptor and to activate heterotrimeric G proteins using Xenopus laevis oocytes as a heterologous expression system. Oocytes that express GalTase bound ZP3 but did not bind other zona pellucida glycoproteins. After oocyte maturation, ZP3 or GalTase antibodies were able to trigger cortical granule exocytosis and activation of GalTase-expressing eggs. Pertussis toxin inhibited GalTase-induced egg activation. Consistent with G protein activation, both ZP3 and anti-GalTase antibodies increased GTP-gamma[(35)S] binding as well as GTPase activity in membranes from eggs expressing GalTase. Finally, mutagenesis of a putative G protein activation motif within the GalTase cytoplasmic domain eliminated G protein activation in response to ZP3 or anti-GalTase antibodies. These results demonstrate directly that GalTase functions as a ZP3 receptor and following aggregation, is capable of activating pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins leading to exocytosis.


2003 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 392-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor M. Nikonorov ◽  
Thomas J. J. Blanck ◽  
Esperanza Recio-Pinto

Background G-protein activation mediates inhibition of N-type Ca2+ currents. Volatile anesthetics affect G-protein pathways at various levels, and activation of G-proteins has been shown to increase the volatile anesthetic potency for inhibiting the electrical-induced contraction in ileum. The authors investigated whether isoflurane inhibition of N-type Ba2+ currents was mediated by G-protein activation. Methods N-type Ba2+ currents were measured in the human neuronal SH-SY5Y cell line by using the whole cell voltage-clamp method. Results Isoflurane was found to have two effects on N-type Ba2+ currents. First, isoflurane reduced the magnitude of N-type Ba2+ currents to a similar extent (IC50 approximately 0.28 mm) in the absence and presence of GDPbetaS (a nonhydrolyzable GDP analog). Interestingly, GTPgammaS (a nonhydrolyzable GTP analog and G-protein activator) in a dose-dependent manner reduced the isoflurane block; 120 microm GTPgammaS completely eliminated the block of 0.3 mm isoflurane and reduced the apparent isoflurane potency by approximately 2.4 times (IC50 approximately 0.68 mm). Pretreatment with pertussis toxin or cholera toxin did not eliminate the GTPgammaS-induced protection against the isoflurane block. Furthermore, isoflurane reduced the magnitude of voltage-dependent G-protein-mediated inhibition of N-type Ba2+ currents, and this effect was eliminated by pretreatment with pertussis toxin or cholera toxin. Conclusions It was found that activation of G-proteins in a neuronal environment dramatically reduced the isoflurane potency for inhibiting N-type Ba2+ currents and, in turn, isoflurane affected the G-protein regulation of N-type Ba2+ currents.


1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 2954-2962 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Schneider ◽  
W. A. Eckert ◽  
A. R. Light

Schneider, S. P., W. A. Eckert III, and A. R. Light. Opioid-activated postsynaptic, inward rectifying potassium currents in whole cell recordings in substantia gelatinosa neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 2954–2962, 1998. Using tight-seal, whole cell recordings from isolated transverse slices of hamster and rat spinal cord, we investigated the effects of the μ-opioid agonist (d-Ala2, N-Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol)-enkephalin (DAMGO) on the membrane potential and conductance of substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons. We observed that bath application of 1–5 μM DAMGO caused a robust and repeatable hyperpolarization in membrane potential ( V m) and decrease in neuronal input resistance ( R N) in 60% (27/45) of hamster neurons and 39% (9/23) of rat neurons, but significantly only when ATP (2 mM) and guanosine 5′-triphosphate (GTP; 100 μM) were included in the patch pipette internal solution. An ED50 of 50 nM was observed for the hyperpolarization in rat SG neurons. Because G-protein mediation of opioid effects has been shown in other systems, we tested if the nucleotide requirement for opioid hyperpolarization in SG neurons was due to G-protein activation. GTP was replaced with the nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue guanosine-5′- O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-γ-S; 100 μM), which enabled DAMGO to activate a nonreversible membrane hyperpolarization. Further, intracellular application of guanosine-5′- O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP-β-S; 500 μM), which blocks G-protein activation, abolished the effects of DAMGO. We conclude that spinal SG neurons are particularly susceptible to dialysis of GTP by whole cell recording techniques. Moreover, the depletion of GTP leads to the inactivation of G-proteins that mediate μ-opioid activation of an inward-rectifying, potassium conductance in these neurons. These results explain the discrepancy between the opioid-activated hyperpolarization in SG neurons observed in previous sharp electrode experiments and the more recent failures to observe these effects with whole cell patch techniques.


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