Phosphodiesterase 4 interacts with the 5-HT4(b) receptor to regulate cAMP signaling.

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and PDE4, which degrade cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), are important regulators of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 4 receptor signaling in cardiac tissue. Therefore, we investigated whether they interact with the 5-HT4(b) receptor, and whether A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs), scaffolding proteins that bind to the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) and contribute to the spacial-temporal control of cAMP signaling, are involved in the regulation of 5-HT4(b) receptor signaling. By measuring PKA activity in the absence and presence of PDE3 and PDE4 inhibitiors, we found that constitutive signaling of the overexpressed HA-tagged 5-HT4(b) receptor in HEK293 cells is regulated predominantly by PDE4, with a secondary role for PDE3 that is unmasked in the presence of PDE4 inhibition. Overexpressed PDE4D3 and PDE3A1, and to a smaller extent PDE4D5 co-immunoprecipitate constitutively with the 5-HT4(b) receptor. PDE activity measurements in immunoprecipitates of the 5-HT4(b) receptor confirm the association of PDE4D3 with the receptor and provide evidence that the activity of this PDE may be increased upon receptor stimulation with 5-HT. A possible involvement of AKAPs in 5-HT4(b) receptor signaling was uncovered in experiments using the St-Ht31 inhibitor peptide, which disrupts the interaction of AKAPs with PKA. However, St-Ht31 did not influence 5-HT4(b) receptor-stimulated PKA activity, and endogenous AKAP79 and gravin were not found in immunoprecipitates of the 5-HT4(b) receptor. In conclusion, we found that both PDE3A1 and PDE4D3 are integrated into complexes that contain the 5-HT4(b) receptor and may thereby regulate 5-HT4(b) receptor-mediated signaling.

The role of cyclic AMP and its effect on protein kinase A in the mitogenic action of thyrotropin on the thyroid cell.

Cyclic AMP has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation in many cell types and to activate it in some. The latter has been recognized only lately, thanks in large part to studies on the regulation of thyroid cell proliferation in dog thyroid cells. The steps that led to this conclusion are outlined. Thyrotropin activates cyclic accumulation in thyroid cells of all the studied species and also phospholipase C in human cells. It activates directly cell proliferation in rat cell lines, dog, and human thyroid cells but not in bovine or pig cells. The action of cyclic AMP is responsible for the proliferative effect of TSH. It accounts for several human diseases: congenital hyperthyroidism, autonomous adenomas, and Graves' disease; and, by default, for hypothyroidism by TSH receptor defect. Cyclic AMP proliferative action requires the activation of protein kinase A, but this effect is not sufficient to explain it. Cyclic AMP action also requires the permissive effect of IGF-1 or insulin through their receptors, mostly as a consequence of PI3 kinase activation. The mechanism of these effects at the level of cyclin and cyclin-dependent protein kinases involves an induction of cyclin D3 by IGF-1 and the cyclic AMP-elicited generation and activation of the cyclin D3-CDK4 complex.

The metastasis suppressor gene KiSS-1 encodes kisspeptins, the natural ligands of the orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR54.

Natural peptides displaying agonist activity on the orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR54 were isolated from human placenta. These 54-, 14,- and 13-amino acid peptides, with a common RF-amide C terminus, derive from the product of KiSS-1, a metastasis suppressor gene for melanoma cells, and were therefore designated kisspeptins. They bound with low nanomolar affinities to rat and human GPR54 expressed in Chinese hamster ovary K1 cells and stimulated PIP(2) hydrolysis, Ca(2+) mobilization, arachidonic acid release, ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation, and stress fiber formation but inhibited cell proliferation. Human GPR54 was highly expressed in placenta, pituitary, pancreas, and spinal cord, suggesting a role in the regulation of endocrine function. Stimulation of oxytocin secretion after kisspeptin administration to rats confirmed this hypothesis.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase B and ribosomal S6 kinases in the stimulation of thyroid epithelial cell proliferation by cAMP and growth factors in the presence of insulin.

The proliferation of most normal cells depends on the co-operation of several growth factors and hormones, each with a specific role, but the key events involved in the action of each necessary stimulant remain largely uncharacterized. In the present study, the pathways involved in the mechanism(s) of co-operation have been investigated in primary cultures of dog thyroid epithelial cells. In this physiologically relevant system, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) acting through cAMP, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and phorbol esters (such as PMA) induce DNA synthesis. Their effect requires stimulation of the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor by either IGF-1 or insulin, which are not themselves mitogenic agents. In contrast, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is itself fully mitogenic. The results of the study demonstrate that cAMP, EGF, HGF and PMA stimulate p70 ribosomal S6 kinase (p70 S6 kinase). However, insulin/IGF-1 also stimulate p70 S6 kinase. Thus stimulation of p70 S6 kinase might be necessary, but is certainly not sufficient, for the induction of DNA synthesis and is not specific for any stimulated pathway. In contrast, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and protein kinase B (PKB) activation by insulin and HGF is strong and sustained, whereas it is weak and transient with EGF and absent in the presence of TSH or PMA. These findings suggest that: (i) stimulation of PI 3-kinases and/or PKB is not involved in the cAMP-dependent pathways leading to thyrocyte proliferation, or in the action of PMA, (ii) the stimulation of the PI 3-kinase/PKB pathway may account for the permissive action of insulin/IGF-1 in the proliferation of these cells, and (iii) the stimulation of this pathway by HGF may explain why this agent does not require insulin or IGF-1 for its mitogenic action.

Activation of the small G protein Rap1 in dog thyroid cells by both cAMP-dependent and -independent pathways.

Thyrotropin, through a cAMP-dependent pathway, stimulates function, differentiation, and proliferation of dog and human thyroid cells. Our previous findings suggested that, in addition to PKA activation, another cAMP-dependent mechanism is involved in TSH action. In this work, we assess whether the newly identified cAMP-Epac-Rap1 cascade is involved in TSH-cAMP-mediated effects in dog thyroid cells. We first demonstrate that TSH and forskolin strongly activate Rap1 in a PKA-independent manner. However, activation of Rap1 is not specific for TSH or cAMP. Indeed, carbachol, TPA, insulin, or EGF, which activate different cAMP-independent cascades, all independently activate Rap1. Rap1 is therefore a common step in all these cascades which exert various effects on proliferation, differentiation, and function of thyroid cells. Moreover, the microinjection of the Rap1 protein alone or in combination with the catalytic C subunit of PKA fails to induce proliferation or expression of thyroglobulin.