Agonist ligand discrimination by the two orexin receptors depends on the expression system.

Despite the recent successes in producing orexin receptor subtype-selective antagonists, these are not commonly available, and therefore, agonist ligands are regularly used to ascribe cell and tissue responses to OX(1) or OX(2) receptors. In the current study, we have compared the native "subtype-selective" agonist, orexin-B, and its reputedly enhanced synthetic variant, Ala(11), d-Leu(15)-orexin-B, in two different recombinant cell lines. Ca2+ elevation was used as readout, and the two "selective" ligands were compared to the subtype-non-selective orexin-A, as is customary with these ligands. In transiently transfected HEK-293 cells, orexin-B showed 9-fold selectivity for the OX(2) receptor and Ala(11), d-Leu(15)-orexin-B 23-fold selectivity, when the potency ratios of ligands were compared between OX(1) and OX(2). In stable CHO-K1 cells, the corresponding values were only 2.6- and 14-fold, respectively. In addition to being low, the selectivity of the ligands was also variable, as indicated by the comparison of the two cell lines. For instance, the relative potency of Ala(11), d-Leu(15)-orexin-B at OX(2) in CHO cells was only 2.3-fold higher than its relative potency at OX(1) in HEK-293 cells; this indicates that Ala(11), d-Leu(15)-orexin-B does not show high enough selectivity for OX(2) to be useful for determination of receptor subtype expression. Comparison of the potencies of orexin-A and -B with respect to a number of published responses in OX(1)-expressing CHO cells, demonstrates that these show great variation: i.e., orexin-A is 1.6-18-fold more potent than orexin-B, depending on the response assessed. These data together suggest that orexin receptor ligands show signal trafficking, which makes agonist-based pharmacology unreliable.

Arachidonic acid release mediated by OX1 orexin receptors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We have previously shown that lipid mediators, produced by phospholipase D and C, are generated in OX(1) orexin receptor signalling with high potency, and presumably mediate some of the physiological responses to orexin. In this study, we investigated whether the ubiquitous phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) signalling system is also involved in orexin receptor signalling. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Recombinant Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells, expressing human OX(1) receptors, were used as a model system. Arachidonic acid (AA) release was measured from (3)H-AA-labelled cells. Ca(2+) signalling was assessed using single-cell imaging. KEY RESULTS: Orexins strongly stimulated [(3)H]-AA release (maximally 4.4-fold). Orexin-A was somewhat more potent than orexin-B (pEC(50) = 8.90 and 8.38 respectively). The concentration-response curves appeared biphasic. The release was fully inhibited by the potent cPLA(2) and iPLA(2) inhibitor, methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate, whereas the iPLA(2) inhibitors, R- and S-bromoenol lactone, caused only a partial inhibition. The response was also fully dependent on Ca(2+) influx, and the inhibitor studies suggested involvement of the receptor-operated influx pathway. The receptor-operated pathway, on the other hand, was partially dependent on PLA(2) activity. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase, but not protein kinase C, were involved in the PLA(2) activation at low orexin concentrations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Activation of OX(1) orexin receptors induced a strong, high-potency AA release, possibly via multiple PLA(2) species, and this response may be important for the receptor-operated Ca(2+) influx. The response coincided with other high-potency lipid messenger responses, and may interact with these signals.

IP3-independent signalling of OX1 orexin/hypocretin receptors to Ca2+ influx and ERK.

OX1 orexin receptors (OX1R) have been shown to activate receptor-operated Ca2+ influx pathways as their primary signalling pathway; however, investigations are hampered by the fact that orexin receptors also couple to phospholipase C, and therewith inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-dependent Ca2+ release. We have here devised a method to block the latter signalling in order to focus on the mechanism of Ca2+ influx activation by OX1R in recombinant systems. Transient expression of the IP3-metabolising enzymes IP3-3-kinase-A (inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate-->inositol-1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate) and type I IP3-5-phosphatase (inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate-->inositol-1,4-bisphosphate) almost completely attenuated the OX1R-stimulated IP3 elevation and Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Upon attenuation of the IP3-dependent signalling, the receptor-operated Ca2+ influx pathway became the only source for Ca2+ elevation, enabling mechanistic studies on the receptor-channel coupling. Attenuation of the IP3 elevation did not affect the OX1R-mediated ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) activation in CHO cells, which supports our previous finding of the major importance of receptor-operated Ca2+ influx for this response.

OX1 orexin receptors activate extracellular signal-regulated kinase in Chinese hamster ovary cells via multiple mechanisms: the role of Ca2+ influx in OX1 receptor signaling.

Activation of OX1 orexin receptors heterologously expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells led to a rapid, strong, and long-lasting increase in ERK phosphorylation (activation). Dissection of the signal pathways to ERK using multiple inhibitors and dominant-negative constructs indicated involvement of Ras, protein kinase C, phosphoinositide-3-kinase, and Src. Most interestingly, Ca2+ influx appeared central for the ERK response in CHO cells, and the same was indicated in recombinant neuro-2a cells and cultured rat striatal neurons. Detailed investigations in CHO cells showed that inhibition of the receptor- and store-operated Ca2+ influx pathways could fully attenuate the response, whereas inhibition of the store-operated Ca2+ influx pathway alone or the Ca2+ release was ineffective. If the receptor-operated pathway was blocked, an exogenously activated store-operated pathway could take its place and restore the coupling of OX1 receptors to ERK. Further experiments suggested that Ca2+ influx, as such, may not be required for ERK phosphorylation, but that Ca2+, elevated via influx, acts as a switch enabling OX1 receptors to couple to cascades leading to ERK phosphorylation, cAMP elevation, and phospholipase C activation. In conclusion, the data suggest that the primary coupling of orexin receptors to Ca2+ influx allows them to couple to other signal pathways; in the absence of coupling to Ca2+ influx, orexin receptors can act as signal integrators by taking advantage of other Ca2+ influx pathways.