Showing papers by "Michel Bouvier published in 1996"

Cardiac adrenergic receptor effects of carvedilol

Abstract: Carvedilol is an adrenoceptor antagonist which modulates the activity not only of beta 1 and beta 2 but also of alpha 1 adrenergic receptors present on the cell surface membrane of the human cardiac myocyte. In the heart, carvedilol has approximately 7 times higher potency for beta 1 and beta 2 adrenoceptors, but in the doses 50-100 mg . day-1 used in clinical practice, it is essentially non-selective. In human myocardial preparations and in cultured heart cells, carvedilol has no intrinsic sympathomimetic activity but is able to identify high affinity agonist-binding receptors whose pharmacological signature is reduction in binding by incubation with guanine nucleotides (guanine nucleotide-modulatable binding). This property is more prominent for the human beta 2 than for the beta 1 adrenoceptor. The property of gaunine nucleotide-modulatable binding for carvedilol and structurally related bucindolol correlates with their ability to directly down-regulate beta 1-like receptors present in cultured chick myocytes, and with a lack of reversal of down-regulation of cardiac beta-receptors in patients with heart failure. Carvedilol does not exhibit high levels of inverse agonist activity, which may contribute to its good tolerability in subjects with heart failure. These data indicate that carvedilol produces a high degree of adrenergic receptor blockade in the failing human heart, and does not re-sensitize the beta-receptor pathway to stimulation by adrenergic agonists.

Agonist-induced modulation of inverse agonist efficacy at the beta 2-adrenergic receptor.

Abstract: Sustained stimulation of several G protein-coupled receptors is known to lead to a reduction in the signaling efficacy. This phenomenon, named agonist-induced desensitization, has been best studied for the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (AR) and is characterized by a decreased efficacy of beta-adrenergic agonists to stimulate the adenylyl cyclase activity. Recently, several beta-adrenergic ligands were found to inhibit the spontaneous agonist-independent activity of the beta 2AR. These compounds, termed inverse agonists, have different inhibitory efficacies, ranging from almost neutral antagonists to full inverse agonists. The current study was undertaken to determine whether, as is the case for agonists, desensitization can affect the efficacies of inverse agonists. Agonist-promoted desensitization of the human beta 2AR expressed in Sf9 cells potentiated the inhibitory actions of the inverse agonists, with the extent of the potentiation being inversely proportional to their intrinsic activity. For example, desensitization increased the inhibitory action of the weak inverse agonist labetalol by 29%, whereas inhibition of the spontaneous activity by the strong inverse agonist timolol was not enhanced by the desensitizing stimuli. Interestingly, dichloroisoproterenol acted stochastically as either a weak partial agonist or a weak inverse agonist in control conditions but always behaved as an inverse agonist after desensitization. These data demonstrate that like for agonists, the efficacies of inverse agonists can be modulated by a desensitizing treatment. Also, the data show that the initial state of the receptor can determine whether a ligand behaves as a partial agonist or an inverse agonist.

Agonist stimulation increases the turnover rate of beta 2AR-bound palmitate and promotes receptor depalmitoylation.

Abstract: We have characterized the dynamic nature of beta 2-adrenergic receptor palmitoylation in Sf9 cells. Under basal conditions, the turnover of receptor-bound palmitate is rapid (half-life = 9.8 +/- 1.8 min) compared to the turnover rate of the receptor protein itself (half-life = 109 +/- 10 min). This suggests that an equilibrium between the palmitoylated and nonpalmitoylated forms of the receptor exists at resting state. Stimulation of the receptor by the agonist isoproterenol reduces the half-life of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor-bound palmitate by 1.8 fold without affecting the turnover rate of the receptor itself. Upon sustained stimulation, this increased palmitate turnover rate shifted the equilibrium toward the nonpalmitoylated form of the receptor, suggesting that prolonged activation either increases the rate of depalmitoylation or prevents receptor palmitoylation. Consistent with the latter possibility, pretreatment of cells with agonist, prior to metabolic labeling, reduced the incorporation of [3H]palmitate into the beta 2-adrenergic receptor by more than 80%. This suggests a link between receptor desensitization occurring upon sustained agonist stimulation and the decrease in receptor palmitoylation. Supporting this hypothesis, mutation of PKA phosphorylation sites known to be involved in receptor desensitization abolished the agonist-promoted reduction in palmitate incorporation. We have previously reported that palmitoylation of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor is important in controlling receptor phosphorylation by PKA [Moffett, S., et al. (1993) EMBO J. 12, 349-356; Moffett, S., et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 21490-21497]. The present study now demonstrates that the receptor palmitoylation state is regulated by agonist stimulation and suggests the existence of concerted reciprocal regulatory interactions between palmitoylation and phosphorylation upon sustained receptor stimulation.

Palmitoylation: a post-translational modification that regulates signalling from G-protein coupled receptors

Abstract: Protein acylation is a post-translational modification that has seized much attention in the last few years. Depending on the nature of the fatty acid added, protein acylation can take the form of palmitoylation, myristoylation, or prenylation. Palmitoylation has been implicated in the modification of several different proteins and is particularly prevalent in G-protein coupled receptors and their cognate G-proteins, where it is thought to have an important regulatory function. Given that palmitoylation of these proteins is a dynamic phenomenon in which turnover rate is modulated by agonist activation, it is thought to be implicated in processes such as receptor phosphorylation and desensitization as well as in G-protein membrane translocation. A better understanding of the regulation of signal transduction mediated by G-protein coupled receptors will require the identification and characterization of those enzymes implicated in the palmitoylation and depalmitoylation process of this large class of receptors and their signalling allies.

Distinct receptor domains determine subtype-specific coupling and desensitization phenotypes for human beta1- and beta2-adrenergic receptors.

Abstract: Human beta1- and beta2-adrenergic receptor (beta1 AR and beta2 AR) coupling and desensitization characteristics were compared in defined heterologous expression systems. Significant differences in the coupling efficacies of the two subtypes were found in both Chinese hamster fibroblasts and murine Ltk- fibroblasts, which were used as surrogate cell lines. At the maximal level of stimulation with the nonselective beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol, beta1 AR-mediated adenylyl cyclase activation represented 70% and 20% of that mediated by beta2 AR in Chinese hamster and murine Ltk- fibroblasts, respectively. Sustained (15 min) stimulation with subsaturating concentration of isoproterenol ( 90% of receptor occupancy) was used to promote desensitization, the extent of desensitization observed for beta2 AR-expressing cells was 1.7-2-fold higher than that of the beta1 AR. The carboxyl domain of several G protein-coupled receptors has been shown to play important roles in both coupling efficacy and agonist-promoted desensitization. Therefore, we examined the contribution of this receptor domain in the subtype-selective phenotypes described above. A chimeric receptor composed of the first six transmembrane domains of the beta1 AR and of the seventh transmembrane domain and carboxyl tail of the beta2 AR maintained a coupling efficacy characteristic of the beta1 AR, whereas the extent of desensitization resulting from high receptor occupancy was identical to that of the beta2 AR. These results therefore suggest that the carboxyl portion of the beta1 AR and beta2 AR determines their subtype-selective desensitization patterns but not their respective coupling efficacies.

[19] Crosstalk between tyrosine kinase and G-protein-linked signal transduction systems

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter presents techniques that are useful in dissecting out tyrosine kinase-mediated effects on adenylylcyclase-linked G protein receptor systems (primarily β-adrenergic receptor systems). These effects in several cell lines demonstrate a common effect, that is, increased responsiveness/function associated with perturbations that increase tyrosine kinase activity. The chapter discusses the techniques utilized in studies wherein, either (1) tyrosine kinase has been stimulated physiologically by hormones that activate receptors linked to activation of the enzyme (insulin), (2) phosphatase inhibitors used to inhibit tyrosine dephosphorylation, or (3) the use of hydroxyl radical-generating systems. One of the major difficulties in directly studying G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) phosphorylation is the low amount of receptor that can be isolated from tissues or cell lines naturally expressing these receptors. One approach that has selected to circumvent this problem has been to use heterologous expression allowing various level of overexpression. In addition, these systems permit the study of selected receptor subtypes in a chosen genetic background.