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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 30, 27662-27669, July 29, 2005
µ and
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| ABSTRACT |
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opioids activate the ERK/MAPK phosphorylation cascade that represents an integral part of the signaling pathway of growth factors in astrocytes. By this cross-talk, opioids may impact neural development and plasticity among other basic neurobiological processes in vivo. The µ agonist, [D-ala2,mephe4,glyol5]enkephalin (DAMGO), induces a transient stimulation of ERK phosphorylation, whereas
agonist, U69,593, engenders sustained ERK activation. Here we demonstrate that acute U69,593 and DAMGO stimulate ERK phosphorylation by utilization of different secondary messengers and protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms upstream of the growth factor pathway. Immortalized astrocytes transfected with either antisense calmodulin (CaM), a mutant µ opioid receptor that binds CaM poorly or a dominant negative mutant of PKC
were used as a model system to study µ signaling. Evidence was gained to implicate CaM and PKC
in DAMGO stimulation of ERK. DAMGO activation of PKC
and/or ERK was insensitive to selective inhibitors of Ca2+ mobilization, but it was blocked upon phospholipase C inhibition. These results suggest a novel mechanism wherein, upon DAMGO binding, CaM is released from the µ receptor and activates phospholipase C. Subsequently, phospholipase C generates diacylglycerides that activate PKC
. In contrast, U69,593 appears to act via phosphoinositide 3-kinase, PKC
, and Ca2+ mobilization. These signaling components were implicated based on studies with specific inhibitors and a dominant negative mutant of PKC
. Collectively, our findings on acute opioid effects suggest that differences in their mechanism of signaling may contribute to the distinct outcomes on ERK modulation induced by chronic µ and
opioids. | INTRODUCTION |
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opioids stimulate the MAPK1 phosphorylation cascade via growth factor receptor transactivation, their effect on the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) varies in duration in immortalized astrocytes (1). The µ agonist, [D-ala2,mephe4,gly-ol5]enkephalin (DAMGO), induces a transient activation of ERK that dissipates within 30 min, whereas that of the
ligand U69,593 persists for several hours. In addition, chronic µ opioids inhibit growth factor-induced ERK activation, whereas chronic U69,593 does not. Examples of differential signaling mechanisms by subtypes of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are replete in the literature and are consistent with their possession of distinct functions (e.g. see Refs. 2 and 3). In studies of another astrocytic model system, rat C6 glioma cells, these differences in chronic µ and
opioid regulation of ERK activity correlated well with their actions on mitogenesis, consistent with other evidence indicating that the ERK member of the MAPK family is implicated in cell proliferation (4).
The mechanisms that occur in the GPCR branch of the heterologous pathway by which µ and
opioids signal to ERK/MAPK have not been studied in detail in comparison with the better understood steps downstream in the growth factor phase. Since opioid signaling to ERK may underlie basic mechanisms related to neuroplasticity as well as to cell proliferation, the early phase of this signaling pathway was investigated. PKC is an integral component of most GPCR signaling pathways to ERK/MAPK (5). Accordingly, PKC was found to be an early signaling component in the opioid pathway to ERK (68). Nevertheless, little is known about the actual isoforms involved in this pathway.
GPCR-mediated ERK activation via EGF receptor transactivation (9) is one of a number of cell- and GPCR-specific variations of this type of cross-talk that were detected (5, 10). In earlier studies, PKC was found to play a role in directly activating Raf-1 and thereby circumventing involvement of the receptor tyrosine kinases (11). Recently, PKC was also implicated in the activation of the MMP/ADAMs that are responsible for the release of extracellular membrane-bound EGF-like ligands, which trigger EGF receptor transactivation (12).
Although the phosphoinositide kinases (PI3Ks) are found in many growth factor signaling pathways, the
isoform can also mediate GPCR signaling to ERK upstream of the growth factor pathway in some cells (1315). The G
subunit of heterotrimeric GTP binding proteins activates PI3K
, which then acts on the 3'-OH position of phosphatidyl myo-inositol lipids to release different phosphorylated lipid products as secondary messengers. The initial evidence for its implication in the GPCR phase of the ERK signaling pathway arose from PI3K enzyme activity and co-immunoprecipitation studies in cultured Swiss 3T3 cells and human myeloid-derived cells (16, 17). Subsequently, selective PI3K inhibitors (LY294002 and wortmannin) have been used to implicate this signaling component. Opioid stimulation of ERK is wortmannin-sensitive in COS-7 but not in C6 glioma cells, wherein MOR is overexpressed (18).
In prior investigations with HEK293 cells, we obtained evidence to suggest that the µ opioid pathway leading to EGF receptor and ERK activation featured the Ca2+-binding protein, CaM, as a secondary messenger and PKC as an intermediate (7). This work was prompted by the discovery of the ability of CaM to bind to GPCRs such as MOR, dopamine, vasopressin, and the metabotropic glutamate receptor (1923). In the case of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes 5 and 7, interaction with CaM was Ca2+-dependent, but MOR binding to CaM was shown to be at least partially Ca2+-independent (20). Direct evidence that CaM binding to MOR initiates signaling to ERK was obtained by using cells stably transfected with wild type human MOR or with a mutant MOR (K273A) that was shown to bind CaM poorly and coupled more efficiently to G protein in the original studies by Sadee and co-workers (7, 20). Here the roles of PKC isoforms, PLC, PI3K, and CaM in µ and
opioid activation of ERK were assessed in astrocytes.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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Cell CulturesRat cortical astrocytes (CTX TNA2, ATCC) were established from cultures of primary type 1 astrocytes from 1-day-old rat brain frontal cortex. The cultures were originally transfected with a DNA construct containing the oncogenic early region of SV40 under the transcriptional control of the human glial acidic fibrillary protein promoter (24). The astrocytes have the phenotypic characteristics of type 1. The cell line was maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium plus 10% fetal bovine serum at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere of 95% air, 5% CO2 for up to 2035 passages. For all experiments in which endogenous MOR or KOR were activated, early passage (passages 310) cells were grown in 6-well plates at least overnight to adhere well to the plate surface. Later passage (passages 1035) cells were used for MOR/KOR transfection experiments. Optimal starvation of cultures was achieved in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium devoid of serum for 24 h. In all assays, agonists or inhibitors were delivered in serum-free media.
Transient and Stable TransfectionsCells were transiently transfected with pcDNA3 (for mock transfections), rat or human MOR, human K273A-MOR, rat KOR (in pcDNA3 or pCMV-neo expression vectors), or dnPKC
or dnPKC
. The aforementioned cDNAs of MORs, KOR, dnPKC
, and dnPKC
were kind gifts from Drs. W. Sadee, H. Akil, P. Blumberg, and S. Gutkind, respectively). Transfections were conducted using 12 µg of cDNA and 36 µl of FuGENE 6 following the manufacturer's instructions. After 2448 h of incubation, transfection medium was replaced with serum-free medium for an additional 24 h. The efficiency of transfection was determined to be 9 ± 1% (n = 6) by in situ identification of cells expressing
-galactosidase. Negative controls included untransfected and/or mock-transfected cells.
Since the ATCC immortalized rat cortical astrocytes under investigation are transfectants selected with G418, we used zeocin (400 µg/ml) as a selection marker to prepare rat wild type MOR and/or antisense CaM stable transfections. Six clones were generated with stably transfected wild type MOR, and their MOR binding and DAMGO activation of ERK were assessed. The stable transfectants show a direct correlation between DAMGO binding to MOR and the extent of DAMGO-induced ERK phosphorylation. Stably transfected MOR clones activate ERK to a greater extent and have higher MOR binding levels than cells with endogenous MOR. DAMGO activation of ERK assays was performed only with clones containing 100200 fmol/mg protein, a MOR concentration routinely found in rat forebrain. They gave on average 5-fold stimulation of ERK phosphorylation, whereas that of transiently transfected or untransfected cells was about 3-fold higher than basal levels in these studies.
Antisense CaM stable transfectants were also generated, and 11 clones displayed CaM levels ranging from 20 to 90% lower than control immortalized astrocytes as determined by Western blotting with a CaM Ab (Upstate). Immunoblotting was performed following the manufacturer's instructions.
Cell Membrane PreparationCells were harvested and homogenized by gentle disruption in a "cell cracker" as described (25). A membrane fraction (P20) was prepared from cell homogenates by sedimenting at 20,000 x g for 20 min. A mixture containing 10 µg/ml leupeptin, 2 µg/ml pepstatin A, 200 µg/ml bacitracin, and 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride was added to the 50 mM Tris buffer, pH 7.4, during the preparation of this membrane fraction. These P20 membrane preparations were used in MOR binding and phospho-PKC immunoblotting experiments.
MOR BindingP20 membranes (300500 µg/ml) were incubated with 15 nM3H-labeled DAMGO (35 Ci/mmol) at room temperature for 1 h. Nonspecific binding was determined in the presence of 110 µM DAMGO. Reactions were terminated by the addition of cold Tris buffer to the tubes followed by rapid filtration over GF/B filters in a Brandel cell harvester (Brandel Inc., Gaithersburg, MD). Filters were washed twice with cold 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, buffer and then counted. Total and specific binding were calculated in fmol of MOR/mg of protein for each MOR-transfected cell line.
PKC Isoform Translocation and ActivationMembrane and cytosolic fractions were isolated from rat astrocytes using the method of Krotova et al. (26) with some modifications. Briefly, cells treated with opioids or vehicle were washed several times with PBS and collected by scraping in the presence of 5 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.4, containing 5 mM EGTA, 2mM EDTA, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 50 µg/ml aprotinin, and 50 µg/ml leupeptin. Cell suspensions were sonicated and were spun at 1000 x g for 5 min, to remove unbroken cells, cell debris, and nuclear pellet and then centrifuged at 100,000 x g for 60 min at 4 °C. The supernatant was used as the cytosolic fraction, whereas the pellet was resuspended in the above Tris buffer and used as the membrane fraction. Levels of PKC
and PKC
were measured by immunoblotting with the corresponding Abs (27) in both cytosolic and membrane fractions from rat astrocytes. PKC
and PKC
activation was also measured in P20 membrane fractions from rat astrocytes by immunoblotting, applying phospho-PKC
(Ser729; Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and phospho-PKC
(Thr410/403; Cell Signaling Technology, Beverly, MA) Abs and following the manufacturers' instructions.
ERK AssayERK phosphorylation was measured by immunoblotting as described (7). Briefly, cells were treated first with different inhibitors and then with DAMGO or U69,593 as described in each figure legends. Cells were then washed with PBS and lysed with buffer containing 20 mM HEPES, 10 mM EGTA, 40 mM
-glycerophosphate, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 2 mM sodium vanadate, 1% Nonidet P-40, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 20 µg/ml aprotinin, and 20 µg/ml leupeptin. Cell lysates were centrifuged at 14,000 x g for 20 min at 4 °C, and protein concentration of the supernatants was determined. Samples (1020 µg of protein/lane) were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE. Proteins were blotted on Immobilon PTM polyvinylidene difluoride membranes (Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA). Nonspecific sites were blocked with 5% milk in Tris-buffered saline plus 0.2% Tween 20 (TBST). Blots were then washed three times with TBST and incubated with anti-phospho-ERK Ab, diluted 1:2000 in TBST for at least 15 h at 4 °C. After three washes with TBST, blots were incubated with 1:2000 diluted goat anti-mouse horseradish peroxidase-conjugated IgG (Sigma) for 1 h at room temperature. For assurance of equivalent total ERK protein per lane, representative blots were stripped (0.2 M glycine, pH 2.5, 60 min at room temperature) and exposed to ERK Ab, followed by goat anti-rabbit horseradish peroxidase-conjugated IgG. Bands were visualized using an ECL chemiluminescence detection system (Amersham Biosciences) and exposure to Classic Blue sensitive x-ray film (Molecular Technologies, St. Louis, MO). Band intensities were determined by densitometric analysis using a Kodak DC120 digital camera, Kodak ds 1D version 3.0.2 software (Scientific Imaging Systems, New Haven, CT), and NIH ImageJ, version 1.32j.
EGFR ImmunoprecipitationThe EGFR immunoprecipitation protocol followed a previously described procedure (7). Briefly, serum-starved cells were administered DAMGO or U69,593 (0.1 µM, 35 min). Cultures were lysed by using a modified radioimmune precipitation buffer containing 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 1% Nonidet P-40, 0.25% sodium deoxycholate, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 1 µg/ml leupeptin, 1 µg/ml aprotinin, 1 mM Na3VO4, 1 mM NaF. Cell lysates of 0.81.2 mg of protein (diluted to
1 µg/µl) were used. EGFR was immunoprecipitated by adding 510 µg of either a mouse monoclonal or sheep polyclonal anti-EGFR Ab (Upstate) to the lysates and incubating overnight at 4 °C. This step was followed by the addition of a 50-µl suspension of protein G plus A-Sepharose beads per sample and incubation for 34 h at 4 °C. The beads were washed three times with PBS, resuspended in SDS loading buffer, and boiled for 5 min before SDS-PAGE. Proteins were blotted on Immobilon PTM polyvinylidene difluoride membranes and tested with Tyr(P) Ab (Cell Signaling) and peroxidase-conjugated mouse secondary Ab. Bands were visualized using a chemiluminescence detection system as described above.
Protein Assay and Statistical AnalysisProtein concentrations were determined by the Bradford method (28) with bovine serum albumin (1 mg/ml) as a standard. Statistical determinations were made by t test analysis (version 2.01; GraphPad Software, Inc.). Data are expressed as the mean ± S.E.
| RESULTS |
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Opioid-induced ERK Phosphorylation Is Mediated by Different PKC IsoformsPreviously, both time and dose dependence plots for DAMGO and U69,593 were obtained for cortical type 1 immortalized astrocytes to optimize conditions for ERK activation by these opioids (Ref. 1 and data not shown). Selective µ (CTAP) and
(nor-binaltorphimine) opioids inhibited DAMGO and U69,593, respectively. Although PKC mediates the activation of ERK by all opioid receptor subtypes in a number of cell lines, including C6 glioma cells (4, 6, 7), initial experiments with the cortical astrocytes revealed that the general PKC inhibitor, GFX, blocked µ opioid-induced ERK phosphorylation but not that by
(Fig. 1A). To determine whether the opioids under investigation here use different PKC isoforms in this signaling pathway than those in previously studied cells, we assessed the effects of another PKC inhibitor, Gö6983, which complements the PKC isoform selectivity profile of GFX (Fig. 1, B and C). Gö6983 abolished U69,593-induced ERK phosphorylation without affecting that of three different µ opioid agonists, DAMGO, morphine, and endomorphin.
Of the
11 known isozymes of PKC, GFX inhibits all of the conventional isoforms (
,
1,
2,
) that are DAG- and Ca2+-dependent and several novel isoforms (
,
) that are DAG-dependent but do not require Ca2+ (29). Whereas Gö6983 is also selective for conventional PKC isoforms, it inhibits PKC
and the atypical PKC
that is insensitive to Ca2+ and DAG (29). On the basis of the isoform selectivity profiles of the two PKC inhibitors, we tested DAMGO for its ability to activate PKC
. Both PKC
membrane translocation (Fig. 2A) and phosphorylation assays (Fig. 2B) showed that the µ opioid activated this PKC. Time course studies on DAMGO-induced PKC
phosphorylation suggested that it peaks at 3 min, and by 5 min it is reduced to basal levels (data not shown). Transfection of astrocytes with a dominant negative mutant of PKC
attenuated DAMGO-induced phosphorylation of both PKC
(Fig. 2B) and ERK (Fig. 2C). Alternately, U69,593 signaling to ERK was not affected by the expression of dnPKC
in astrocytes (11 ± 1.4 in control cells versus 12 ± 1.5 in dnPKC
-expressing cells, n = 4). The data implicate PKC
in µ opioid signaling to ERK.
µ Opioid-induced PKC
and ERK Phosphorylation Is Mediated by PLC but Not PI3KThere are reports that PKC
can be activated by either DAG, which is normally generated by PLC hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositide (30), or by PI3K (29). To address this question, the phorbol ester PMA, which mimics DAG by binding at its activation site on some PKCs, was tested and found to stimulate PKC
phosphorylation to about the same extent as DAMGO (Fig. 3A). This issue was further examined by subjecting astrocytes to chronic PMA, which down-regulates PKCs that contain a DAG binding site. Accordingly, overnight treatment of astrocytes with PMA abolished DAMGO- but not U69,593-induced ERK phosphorylation (Fig. 3B). Evidence that PLC generates the DAG in question was obtained by demonstrating that a specific inhibitor of this enzyme, U73112
[GenBank]
, attenuated DAMGO-induced phosphorylation of both PKC
(Fig. 3A) and ERK (Fig. 3C). Moreover, selective inhibitors of PI3K, wortmannin and LY294002, had no effect on µ opioid-induced ERK phosphorylation (Fig. 3C).
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should be Ca2+-independent. Accordingly, we measured the intermediacy of Ca2+ mobilization and discovered that µ activation of ERK was not blocked by nifedipine, an L-type Ca2+ channel inhibitor, or by dantrolene, an inhibitor of microsomal Ca2+ release (Fig. 3D).
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(31). In prior studies using HEK293 cells, we discovered that the µ opioid pathway leading to growth factor transactivation featured CaM as a second messenger and PKC as an intermediate (7). Thus, we took three different approaches to implicate CaM in astrocytes. CaM antagonists, N-(6-aminohexyl)5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide and fluphenazine, were shown to attenuate DAMGO stimulation of ERK phosphorylation (data not shown). However, these antagonists are not completely selective. A second approach entailed the use of astrocytes stably transfected with CaM antisense cDNA. For the antisense experiments shown here a clone was adopted that displayed 55% less CaM than basal levels (n = 3; see inset in Fig. 4A). Astrocytes transfected with CaM antisense and transiently transfected with MOR were treated with DAMGO or, in some cases, morphine and were found to be incapable of stimulating ERK activity (Fig. 4A). However, CaM antisense clones transiently transfected with KOR retained their ability to mediate
opioid activation of ERK (Fig. 4B). Astrocytes of similar passage number were also transiently transfected with MOR or KOR and used as controls in these experiments.
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activation (Fig. 4A) and of EGFR transactivation (Fig. 4C). Finally, astrocytes, transfected with wild type MOR or with the mutant MOR (K273A) that binds CaM poorly, gave results similar to those with HEK293 cells (7). Namely, µ opioid activation of ERK is attenuated in astrocytes expressing mutant MOR (K273A) by about 40% when compared with wild type MOR (Fig. 4D). In light of our transfection efficiency of 9 ± 1% and basal phospho-ERK levels, this inhibition is appreciable.
Opioid-induced ERK Phosphorylation Is Mediated by PKC
and PI3KOn the basis of the selectivity profiles of the PKC inhibitors used in Fig. 1, the PKC
isoform may mediate
opioid signaling to ERK. Accordingly, U69,593 was found to induce PKC
phosphorylation (Fig. 5A). PKC
was detected in astrocytes by immunoblotting, but U69,593 did not induce its translocation (data not shown), consistent with other findings on its activation (30). Interestingly, U69,593 stimulation of PKC
activity continued for at least 60 min (7.6 ± 2.9-fold over control, p < 0.05, n = 4), suggesting that there is a sustained activation of this PKC isoform parallel with that of ERK. Moreover, the transfection of dnPKC
into astrocytes resulted in the attenuation of chronic (2 h) U69,593 stimulation of ERK phosphorylation (data not shown).
Acute U69,593 activation of ERK was attenuated by a dnPKC
but not by wild type PKC
transfected into astrocytes (Fig. 5B). In contrast, DAMGO stimulation of ERK proved to be insensitive to this mutant, since the stimulation observed in its presence did not differ from that in the absence of dnPKC
(data not shown). Since PKC
is an atypical isoform, it should be PMA-insensitive. This is consistent with the data seen in Fig. 3B, wherein chronic PMA inhibits DAMGO but not U69,593 activation of ERK.
PKC
has been identified as a downstream target of PI3K and its activation can result in ERK phosphorylation (36, 37). Consistent with this possibility, the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, attenuated U69,593-induced PKC
phosphorylation (Fig. 5A). Accordingly, LY294002 also inhibited U69,593-induced ERK phosphorylation (Fig. 5C).
Nifedipine, a selective inhibitor of L-type Ca2+ channel influx, and dantrolene, a blocker of release of intracellular Ca2+ stores, attenuated U69,593-induced ERK activation (Fig. 5D). Since PKC
activation is not Ca2+-dependent, these results suggest that the location of the Ca2+ mobilization step in this pathway is downstream of PKC
. There is ample precedence in the literature for this signaling sequence (see "Discussion").
PKC, PI3K, and PLC have also been implicated in growth factor signaling to ERK in some cells, raising the question of the location of these three signaling components in this heterologous pathway. To examine this issue further, exogenous EGF stimulation of ERK phosphorylation was assayed and found to be unaffected in astrocytes pretreated with 0.1 µM Gö6983, 0.1 µM GFX, 10 µM U73122
[GenBank]
, 1 µM wortmannin, or 10 µM LY294002 for 30 min before 5-min treatment with 10 or 100 ng/ml EGF. EGF induced phospho-ERK levels >10-fold higher than basal levels (p < 0.01, n = 34 experiments). Taken together with the data shown in Figs. 3A, 4C, and 5A, the results suggest that µ opioid-induced PKC
phosphorylation via CaM and PLC and
opioid activation of PKC
via PI3K occur in the GPCR branch of the pathway of the asrocytes.
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| DISCUSSION |
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opioid agonist, U69,593 in the GPCR phase of the signaling pathway in immortalized rat cortical type 1 astrocytes. In fact, KOR signaling often served as a negative control for MOR signaling in this investigation and vice versa. The results on µ opioid signaling support a novel mechanism, in which upon binding to MOR, DAMGO induces the release of CaM from this receptor. CaM may then activate PLC, generating DAG that binds to PKC
, leading to its phosphorylation. PKC
can then signal to an ADAM/MMP, which, on the basis of previous studies, can cleave membrane-anchored EGF-type ligands, thereby initiating EGF receptor transactivation and ultimately activation of the MAPK phosphorylation cascade (1, 7, 9). Interlocking evidence supports this sequence. In addition to DAMGO-induced time-dependent translocation of PKC
from the cytosol to membranes, PKC
phosphorylation at Ser729 in the C-terminal hydrophobic motif was demonstrated to be induced by both DAMGO and PMA, establishing activation of this PKC isoform (38). Since this phosphorylation is blocked by the PLC inhibitor U73122
[GenBank]
, PLC should be upstream of PKC
in the pathway. Based on the acute and chronic PMA modulation of PKC
and ERK activities observed here, a DAG may activate this PKC isoform and may be derived from PLC action. Since DAMGO-induced ERK phosphorylation is abolished by a dnPKC
, this isoform is required for activation of ERK. The antisense CAM and K273A MOR mutant data are consistent with earlier findings of MOR signaling to ERK in HEK293 cells that support the secondary messenger role of CaM (7). Finally, there is evidence to show that PLC
isoforms are activated by CaM and are regulated by chronic opioids such as morphine (31, 39).
In contrast to the µ opioid signaling pathway to ERK, our working hypothesis is that U69,593-induced ERK activation entails G
transduction of PI3K
. PI3K
can then generate phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate that activates PKC
, which in turn mobilizes Ca2+. Implication of PI3K
is based on the sensitivity of the pathway to the selective inhibitor, LY294002, and the fact that it is the primary activator of PKC
(40). This mechanism is consistent with data indicating that opioid receptor-mediated ERK activation is mediated by PI3K in certain cells (2, 18, 41). Moreover, a PI3K pathway to ERK mediated by MOR and the nociceptin orphan opioid receptor proved insensitive to GFX and chronic PMA (which depletes PKC levels) in Chinese hamster ovary cells (2). The involvement of PKC
is also based on the ability of U69,593 to phosphorylate this isoform at Thr410 in the activation loop of this isoform (42). In addition, U69,593 activation of ERK is attenuated by the dnPKC
. Finally, studies that show that the inhibitors of PKC, PLC, and PI3K used in the studies on acute µ and
opioid activation of ERK failed to block EGF stimulation of ERK phosphorylation support the theory that the mechanisms delineated occur in the GPCR phase of this heterologous signaling pathway. The Ca2+ dependence of the
pathway in immortalized astrocytes differs from µ opioid signaling to ERK, which uses the novel, Ca2+-independent PKC
isoform in this cell line. This
pathway also varies from µ and
opioid-induced ERK activation in rat C6 glioma cells, wherein conventional PKC isoforms appear to be signaling components on the basis of the inhibition of opioid-induced phosphatidylinositide turnover and/or ERK activation by GFX, chronic phorbol esters, and antagonists of intracellular and extracellular Ca2+ mobilization via microsomal stores and L-type Ca2+ channels, respectively (8, 18). All PKCs have been reported to be abundantly expressed in the transformed C6 cell line but not in primary glial cultures, which only express specific isoforms. Since PKC
is Ca2+-independent, we believe that the mobilization of this ion, which is required in the
opioid-signaling in immortalized astrocytes, is downstream of this atypical isoform. Moreover, it has been shown that PKC
can activate Ca2+ channels (43, 44). Since our previous studies have also implicated ADAM/MMP and EGFR transactivation in the KOR-mediated pathway, it is possible that the ADAM/MMP isoform involved is Ca2+-dependent. ADAM-10, which mediates GPCR-induced EGFR transactivation, has been shown to be Ca2+-dependent in fibroblasts (45, 46). Of course, the cell type-based diversity of signaling pathways restricts the import of such precedence. Accordingly, there may be other roles for Ca2+ in these cells. As seen in neuronal model systems that appear to differ considerably from astrocytes in their GPCR-ERK heterologous signaling, the Ca2+-dependent focal adhesion kinase, Pyk2, is an integral signaling component downstream of PKC in the GPCR pathway (8, 47, 48). In addition, high extracellular Ca2+ concentrations are required for persistent PKC
activation in human platelets (49). This raises the question of whether sustained ERK activation induced by chronic U69,593 may be due to the high Ca2+ levels that maintain the persistent PKC
signaling.
Thus, profound differences in acute µ and
opioid signaling to ERK in the GPCR phase of the pathway include involvement of different PKC isoforms. It appears that various PKC isoforms may possess specific roles. For example, PKC
has been implicated in growth and tissue remodeling, whereas there is evidence to suggest a role for PKC
in proliferation via ERK (40, 5055). Finally, PKC
has been implicated in cell differentiation and can play a role in inhibitory actions in this process (29, 56, 57).
Do these acute µ and
opioid signaling variations impact on the divergent chronic actions of these two subtypes? Certainly, PKC isoforms have been implicated in opioid receptor desensitization as well as repression induced by chronic morphine (39, 58, 59). The chronic
opioid pathway features sustained, PKC
-dependent ERK activation in immortalized astrocytes but more transient activation in COS-7 and C6 cells in which different PKC isoforms could well be involved as suggested by inhibitor studies (1, 8, 60). In contrast, acute µ opioid signaling to ERK is transient, and chronic µ opioid agonists have no effect but cause a 3040% inhibition of mitogen-activated ERK in COS-7, C6 cells, and immortalized rat astrocytes (1, 4, 60, 61). The duration of MAPK activation is an essential factor for its role in gene regulation (62). Thus, it is important to determine whether PKC isoforms may be responsible for the transient actions of µ and the sustained activation of ERK by chronic
opioids.
| FOOTNOTES |
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To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63104. Tel.: 314-977-9254; Fax: 314-977-9205; E-mail: cosciacc{at}slu.edu.
1 The abbreviations used are: MAPK, mitogen activated protein kinase; Ab, antibody; ADAM, a disintegrin and metalloprotease; CaM, calmodulin; DAG, diacylglycerol; DAMGO, [D -ala2,mephe4,glyol5]enkephalin; dnPKC, dominant negative PKC; EGF, epidermal growth factor; EGFR, EGF receptor; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; GPCR, G protein-coupled receptor; KOR,
opioid receptor; MMP, matrix metalloprotease; MOR, µ opioid receptor; PI3K, phosphoinositide-3 kinase; PLC, phospholipase C; PKC, protein kinase C; PMA, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. ![]()
2 M. M. Belcheva, A. L. Clark, P. D. Haas, J. S. Serna, J. W. Hahn, A. Kiss, and C. J. Coscia, unpublished observations. ![]()
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R. Rozenfeld and L. A. Devi Receptor heterodimerization leads to a switch in signaling: {beta}-arrestin2-mediated ERK activation by {micro}-{delta} opioid receptor heterodimers FASEB J, August 1, 2007; 21(10): 2455 - 2465. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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M. Xu, M. R. Bruchas, D. L. Ippolito, L. Gendron, and C. Chavkin Sciatic Nerve Ligation-Induced Proliferation of Spinal Cord Astrocytes Is Mediated by {kappa} Opioid Activation of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase J. Neurosci., March 7, 2007; 27(10): 2570 - 2581. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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E. Kim, A. L. Clark, A. Kiss, J. W. Hahn, R. Wesselschmidt, C. J. Coscia, and M. M. Belcheva {micro}- and {kappa}-Opioids Induce the Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells to Neural Progenitors J. Biol. Chem., November 3, 2006; 281(44): 33749 - 33760. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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J. R. Parkitna, I. Obara, A. Wawrzczak-Bargiela, W. Makuch, B. Przewlocka, and R. Przewlocki Effects of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3beta and Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 Inhibitors on Morphine-Induced Analgesia and Tolerance in Rats J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., November 1, 2006; 319(2): 832 - 839. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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M. R. Bruchas, T. A. Macey, J. D. Lowe, and C. Chavkin Kappa Opioid Receptor Activation of p38 MAPK Is GRK3- and Arrestin-dependent in Neurons and Astrocytes J. Biol. Chem., June 30, 2006; 281(26): 18081 - 18089. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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