scholarly journals The activity of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase from rat liver plasma membranes is modulated by the fluidity of its lipid environment

1978 ◽  
Vol 174 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Dipple ◽  
M D Houslay

1. The local anaesthetic benzyl alcohol progressively activated glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity up to a maximum at 50 mM-benzyl alcohol. Further increases in benzyl alcohol concentration inhibited the activity. The fluoride-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was similarly affected except for an inhibition of activity occurring at low benzyl alcohol concentrations (approx. 10 mM. 2. The fluoride-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity of a solubilized enzyme preparation was unaffected by any of the benzyl alcohol concentrations tested. 3. Increases in 3-phenylpropan-1-ol and 5-phenylpentan-1-ol concentrations progressively activated both the fluoride- and glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities up to a maximum, above which further increases in alcohol concentration inhibited the activities. 4. The ‘break’ points in Arrhenius plots of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in native plasma membranes, and in plasma membranes fused with synthetic dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine so as to constitute 60% of the total lipid pool, were decreased by approx. 6 degrees C by addition of 40 mM-benzyl alcohol. This was accompanied by a fall in the associated activation energies. 6. Arrhenius plots of fluoride-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in the presence and absence of 40 mM-benzyl alcohol were linear, although addition of benzyl alcohol caused a dramatic decrease in the associated activation energy of the reaction. 7. 5′-Nucleotidase activity was stimulated by benzyl alcohol, and the ‘break’ point in the Arrhenius plot of its activity was decreased by about 6 degrees C by addition of 40 mM-benzyl alcohol to the assay. 8. It is suggested that benzyl alcohol effects a fluidization of the bilayer, which is clearly demonstrated by its ability to lower the temperature of a lipid phase separation occurring at 28 degrees C in the outer half of the bilayer to around 22 degrees C. The increase in bilayer fluidity relieves a physical constraint on the membrane-bound adenylate cyclase, activating the enzyme. 9. The various inhibition phenomena are discussed in detail, together with the suggestion that the interaction between the uncoupled catalytic unit of adenylate cyclase and the lipids of the bilayer is altered on its physical coupling to the glucagon receptor.

1983 ◽  
Vol 210 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
A D Whetton ◽  
L M Gordon ◽  
M D Houslay

A method was devised which increases the cholesterol concentration of rat liver plasma membranes by exchange from cholesterol-rich liposomes at low temperature (4 degrees C). When the cholesterol concentration of liver plasma membranes is increased, there is an increase in lipid order as detected by a decrease in mobility of an incorporated fatty acid spin probe. This is accompanied by an inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity. The various ligand-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities exhibit different sensitivities to inhibition by cholesterol, with inhibition of glucagon-stimulated greater than fluoride-stimulated greater than basal activity. The bilayer-fluidizing agent benzyl alcohol is able to reverse the inhibitory effect of cholesterol on adenylate cyclase activity in full. The thermostability of fluoride-stimulated cyclase is increased in the cholesterol-rich membranes. Elevated cholesterol concentrations abolish the lipid-phase separation occurring at 28 degrees C in native membranes as detected by an incorporated fatty acid spin probe. This causes Arrhenius plots of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity to become linear, rather than exhibiting a break at 28 degrees C. It is suggested that the cholesterol contents of both halves of the bilayer are increased by the method used and that inhibition of adenylate cyclase ensues, owing to the increase in lipid order and promotion of protein-protein and specific cholesterol-phospholipid interactions.


1982 ◽  
Vol 206 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Needham ◽  
Miles D. Houslay

Benzyl alcohol achieved a marked activation of the adenylate cyclase activity in a partially purified membrane preparation from rat brain striata, although inhibition resulted at high concentrations. The degree of activation observed depended on the ligand used to stimulate the enzyme, with that observed in the presence of guanosine 5′-[β,γ-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG) (5.8-fold)>dopamine+p[NH]ppG (5-fold)> GTP (3-fold)>dopamine+high GTP (2.25-fold)>dopamine (+low GTP)=basal (+low GTP) (1.7-fold). The differences in the concentration-dependence of both the activation and inhibition of dopamine-stimulated and basal activities of the enzyme meant that increasing benzyl alcohol concentrations caused a net elevation in the fold-stimulation of the basal activity by dopamine. Arrhenius plots of p[NH]ppG-, GTP-, fluoride-, dopamine-plus-high GTP- and dopamine-plus-p[NH]ppG-stimulated activities all exhibited a single break occurring at around 22°C. This break point was decreased to around 13°C when 50mm-benzyl alcohol was added to the assays. In the presence of dopamine (+low GTP), Arrhenius plots exhibited two distinct breaks, one at around 21°C and the other at around 11°C. When benzyl alcohol (50mm) was added to these assays of dopamine (+low GTP)-stimulated activity, a single break at around 14°C was observed. For the basal activity the Arrhenius plot exhibited a single break at around 15°C both in the presence and in the absence of 50mm-benzyl alcohol. It is suggested that the enzyme is activated by productive collisions between independent mobile entities and that the activity of the enzyme may be regulated by changes in membrane fluidity. The breaks in the Arrhenius plots of all of the ligand-stimulated activities, but not the basal activity, are attributed to lipid-phase separations occurring in either the inner or the outer halves of the bilayer.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 1001-1008
Author(s):  
R. R. French ◽  
D. A. York

Arrhenius plots of fluoride- and guanine-nucleotide-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity were linear in adipocyte plasma membranes from lean and obese (ob/ob) mice. Arrhenius plots of isoprenaline-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in hepatic plasma membranes biphasic in both groups. The results were biphasic in membranes from Jean mice but linear in membranes from obese mice. In contrast, Arrhenius plots of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in hepatic plasma membranes were biphasic in both groups. The results suggest that the coupling between the β-receptor and the regulatory unit of adenylate cyclase, which has been observed to be defective in adipocyte plasma membranes from obese mice, is influenced by a different lipid environment in membranes from obese animals.


1986 ◽  
Vol 235 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
M D Houslay ◽  
L Needham ◽  
N J Dodd ◽  
A M Grey

Incubation of rat liver plasma membranes with liposomes of dioleoyl phosphatidic acid (dioleoyl-PA) led to an inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity which was more pronounced when fluoride-stimulated activity was followed than when glucagon-stimulated activity was followed. If Mn2+ (5 mM) replaced low (5 mM) [Mg2+] in adenylate cyclase assays, or if high (20 mM) [Mg2+] were employed, then the perceived inhibitory effect of phosphatidic acid was markedly reduced when the fluoride-stimulated activity was followed but was enhanced for the glucagon-stimulated activity. The inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity observed correlated with the association of dioleoyl-PA with the plasma membranes. Adenylate cyclase activity in dioleoyl-PA-treated membranes, however, responded differently to changes in [Mg2+] than did the enzyme in native liver plasma membranes. Benzyl alcohol, which increases membrane fluidity, had similar stimulatory effects on the fluoride- and glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities in both native and dioleoyl-PA-treated membranes. Incubation of the plasma membranes with phosphatidylserine also led to similar inhibitory effects on adenylate cyclase and responses to Mg2+. Arrhenius plots of both glucagon- and fluoride-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity were different in dioleoyl-PA-treated plasma membranes, compared with native membranes, with a new ‘break’ occurring at around 16 degrees C, indicating that dioleoyl-PA had become incorporated into the bilayer. E.s.r. analysis of dioleoyl-PA-treated plasma membranes with a nitroxide-labelled fatty acid spin probe identified a new lipid phase separation occurring at around 16 degrees C with also a lipid phase separation occurring at around 28 degrees C as in native liver plasma membranes. It is suggested that acidic phospholipids inhibit adenylate cyclase by virtue of a direct headgroup specific interaction and that this perturbation may be centred at the level of regulation of this enzyme by the stimulatory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein NS.


1983 ◽  
Vol 212 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
A D Whetton ◽  
L M Gordon ◽  
M D Houslay

A procedure has been developed that allows for the depletion of rat liver plasma membrane cholesterol by incubation with liposomes at 4 degrees C. Upon cholesterol depletion, adenylate cyclase activity was inhibited and the membranes became more rigid, as determined by the flexibility of an incorporated fatty acid spin probe. Decreasing the cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio elicited a pronounced drop in the net fold-stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity by glucagon. Two lipid phase separations were detected in cholesterol-depleted membranes at around 25 degrees C and 13 degrees C respectively. Breaks at these temperatures were observed in Arrhenius plots of both the mobility of the spin probe and the glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity for the range 2-40 degrees C, but only the one at the lower temperature for the fluoride-stimulated activity. It is proposed that the lipid phase separation occurring at 25 degrees C is localized in the external half of the bilayer, whereas that at 13 degrees C is due to lipids in the inner half of the bilayer. Similar structural and functional perturbations were manifest if the cholesterol-complexing polyene antibiotic amphotericin B was added to native membranes. The mechanism of adenylate cyclase inhibition achieved by cholesterol depletion and the domain structure of the plasma membrane in relation to cholesterol distribution are discussed. Native cholesterol/phospholipid ratios appear to optimize the functioning of adenylate cyclase in liver plasma membranes.


1980 ◽  
Vol 186 (3) ◽  
pp. 649-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles D. Houslay ◽  
Irene Dipple ◽  
Keith R. F. Elliott

1. GTP, but not p[NH]ppG (guanosine 5′-[βγ-imido]triphosphate), abolishes the sensitivity of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase to the lipid-phase separations occurring in the outer half of the bilayer in liver plasma membranes from rat. 2. When either GTP or p[NH]ppG alone stimulate adenylate cyclase, the enzyme senses only those lipid-phase separations occurring in the inner half of the bilayer. 3. Trypsin treatment of intact hepatocytes has no effect on the basal, fluoride-, GTP- or p[NH]ppG-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. However, 125I-labelled-glucagon specific binding decays with a half-life matching that of the decay of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. 4. When GTP or p[NH]ppG are added to assays of glucagon-stimulated activity, the half-life of the trypsin-mediated decay of activity is substantially increased and the decay plots are no longer first-order. 5. Trypsin treatment of purified rat liver plasma membranes abolishes basal and all ligand-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity, and 125I-labelled-glucagon specific binding. 6. Benzyl alcohol activates the GTP- and p[NH]ppG-stimulated activities in an identical fashion, whereas these activities are affected differently when glucagon is present in the assays. 7. We suggest that guanine nucleotides alter the mode of coupling between the receptor and catalytic unit. In the presence of glucagon and GTP, a complex of receptor, catalytic unit and nucleotide regulatory protein occurs as a transient intermediate, releasing a free unstable active catalytic unit. In the presence of p[NH]ppG and glucagon, the transient complex yields a relatively stable complex of the catalytic unit associated with a p[NH]ppG-bound nucleotide-regulatory protein.


1979 ◽  
Vol 178 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
M D Houslay ◽  
R W Palmer

1. Synthetic lysophosphatidylcholines inhibit the glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity of rat liver plasma membranes at concentrations two to five times lower than those needed to inhibit the fluoride-stimulated activity. 2. Specific 125I-labelled glucagon binding to hormone receptors is inhibited at concentrations similar to those inhibiting the fluoride-stimulated activity. 3. At concentrations of lysophosphatidylcholines immediately below those causing inhibition, an activation of adenylate cyclase activity or hormone binding was observed. 4 These effects are essentially reversible. 5. We conclude that the increased sensitivity of glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase to inhibition may be due to the lysophosphatidylcholines interfering with the physical coupling between the hormone receptor and catalytic unit of adenylate cyclase. 6. We suggest that, in vivo, it is possible that lysophosphatidylcholines may modulate the activity of adenylate cyclase only when it is in the hormone-stimulated state.


1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (1) ◽  
pp. E31-E35
Author(s):  
K. J. Martin ◽  
C. L. McConkey ◽  
T. J. Stokes

In many systems, perturbations of membrane architecture by changes of lipid and phospholipid composition have been shown to alter the activity of membrane-bound enzymes. The present studies examined the effect of benzyl alcohol, an agent that has been shown to increase membrane fluidity, on the parathyroid hormone (PTH)-sensitive adenylate cyclase system of canine kidney. Benzyl alcohol progressively increased basal adenylate cyclase activity up to fourfold and maximal enzyme activity in the presence of PTH, GTP, guanylimidodiphosphate, and sodium fluoride by four- to sixfold. In the presence of 20 mM Mn2+ (no Mg2+), conditions under which enzyme activity is devoid of influence of guanine nucleotides or hormones, benzyl alcohol was without effect. PTH binding was increased by 25% in the presence of benzyl alcohol without a change in binding affinity. Fluorescent polarization studies using diphenylhexatriene showed a decrease in fluorescence anisotropy in the presence of benzyl alcohol. The results suggest that benzyl alcohol facilitates the interaction of the components of the adenylate cyclase system, presumably by increasing membrane fluidity. Alterations of membrane fluidity may be a potent means of regulating hormone sensitive adenylate cyclase activity.


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