scholarly journals Inhibiting Neddylation with MLN4924 Suppresses Growth and Delays Multicellular Development in Dictyostelium discoideum

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
Robert J. Huber ◽  
William D. Kim ◽  
Sabateeshan Mathavarajah

Neddylation is a post-translational modification that is essential for a variety of cellular processes and is linked to many human diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, and autoimmune disorders. Neddylation involves the conjugation of the ubiquitin-like modifier neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated protein 8 (NEDD8) to target proteins, and has been studied extensively in various eukaryotes including fungi, plants, and metazoans. Here, we examine the biological processes influenced by neddylation in the social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, using a well-established inhibitor of neddylation, MLN4924 (pevonedistat). NEDD8, and the target of MLN4924 inhibition, NEDD8-activating enzyme E1 (NAE1), are highly conserved in D. discoideum (Nedd8 and Nae1, respectively). Treatment of D. discoideum cells with MLN4924 increased the amount of free Nedd8, suggesting that MLN4924 inhibited neddylation. During growth, MLN4924 suppressed cell proliferation and folic acid-mediated chemotaxis. During multicellular development, MLN4924 inhibited cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-mediated chemotaxis, delayed aggregation, and suppressed fruiting body formation. Together, these findings indicate that neddylation plays an important role in regulating cellular and developmental events during the D. discoideum life cycle and that this organism can be used as a model system to better understand the essential roles of neddylation in eukaryotes, and consequently, its involvement in human disease.

1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-39
Author(s):  
T Pawson ◽  
T Amiel ◽  
E Hinze ◽  
N Auersperg ◽  
N Neave ◽  
...  

Recent work has shown that DNA sequences related to the mammalian ras proto-oncogenes are highly conserved in eucaryotic evolution. A monoclonal antibody (Y13-259) to mammalian p21ras specifically precipitated a 23,000-molecular-weight protein (p23) from lysates of Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae. Tryptic peptide analysis indicated that D. discoideum p23 was closely related in its primary structure to mammalian p21ras. p23 was apparently derived by post-translational modification of a 24,000-molecular-weight primary gene product. The amount of p23 was highest in growing amoebae, but declined markedly with the onset of differentiation such that by fruiting body formation there was less than 10% of the amoeboid level. The rate of p23 synthesis dropped rapidly during aggregation, rose transiently during pseudoplasmodial formation, and then declined during the terminal stages of differentiation. There was, therefore, a strong correlation between the expression of the ras-related protein p23 and cell proliferation of D. discoideum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramoji Kosuru ◽  
Magdalena Chrzanowska

Ca2+ is a universal intracellular signal. The modulation of cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration regulates a plethora of cellular processes, such as: synaptic plasticity, neuronal survival, chemotaxis of immune cells, platelet aggregation, vasodilation, and cardiac excitation–contraction coupling. Rap1 GTPases are ubiquitously expressed binary switches that alternate between active and inactive states and are regulated by diverse families of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Active Rap1 couples extracellular stimulation with intracellular signaling through secondary messengers—cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Ca2+, and diacylglycerol (DAG). Much evidence indicates that Rap1 signaling intersects with Ca2+ signaling pathways to control the important cellular functions of platelet activation or neuronal plasticity. Rap1 acts as an effector of Ca2+ signaling when activated by mechanisms involving Ca2+ and DAG-activated (CalDAG-) GEFs. Conversely, activated by other GEFs, such as cAMP-dependent GEF Epac, Rap1 controls cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels. It does so by regulating the activity of Ca2+ signaling proteins such as sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA). In this review, we focus on the physiological significance of the links between Rap1 and Ca2+ signaling and emphasize the molecular interactions that may offer new targets for the therapy of Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, among other diseases.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaumudi H Prabhakara ◽  
Albert J Bae ◽  
Eberhard Bodenschatz

AbstractUpon starvation, Dictyostelium discoideum (D.d.) exhibit social behavior mediated by the chemical messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Large scale cAMP waves synchronize the population of starving cells and enable them to aggregate and form a multi-cellular organism. Here, we explore the effect of cell-to-cell variability in the production of cAMP on aggregation. We create a mixture of extreme cell-to-cell variability by mixing a few cells that produce cAMP (haves) with a majority of mutants that cannot produce cAMP (have-nots). Surprisingly, such mixtures aggregate, although each population on its own cannot aggregate. We show that (1) a lack of divalent ions kills the haves at low densities and (2) the have-nots supply the cAMP degrading enzyme, phosphodiesterase, which, in the presence of divalent ions, enables the mixture to aggregate. Our results suggest that a range of degradation rates induces optimal aggregation. The haves and the have-nots cooperate by sharing complementary resources.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehak Rafiq

Proteolysis is increasingly documented as a method of regulation of mitochondrial function. Our studies of rhomboidfamily proteins’ roles in organelles show that this is also the case in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, in which four of these membrane-bound, evolutionarily ubiquitous, serine proteases are found. Rhomboid proteases act on disparate substrates in different organisms so far studied, but their mode of action is conserved: their location in the membrane means that their membrane-tethered substrates can act in signalling upon release, or be activated, by rhomboid-mediated cleavage. Among eukaryotic rhomboids is the mitochondrial protease ‘PARL’, which ensures the maintenance of the structural and functional integrity of mitochondria and plastids, but we have found that other Dictyostelium rhomboids also affect the organelle. Studying the development and behaviour of Dictyostelium, a microbial model organism with a complex life cycle that includes uni- and multicellular stages, allowed investigation of the role of rhomboids in unicellular vegetative growth, multicellular development and sporulation, phagocytosis, and response to the environment. We found that two rhomboid-null mutants gave rise to changes in development, rhmA altering the response to chemoattractants and demonstrating decreased motility in general, whereas rhmB null cells had slower growth rates with decreased response to folic acid. RhmA, although located in the contractile vacuole, affects the ultrastructure of mitochondria, and RhmB-GFP fusions protein was localised to the mitochondrion. qPCR analysis revealed RhmA and RhmB transcript levels peaking during the multicellular growth phase and transcriptional networks suggest the Dictyostelium rhmA is regulated along with the orthologues of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial rhomboid substrates.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 473
Author(s):  
Muhammad Aslam ◽  
Yury Ladilov

In contrast to the traditional view of mitochondria being solely a source of cellular energy, e.g., the “powerhouse” of the cell, mitochondria are now known to be key regulators of numerous cellular processes. Accordingly, disturbance of mitochondrial homeostasis is a basic mechanism in several pathologies. Emerging data demonstrate that 3′–5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signalling plays a key role in mitochondrial biology and homeostasis. Mitochondria are equipped with an endogenous cAMP synthesis system involving soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), which localizes in the mitochondrial matrix and regulates mitochondrial function. Furthermore, sAC localized at the outer mitochondrial membrane contributes significantly to mitochondrial biology. Disturbance of the sAC-dependent cAMP pools within mitochondria leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and pathology. In this review, we discuss the available data concerning the role of sAC in regulating mitochondrial biology in relation to diseases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taro Hayashi ◽  
Katsunori Ogoh ◽  
Hirobumi Suzuki

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which is derived from adenosine triphosphate through adenylyl cyclase A (acaA), acts as an intracellular secondary messenger and an extracellular chemotactic substance in important biological processes. In the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum, cAMP mediates cell aggregation, development, and differentiation to spore and stalk cells during fruiting body formation. The acaA gene is transcribed under the control of three different alternative promoters. This study aimed to develop a promoter assay for acaA in D. discoideum using bioluminescence microscopy. Here, we inserted green- and red-emitting luciferase genes into downstream of promoter regions 1 and 3, respectively. Promoter activities were visualized by bioluminescence microscopy. We confirmed the differential expression of acaA under the control of promoters 1 and 3 at the different stages of D. discoideum development. We also demonstrated the application of dual-color bioluminescence imaging in the development of an imaging promoter assay.


2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (8) ◽  
pp. 2891-2910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Kriebel ◽  
Ritankar Majumdar ◽  
Lisa M. Jenkins ◽  
Hiroshi Senoo ◽  
Weiye Wang ◽  
...  

Chemotactic signals are relayed to neighboring cells through the secretion of additional chemoattractants. We previously showed in Dictyostelium discoideum that the adenylyl cyclase A, which synthesizes the chemoattractant cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), is present in the intraluminal vesicles of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) that coalesce at the back of cells. Using ultrastructural reconstructions, we now show that ACA-containing MVBs release their contents to attract neighboring cells. We show that the released vesicles are capable of directing migration and streaming and are central to chemotactic signal relay. We demonstrate that the released vesicles not only contain cAMP but also can actively synthesize and release cAMP to promote chemotaxis. Through proteomic, pharmacological, and genetic approaches, we determined that the vesicular cAMP is released via the ABCC8 transporter. Together, our findings show that extracellular vesicles released by D. discoideum cells are functional entities that mediate signal relay during chemotaxis and streaming.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Calum Greenhalgh ◽  
Aneesh Chandran ◽  
Matthew Thomas Harper ◽  
Graham Ladds ◽  
Taufiq Rahman

Abstract3’,5’-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is well known as a ubiquitous intracellular messenger regulating a diverse array of cellular processes. However, for a group of social amoebae or Dictyostelia undergoing starvation, intracellular cAMP is secreted in a pulsatile manner to their exterior. This then uniquely acts as a first messenger, triggering aggregation of the starving amoebae followed by their developmental progression towards multicellular fruiting bodies formation. Such developmental signalling for extracellularly-acting cAMP is well studied in the popular dictyostelid,Dictyostelium discoideum, and is mediated by a distinct family (‘class E’) of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) collectively designated as the cAMP receptors (cARs). Whilst the biochemical aspects of these receptors are well characterised, little is known about their overall 3D architecture and structural basis for cAMP recognition and subtype-dependent changes in binding affinity. Using a ligand docking-guided homology modelling approach, we hereby present for the first time, plausible models of active forms of the cARs fromD. discoideum. Our models highlight some structural features that may underlie the differential affinities of cAR isoforms for cAMP binding and also suggest few residues that may play important roles for the activation mechanism of this GPCR family.


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