Project description:The second messenger cAMP acts via protein kinase A (PKA) to induce apoptosis by mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here, we assessed a role for mitochondria and analyzed gene expression in cAMP/PKA-promoted apoptosis by comparing wild-type (WT) S49 lymphoma cells and the S49 variant, D- (cAMP-deathless), which lacks cAMP-promoted apoptosis but has wild-type levels of PKA activity and cAMP-promoted G1 growth arrest. Treatment of WT, but not D-, S49 cells with 8-CPT-cAMP for 24 h induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and Smac and increase in caspase-3 activity. Gene expression analysis (using Affymetrix 430 2.0 Arrays) revealed that WT and D- cells incubated with 8-CPT-cAMP have similar, but non-identical, extents of cAMP-regulated gene expression at 2h (~800 transcripts) and 6h (~1000 transcripts) (|Fold|>2, P<0.06); by contrast, at 24h ~2500 and ~1100 transcripts were changed in WT and D- cells, respectively. Using an approach that combined regression analysis, clustering and functional annotation to identify transcripts that showed differential expression between WT and D- cells, we found differences in cAMP-mediated regulation of mRNAs involved in transcriptional repression, apoptosis, the cell cycle, RNA splicing, Golgi and lysosomes. The 2 cell lines differed in CREB phosphorylation and expression of the transcriptional inhibitor Icer and in cAMP-regulated expression of genes in the Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) and Bcl families. The findings indicate that cAMP/PKA-promoted apoptosis of lymphoid cells occurs via mitochondrial-mediated events and imply that such apoptosis involves gene networks in multiple biochemical pathways. Experiment Overall Design: S49 D- cells were treated with 8-CPT-cAMP over the course of 24 hours. Cells were prepared for hybridization to microarrays at times 0-untreated, 2h, 6h, and 24h after treatment with 8-CPT-cAMP. Experimental replicates were as follows n=4 for time 0 and n=3 for 2, 6, and 24h post treatment.
Project description:The second messenger cAMP acts via protein kinase A (PKA) to induce apoptosis by mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here, we assessed a role for mitochondria and analyzed gene expression in cAMP/PKA-promoted apoptosis by comparing wild-type (WT) S49 lymphoma cells and the S49 variant, D- (cAMP-deathless), which lacks cAMP-promoted apoptosis but has wild-type levels of PKA activity and cAMP-promoted G1 growth arrest. Treatment of WT, but not D-, S49 cells with 8-CPT-cAMP for 24 h induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and Smac and increase in caspase-3 activity. Gene expression analysis (using Affymetrix 430 2.0 Arrays) revealed that WT and D- cells incubated with 8-CPT-cAMP have similar, but non-identical, extents of cAMP-regulated gene expression at 2h (~800 transcripts) and 6h (~1000 transcripts) (|Fold|>2, P<0.06); by contrast, at 24h ~2500 and ~1100 transcripts were changed in WT and D- cells, respectively. Using an approach that combined regression analysis, clustering and functional annotation to identify transcripts that showed differential expression between WT and D- cells, we found differences in cAMP-mediated regulation of mRNAs involved in transcriptional repression, apoptosis, the cell cycle, RNA splicing, Golgi and lysosomes. The 2 cell lines differed in CREB phosphorylation and expression of the transcriptional inhibitor Icer and in cAMP-regulated expression of genes in the Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) and Bcl families. The findings indicate that cAMP/PKA-promoted apoptosis of lymphoid cells occurs via mitochondrial-mediated events and imply that such apoptosis involves gene networks in multiple biochemical pathways. Keywords: time course
Project description:The pattern of gene transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is strongly affected by the presence of glucose. An increased activity of protein kinase A (PKA), triggered by a rise in the intracellular concentration of cAMP, can account for many of the effects of glucose on transcription. To investigate the requirement of PKA for glucose control of gene expression, we have analyzed global transcription in strains devoid of PKA activity. In S. cerevisiae three genes, TPK1, TPK2, TPK3, encode catalytic subunits of PKA and the triple mutant tpk1 tpk2 tpk3 is unviable. We have worked, therefore, with two strains, tpk1 tpk2 tpk3 yak1 and tpk1 tpk2 tpk3 msn2 msn4, that bear suppressor mutations,. We have identified different classes of genes that can be induced, or repressed, by glucose in the absence of PKA. Among these genes, some are also controlled by a redundant signalling pathway involving PKA activation, while others do not respond to an increase in cAMP concentration. On the other hand, among genes which do not respond to glucose in the absence of PKA, some show a full response to increased cAMP levels, even in the absence of glucose, while others appear to require the cooperation of different signalling pathways.
Project description:Cells need to coordinate gene expression with their metabolic states to maintain cell homeostasis and growth. However, how cells transduce nutrient availability to appropriate gene expression response via histone modifications remains poorly understood. Here, we report that glycolysis promotes H3K4me3 by activating Tpk2, the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) via the Ras-cyclic AMP (cAMP) pathway. Further study showed that Tpk2 antagonizes Jhd2-catalyzed H3K4 demethylation by phosphorylating Jhd2 at S321 and S340 in response to glucose availability.Mechanistically, Tpk2-catalyzed Jhd2 phosphorylation inhibits its overall binding to chromatin and promotes its polyubiquitination by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Not4 and degradation by the proteasome. In addition, Tpk2-catalyzed Jhd2 phosphorylation also maintains H3K14ac by preventing the binding of Rpd3 to chromatin. By inhibiting the activity of Jhd2 and Rpd3, Tpk2-catalyzed Jhd2 phosphorylation regulates gene expression and promotes autophagy. Thus, regulation of Jhd2 by the Ras-cAMP-PKA pathway shed lights on how cells rewire their biological responses to glucose availability.
Project description:The pattern of gene transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is strongly affected by the presence of glucose. An increased activity of protein kinase A (PKA), triggered by a rise in the intracellular concentration of cAMP, can account for many of the effects of glucose on transcription. To investigate the requirement of PKA for glucose control of gene expression, we have analyzed global transcription in strains devoid of PKA activity. In S. cerevisiae three genes, TPK1, TPK2, TPK3, encode catalytic subunits of PKA and the triple mutant tpk1 tpk2 tpk3 is unviable. We have worked, therefore, with two strains, tpk1 tpk2 tpk3 yak1 and tpk1 tpk2 tpk3 msn2 msn4, that bear suppressor mutations,. We have identified different classes of genes that can be induced, or repressed, by glucose in the absence of PKA. Among these genes, some are also controlled by a redundant signalling pathway involving PKA activation, while others do not respond to an increase in cAMP concentration. On the other hand, among genes which do not respond to glucose in the absence of PKA, some show a full response to increased cAMP levels, even in the absence of glucose, while others appear to require the cooperation of different signalling pathways. The goal of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of PKA-independent glucose signalling in S. cerevisiae. To this end, we have used global transcription analysis to study the effects of glucose on yeast strains completely devoid of PKA activity. In S. cerevisiae three genes TPK1, TPK2,and TPK3 encode catalytic subunits of PKA. While strains expressing only one of these genes grow normally, a triple null mutant (tpk1 tpk2 tpk3) is not viable (Toda et al 1987). Identification of different mutations able to suppress the growth defect of the triple mutant (Garrett and Broach 1989, Reinders et al 1998, Smith et al 1998) has allowed to determine what is the crucial function of PKA. As shown in Fig.1, PKA is needed to counteract the negative effect of the protein kinase Yak1 on yeast growth (Hartley et al 1994, Moriya et al 2001). In the presence of PKA the protein kinase Rim15 (Reinders et al 1998) and the transcription factors Msn2 and Msn4 (Görner et al 1998) can be phosphorylated and exported to the cytoplasm, transcription of the YAK1 gene, which is activated by Msn2/Msn4 (Smith et al 1998), is reduced, Yak1 levels remain low and growth is not hindered. In the absence of PKA, Rim15 remains in the nucleus where it can activate Msn2/Msn4 (Cameroni et al 2004) that turn on YAK1 transcription, thus blocking growth. This explains why strains lacking Rim15, Msn2/Msn4 or Yak1 no longer require PKA for growth. In this work we have used two isogenic strains lacking PKA and carrying the suppressor mutations msn2 msn4 or yak1. Two different suppressor mutants were used with the aim to enable a dissection of effects of the lack of PKA and effects of the suppressor mutations themselves.
Project description:When the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is subjected to increasing glycolytic fluxes under aerobic conditions, there is a threshold value of the glucose uptake rate at which the metabolism shifts from being purely respiratory to mixed respiratory and fermentative. This shift is characterized by ethanol production, a phenomenon known as the Crabtree effect due to its analogy with lactate overflow in cancer cells. It is well known that at high glycolytic fluxes there is glucose repression of respiratory pathways resulting in a decrease in the respiratory capacity. Despite many years of detailed studies on this subject, it is not known whether the onset of the Crabtree effect (or overflow metabolism) is due to a limited respiratory capacity or caused by glucose-mediated repression of respiration. We addressed this issue by increasing respiration in S. cerevisiae by introducing a heterologous alternative oxidase, and observed reduced aerobic ethanol formation. In contrast, increasing non-respiratory NADH oxidation by overexpression of a water-forming NADH oxidase reduced aerobic glycerol formation. The metabolic response to elevated alternative oxidase occurred predominantly in the mitochondria, while NADH oxidase affected genes that catalyze cytosolic reactions. Moreover, NADH oxidase restored the deficiency of cytosolic NADH dehydrogenases in S. cerevisiae. These results indicate that NADH oxidase localizes in the cytosol, while alternative oxidase is directed to the mitochondria. The onset of aerobic ethanol formation is demonstrated to be a consequence of an imbalance in mitochondrial redox balancing. In addition to answering fundamental physiological questions, our findings are relevant for all biomass derived applications of S. cerevisiae. Keywords: Genetic Modification
Project description:Specific functions for different cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) have not yet been identified in most cell types. Conventional approaches to study PDE function typically rely on global cAMP measurements, general increases in cAMP- dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity, or activity of exchange protein activated by cAMP (EPAC). Although newer approaches utilizing subcellularly-targeted FRET reporter sensors have helped to define more compartmentalized regulation of cAMP, PKA, and EPAC, they have limited ability to link this regulation to downstream effector molecules and biological functions. To address this problem, we have begun to use an unbiased, mass spectrometry-based approach coupled with treatment using PDE isozyme-selective inhibitors to characterize the phosphoproteome of the "functional pools" of cAMP/PKA/EPAC that are regulated by specific cAMP-PDEs (the PDE-regulated phosphoproteomes).
Project description:Damage to the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) can lead to diseases for which there are no clearly effective treatments. Since mitochondrial function and biogenesis are controlled by the nutrient environment of the cell, it is possible that perturbation of conserved, nutrient-sensing pathways may successfully treat mitochondrial disease. We found that restricting glucose or otherwise reducing the activity of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway can lead to improved proliferation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells lacking mtDNA and that the transcriptional response to mtDNA loss is reduced in cells with diminished PKA activity. We have excluded many pathways and proteins from being individually responsible for the benefits provided to cells lacking mtDNA by PKA inhibition, and we found that robust import of mitochondrial polytopic membrane proteins may be required in order for cells without mtDNA to receive the full benefits of PKA reduction. Finally, we have discovered that the transcription of genes involved in arginine biosynthesis and aromatic amino acid catabolism is altered after mtDNA damage. Our results highlight the potential importance of nutrient detection and availability on the outcome of mitochondrial dysfunction.
Project description:Damage to the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) severely affects the cell and causes disease. Mutations to mtDNA also accumulate throughout the lifespan of many organisms and may be a proximal cause of aging. There is no effective treatment for ailments caused by mtDNA mutation. Since mitochondrial function and biogenesis are controlled by the nutrient environment of the cell, it is possible that perturbation of conserved, nutrient-sensing pathways may successfully treat mitochondrial disease. Experiments using the tractable eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae allow us to investigate the connection between nutrient-sensing and mitochondrial function. We have focused our current studies on the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway, which controls S. cerevisiae behavior according to glucose availability. We found that reduced PKA signaling can lead, in a background-dependent manner, to improved fitness after mtDNA loss. Specifically, over-expression of the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase Pde2p, removal of PKA isoform Tpk3p, or ablation of other proteins promoting PKA activity leads to improved proliferation of cells deleted of the mitochondrial genome. Over-expression of Pde2p also suppresses the inviability of several mutants that normally cannot survive mtDNA loss. Moreover, Pde2p over-expression diminishes the nuclear transcriptional response to mtDNA damage, further supporting the idea that glucose sensation is harmful for cells lacking the mitochondrial genome. These findings are heavily dependent upon yeast genetic background. Interestingly, robust import of mitochondrial polytopic membrane proteins may be required in order for cells with no mtDNA to receive the full benefits of PKA reduction. Our findings support the idea that perturbation of nutrient-sensing pathways, and specifically the sensation of glucose, may benefit cells with dysfunctional mitochondria. Four experimental conditions were used: BY4743 (WT) cells containing empty pRS426 vector and containing mtDNA because EtBr was not used, BY4743 (WT) cells containing empty pRS426 vector and lacking mtDNA after 24 hours of treatment with 25 µg/ml ethidium bromide, BY4743 (WT) cells overexpressing TIP41 from plasmid pRS426 and lacking mtDNA after 24 hours of treatment with 25 µg/ml ethidium bromide, and BY4743 (WT) cells overexpressing PDE2 from plasmid pRS426 and lacking mtDNA after 24 hours of treatment with 25 µg/ml ethidium bromide. Two replicates were performed for each sample type.
Project description:Intrinsic abnormalities in transplanted eutopic endometrium are believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of pelvic endometriosis. Herein, we investigated transcriptomic differences in human endometrial stromal fibroblasts (hESF) from women with (hESFendo) versus without (hESFnon-endo) endometriosis, in response to activation of the PKA pathway with 8-Br-cAMP. hESFnon-endo (n=4) and hESFendo (mild endometriosis, n=4) were isolated from eutopic endometrium and treated +/- 0.5mM 8-Br-cAMP for 96 hours. Purified total RNA was subjected to microarray analysis using the whole genome Gene 1.0 ST Affymetrix platform. 733 genes were regulated in cAMP-treated hESFnon-endo versus 172 genes in hESFendo, suggesting a blunted response to cAMP/PKA pathway activation in women with disease. Real-time PCR and ELISA validated the decreased expression of decidualization markers in hESFendo compared to hESFnon-endo. In the absence of disease, 8-Br-cAMP down-regulated progression through the cell-cycle due to a decrease in Cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase 6 and cell division cycle 2, and an increase in cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A. However, cell cycle components in hESFendo were not responsive to 8-Br-cAMP, resulting in persistence of a proliferative phenotype. hESFendo treated with 8-Br-cAMP exhibited altered expression of immune response, extracellular matrix, cytoskeleton, and apoptosis genes. Changes in phosphodiesterase expression and activity were not different among experimental groups. Thus, eutopic hESF with increased proliferative potential may seed the pelvic cavity via retrograde menstruation and promote establishment, survival, and proliferation of endometriosis lesions, independent of hydrolysis of cAMP and likely due to an inherent abnormality in the PKA pathway in the presence of disease.