title: The differential response of protein kinase A to cyclic AMP in discrete brain areas correlates with the abundance of regulatory subunit II.
abstract: We analyzed the expression and relative distribution of mRNA for the regulatory subunits (RIalpha, RIIalpha, and RIIbeta) and of 150-kDa RIIbeta-anchor proteins for cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKA) into discrete brain regions. The subcellular distribution of both holoenzyme and free catalytic subunit was evaluated in the same CNS areas. In the neocortex and corpus striatum high levels of RIIbeta paralleled the presence of specific RII-anchoring proteins, high levels of membrane-bound PKA holoenzyme, and low levels of cytosolic free catalytic activity (C-PKA). Conversely, in brain areas showing low RIIbeta levels (cerebellum, hypothalamus, and brainstem) we found an absence of RII-anchoring proteins, low levels of membrane-bound holoenzyme PKA, and high levels of cytosolic dissociated C-PKA. Response to cAMP stimuli was specifically evaluated in the neocortex and cerebellum, prototypic areas of the two different patterns of PKA distribution. We found that cerebellar holoenzyme PKA was highly sensitive to cAMP-induced dissociation, without, however, a consistent translocation of C-PKA into the nucleus. In contrast, in the neocortex holoenzyme PKA was mainly in the undissociated state and poorly sensitive to cAMP. In nuclei of cortical cells cAMP stimulated the import of C-PKA and phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element binding protein. Taken together, these data suggest that RIIbeta (whose distribution is graded throughout the CNS, reaching maximal expression in the neocortex) may represent the molecular cue of the differential nuclear response to cAMP in different brain areas, by controlling cAMP-induced holoenzyme PKA dissociation and nuclear accumulation of catalytic subunits.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e della Comunicazione Interumana, Cattedra di Farmacologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ventra
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porcellini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feliciello
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paolillo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: V E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Avvedimento
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schettini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000201:enzymology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000201:enzymology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000502:physiology*; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000032:analysis; D054754:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIIalpha Subunit; D054757:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIIbeta Subunit; D054756:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIalpha Subunit; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000201:enzymology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D054754:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIIalpha Subunit; D054757:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIIbeta Subunit; D054756:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIalpha Subunit; D007527:Isoenzymes; C517836:Prkar1a protein, rat; C517822:Prkar2a protein, rat; C517839:Prkar2b protein, rat; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases