title: Hypertonicity-induced transmitter release at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions is partly mediated by integrins and cAMP/protein kinase A.
abstract: The frequency of quantal transmitter release increases upon application of hypertonic solutions. This effect bypasses the Ca(2+) triggering step, but requires the presence of key molecules involved in vesicle fusion, and hence could be a useful tool for dissecting the molecular process of vesicle fusion. We have examined the hypertonicity response at neuromuscular junctions of Drosophila embryos in Ca(2+)-free saline. Relative to wild-type, the response induced by puff application of hypertonic solution was enhanced in a mutant, dunce, in which the cAMP level is elevated, or in wild-type embryos treated with forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase, while protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitors decreased it. The response was also smaller in a mutant, DC0, which lacks the major subunit of PKA. Thus the cAMP/PKA cascade is involved in the hypertonicity response. Peptides containing the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), which inhibit binding of integrins to natural ligands, reduced the response, whereas a peptide containing the non-binding sequence Arg-Gly-Glu (RGE) did not. A reduced response persisted in a mutant, myospheroid, which expresses no integrins, and the response in DC0 was unaffected by RGD peptides. These data indicate that there are at lease two components in the hypertonicity response: one that is integrin mediated and involves the cAMP/PKA cascade, and another that is not integrin mediated and does not involve the cAMP/PKA cascade.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Sciences, Gunma University School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, 371-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Grinnell
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kidokoro
mesh_terms: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000502:physiology*; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006982:Hypertonic Solutions / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016023:Integrins / Q000502:physiology*; D009154:Mutation / Q000502:physiology; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000378:metabolism*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D012016:Reference Values; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D006982:Hypertonic Solutions; D016023:Integrins; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D009842:Oligopeptides; D005576:Colforsin; C058161:glycyl-arginyl-glycyl-aspartyl-seryl-proline; C049554:glycyl-arginyl-glycyl-aspartyl-serine; C058347:glycyl-arginyl-glycyl-glutamyl-seryl-proline; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases; D002118:Calcium