Search

The production of cytoplasmic leucyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase activity was found to be reciprocally proportional to that of the corresponding mitochondrial enzyme during logarithmic growth of strains of Neurospora crassa with normal mitochondria. In the presence of cni-3 mutant mitochondria, production of mitochondrial enzyme activity was greatly increased whereas cytoplasmic enzyme production remained constant. The effect of cni-3 on the yield of the two enzyme activities indicated that the regulatory mechanism involved is a complicated one that cannot be accounted for by the relatively simple transcription competition model proposed previously.

The mechanism by which beta adrenergic agonist stimulate glycogenolysis in intact skeletal muscle was investigated in mice with the phosphorylase kinase deficiency mutation (I strain). Although extracts of I strain diaphragm muscle had only 3.7% of the phosphorylase kinase activity found in extracts of the control strain (C57BL), incubation of I strain hemidiaphragms in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer with either isoproterenol or epinephrine resulted in a stimulation of the rate of glycogenolysis. In C57BL diaphragms, the EC50 values for isoproterenol and epinephrine were 2 and 14 nM, respectively. With I strain diaphragms, dl-isoproterenol or l-epinephrine stimulated glycogenolysis as a linear function of the log of the drug concentration with no apparent plateau of response up to concentrations of 30 to 40 mugM. For each 10-fold increase in drug concentration, isoproterenol and epinephrine stimulated glycogenolysis in I strain muscles an additional 0.37 to 0.42 mg/g/hr, a slope in the concentration-response relationship of 0.17 and 0.37, respectively, of that measured in C57BL diaphragms at concentrations around the EC50. The highest glycogenolytic response measured in I strain hemidiaphragms (at 40 mugM isoproterenol) was 80% of the maximal catecholamine-stimulated glycogenolysis in C57BL diaphragms. Both 4 nM and 4 mugM isoproterenol, in a concentration-dependent manner, stimulated phosphorylase b to a conversion in I and C57BL diaphragms and increased cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) concentrations. The glycogenolytic response to 10.1 nM dl-isoproterenol in both I and C57BL diaphragms was blocked by 34 nM l-propranolol but not by 34 nM d-propranolol. The response to 4 mugM isoproterenol was enhanced by the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors papaverine (27 mugM) or dl-4-(3-butoxy-4-methoxybenzyl)-2-imidazolidinone (Ro 20-1724, 3 mugM). From the results of these studies, we conclude: 1) Catecholamines stimulate glycogenolysis in skeletal muscle of I mice, as in C57BL mice, by interacting with the beta adrenergic receptor, thereby increasing tissue cyclic AMP concentrations and stimulating phosphorylase b to a conversion. 2) alternative hypotheses for the mechanism of the catecholamine-stimulated decrease in glycogen concentration in I skeletal muscle-inhibition of glycogen synthesis, hyposia and 5'-AMP stimulation of phosphorylase b activity-have been ruled out. 3) the activity of the mutant phosphorylase kinase, although it is only 3.7% of that in extracts of C57BL muscle, is sufficient to produce phosphorylase b to a conversion and thereby account for the glycogenolytic response of I strain muscle to catecholamines.

Diaphragm extracts from mice with the phosphorylase kinase deficiency mutation (I strain) have only 3.7% of the phosphorylase kinase activity of muscle extracts of the control strain (C57BL). Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that isoproterenol-stimulated glycogenolysis in I strain diaphragm muscle at a rate 57% (average relative response at 10 isoproterenol concentrations) of that of C57BL (GROSS, S.R., MAYER, S.E. and LONGSHORE, M.A.: J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 198: 523-538, 1976). The present studies were initiated to compare the mechanism of isoproterenol-stimulated glycogenolysis in I and C57BL diaphragms. Isoproterenol was found to stimulate phosphorylase b to a conversion with an EC50 of 8 nM in muscles from mice of either strain, and the maximum increase in phosphorylase alpha activity in I diaphragms was 23% of that in C57BL diaphragms. Moreover, the initial rate of increase in phosphorylase alpha activity in I diaphragms incubated with 40 nM isoproterenol was 24% of that in C57BL muscles. The isoproterenol-stimulated increases in cyclic AMP content in diaphragms of the two strains were the same. Incubation of I diaphragms with isoproterenol did not significantly increase the concentrations of AMP, IMP or inorganic phosphate, activators of phosphorylase beta activity, nor was there a decrease in ATP and glucose 6-phosphate content, allosteric inhibitors of phosphorylase beta activity. Thus, phosphorylase alpha formation is the principal, if not only, catalyst of isoproterenol-stimulated glycogenolysis in skeletal muscle of phosphorylase kinase-deficient mice, and no evidence was obtained indicating that allosteric regulation of phosphorylase beta activity is part of the mechanism.

In mouse right ventricular strips, field-stimulated to contract isometrically in an oxygenated bicarbonate-buffered physiological salt solution at 22--24 degrees C, the EC50 for the inotropic action of isoproterenol decreased from 37 nM in muscles stimulated at 0.2 Hz to 5 nM in muscles stimulated at 3.3 Hz. At higher rates of contraction, there was also an increased sensitivity to the inotropic actions of norepinephrine and epinephrine but not to those of Ca++ and N6,O2'-dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Increasing the Ca++ concentration further decreased the EC50 for isoproterenol at 3.3 Hz but had no effect on the EC50 at 0.2 Hz. The leftward shift of the contractile response curve at 3.3 Hz was inhibited by verapamil (0.6 microM) and Mn++ (0.25 mM). The stimulation of cyclic AMP accumulation was approximately 6-fold more sensitive to isoproterenol at 3.3 than at 0.2 Hz, but isoproterenol increased contractile force at concentrations two orders of magnitude lower than those that significantly increased cyclic AMP accumulation. Inhibition of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity further increased the sensitivity to the inotropic actions of isoproterenol but did not attenuate the frequency difference. The results indicate that isoproterenol-stimulated Ca++ influx through the slow channel plays an important role in the mechanism of the increased sensitivity to the inotropic action of isoproterenol found at higher frequencies of contraction. Although cyclic AMP accumulation was also frequency dependent, its role in the inotropic action of isoproterenol in mouse heart is not clear.

In noncontracting mouse hemidiaphragms incubated in modified Krebs-Ringer--bicarbonate buffer with 10 mM Ca++, isoproterenol-stimulated phosphorylase a formation, conversion of phosphorylase kinase to the activated form, elevation of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity ratios and increase in cyclic AMP concentrations were reduced 35 to 50% over the responses in buffer with 2.5 mM Ca++. In buffer with 10 mM Ca++, the initial rate of isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation was 59% of that in buffer with 2.5 mM Ca++. The inhibitory action of Ca++ on cyclic AMP accumulation was antagonized by verapamil, but not by inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity. In buffer with 2.5 mM Ca++, isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation was inhibited by A23187 and caffeine, agents that can increase intracellular Ca++ concentrations. In addition to Ca++, high concentrations of Co++, Ni++, Mn++ and, to a lesser extent, Sr++ inhibited the isoproterenol response. The results of these studies indicate that high buffer Ca++ concentrations inhibit the response of the glycogenolytic pathway to isoproterenol by an action on cyclic AMP formation. We propose that the site of the inhibitory action of Ca++ is the divalent metal activator site associated with hormone-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity.

In mouse right ventricular strips, field-stimulated to contract isometrically in an oxygenated bicarbonate-buffered physiological salt solution at 22--24 degrees C, isoproterenol (3 microM) stimulation of phosphorylase a accumulation was approximately a linear function of the rate of contraction from 0.2 to 5 Hz. In muscles incubated in the absence of isoproterenol, the phosphorylase a activity did not increase when the contraction frequency was varied over this range. At a low frequency of stimulation (0.2 Hz), phosphorylase a activity was not increased after a 5-min exposure to 3 microM isoproterenol, as compared to a 4-fold increase in phosphorylase a activity at a high frequency (3.-3 Hz). Isoproterenol (3 microM) increased tissue cyclic AMP content and the activated form of phosphorylase kinase activity to similar extents at both frequencies. N6,O2'-dibutyryl cyclic AMP increased the phosphorylase a activity at both frequencies but the increase at 3.3 Hz was approximately 3-fold greater than at 0.2 Hz. Verapamil did not block isoproterenol-stimulated phosphorylase a activity at 3.3 Hz at a concentration (0.6 microM) that inhibited the increased sensitivity to the inotropic action of isoproterenol seen at high frequencies of contraction. Isoproterenol stimulation of phosphorylase a accumulation did not correlate with developed tension. It is proposed that the difference in isoproterenol stimulation of phosphorylation b to a conversion at 0.2 and 3.3 Hz primarily results from a difference in Ca++ control of the activity of the activated form of phosphorylase kinase.

Extensive structural homology between the three nuclear RNA polymerases of Neurospora crassa has been observed by peptide and immunological analyses. Within each polymerase, we found structural similarity between subunits in the 65- to 75-kDa range and one of the two large subunits. We observed also that polymerase II, as isolated, is associated with a 700-kDa complex of 12 polypeptides which is localized in the nucleus. A 75-kDa subunit of the 700-kDa complex was found to be structurally related to the 220-kDa subunit of polymerase II. We suggest, on the basis of the in vitro association, the common nuclear localization and the structural homology, that the 700-kDa complex and polymerase II may be associated in vivo. Evidence is also presented which suggests that polymerase III may interact with chromatin via two of its smallest subunits. A simple procedure for isolating nuclei from Neurospora is described.

Nuclear RNA polymerases I, II, and III from Neurospora crassa have been purified 3,000-, 1,500-, and 10,000-fold, respectively, by a procedure that minimizes proteolysis of the 220-kDa subunit of polymerase II. The Neurospora enzymes resemble, in polypeptide composition, the corresponding polymerases isolated from other eukaryotes. The 220-kDa subunit of Neurospora polymerase II cross-reacts with antisera directed against the 220-kDa subunits of type II polymerases from Drosophila and wheat germ. However, the proteolyzed 180-kDa derivative of the Neurospora 220-kDa subunit fails to cross-react with the heterologous antisera, suggesting that the region removed by proteolysis contains or contributes to structural features of the enzyme that have been highly conserved during evolution. A 700-kDa complex of 12 polypeptides was found associated with polymerase II during purification. The complex was eventually separated from the enzyme, and its properties suggest that it might be associated with polymerase II in the nucleus. We describe two additional examples of polypeptides associated in variable amounts with Neurospora polymerase II.

Leucine auxotrophs of Neurospora fall into two discrete categories with respect to sensitivity to the herbicide, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole. The pattern of resistance corresponds exactly to the ability to produce the leucine pathway control elements, alpha-isopropylmalate and the leu-3 product. An analysis of the regulatory response of the production of enzymes of histidine biosynthesis to alpha-isopropylmalate implicates the control elements of the leucine pathway as important components of the mechanism governing the production of the target enzyme of aminotriazole inhibition, imidazoleglycerol-phosphate dehydratase (EC 4.2.1.19). The evidence suggests that the regulatory interconnection between the two pathways is direct and is independent of other general integrating regulatory mechanisms which appear to be operative in both pathways. A general method for isolating leu-1 and leu-2, as well as other regulatory mutants, is described, which takes advantage of the specificity of the resistance to the inhibitor. Use of analogous systems is prescribed for the analysis of other regulatory interconnections which, like this one, might not be anticipated directly from structural or biosynthetic considerations.

The capacity to synthetize isopropylmalate isomerase (EC 4.2.1.33) by Neurospora crassa increased during induction in the presence of cycloheximide but was inhibited by proflavine and other inhibitors of RNA synthesis. Turnover of the enzyme once formed appeared negligible, but the message (measured as enzyme-forming capacity) had a half-life of 4 to 8 min. A comparison of the kinetics of induction in the wild type and a newly isolated alpha-isopropylmalate-permeable strain suggested strongly that feedback control by leucine of alpha-isopropylmalate production can adequately serve as the primary physiological regulator of endogenous inducer concentration. Genetic data are presented which implicate the involvement of two unlinked genes, ipm-1 and ipm-2, in determining permeation of alpha-isopropylmalate.

The isopropylmalate isomerase (EC 4.2.1.33) of Neurospora crassa is a globular protein consisting of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of about 90,000. The isomerase cannot easily be freed of a contaminating protease which cleaves the enzyme into two major fragments, one of approximately 56,000 and the other 37,000 daltons. This suggests that the folded polypeptide chain may contain some hinge point or loop exposed on the surface which makes it susceptible to proteolytic attack. Most of the isomerase activity extracted from the wild-type strain is in monomer form. However, a small fraction of the activity in crude extracts is found in multimeric aggregates, and the active isomerase extracted from complementing leu-2 heterokaryons consists entirely of dimers and higher multimers. These observations suggest that, though active as a monomer, a significant fraction of the normal enzyme might be organized in multimeric form within the cell.

The production by Neurosporaof the enzymes of isoleucine and valine synthesis in response to specific end product-derived signals depends upon the presence of an effective leu-3regulatory product and its effector α-isopropylmalate (α-IPM). In leu-3+strains, threonine deaminase production is repressed as a function of available isoleucine, acetohydroxy acid synthetase as a function of valine, and the isomeroreductase and dihydroxy acid dehydratase as a function of isoleucine and leucine. In the absence of an effective leu-3regulatory product, α-isopropylmalate, or both, the production of isoleucine and valine biosynthetic enzymes is fixed at or near fully repressed levels even under conditions of severe end product limitation. Thus, in addition to its involvement in the regulation of expression of the three structural genes of leucine synthesis, the leu-3α-IPM regulatory product is necessary for full expression of at least four genes specifying the structure of the enzymes of isoleucine and valine synthesis. It is suggested that the leu-3α-IPM regulatory element may facilitate transcription of the genetically dispersed cistrons either by imposing specificity on ribonucleic acid polymerase for structurally similar promoters adjacent to each of the cistrons or by “opening” promoters after interaction with nearly identical stretches of deoxyribonucleic acid near each of the structural genes.