Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.4.1 (phosphodiesterase)
18,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the current concept of phototransduction, the concentration of cGMP in retinal rod outer segments is controlled by the balance of two enzyme activities: cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) and guanylyl cyclase (GC). However, no protein directly mediates these two enzyme systems. Here we show that RGS9, which is suggested to control PDE activity through regulation of transducin GTPase activity (He, W., Cowan, C. W., and Wensel, T. G. (1998) Neuron 20, 95-102), directly interacts with GC. When proteins in the Triton X-100-insoluble fraction of bovine rod outer segments were isolated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and binding of GC to these proteins was examined using a GC-specific antibody, proteins (55 and 32 kDa) were found to interact with GC. However, the activity of GC bound to the 55-kDa protein was not detected. This observation was elucidated by the finding that the 55-kDa protein inhibited GC activity in a dose-dependent manner. Amino acid sequence showed that five peptides derived from the 55-kDa protein were identical to corresponding peptides of RGS9. Together with other biochemical characterization of the 55-kDa protein, these observations indicate that the 55-kDa protein is RGS9 and that RGS9 inhibits GC. RGS9 may serve as a mediator between the PDE and GC systems.
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PMID:A possible role of RGS9 in phototransduction. A bridge between the cGMP-phosphodiesterase system and the guanylyl cyclase system. 971 27

RGS proteins (regulators of G protein signaling) are potent accelerators of the intrinsic GTPase activity of G protein alpha subunits (GAPs), thus controlling the response kinetics of a variety of cell signaling processes. Most RGS domains that have been studied have relatively little GTPase activating specificity especially for G proteins within the Gi subfamily. Retinal RGS9 is unique in its ability to act synergistically with a downstream effector cGMP phosphodiesterase to stimulate the GTPase activity of the alpha subunit of transducin, Galphat. Here we report another unique property of RGS9: high specificity for Galphat. The core (RGS) domain of RGS9 (RGS9) stimulates Galphat GTPase activity by 10-fold and Galphai1 GTPase activity by only 2-fold at a concentration of 10 microM. Using chimeric Galphat/Galphai1 subunits we demonstrated that the alpha-helical domain of Galphat imparts this specificity. The functional effects of RGS9 were well correlated with its affinity for activated Galpha subunits as measured by a change in fluorescence of a mutant Galphat (Chi6b) selectively labeled at Cys-210. Kd values for RGS9 complexes with Galphat and Galphai1 calculated from the direct binding and competition experiments were 185 nM and 2 microM, respectively. The gamma subunit of phosphodiesterase increases the GAP activity of RGS9. We demonstrate that this is because of the ability of Pgamma to increase the affinity of RGS9 for Galphat. A distinct, nonoverlapping pattern of RGS and Pgamma interaction with Galphat suggests a unique mechanism of effector-mediated GAP function of the RGS9.
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PMID:The alpha-helical domain of Galphat determines specific interaction with regulator of G protein signaling 9. 1008 18

RGS9, a member of the family of regulators of G protein signaling (RGS), serves as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for the transducin alpha-subunit (Gtalpha) in the vertebrate visual transduction cascade. The GAP activity of RGS9 is uniquely potentiated by the gamma-subunit of the effector enzyme, cGMP-phosphodiesterase (Pgamma). In contrast, Pgamma attenuates the GAP effects of several other RGS proteins, including RGS16. We demonstrate here that the Pgamma subunit exerts its effects on the GTPase activity of the Gtalpha-RGS complex via the C-terminal domain, Pgamma-63-87. The structural determinants that control the direction of Pgamma effects on the RGS-Gtalpha system are localized within the RGS domains. The addition of Pgamma caused an increase in the maximal stimulation of Gtalpha GTPase activity by RGS9d without affecting the EC50 value. Modulation of Gtalpha GTPase activity by chimeric RGS16 and RGS9 proteins and Pgamma has been investigated. This analysis suggests that in addition to the differences in primary structures, the overall conformations of the RGS fold in RGS9 and RGS16 are likely to be responsible for the opposite effects of Pgamma on the RGS9 and RGS16 GAP activity. The RGS9 alpha3-alpha5 region constituted the minimal insertion of the RGS9 domain into RGS16 that reversed the inhibitory effect of Pgamma. A model of the RGS9 complex with Gtalpha shows the alpha3-alpha5 helices in RGS9 facing the proximate Pgamma binding site on Gtalpha. Our results and this model demonstrate that the mechanism of potentiation of RGS9 GAP activity by Pgamma involves a more rigid stabilization of the Gtalpha switch regions when Gtalpha is bound to both RGS9 and Pgamma.
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PMID:Modulation of transducin GTPase activity by chimeric RGS16 and RGS9 regulators of G protein signaling and the effector molecule. 1021 94

Cyclic GMP plays a key role in retinal phototransduction and its photoreceptor concentration is precisely controlled by the cooperative action of cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) and retinal guanylyl cyclase (retGC). However, studies of the relationship between these two systems have focused only on a Ca(2+)-mediated, indirect connection. Using a retinal "regulator of G-protein signaling" (RGS9-1) and its fragments, we show that the N-terminus of RGS9-1 inhibits retGC activity. We also indicate that the GGL domain and/or the RGS domain function as an internal suppressor against the N-terminus, suggesting that proteins bound to these domains regulate the inhibitory activity of the N-terminus. Direct interaction of retGC with RGS9-1 and its N-terminus is also proved by immunoprecipitation and an overlay technique. Since RGS9-1 also controls the lifetime of transducin-activated PDE through regulating GTPase activity of transducin, this study strongly suggests that RGS9-1 mediates the direct interaction between PDE and retGC systems, and that this ingenious mechanism plays an important role in tuning of cGMP concentration in photoreceptors.
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PMID:Inhibition of retinal guanylyl cyclase by the RGS9-1 N-terminus. 1148 1

RGS proteins regulate the duration of G protein signaling by increasing the rate of GTP hydrolysis on G protein alpha subunits. The complex of RGS9 with type 5 G protein beta subunit (G beta 5) is abundant in photoreceptors, where it stimulates the GTPase activity of transducin. An important functional feature of RGS9-G beta 5 is its ability to activate transducin GTPase much more efficiently after transducin binds to its effector, cGMP phosphodiesterase. Here we show that different domains of RGS9-G beta 5 make opposite contributions toward this selectivity. G beta 5 bound to the G protein gamma subunit-like domain of RGS9 acts to reduce RGS9 affinity for transducin, whereas other structures restore this affinity specifically for the transducin-phosphodiesterase complex. We suggest that this mechanism may serve as a general principle conferring specificity of RGS protein action.
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PMID:RGS9-G beta 5 substrate selectivity in photoreceptors. Opposing effects of constituent domains yield high affinity of RGS interaction with the G protein-effector complex. 1149 24

Cyclic GMP plays a key role in retinal phototransduction and its photoreceptor concentration is precisely controlled by the cooperative action of cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) and retinal guanylyl cyclase (retGC). However, studies of the relationship between these two systems have focused only on a Ca2+-mediated, indirect connection. This article summarizes our studies strongly suggesting that RGS9-1 is directly involved in the cooperative action of PDE and retGC, and that this ingenious mechanism plays an important role in tuning of cGMP concentration in photoreceptors.
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PMID:A novel role of RGS9: inhibition of retinal guanylyl cyclase. 1195 87

Vertebrate cone and rod photoreceptor cells use similar mechanisms to transduce light signals into electrical signals, but their responses to light differ in sensitivity and kinetics. To assess the role of G-protein GTP hydrolysis kinetics in mammalian cone photoresponses, we have characterized photoresponses and GTPase regulatory components of cones and rods from the cone-dominant retina of the eastern chipmunk. Sensitivity, based on the stimulus strength required for a half-maximum response, of the M-cone population was 38-fold lower than that of the rods. The relatively lower cone sensitivity could be attributed in part to lower amplification in the rising phase and in part to faster recovery kinetics. At a molecular level, cloning of chipmunk cDNA and expression of recombinant proteins provided standards for quantitative immunoblot analysis of proteins involved in GTPase acceleration. The ratio of the cGMP-phosphodiesterase inhibitory subunit gamma to cone pigment, 1:68, was similar to the levels observed for ratios to rhodopsin in bovine retina, 1:76, or mouse retina, 1:65. In contrast, the ratio to pigment of the GTPase-accelerating protein RGS9-1 was 1:62, more than 10 times higher than ratios observed in rod-dominant retinas. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that, in contrast to rods, RGS9-1 in chipmunk retina is associated with both the short and long isoforms of its partner subunit G(beta5). The much higher levels of the GTPase-accelerating protein complex in cones, compared with rods, suggest a role for GTPase acceleration in obtaining rapid photoresponse kinetics.
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PMID:GTPase regulators and photoresponses in cones of the eastern chipmunk. 1259 17

The retinal photoreceptors of the nocturnal Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) consist exclusively of rods by the criteria of morphology and key features of their light responses. Unlike cones, they display robust photoresponses and have relatively slow recovery times. Nonetheless, the major and minor visual pigments identified in gecko rods are of the cone type by sequence and spectroscopic behavior. In the ongoing search for the molecular bases for the physiological differences between cones and rods, we have characterized the molecular biology and biochemistry of the gecko rod phototransduction cascade. We have cloned cDNAs encoding all or part of major protein components of the phototransduction cascade by RT-PCR with degenerate oligonucleotides designed to amplify cone- or rod-like sequences. For all proteins examined we obtained only cone-like and never rod-like sequences. The proteins identified include transducin alpha (Galphat), phosphodiesterase (PDE6) catalytic and inhibitory subunits, cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGalpha) and arrestin. We also cloned cDNA encoding gecko RGS9-1 (Regulator of G Protein Signaling 9, splice variant 1), which is expressed in both rods and cones of all species studied but is typically found at 10-fold higher concentrations in cones, and found that gecko rods contain slightly lower RGS9-1 levels than mammalian rods. Furthermore, we found that the levels of GTPase accelerating protein (GAP) activity and cyclic GMP (cGMP) phosphodiesterase activity were similar in gecko and mammalian rods. These results place substantial constraints on the critical changes needed to convert a cone into a rod in the course of evolution: The many features of phototransduction molecules conserved between those expressed in gecko rods and those expressed in cones cannot explain the physiological differences, whereas the higher levels of RGS9-1 and GAP activity in cones are likely among the essential requirements for the rapid photoresponses of cones.
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PMID:Tokay gecko photoreceptors achieve rod-like physiology with cone-like proteins. 1655 62

The phosphodiesterase 6 gamma (PDE6 gamma) inhibitory subunit of the rod PDE6 effector enzyme plays a central role in the turning on and off of the visual transduction cascade, since binding of PDE6 gamma to the transducin alpha subunit (T alpha) initiates the hydrolysis of the second messenger cGMP, and PDE6 gamma in association with RGS9-1 and the other GAP complex proteins (G beta 5, R9AP) accelerates the conversion of T alpha GTP to T alpha GDP, the rate-limiting step in the decay of the rod light response. Several studies have shown that PDE6 gamma can be phosphorylated at two threonines, T22 and T35, and have proposed that phosphorylation plays some role in the physiology of the rod. We have examined this possibility by constructing mice in which T22 and/or T35 were replaced with alanines. Our results show that T35A rod responses rise and decay more slowly and are less sensitive to light than wild-type (WT). T22A responses show no significant difference in initial time course with WT but decay more rapidly, especially at dimmer intensities. When the T22A mutation is added to T35A, double mutant rods no longer showed the prolonged decay of T35A rods but remained slower than WT in initial time course. Our experiments suggest that the polycationic domain of PDE6 gamma containing these two phosphorylation sites can influence the rate of PDE6 activation and deactivation and raise the possibility that phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of PDE6 gamma could modify the time course of transduction, thereby influencing the wave form of the light response.
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PMID:Removal of phosphorylation sites of gamma subunit of phosphodiesterase 6 alters rod light response. 1713 7

The GTPase activating protein, RGS9-1, is vital for the deactivation and regulation of the phototransduction cascade (C. K. Chen et al., 2000; C. W. Cowan, R. N. Fariss, I. Sokal, K. Palczewski, & T. G. Wensel, 1998; W. He, C. W. Cowan, & T. G. Wensel, 1998; A. L. Lyubarsky et al., 2001). Its loss through genetic defects in humans has been linked to a slow recovery to changes in illumination (K. M. Nishiguchi et al., 2004). Such a deficit is to be expected because RGS9-1 normally speeds up the deactivation of the activated phosphodiesterase effector molecule, PDE6*, and thus accelerates the turning off of the visual response. Paradoxically, however, we find that the cone response in an observer lacking RGS9-1 is faster at lower light levels than it is in a normal observer. Though surprising, this result is nonetheless consistent with molecular models of light adaptation (e.g., E. N. Pugh, S. Nikonov, & T. D. Lamb, 1999), which predict that the excess of PDE6* resulting from the loss of RGS9-1 will shorten the visual integration time and speed up the visual response at inappropriately low light levels. The gain in speed caused by the superfluity of PDE6* at lower light levels compensates for the loss caused by its slow deactivation; thus quickening the response relative to that in the normal. As the light level is increased and the PDE6* concentration in the normal rises relative to that in the observer lacking RGS9-1, the temporal advantage of the latter is soon lost, leaving only the deficit due to delayed deactivation.
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PMID:The loss of the PDE6 deactivating enzyme, RGS9, results in precocious light adaptation at low light levels. 1831 13


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