Lena Stenson Holst

Regulation and function of the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE3) gene family

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some general information about cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs). It also discusses the PDE3 gene family, emphasizing the molecular biology, structure/function relationships, and cellular regulation and functional roles of PDE3s, as well as physiological/pharmacological actions, therapeutic applications, and potential benefits of PDE3 inhibitors. The major cause of concern in the use of PDE3 inhibitors as therapeutic agents is the potential for increased mortality in patients with known heart disease. Although caution is certainly warranted in this context, conclusions should not be indiscriminately applied to all PDE3 inhibitors. The pharmacological profiles of newer PDE3 inhibitors differ from those of the PDE3 inhibitors used in earlier heart failure clinical trials. Although milrinone and cilostazol are similar in potency as inhibitors of PDE3, milrinone had greater effects than cilostazol on increasing both cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and contractility in isolated rabbit cardiomyocytes. The ability to target PDE3 inhibitors to specific isoforms in specific intracellular compartments and/or specific cells may be critical for improvement in efficacy and safety. The acute benefits and chronic adverse actions of PDE3 inhibitors in patients, with heart failure, may result from the phosphorylation of different substrates of Protein kinase A (PKA) in different intracellular compartments. Newer PDE3 inhibitors that target a specific isoform in the appropriate compartment could potentially confer beneficial hemodynamic effects without adverse effects on mortality.

Alterations in regulation of energy homeostasis in cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 3B–null mice

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B) has been suggested to be critical for mediating insulin/IGF-1 inhibition of cAMP signaling in adipocytes, liver, and pancreatic beta cells. In Pde3b-KO adipocytes we found decreased adipocyte size, unchanged insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of protein kinase B and activation of glucose uptake, enhanced catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis and insulin-stimulated lipogenesis, and blocked insulin inhibition of catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis. Glucose, alone or in combination with glucagon-like peptide-1, increased insulin secretion more in isolated pancreatic KO islets, although islet size and morphology and immunoreactive insulin and glucagon levels were unchanged. The beta(3)-adrenergic agonist CL 316,243 (CL) increased lipolysis and serum insulin more in KO mice, but blood glucose reduction was less in CL-treated KO mice. Insulin resistance was observed in KO mice, with liver an important site of alterations in insulin-sensitive glucose production. In KO mice, liver triglyceride and cAMP contents were increased, and the liver content and phosphorylation states of several insulin signaling, gluconeogenic, and inflammation- and stress-related components were altered. Thus, PDE3B may be important in regulating certain cAMP signaling pathways, including lipolysis, insulin-induced antilipolysis, and cAMP-mediated insulin secretion. Altered expression and/or regulation of PDE3B may contribute to metabolic dysregulation, including systemic insulin resistance.

Important role of phosphodiesterase 3B for the stimulatory action of cAMP on pancreatic beta-cell exocytosis and release of insulin.

Cyclic AMP potentiates glucose-stimulated insulin release and mediates the stimulatory effects of hormones such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) on pancreatic β-cells. By inhibition of cAMP-degrading phosphodiesterase (PDE) and, in particular, selective inhibition of PDE3 activity, stimulatory effects on insulin secretion have been observed. Molecular and functional information on β-cell PDE3 is, however, scarce. To provide such information, we have studied the specific effects of the PDE3B isoform by adenovirus-mediated overexpression. In rat islets and rat insulinoma cells, approximate 10-fold overexpression of PDE3B was accompanied by a 6–8-fold increase in membrane-associated PDE3B activity. The cAMP concentration was significantly lowered in transduced cells (INS-1(832/13)), and insulin secretion in response to stimulation with high glucose (11.1 mm) was reduced by 40% (islets) and 50% (INS-1). Further, the ability of GLP-1 (100 nm) to augment glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was inhibited by ∼30% (islets) and 70% (INS-1). Accordingly, when stimulating with cAMP, a substantial decrease (65%) in exocytotic capacity was demonstrated in patch-clamped single β-cells. In untransduced insulinoma cells, application of the PDE3-selective inhibitor OPC3911 (10 μm) was shown to increase glucose-stimulated insulin release as well as cAMP-enhanced exocytosis. The findings suggest a significant role of PDE3B as an important regulator of insulin secretory processes.

Localization of hormone-sensitive lipase to rat Sertoli cells and its expression in developing and degenerating testes

Using in situ hybridization, hormone‐sensitive lipase was found to be expressed in a stage‐dependent manner in Sertoli cells of rat testis. No expression was found in Leydig cells but expression in spermatids could not be excluded. These results suggest a role for hormone‐sensitive lipase in the metabolism of lipid droplets in Sertoli cells, in contrast to its previously proposed function in steroid biosynthesis. The expression of testicular hormone‐sensitive lipase mRNA and protein, both larger in size compared to other tissues, coincided with the onset of spermatogenesis and was dependent on scrotal localization of the testis, suggesting a temperature‐dependent, pretranslational regulation of expression.

Adenovirus-Mediated Overexpression of Murine Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase 3B

To construct the recombinant adenovirus vector containing the cDNA for recombinant mouse cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 3B (mPDE3B), the cDNA for mPDE3B was subcloned into pACCMV.pLpA. Subsequently, this recombinant plasmid, pACCMV.mPDE3B, was cotransfected with pJM17 plasmid containing the adenoviral genome into 293 human embryonic kidney cells, and the replication-deficient adenovirus AdCMV.mPDE3B was generated via homologous recombination. Large-scale preparation of adenovirus yielded 10(11)-10(13) viral particles/mL and could be quantitated by real-time polymerase chain reaction using iCycler (Bio-Rad). Efficiency of gene transfer was assessed by infecting FDCP2 or H4IIE cells with a recombinant adenovirus expressing beta-galactosidase (beta-gal); greater than 75% of cells were infected. Expression of mPDE3B in H4IIE hepatoma cells, FDCP2 hematopoietic cells, and beta-cells from isolated pancreatic islets was detected by Western blot analysis. In lysates from FDCP2 cells and H4IIE hepatoma cells infected with recombinant adenoviral mPDE3B constructs, mPDE3B activity was increased 10- to 30-fold compared with the activity in lysates from cells infected with beta-gal adenovirus. Stimulation of FDCP2 cells infected with mPDE3B adenovirus with insulin (100 nM, 10 min) resulted in an approx 1.7-fold increase in endogenous PDE3B and recombinant wild-type PDE3B activities. Infection of rat pancreatic islets resulted in a 5- to 10-fold increase in PDE3B expression and activity and subsequent blunting of insulin secretion. Thus, adenovirus-mediated gene transfer is effective for studying expression and regulation of recombinant PDE3 in insulin-responsive cells as well as insulin-secreting cells.

CHAPTER 194 – cAMP/cGMP Dual-Specificity Phosphodiesterases

In general, dual-specificity PDEs seem to be regulators of many cyclic nucleotide signaling pathways, including proliferation of vascular smooth muscle (PDE1), myocardial contractility and platelet aggregation (PDE2 and PDE3), adrenal steroidogenesis (PDE2), and insulin/ IGF-1 action (PDE3). In addition, because of their intrinsic characteristics and regulatory properties, dual-specificity PDEs can serve as a locus for cross-talk among Ca 2+ , cAMP, and cGMP signaling pathways, since Ca 2+ , calmodulin, and calmodulin kinase regulate PDE1, and since, depending on physiological cyclic nucleotide concentrations, cGMP can modulate intracellular cAMP concentrations by either stimulating or inhibiting cAMP hydrolysis by activating PDE2 or inhibiting PDE3. Little is known of intracellular functions of recently identified PDE1O and 11, but PDE1O might be expected to function as a cAMP-inhibitable cGMP PDE.