Margarita Kamenetsky

Cyclic AMP produced inside mitochondria regulates oxidative phosphorylation.

Mitochondria constantly respond to changes in substrate availability and energy utilization to maintain cellular ATP supplies, and at the same time control reactive oxygen radical (ROS) production. Reversible phosphorylation of mitochondrial proteins has been proposed to play a fundamental role in metabolic homeostasis, but very little is known about the signaling pathways involved. We show here that protein kinase A (PKA) regulates ATP production by phosphorylation of mitochondrial proteins, including subunits of cytochrome c oxidase. The cyclic AMP (cAMP), which activates mitochondrial PKA, does not originate from cytoplasmic sources but is generated within mitochondria by the carbon dioxide/bicarbonate-regulated soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) in response to metabolically generated carbon dioxide. We demonstrate for the first time the existence of a CO(2)-HCO(3)(-)-sAC-cAMP-PKA (mito-sAC) signaling cascade wholly contained within mitochondria, which serves as a metabolic sensor modulating ATP generation and ROS production in response to nutrient availability.

Compartmentalization of bicarbonate-sensitive adenylyl cyclase in distinct signaling microdomains

Intracellular targets of the ubiquitous second messenger cAMP are located at great distances from the most widely studied source of cAMP, the G protein responsive transmembrane adenylyl cyclases. We previously identified an alternative source of cAMP in mammalian cells lacking transmembrane spanning domains, the “soluble” adenylyl cyclase (sAC). We now demonstrate that sAC is distributed in specific subcellular compartments: mitochondria, centrioles, mitotic spindles, mid‐bodies, and nuclei, all of which contain cAMP targets. Distribution at these intracellular sites proves that adenylyl cyclases are in close proximity to all cAMP effectors, suggesting a model in which local concentrations of cAMP are regulated by individual adenylyl cyclases targeted to specific microdomains throughout the cell.

Bicarbonate-responsive "soluble" adenylyl cyclase defines a nuclear cAMP microdomain.

Bicarbonate-responsive “soluble” adenylyl cyclase resides, in part, inside the mammalian cell nucleus where it stimulates the activity of nuclear protein kinase A to phosphorylate the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). The existence of this complete and functional, nuclear-localized cAMP pathway establishes that cAMP signals in intracellular microdomains and identifies an alternate pathway leading to CREB activation.

Soluble adenylyl cyclase mediates nerve growth factor-induced activation of Rap1.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and the ubiquitous second messenger cyclic AMP (cAMP) are both implicated in neuronal differentiation. Multiple studies indicate that NGF signals to at least a subset of its targets via cAMP, but the link between NGF and cAMP has remained elusive. Here, we have described the use of small molecule inhibitors to differentiate between the two known sources of cAMP in mammalian cells, bicarbonate- and calcium-responsive soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) and G protein-regulated transmembrane adenylyl cyclases. These inhibitors, along with sAC-specific small interfering RNA, reveal that sAC is uniquely responsible for the NGF-elicited rise in cAMP and is essential for the NGF-induced activation of the small G protein Rap1 in PC12 cells. In contrast and as expected, transmembrane adenylyl cyclase-generated cAMP is responsible for Rap1 activation by the G protein-coupled receptor ligand PACAP (pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating peptide). These results identify sAC as a mediator of NGF signaling and reveal the existence of distinct pathways leading to cAMP-dependent signal transduction.

Calcium-sensing soluble adenylyl cyclase mediates TNF signal transduction in human neutrophils

Through chemical screening, we identified a pyrazolone that reversibly blocked the activation of phagocyte oxidase (phox) in human neutrophils in response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or formylated peptide. The pyrazolone spared activation of phox by phorbol ester or bacteria, bacterial killing, TNF-induced granule exocytosis and phox assembly, and endothelial transmigration. We traced the pyrazolones mechanism of action to inhibition of TNF-induced intracellular Ca2+ elevations, and identified a nontransmembrane (“soluble”) adenylyl cyclase (sAC) in neutrophils as a Ca2+-sensing source of cAMP. A sAC inhibitor mimicked the pyrazolones effect on phox. Both compounds blocked TNF-induced activation of Rap1A, a phox-associated guanosine triphosphatase that is regulated by cAMP. Thus, TNF turns on phox through a Ca2+-triggered, sAC-dependent process that may involve activation of Rap1A. This pathway may offer opportunities to suppress oxidative damage during inflammation without blocking antimicrobial function.

Somatic ‘Soluble’ Adenylyl Cyclase Isoforms Are Unaffected in Sacytm1Lex/Sacytm1Lex ‘Knockout’ Mice

Background Mammalian Soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC, Adcy10, or Sacy) represents a source of the second messenger cAMP distinct from the widely studied, G protein-regulated transmembrane adenylyl cyclases. Genetic deletion of the second through fourth coding exons in Sacytm1Lex/Sacytm1Lex knockout mice results in a male sterile phenotype. The absence of any major somatic phenotype is inconsistent with the variety of somatic functions identified for sAC using pharmacological inhibitors and RNA interference. Principal Findings We now use immunological and molecular biological methods to demonstrate that somatic tissues express a previously unknown isoform of sAC, which utilizes a unique start site, and which ‘escapes’ the design of the Sacytm1Lex knockout allele. Conclusions/Significance These studies reveal increased complexity at the sAC locus, and they suggest that the known isoforms of sAC play a unique function in male germ cells.

Glucose and GLP-1 Stimulate cAMP Production via Distinct Adenylyl Cyclases in INS-1E Insulinoma Cells

Ramos et al. 2008. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.200810044 [OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] [1]: {openurl}?query=rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1085%252Fjgp.200810044%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F18695009%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%