|
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mechanisms of Hormone Action |
a Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
b Truman Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65212
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
cyclic guanosine monophosphate, epididymis, female reproductive tract, male reproductive tract, polypeptide receptors
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) is the membrane-bound receptor for the heat-stable enterotoxin (ST) peptides and for the endogenous peptide ligands guanylin, uroguanylin, and lymphoguanylin. GC-C is predominantly expressed on the apical surface of epithelial cells of the intestine, and activation of GC-C by ST leads to an increase in intracellular cGMP levels [6]. Cyclic GMP cross-activates protein kinase A and protein kinase G, which phosphorylate and activate the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) leading to chloride ion secretion. This secretion in turn causes secretion of water into the lumen, which results in "traveler's diarrhea" associated with the ST peptides [7, 8]. The endogenous peptides guanylin and uroguanylin have a lower affinity for GC-C than do the ST peptides and are produced within the intestinal mucosa to serve as paracrine and autocrine regulators of intestinal fluid and electrolyte secretion [9].
In immunohistochemical studies using a monoclonal antibody to GC-C [10], GC-C was expressed throughout the rat and human small intestine and was detected in the intestine of the domestic chicken [11], other avian species [12], and reptiles [13] by in situ receptor autoradiography. In addition, the GC-C transcript and/or protein have been detected in extraintestinal tissues by a variety of methods, including radioligand binding, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. For example, radiolabeled ST-binding analysis revealed that in the North American opossum, GC-C is expressed in tissues such as the proximal tubules of the kidney, airway epithelium, and seminiferous tubules of the testis [14, 15]. Northern blot analysis revealed that GC-C is expressed in the perinatal liver, placenta, and testis of the rat [16], and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis demonstrated the presence of GC-C in the adrenal glands and brain in rat, human, and bovine airway epithelia [17]. GC-C has also been detected in the hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells during liver regeneration [18] and in clusters of cells in the stomach epithelium [19].
The distribution of guanylin and uroguanylin follows a pattern of expression similar to that of GC-C. Other than the intestine, guanylin mRNA has also been detected in several tissues such as the adrenal glands, kidney, uterus, and oviduct of the rat [17]. Guanylin bioactivity has been detected in human airway epithelium [20] and in many tissues of the opossum, including reproductive tissues and the brain [21].
Intracellular cGMP accumulation elicited by guanylin and uroguanylin influences transepithelial Cl- and HCO3- secretion by interacting with and stimulating the enzyme activities of protein kinase A and protein kinase G-II. In the present study, we demonstrated the presence of GC-C, guanylin, and uroguanylin transcripts in reproductive tissues such as the testis, epididymis, prostate, ovary, oviduct, and uterus of the rat. High levels of GC-C mRNA were detected in the epididymis, which indicates for the first time the functionality of GC-C in epididymal tissue and its cellular expression. Because CFTR, a chloride channel [22], is an important downstream effector molecule in the GC-C signaling pathway, the coordinated expression of GC-C, its ligands, and CFTR may provide the machinery for the regulation of Cl- secretion and the maintenance of ion balance in reproductive tissues.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Adult male and female Wistar rats (>60 days of age) were used for all experiments. Total RNA was prepared from whole tissues using Tri Reagent (Sigma, St. Louis, MO). The tissue was minced and homogenized in Tri Reagent (100 mg tissue in 1.4 ml of Tri Reagent), and the homogenate was incubated at room temperature for 15 min. Chloroform (280 µl) was then added, and samples were vortexed thoroughly. The homogenate was allowed to stand for 15 min at room temperature and was then centrifuged at 12 000 x g at 4°C for 15 min. The resulting aqueous solution was then processed through the RNeasy RNA purification kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) as per the manufacturer's instructions. Complementary DNAs were synthesized from 5 µg of total RNA using reverse transcriptase (Superscript II; Life Technologies, Rockville, MD). Primers were designed to amplify the protein kinase-like domain (PKLD) of GC-C, pre-prouroguanylin, and pre-proguanylin. The sequences of the primers used were as follows. For the PKLD of GC-C, the forward primer was RGC 1307 (5'-ATTGC-CGTCTTCACGCTCAC-3'), and the reverse primer was RGC 2195 (5'-GAAGGAGGGTTGTCAAAAATGTT-3'). For uroguanylin, the forward primer sequence was 5'-ATGTCAGGAATTCAACTGTGG-3', and the reverse primer sequence was 5'-AGGTGTCTCGAGTCATTTCAT-3'. For guanylin, the forward primer sequence was 5'-GTGCCTTGGCTGTCCTGGTAGAAG-3', and the reverse primer sequence was 5'-TCTGCAGGATCTCCTCGGCGTTG-3'.
The GC-C, uroguanylin, and guanylin primers amplified products of 888, 317, and 250 base pairs (bp), respectively. PCR was carried out for 30 cycles of 94°C for 1 min, 56°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 1.5 min using Taq DNA polymerase (Gibco-BRL, Rockville, MD). The PCR-generated cDNA products were visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis and ethidium bromide staining. Negative controls included RNA of equivalent concentration without an RT reaction and water blanks for PCR. Neither of these showed any amplified product.
After gel electrophoresis, the DNA was transferred to nylon membranes. The membrane was prehybridized with Express hybridization mix (Clontech, Palo Alto, CA) at 70°C for 1 h. Probes were prepared by labeling purified PCR products obtained from the intestine using the same primers. Hybridization was carried out at 70°C for 1 h, blots were washed with 2x saline-sodium citrate (SSC)/0.1% SDS (w/v) for 5 min at room temperature, then 0.2x SSC/0.1% SDS (w/v) for 15 min at 72°C. The membrane was then covered with Saran Wrap and exposed to x-ray film at -70°C to obtain an autoradiogram. The RT-PCR products were reamplified and sequenced to confirm the products obtained (data not shown).
Immunoprecipitation of GC-C
Caput epididymis and cauda epididymis tissue was homogenized in homogenization buffer (50 mM Hepes pH 7.5, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 5 mM EDTA, 2 mM PMSF, 1 µg/ml aprotinin, and 1 µg/ml leupeptin). The homogenate was sonicated for 20 sec, and lysed cells were centrifuged at 1000 x g for 5 min. The supernatant was collected and subjected to centrifugation at 30 000 x g for 1 h. The membrane pellet obtained was resuspended in resuspension buffer (50 mM Hepes pH 7.5, 10 µg/ml aprotinin and 10 µg/ml leupeptin), and membrane protein (5 mg) was solubilized in the presence of 1% SDS (w/v) and 500 mM NaCl for 1 h. The fraction was centrifuged for 20 min at 12 000 x g, and the supernatant was diluted to a final composition of 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl, 2 mM EDTA, and 0.1% SDS (w/v) (immunoprecipitation buffer) containing 5 µg/ml aprotinin and 5 µg/ml leupeptin. GC-C present in the solubilized membrane preparation was immunoprecipitated using the GC-C:4D7 monoclonal antibody raised against the PKLD at a concentration of 2 µg/ml IgG as described previously [23]. The immune complex formed was precipitated with protein G agarose, and the protein G beads were washed and subjected to SDS gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis using GC-C:4D7, as described previously.
Measurement of cGMP Accumulation Following Uroguanylin Addition to Epididymal Tissue
The caput and cauda epididymis were dissected out and minced finely in Dulbecco modified Eagle-F12 medium containing 1 mM isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) and buffered with 50 mM Hepes, pH 7.5. Medium containing uroguanylin (10-5 M) and IBMX (1 mM) was added to 100 mg of tissue in 200 µl (w/v), and incubation was continued for 1 h at 37°C. After addition of 10 µl perchloric acid, the tissues were homogenized, neutralized with 10 M KOH, and centrifuged. After acetylating the samples as described previously [24], cGMP produced in the extract was measured by RIA.
Immunohistochemical Localization of GC-C in Epididymis
The caput epididymis and cauda epididymis were dissected out from an adult male Wistar rat and fixed in Bouin fixative for 12 h. The tissue was processed as described previously [10], and 5-µm serial sections were cut and spread on Vectabond-coated slides (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). The sections were deparaffinized in xylene for 30 min and hydrated in various grades of alcohol (absolute, 70%, 50%, 30% v/v) in PBS, pH 7.2, for 30 min each. The sections were treated with 90% (v/v) methanol containing 0.03% H2O2 (v/v) for 30 min and rehydrated for another 30 min in PBS. Sections were treated with 5% (v/v) goat serum in a humidified chamber for 1 h at room temperature and washed with PBS containing 0.1% (v/v) Tween 20 followed by PBS alone. GC-C:4D7 monoclonal IgG or antibody preadsorbed with a fusion protein consisting of the PKLD fused to glutathione S-transferase (GST) [23] (5 µg/ml) diluted in PBS containing 5% (v/v) goat serum was added, and incubation was continued in a humidified chamber at 4°C for 10 h. The sections were washed with PBS containing 0.1% (v/v) Tween 20 and then with PBS alone and incubated with 1:500 diluted anti-mouse horseradish peroxidase conjugate (Sigma) for 2 h. Sections were washed as above, and color was developed using 0.6 mg/ml solution of 3,3'diaminobenzidine containing 0.03% (v/v) H2O2. The sections were counter stained with Meyer hematoxylin for 1 min, dehydrated in alcohol and xylene, mounted in DPX mountant, and observed under bright light with a Zeiss microscope (Carl Zeiss Jena GmBH, Jena, Germany). Images were procured using Axiovision software (Carl Zeiss Jena GmBH).
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The anticipated low level of expression of GC-C in extraintestinal tissues prompted us to look for its mRNA using RT-PCR analysis. PCR products were then subjected to Southern blot analysis using as a probe the product obtained from RT-PCR of total intestinal RNA, which amplified the PKLD of rat GC-C. An 888-bp product was amplified from the ovary, oviduct, and uterus (Fig. 1). In addition, RT-PCR of testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle, and prostate gland tissue amplified an 888-bp GC-C product. The products from the intestine, ovary, and epididymis obtained by RT-PCR were visible after ethidium bromide staining, suggesting that GC-C is highly expressed in these tissues (Fig. 1). Individual products obtained by RT-PCR were cloned and sequenced, and analysis revealed that they were identical to the sequence of rat GC-C cloned from the intestine (data not shown).
|
Ligands for GC-C act in an autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine manner. We examined the expression of guanylin and uroguanylin in various reproductive tissues by RT-PCR and Southern blot analyses, and the data are shown in Figure 2. PCR products of 250 bp for guanylin and 317 bp for uroguanylin were detected in a number of tissues, and the sequences of these products were identical to those reported for rat guanylin and uroguanylin reported previously. These results therefore suggest that signaling mediated by GC-C and its ligands could play a role in reproductive tissues.
|
It was important at this stage to show the expression of a functional form of GC-C, composed of the extracellular domain linked to the PKLD and the catalytic domain. In addition, activation of GC-C by its ligand uroguanylin would indicate that the protein expressed in these tissues was responsive to ligand stimulation. Because the epididymis showed the maximum expression of GC-C mRNA, we attempted to detect expression of GC-C protein in this tissue by Western blot analysis and to characterize the cell types in the epididymis that expressed GC-C by immunohistochemistry using a monoclonal antibody to the receptor.
Expression of GC-C in Epididymis
Membranes were prepared from the cauda and caput epididymides, and GC-C was immunoprecipitated from solubilized membrane preparations using the monoclonal antibody GC-C:4D7 generated against the PKLD of GC-C. In human cell lines, this antibody reacts with two proteins of 145 and 130 kDa, representing glycosylated forms of GC-C. Bands of similar sizes were detected following immunoprecipitation from membranes prepared from both caput and cauda epididymides (Fig. 3A), indicating that the full-length GC-C protein is expressed in this tissue. These bands were the only ones detected on Western blotting because an immunoprecipitation step was included prior to analysis.
|
To determine whether GC-C expressed in the epididymis was responsive to ligand stimulation, we prepared minced tissues from the caput and cauda epididymides, added either the ST peptide or uroguanylin, and measured cGMP produced. A 3- to 5-fold stimulation of cGMP levels was seen (Fig. 3B), indicating that GC-C expressed in the epididymis was functional in terms of ligand-stimulatable cGMP production.
To study the cellular localization of GC-C in epididymal tissue, we performed immunohistochemical analysis with paraffin-embedded sections, using GC-C:4D7 monoclonal antibody. GC-C was expressed in the tubular epithelial cells of both caput epididymis and cauda epididymis (Fig. 4). The specificity of antibody binding was shown by incubating sections with antibody preadsorbed with excess GST-PKLD fusion protein or an equivalent concentration of normal mouse IgG (data not shown). Our results therefore suggest a robust expression of GC-C in the epididymis, perhaps indicating a role for this signaling pathway in this tissue in regulating fluid composition suitable for sperm maturation.
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Immunohistochemical data indicated that GC-C is localized in the tubular epithelial cells of both the initial segment of the caput epididymis and the cauda epididymis. In addition, some staining is observed in sperm. In the sea urchin, a sperm-associated guanylate cyclase is activated by speract and resact, the egg peptides, and increase in cGMP is known to initiate changes in sperm motility such as kinesis and chemotaxis [26]. Our preliminary evidence suggests the presence of GC-C message in round spermatids and pachytene spermatids (data not shown), raising the possibility that GC-C could regulate sperm chemotaxis in mammals.
The role of cGMP in the epididymis is open to speculation. Signaling through cAMP has been demonstrated in the epididymis [27]. The production of cGMP by particulate GC in membranes of the epididymis stimulated by atrial natriuretic peptide, brain nutriuretic peptide (BNP), and C-type nutriuretic peptide (CNP) was observed in Amyda japonica (a freshwater turtle). In vitro autoradiography studies revealed that another member of the membrane-associated guanylyl cyclase family, the natriuretic peptide receptor, is localized in the smooth muscle cell layer of the duct of the epididymis and therefore may be involved in the control of the transport of sperm in this turtle [28].
In the epididymis, secretion of electrolytes and fluid is controlled by neurohumoral factors such as bradykinin, angiotensin, endothelin, vasopressin, and 5-hydroxytyptamine, which stimulate anion secretion through the formation of prostaglandins [29]. In transgenic animals with impaired CFTR genes, uroguanylin-stimulated anion secretion is reduced in the proximal duodenum, but anion secretion responses to uroguanylin are not completely lost in the duodenum of the CF mouse. This finding indicates that uroguanylin regulates anion secretion in this segment of the intestine via CFTR-independent as well as CFTR-dependent mechanisms [30, 31]. Uroguanylin may therefore have similar physiological functions in the regulation of fluid and electrolyte transport in the epididymis. Other than CFTR, there are Na+/H+ and Cl-/HCO3- exchangers in the epididymis, and guanylin/uroguanylin may also act as regulators of channels and transporters of other Cl- channels, K+ channels, and epithelial Na+ channels [32].
GC-C knockout mice are resistant to STa-induced diarrhea and to enterotoxigenic bacteria that produce ST [33, 34]. Because natriuretic responses to uroguanylin and ST in vivo are retained in knockout mice, uroguanylin responses may also be retained in the epididymis and hence GC-C knockout mice remain viable and fertile and may develop normally. The information presented in this communication extends the cGMP signal transduction pathway to reproductive tissues in which the molecular machinery potentially exists for an intrinsic mechanism for regulation of target cell function by guanylin- and uroguanylin-mediated activation of GC-C. GC-C could be involved in the regulation of transepithelial, electrogenic secretion of chloride through cGMP-dependent protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation and activation of apical CFTR molecules in the epithelial cells of the epididymis.
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
2 Correspondence. FAX: 91 80 3600999; sandhya{at}mrdg.iisc.ernet.in ![]()
Received: 17 April 2002.
First decision: 17 May 2002.
Accepted: 1 July 2002.
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
N. G. Moss, R. C. Fellner, X. Qian, S. J. Yu, Z. Li, M. Nakazato, and M. F. Goy Uroguanylin, an Intestinal Natriuretic Peptide, Is Delivered to the Kidney as an Unprocessed Propeptide Endocrinology, September 1, 2008; 149(9): 4486 - 4498. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Sindic and E. Schlatter Cellular Effects of Guanylin and Uroguanylin J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., March 1, 2006; 17(3): 607 - 616. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |