Search

The phosphorylation state of a given tyrosine residue is determined by both protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) and protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) activities. However, little is known about the functional interaction of these opposing activities at the level of an identified effector molecule. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including the m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR), regulate a tyrosine kinase activity that phosphorylates and suppresses current generated by the Kv1.2 potassium channel. We examined the possibility that PTPs also participate in this signaling pathway since the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor vanadate increases the extent of both Kv1.2 phosphorylation and suppression. We show that an endogenous transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase, receptor tyrosine phosphatase alpha (RPTPalpha), becomes tyrosine phosphorylated and co-immunoprecipitates with Kv1.2 in a manner dependent on m1 receptor activation. The N- and C-termini of Kv1.2 are shown to bind RPTPalpha in vitro. Overexpression of RPTPalpha in Xenopus oocytes increases resting Kv1.2 current. Biochemical and electrophysiological analysis reveals that recruiting RPTPalpha to Kv1.2 functionally reverses the tyrosine kinase-induced phosphorylation and suppression of Kv1.2 current in mammalian cells. Taken together, these results identify RPTPalpha as a new target of m1 mAChR signaling and reveal a novel regulatory mechanism whereby GPCR-mediated suppression of a potassium channel depends on the coordinate and parallel regulation of PTK and PTP activities.

Intracellular tyrosine kinases link the G protein-coupled m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) to multiple cellular responses. However, the mechanisms by which m1 mAChRs stimulate tyrosine kinase activity and the identity of the kinases within particular signaling pathways remain largely unknown. We show that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a single transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase, becomes catalytically active and dimerized through an m1 mAChR-regulated pathway that requires protein kinase C, but is independent of EGF. Finally, we demonstrate that transactivation of the EGFR plays a major role in a pathway linking m1 mAChRs to modulation of the Kv1.2 potassium channel. These results demonstrate a ligand-independent mechanism of EGFR transactivation by m1 mAChRs and reveal a novel role for these growth factor receptors in the regulation of ion channels by G protein-coupled receptors.

Background: One of the principal mechanisms by which G-protein-coupled receptors evoke cellular responses is through the activation of phospholipase C (PLC) and the subsequent release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. Receptors that couple to pertussis toxin (PTX)-insensitive G proteins typically evoke large increases in PLC activity and intracellular Ca2+ release. In contrast, receptors that use only PTX-sensitive G proteins usually generate weak PLC-dependent responses, but efficiently regulate a second effector enzyme, adenylyl cyclase. For example, in many cell types, agonist binding by the m4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (m4 receptor) results in a strong inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and very little stimulation of PLC activity or release of intracellular Ca2+. We have investigated whether the weak, PTX-sensitive stimulation of PLC activity by the m4 receptor can play a significant role in the generation of cellular responses., Results: We report here that PTX-sensitive Ca2+ release mediated by the m4 receptor in transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells is greatly enhanced when endogenous purinergic receptors simultaneously activate a PTX-insensitive signaling pathway. Furthermore, m4-receptor-induced transcription of the c-fos gene (a Ca(2+)-sensitive response) is similarly potentiated when purinergic receptors are coactivated. These enhanced m4-receptor-dependent Ca2+ responses do not require an influx of external Ca2+, and occur in the absence of detectable purinergic-receptor-stimulated Ca2+ release; they apparently require the activation of both PTX-sensitive and PTX-insensitive G-protein pathways. Measurements of phosphoinositide hydrolysis indicate that the enhancement of m4-receptor-mediated Ca2+ signaling by purinergic receptors is due to a synergistic increase in agonist-stimulated PLC activity., Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that the potency of m4-receptor-mediated PLC signaling is highly dependent upon the presence or absence of other PLC-activating agonists. The ability of the m4 receptor to evoke a strong, but conditional, activation of PLC may allow this type of receptor to participate in a coincidence-detection system that amplifies simultaneous PLC-activating signals through a mechanism involving crosstalk between PTX-sensitive and PTX-insensitive G-protein pathways.

Neurotransmitter receptors alter membrane excitability and synaptic efficacy by generating intracellular signals that ultimately change the properties of ion channels. Through expression studies in Xenopus oocytes and mammalian cells, we found that the G protein-coupled m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor potently suppresses a cloned delayed rectifier K+ channel through a pathway involving phospholipase C activation and direct tyrosine phosphorylation of the K+ channel. Furthermore, analysis of neuroblastoma cells revealed that a similar tyrosine kinase-dependent pathway links endogenous G protein-coupled receptors to suppression of the native RAK channel. These results suggest a novel mechanism by which neurotransmitters and hormones may regulate a specific type of K+ channel that is widely expressed in the mammalian brain and heart.