cAMP regulates plasma membrane vacuolar-type H+-ATPase assembly and activity in blowfly salivary glands

Reversible assembly of the V0V1 holoenzyme from V0 and V1 subcomplexes is a widely used mechanism for regulation of vacuolar-type H+-ATPases (V-ATPases) in animal cells. In the blowfly (Calliphora vicina) salivary gland, V-ATPase is located in the apical membrane of the secretory cells and energizes the secretion of a KCl-rich saliva in response to the hormone serotonin. We have examined whether the cAMP pathway, known to be activated by serotonin, controls V-ATPase assembly and activity. Fluorescence measurements of pH changes at the luminal surface of isolated glands demonstrate that cAMP, Sp-adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate, or forskolin, similar to serotonin, cause V-ATPase-dependent luminal acidification. In addition, V-ATPase-dependent ATP hydrolysis increases upon treatment with these agents. Immunofluorescence microscopy and pelleting assays have demonstrated further that V1 components become translocated from the cytoplasm to the apical membrane and V-ATPase holoenzymes are assembled at the apical membrane during conditions that increase intracellular cAMP. Because these actions occur without a change in cytosolic Ca2+, our findings suggest that the cAMP pathway mediates the reversible assembly and activation of V-ATPase molecules at the apical membrane upon hormonal stimulus.