Inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol can differentially modulate gene expression in Dictyostelium

We have previously shown that several genes expressed during Dictyostelium development could be induced in shaking culture by exogenous cAMP, even though the accumulation of intracellular cAMP was inhibited. The use of selected cAMP analogs indicated that the exogenous cAMP functioned by activating the cell surface cAMP receptor and not by interacting with the regulatory subunit of the intracellular cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Although some genes in Dictyostelium appear to be regulated by intracellular cAMP, these data suggest that this is not the case for all genes regulated by cAMP. Intracellular second messengers other than cAMP may, therefore, promote the expression of these other genes. Here, we have examined inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol as candidates for such mediators of signal transduction. We have studied three genes that exhibit disparate modes of temporal and spatial expression during development of Dictyostelium. In shaking cultures, maximal levels of expression of each are dependent on the accumulation of or exposure to extracellular cAMP. We show that the addition of inositol trisphosphate and/or diacylglycerol to cells in shaking culture has distinct effects on the expression of each gene and, under specific conditions, can bypass the requirement for extracellular cAMP. These data suggest that extracellular cAMP interacting with its cell surface receptor may promote synthesis of inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol to regulate gene expression and aspects of differentiation in Dictyostelium.