Reversible modulation of opioid receptor binding in intact neural cells by endogenous guanosine triphosphate

Incubation of SH-SY5Y neural cells with mycophenolic acid (MPA), an inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (the key enzyme in purine nucleotide biosynthesis), reduced the cellular content of GTP by 94% relative to its concentration in control cells (43 nmol/mg protein) without altering the level of GDP. Although in GTP-depleted intact cells the receptor binding parameters (Kd and Bmax) of the opioid antagonist [3H]naltrexone were unchanged from those in untreated cells, the binding affinity of the mu-selective opioid agonist [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-(Me)- Phe-Gly-ol ([3H]DAMGO) was enhanced 2-fold. Furthermore, the kinetics of ligand/receptor interaction revealed that in the nucleotide-depleted cells, the dissociation rate constant for [3H]DAMGO was reduced by 44%. Initial exposure of SH-SY5Y cells to pertussis toxin reduced high-affinity ligand binding by 95% and abolished the effect of MPA treatment. Renewed incubation of the GTP-depleted cells with guanosine restored the original GTP levels and agonist binding. Neither MPA nor guanosine treatment changed the Bmax of [3H]DAMGO binding. Forskolin- and prostaglandin E1-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities were decreased significantly in GTP-depleted cells. DAMGO and [D-Pen2,D-Pen5]enkephalin inhibitions of adenylyl cyclase were also affected with MPA treatment. Maximal inhibition of forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity by both of the agonists was reduced, whereas MPA caused a 2-fold reduction in potency for DAMGO. The results show that reduction in endogenous GTP levels leads to noticeable changes in agonist, receptor, and G protein interactions, as measured by agonist binding, and to subsequent diminution of the signal transduction, as reflected by the cAMP levels.