CD38 is a 42-kilodalton glycoprotein expressed extensively on B and T lymphocytes. CD38 exhibits a structural homology to Aplysia adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosyl cyclase. This enzyme catalyzes the synthesis of cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), a metabolite of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) with calcium-mobilizing activity. A complementary DNA encoding the extracellular domain of murine CD38 was constructed and expressed, and the resultant recombinant soluble CD38 was purified to homogeneity. Soluble CD38 catalyzed the formation and hydrolysis of cADPR when added to NAD+. Purified cADPR augmented the proliferative response of activated murine B cells, potentially implicating the enzymatic activity of CD38 in lymphocyte function.

We have previously shown that alkaline treatment of NADP generates a derivative which can mobilize Ca2+ from sea urchin egg homogenates (Clapper, D. L., Walseth, T. F., Dargie, P. J., and Lee, H. C. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 9561-9568). In this study, the active derivative was purified and shown by high pressure liquid chromatography to be distinct from NADP and NADPH. However, its proton NMR spectrum was virtually identical to that of NADP. The mass of its molecular ion was measured by high resolution mass spectrometry to be 743.0510, one mass unit larger than the corresponding ion of NADP. These results are consistent with the active derivative being nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP). Ca2+ release induced by NAADP was saturable with a half-maximal concentration of about 30 nM. The release was specific since NADP and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide were ineffective even at 10-40-fold higher concentrations. The NAADP-dependent Ca2+ release showed desensitization and was insensitive to heparin and a specific antagonist of cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), 8-amino-cADPR. The release mechanism did not require calmodulin. This is similar to the inositol trisphosphate-sensitive release but distinct from that of cADPR. That the NAADP-sensitive Ca2+ stores were different from those sensitive to inositol trisphosphate- or cADPR was further indicated by their differences in distribution on Percoll density gradients. Microinjection of NAADP into live sea urchin eggs induced transient elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and triggered the cortical reaction, indicating the NAADP-dependent mechanism is operative in intact cells.

ADP-ribosyl cyclase catalyzes the cyclization of NAD+ to produce cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), which is emerging as an endogenous regulator of the Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release mechanism in cells. CD38 is a lymphocyte differentiation antigen which has recently been shown to be a bifunctional enzyme that can synthesize cADPR from NAD+ as well as hydrolyze cADPR to ADP-ribose. In this study, we show that both the cyclase and CD38 can also catalyze the exchange of the nicotinamide group of NADP+ with nicotine acid (NA). The product is nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP+), a metabolite we have previously shown to be potent in Ca2+ mobilization (Lee, H. C., and Aarhus, R. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 2152-2157). The switch of the catalysis to the exchange reaction requires acidic pH and NA. The half-maximal effective concentration of NA is about 5 mM for both the cyclase and CD38. In the absence of NA or at neutral pH, the cyclase converts NADP+ to another metabolite, which is identified as cyclic ADP-ribose 2'-phosphate. Under the same conditions, CD38 converts NADP+ to ADP-ribose 2'-phosphate instead, which is the hydrolysis product of cyclic ADP-ribose 2'-phosphate. That two different products of ADP-ribosyl cyclase and CD38, cADPR and NAADP+, are both involved in Ca2+ mobilization suggests a crucial role of these enzymes in Ca2+ signaling.

Calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) may function widely in calcium-mediated cell signaling, but has been most thoroughly characterized in muscle cells. In a homogenate of sea urchin eggs, which display transients in the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) during fertilization and anaphase, addition of Ca2+ triggered CICR. Ca2+ release was also induced by the CICR modulators ryanodine and caffeine. Responses to both Ca2+ and CICR modulators (but not Ca2+ release mediated by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) were inhibited by procaine and ruthenium red, inhibitors of CICR. Intact eggs also displayed transients of [Ca2+]i when microinjected with ryanodine. Cyclic ADP-ribose, a metabolite with potent Ca(2+)-releasing properties, appears to act by way of the CICR mechanism and may thus be an endogenous modulator of CICR. A CICR mechanism is present in these nonmuscle cells as is assumed in various models of intracellular Ca2+ wave propagation.

Cells possess various mechanisms for transducing external signals to intracellular responses. The discovery of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) as a messenger for mobilizing internal Ca2+ stores has centralized Ca2+ mobilization among signaling mechanisms. Results reviewed in this article establish that, in addition to IP3, the internal Ca2+ stores can be mobilized by at least two other molecules, cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), via totally independent mechanisms. Cyclic ADP-ribose is a newly discovered cyclic nucleotide derived from NAD, but, unlike adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate, its main signaling function is modulation of Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release, a major mechanism of Ca2+ mobilization in addition to the IP3 pathway. Evidence shows that cADPR may in fact be responsible for mediating the Ca(2+)-mobilizing activity of the gaseous messenger nitric oxide. Cells responsive to cADPR are widespread and include species from plant to mammal, indicating the generality of cADPR as a signaling molecule. In addition to cADPR, NAADP, a metabolite of NADP, can also mobilize Ca2+ stores. The release mechanism and the stores on which NAADP acts are distinct from cADPR and IP3. Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate may play a role in generating Ca2+ oscillations, since liberation of NAADP in live cells by photolyzing its caged analog produces long lasting Ca2+ oscillations. These two new Ca2+ agonists are intimately related, since the same metabolic enzymes can, under appropriate conditions, synthesize either one, suggesting a unified mechanism may regulate both pathways. Elucidation of these two new Ca2+ mobilization pathways is likely to have an important impact on our understanding of cellular signaling mechanisms.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is the primary hormone that mediates plant responses to stresses such as cold, drought, and salinity. Single-cell microinjection experiments in tomato were used to identify possible intermediates involved in ABA signal transduction. Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) was identified as a signaling molecule in the ABA response and was shown to exert its effects by way of calcium. Bioassay experiments showed that the amounts of cADPR in Arabidopsis thaliana plants increased in response to ABA treatment and before ABA-induced gene expression.

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Summary SARM1, an NAD-utilizing enzyme, regulates axonal degeneration. We show that CZ-48, a cell-permeant mimetic of NMN, activated SARM1 in vitro and in cellulo to cyclize NAD and produce a Ca 2+ messenger, cADPR, with similar efficiency as NMN. Knockout of NMN-adenylyltransferase elevated cellular NMN and activated SARM1 to produce cADPR, confirming NMN was its endogenous activator. Determinants for the activating effects and cell permeability of CZ-48 were identified. CZ-48 activated SARM1 via a conformational change of the auto-inhibitory domain and dimerization of its catalytic domain. SARM1 catalysis was similar to CD38, despite having no sequence similarity. Both catalyzed similar set of reactions, but SARM1 had much higher NAD-cyclizing activity, making it more efficient in elevating cADPR. CZ-48 acted selectively, activating SARM1 but inhibiting CD38. In SARM1-overexpressing cells, CZ-48 elevated cADPR, depleted NAD and ATP, and induced non-apoptotic death. CZ-48 is a specific modulator of SARM1 functions in cells.