MEDIATION OF PACAP-LIKE NEUROPEPTIDE TRANSMISSION BY COACTIVATION OF RAS/RAF AND CAMP SIGNAL-TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS IN DROSOPHILA

MUCH work on the signal transduction mechanisms underlying neurotransmission has been directed towards studying the roles of the cyclic AMP and phosphoinositide pathways1-3. Upon ligand binding, the transmitter receptors interact with heterotrimeric G proteins, allowing G(alpha) and G(beta gamma) subunits to disengage(2,3). The free G(alpha) then modulates the activity of adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C1-3. It has been suggested that the G(beta gamma), complex which is activated through muscarinic or neuropeptide receptors can stimulate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) via activation of the small guanine-nucleotide-binding protein Ras(4,5). Sequential activation of the intermediates in the Ras/Raf serine-threonine protein kinase/MAPK kinase/MAPK/transcription factor pathway has emerged as a central mechanism for controlling cell proliferation and differentiation in yeast, worms, fruitflies and mammals(6-11). Here we show, by analysis of Drosophila mutants, that synaptic current and modulation of K+ current, triggered by a pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating polypeptide-like neuropeptide(12), are mediated by coactivation of the Ras/Raf and Rutabaga-adenylyl cyclase pathways. Thus the Ras/Raf pathway also appears to be essential for G-protein-coupled neurotransmission.