Absence of glucose-induced cAMP signaling in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants cat1 and cat3 which are deficient in derepression of glucose-repressible proteins

Addition of glucose to derepressed cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae induces a transient, specific cAMP signal. Intracellular acidification in these cells, as caused by addition of protonophores like 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) causes a large, lasting increase in the cAMP level. The effect of glucose and DNP was investigated in glucose-repressed wild type cells and in cells of two mutants which are deficient in derepression of glucose-repressible proteins, cat1 and cat3. Addition of glucose to cells of the cat3 mutant caused a transient increase in the cAMP level whereas cells of the cat1 mutant and in most cases also repressed wild type cells did not respond to glucose addition with a cAMP increase. The glucose-induced cAMP increase in cat3 cells and the cAMP increase occasionally present in repressed wild type cells however could be prevented completely by addition of a very low level of glucose in advance. In derepressed wild type cells this does not prevent the specific glucose-induced cAMP signal at all. These results indicate that repressed cells do not show a true glucose-induced cAMP signal. When DNP was added to glucose-repressed wild type cells or to cells of the cat1 and cat3 mutants no cAMP increase was observed. Addition of a very low level of glucose before the DNP restored the cAMP increase which points to lack of ATP as the cause for the absence of the DNP effect. These data show that intracellular acidification is able to enhance the cAMP level in repressed cells. The glucose-induced artefactual increase occasionally observed in repressed cells is probably caused by the fact that their low intracellular pH is only restored after the ATP level has increased to such an extent that it is no longer limiting for cAMP synthesis. It is unclear why the artefactual increases are not always observed. Measurement of glucose- and DNP-induced activation of trehalase confirmed the physiological validity of the changes observed in the cAMP level. Our results are consistent with the idea that the glucose-induced signaling pathway contains a glucose-repressible protein and that the protein is located before the point where intracellular acidification triggers activation of the pathway.