Signaling of rat frizzled-2 through phosphodiesterase and cyclic GMP

Abstract

The Frizzled-2 receptor (Rfz2) from rat binds Wnt proteins and can signal by activating calcium release from intracellular stores. We show that wild-type Rfz2 and a chimeric receptor consisting of the extracellular and transmembrane portions of the β2-adrenergic receptor with cytoplasmic domains of Rfz2 also signaled through modulation of cyclic guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP). Activation of either receptor led to a decline in the intracellular concentration of cGMP, a process that was inhibited in cells treated with pertussis toxin, reduced by suppression of the expression of the heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein) transducin, and suppressed through inhibition of cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity. Moreover, PDE inhibitors blocked Rfz2-induced calcium transients in zebrafish embryos. Thus, Frizzled-2 appears to couple to PDEs and calcium transients through G proteins.