Regional and cellular distribution of protein kinase C in rat cerebellar purkinje cells

Striated muscle laminopathies are cardiac and skeletal muscle conditions caused by mutations in the lamin A/C gene (LMNA). LMNA codes for the A-type lamins, which are nuclear intermediate filaments that maintain the nuclear structure and nuclear processes such as gene expression. Protein kinase C alpha (PKC-α) interacts with lamin A/C and with several lamin A/C partners involved in striated muscle laminopathies. To determine PKC-α’s involvement in muscular laminopathies, PKC-α’s localization, activation, and interactions with the A-type lamins were examined in various cell types expressing pathogenic lamin A/C mutations. The results showed aberrant nuclear PKC-α cellular distribution in mutant cells compared to WT. PKC-α activation (phos-PKC-α) was decreased or unchanged in the studied cells expressing LMNA mutations, and the activation of its downstream targets, ERK 1/2, paralleled PKC-α activation alteration. Furthermore, the phos-PKC-α-lamin A/C proximity was altered. Overall, the data showed that PKC-α localization, activation, and proximity with lamin A/C were affected by certain pathogenic LMNA mutations, suggesting PKC-α involvement in striated muscle laminopathies.

Download Full-text

Potentiation of NMDA receptor-mediated transmission in turtle cerebellar granule cells by activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1993.69.2.585 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 585-594 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

G. A. Kinney ◽

N. T. Slater

Keyword(s):

Nitric Oxide ◽

Protein Kinase C ◽

Nmda Receptor ◽

Protein Kinase ◽

Adenylate Cyclase ◽

Purkinje Cells ◽

Granule Cells ◽

Metabotropic Glutamate ◽

Kinase C ◽

Cell Synapse

1. The effects of metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonists on excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by stimulation of mossy fibers (MF) and parallel fibers (PF) were examined in turtle cerebellar Purkinje cells. 2. The mGluR agonist 1S,3R-ACPD (1-25 microM) reversibly potentiated the amplitude of the MF-evoked EPSPs, but was without effect on PF-evoked EPSPs. The potentiation of MF-evoked EPSPs was dose-dependent, with a median effective dose (ED50) of approximately 4.4 microM. At higher doses (15-25 microM) 1S,3R-ACPD produced a direct depolarization of Purkinje cells in 58% of cells examined. 3. The enhancement of MF EPSPs by 1S,3R-ACPD was mimicked by 1S,3S-ACPD (50 microM) and blocked by the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (D-AP5), but not by the mGluR antagonist L-2-amino-3-phosphonopionic acid (L-AP3; 1 mM), or the 1R,3S isomer of ACPD (25-500 microM). 4. Quisqualate (1 microM) produced a biphasic effect on MF EPSPs, producing an initial blockade of the EPSP followed by a D-AP5-sensitive potentiation. 5. The potentiation of MF EPSPs by 1S,3R-ACPD was not blocked by prior exposure to the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (10 microM), the protein kinase C inhibitor calphostin C (1 microM), the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin (25 microM), or the nitric oxide donator sodium nitroprusside (1 mM). Preincubation of the tissue for 24-48 h in pertussis toxin also failed to prevent the ability of 1S,3R-ACPD to potentiate the NMDA receptor-mediated component of the MF EPSP. PF EPSPs were also not significantly affected by these agents. 6. The results demonstrate that the mGluR agonists 1S,3R-ACPD, 1S,3S-ACPD, and quisqualate produce a potent, stereospecific potentiation of NMDA receptor-mediated transmission at the MF-granule cell synapse. Agents that modulate the intracellular messengers protein kinase C, adenylate cyclase, nitric oxide, or pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins failed to mimic or block this effect. This would suggest that the potentiation of NMDA receptor-mediated transmission at this synapse is not mediated via these systems, and reflects a different site of action of mGluR agonists on the NMDA receptor. The observed interaction between mGluR and NMDA receptors in granule cells provides a means for activity-dependent modulation of synaptic transmission, which may play a role in synaptic integration at the MF-granule cell synapse.

Download Full-text