scholarly journals Inhibition of L-type calcium-channel activity by thapsigargin and 2,5-t-butylhydroquinone, but not by cyclopiazonic acid

1994 ◽  
Vol 302 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
E J Nelson ◽  
C C R Li ◽  
R Bangalore ◽  
T Benson ◽  
R S Kass ◽  
...  

Thapsigargin (TG), 2,5-t-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) all inhibit the initial Ca(2+)-response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) by depleting intracellular Ca2+ pools sensitive to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). Treatment of GH3 pituitary cells for 30 min with 5 nM TG, 500 nM tBHQ or 50 nM CPA completely eliminated the TRH-induced spike in intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i). Higher concentrations of TG and tBHQ, but not CPA, were also found to inhibit strongly the activity of L-type calcium channels, as measured by the increase in [Ca2+]i or 45Ca2+ influx stimulated by depolarization. TG and tBHQ blocked high-K(+)-stimulated 45Ca2+ uptake, with IC50 values of 10 and 1 microM respectively. Maximal inhibition of L-channel activity was achieved 15-30 min after drug addition. Inhibition by tBHQ was reversible, whereas inhibition by TG was not. TG and CPA did not affect spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations when tested at concentrations adequate to deplete the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ pool. However, 20 microM TG and 10 microM tBHQ blocked [Ca2+]i oscillations completely. The effect of drugs on calcium currents was measured directly by using the patch-clamp technique. When added to the external bath, 10 microM CPA caused a sustained increase in the calcium-channel current amplitude over 8 min, 10 microM tBHQ caused a progressive inhibition, and 10 microM TG caused an enhancement followed by a sustained block of the calcium current over 8 min. In summary, CPA depletes IP3-sensitive Ca2+ stores and does not inhibit voltage-operated calcium channels. At sufficiently low concentrations, TG depletes IP3-sensitive stores without inhibiting L-channel activity, but, for tBHQ, inhibition of calcium channels occurs at concentrations close to those needed to block agonist mobilization of intracellular Ca2+.

1986 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
D R Matteson ◽  
C M Armstrong

The calcium currents of GH3 cells have been studied using the whole cell variant of the patch-clamp technique. Under conditions that eliminate sodium and potassium currents, we observed inward currents that activated within a few milliseconds, and deactivated with two time constants, approximately 150 microseconds and 3 ms at -80 mV, 18-20 degrees C. The components are called FD and SD (fast deactivating and slow deactivating). Both components are calcium currents, and are greatly reduced when magnesium is substituted for most of the calcium in the bath. In addition to (a) their different rates of deactivation, the two components differ in a number of other properties. (b) The SD component inactivates almost completely, with a time constant of 23 ms at 20 mV, 19 degrees C. The FD component, on the other hand, shows little or no sign of inactivation, and is almost the same in amplitude from 10 to 100 ms. The components thus seem quite independent of each other, and must arise from two independent sets of channels. (c) The FD channels activate more rapidly than SD at 20 mV, by a factor of approximately 2 as is shown in several ways. (d) In 10 Ca or 10 Ba, the activation curve for SD channels is approximately 20 mV more negative than for FD or Na channels. (e) FD channels conduct barium ions more effectively than calcium by a ratio of approximately 2. (f) FD channels "wash out" within minutes after the patch electrode breaks into a cell, whereas SD channel current remains relatively stable. It is argued that SD channels, because of their negative activation threshold, are involved in electrical events near threshold, and that FD channels are best suited for calcium injection once a spike has been initiated.


2008 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Chung ◽  
J.N. Rhee ◽  
S.J. Jung ◽  
J.S. Kim ◽  
S.B. Oh

Eugenol, a natural congener of capsaicin, is a routine analgesic agent in dentistry. We have recently demonstrated the inhibition of CaV2.2 calcium channel and sodium channel currents to be molecular mechanisms underlying the analgesic effect of eugenol. We hypothesized that CaV2.3 channels are also modulated by eugenol and investigated its mode of action using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in a heterologous expression system. Eugenol inhibited calcium currents in the E52 cell line, stably expressing the human CaV2.3 calcium channels, where TRPV1 is not endogenously expressed. The extent of current inhibition was not significantly different between naïve E52 cells and TRPV1-expressing E52 cells, suggesting no involvement of TRPV1. In contrast, TRPV1 activation is prerequisite for the inhibition of CaV2.3 calcium channels by capsaicin. The results indicate that eugenol has mechanisms distinct from those of capsaicin for modulating CaV2.3 channels. We suggest that inhibition of CaV2.3 channels by eugenol might contribute to its analgesic effect.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (5) ◽  
pp. C1211-C1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Haymes ◽  
Y. W. Kwan ◽  
J. P. Arena ◽  
R. S. Kass ◽  
P. M. Hinkle

These studies describe the effect of protein kinase C (PKC) activation on the activity of voltage-sensitive L-type Ca2+ channels of GH3 pituitary cells. The rate of 45Ca2+ uptake was stimulated greater than 25-fold by depolarization in the presence of BAY K 8644; the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) reduced this response by 70% in a concentration-dependent fashion. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) inhibited depolarization-induced 45Ca2+ uptake within 1 min and caused a nearly maximal reduction after 1 h; its effects were rapidly reversible. TPA decreased the high K(+)-stimulated increase in intracellular free calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) from 8.5- to 3.2-fold by 5 min and to 2.0-fold after 18 h without altering the peak [Ca2+]i response to the peptide hormone TRH. Ca2+ channel current, measured directly using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique, declined an average of 6.4% over 5 min for control cells and 28.9% when TPA was added to the bathing medium for 5 min. Treatment with 100 nM TPA for 24 h dramatically reduced peak current without shifting the peak of the current-voltage relationship. The mean peak Ca2+ channel current was reduced from 423 to 128 pA, although a few cells seemed completely resistant. To determine whether the effects of phorbol esters were due to the activation of PKC we tested the potency of several drugs to inhibit L-channel activity and to shift the affinity of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, an established PKC response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 1334-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. El Manira ◽  
N. Bussières

El Manira, A. and N. Bussières. Calcium channel subtypes in lamprey sensory and motor neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1334–1340, 1997. Pharmacologically distinct calcium channels have been characterized in dissociated cutaneous sensory neurons and motoneurons of the larval lamprey spinal cord. To enable cell identification, sensory dorsal cells and motoneurons were selectively labeled with fluorescein-coupled dextran amine in the intact spinal cord in vitro before dissociation. Calcium channels present in sensory dorsal cells, motoneurons, and other spinal cord neurons were characterized with the use of whole cell voltage-clamp recordings and specific calcium channel agonist and antagonists. The results show that a transient low-voltage-activated (LVA) calcium current was present in a proportion of sensory dorsal cells but not in motoneurons, whereas high-voltage-activated (HVA) calcium currents were seen in all neurons recorded. The different components of HVA current were dissected pharmacologically and similar results were obtained for both dorsal cells and motoneurons. The N-type calcium channel antagonist ω-conotoxin-GVIA(ω-CgTx) blocked >70% of the HVA current. A large part of the ω-CgTx block was reversed after washout of the toxin. The L-type calcium channel antagonist nimodipine blocked ∼15% of the total HVA current. The dihydropyridine agonist (±)-BayK 8644 markedly increased the amplitude of the calcium channel current. The BayK-potentiated current was not affected by ω-CgTx, indicating that the reversibility of the ω-CgTx effect is not due to a blockade of L-type channels. Simultaneous application of ω-CgTx and nimodipine left ∼15% of the HVA calcium channel current, a small part of which was blocked by the P/Q-type channel antagonist ω-agatoxin-IVA. In the presence of the three antagonists, the persistent residual current (∼10%) was completely blocked by cadmium. Our results provide evidence for the existence of HVA calcium channels of the N, L, and P/Q types and other HVA calcium channels in lamprey sensory neurons and motoneurons. In addition, certain types of neurons express LVA calcium channels.


1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 2231-2234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo Jun Liu ◽  
Barry W. Madsen

Liu, Guo Jun and Barry W. Madsen. PACAP38 modulates activity of NMDA receptors in cultured chick cortical neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2231–2234, 1997. The outside-out recording mode of the patch-clamp technique was used to study modulatory effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP38) on N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activity in cultured chick cortical neurons. Biphasic concentration-dependent effects of PACAP38 on channel opening frequency induced by NMDA (20 μM) and glycine (1 μM) were found, with low concentrations (0.5–2 nM) of PACAP38 increasing activity and higher concentrations (10–1,000 nM) causing inhibition. These effects were reversible, reduced with higher concentrations of glycine (2–10 μM) but not by 200 μM NMDA, and inhibited by 10 μM 7-chlorokynurenic acid. In addition, 1 μM PACAP6–38 (a PACAP antagonist) inhibited channel activity due to 20 μM NMDA and 1 μM glycine by 66%, and this inhibition was reduced to 13% in the additional presence of 2 nM PACAP38. These observations suggest thatPACAP38 has a direct modulatory effect on the NMDA receptor that is independent of intracellular second messengers and probably mediated through the glycine coagonist site(s).


1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 753-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Adams ◽  
Carlo Trequattrini

Adams, David J. and Carlo Trequattrini. Opioid receptor-mediated inhibition of ω-conotoxin GVIA-sensitive calcium channel currents in rat intracardiac neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 753–762, 1998. Modulation of depolarization-activated ionic conductances by opioid receptor agonists was investigated in isolated parasympathetic neurons from neonatal rat intracardiac ganglia by using the whole cell perforated patch clamp technique. Met-enkephalin (10 μM) altered the action potential waveform, reducing the maximum amplitude and slowing the rate of rise and repolarization but the afterhyperpolarization was not appreciably altered. Under voltage clamp, 10 μM Met-enkephalin selectively and reversibly inhibited the peak amplitude of high-voltage–activated Ca2+ channel currents elicited at 0 mV by ∼52% and increased three- to fourfold the time to peak. Met-enkephalin had no effect on the voltage dependence of steady-state inactivation but shifted the voltage dependence of activation to more positive membrane potentials whereby stronger depolarization was required to open Ca2+ channels. Half-maximal inhibition of Ba2+ current ( I Ba) amplitude was obtained with 270 nM Met-enkephalin or Leu-enkephalin. The opioid receptor subtype selective agonists, DAMGO and DADLE, but not DPDPE, inhibited I Ba and were antagonized by the opioid receptor antagonists, naloxone and naltrindole with IC50s of 84 nM and 1 μM, respectively. The κ-opioid receptor agonists, bremazocine and dynorphin A, did not affect Ca2+ channel current amplitude or kinetics. Taken together, these data suggest that enkephalin-induced inhibition of Ca2+ channels in rat intracardiac neurons is mediated primarily by the μ-opioid receptor type. Addition of Met-enkephalin after exposure to 300 nM ω-conotoxin GVIA, which blocked ∼75% of the total Ca2+ channel current, failed to cause a further decrease of the residual current. Met-enkephalin inhibited the ω-conotoxin GVIA-sensitive but not the ω-conotoxin-insensitive I Ba in rat intracardiac neurons. Dialysis of the cell with a GTP-free intracellular solution or preincubation of the neurons in Pertussis toxin (PTX) abolished the attenuation of I Ba by Met-enkephalin, suggesting the involvement of a PTX-sensitive Gprotein in the signal transduction pathway. The activation of μ-opioid receptors and subsequent inhibition of N-type Ca2+ channels in the soma and terminals of postganglionic intracardiac neurons is likely to inhibit the release of ACh and thereby regulate vagal transmission to the mammalian heart.


2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (6) ◽  
pp. R1524-R1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Kim ◽  
Mary D. Coyne ◽  
Judith K. Gwathmey

Voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) in ventricular myocytes from rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated in vitro using the perforated patch-clamp technique, which maintains the integrity of the intracellular milieu. First, we characterized the current using barium as the charge carrier and established the doses of various pharmacological agents to use these agents in additional studies. Second, we examined the current at several physiological temperatures to determine temperature dependency. The calcium currents at 10°C (acclimation temperature) were identified as l-type calcium currents based on their kinetic behavior and response to various calcium channel agonists and antagonists. Myocytes were chilled (4°C) and warmed (18 and 22°C), and the response of VDCC to varying temperatures was observed. There was no significant dependency of the current amplitude and kinetics on temperature. Amplitude decreased 25–36% at 4°C (Q10 ∼1.89) and increased 18% at 18°C (Q10 ∼1.23) in control, Bay K8644 (Bay K)-, and forskolin-enhanced currents. The inactivation rates (τi) did not demonstrate a temperature sensitivity for the VDCC (Q10 1.23–1.92); Bay K treatment, however, increased temperature sensitivity of τi between 10 and 18°C (Q10 3.98). The low Q10 values for VDCC are consistent with a minimal temperature sensitivity of trout myocytes between 4 and 22°C. This low-temperature dependency may provide an important role for sarcolemmal calcium channels in adaptation to varying environmental temperatures in trout.


2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (9) ◽  
pp. 620-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ru-xing Wang ◽  
Wen-ping Jiang

To investigate the effects of S- and R-amlodipine (Aml) on action potential (AP) and L-type calcium channel current (ICa-L), the whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used on rat ventricular myocytes to record AP, ICa-L, peak currents, steady-state activation currents, steady-state inactivation currents, and recovery currents from inactivation with S-Aml and R-Aml at various concentrations. Increasing concentrations of S-Aml gradually shortened AP durations (APDs). At concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, and 10 μmol/L, S-Aml blocked 1.5% ± 0.2%, 25.4% ± 5.3%, 65.2% ± 7.3%, 78.4% ± 8.1%, and 94.2% ± 5.0% of ICa-L, respectively (p < 0.05), and the half-inhibited concentration was 0.62 ± 0.12 µmol/L. Current–voltage curves were shifted upward; steady-state activation and inactivation curves were shifted to the left. At these concentrations of S-Aml, the half-activation voltages were –16.01 ± 1.65, –17.61 ± 1.60, –20.17 ± 1.46, –21.87 ± 1.69, and –24.09 ± 1.87 mV, respectively, and the slope factors were increased (p < 0.05). The half-inactivation voltages were –27.16 ± 4.48, –28.69 ± 4.52, –31.19 ± 4.17, –32.63 ± 4.34, and –35.16 ± 4.46 mV, respectively, and the slope factors were increased (p < 0.05). The recovery times from inactivation of S-Aml were prolonged (p < 0.05). In contrast, R-Aml had no effect on AP and ICa-L (p > 0.05) at the concentrations tested. Thus, only S-Aml has calcium channel blockade activity, whereas R-Aml has none of the pharmacologic actions associated with calcium channel blockers.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (4) ◽  
pp. C840-C852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomo Ben-Tabou De-Leon ◽  
Edna Blotnick ◽  
Itzhak Nussinovitch

Decrease in extracellular osmolarity ([Os]e) results in stimulation of hormone secretion from pituitary cells. Different mechanisms can account for this stimulation of hormone secretion. In this study we examined the possibility that hyposmolarity directly modulates voltage-gated calcium influx in pituitary cells. The effects of hyposmolarity on L-type ( IL) and T-type ( IT) calcium currents in pituitary cells were investigated by using two hyposmotic stimuli, moderate (18-22% decrease in [Os]e) and strong (31-32% decrease in [Os]e). Exposure to moderate hyposmotic stimuli resulted in three response types in IL (a decrease, a biphasic effect, and an increase in IL) and in increase in IT. Exposure to strong hyposmotic stimuli resulted only in increases in both IL and IT. Similarly, in intact pituitary cells (perforated patch method), exposure to either moderate or strong hyposmotic stimuli resulted only in increases in both IL and IT. Thus it appears that the main effect of decrease in [Os]e is increase in calcium channel currents. This increase was differential ( IL were more sensitive than IT) and voltage independent. In addition, we show that these hyposmotic effects cannot be explained by activation of an anionic conductance or by an increase in cell membrane surface area. In conclusion, this study shows that hyposmotic swelling of pituitary cells can directly modulate voltage-gated calcium influx. This hyposmotic modulation of IL and IT may contribute to the previously reported hyposmotic stimulation of hormone secretion. The mechanisms underlying these hyposmotic effects and their possible physiological relevance are discussed.


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