Aldosterone Increases Oxidant Stress to Impair Guanylyl Cyclase Activity by Cysteinyl Thiol Oxidation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that vasorelaxing action of vasonatrin peptide (VNP) is due to activation of the large-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channel (BKCa) via guanylyl cyclase (GC)-coupled natriuretic peptide receptors (NPRs) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Contraction experiments were performed using human radial artery, whereas BKCa current by patch clamp was recorded in cells from rat mesenteric artery. Contractility of rings cut from human radial artery was detected in vitro. As a result, VNP induced a dose-dependent vasorelaxation of human radial artery, which could be mimicked by 8-Br-cGMP, and suppressed by TEA, a blocker of BKCa, HS-142-1, a blocker of GC-coupled NPRs, or methylene blue (MB), a selective inhibitor of guanylyl cyclase. Sequentially, whole-cell K+ currents were recorded using patch clamp techniques. BKCa current of VSMCs isolated from rat mesentery artery was obtained by subtracting the whole cell currents after applications of 10-7 mol/l iberiotoxin (IBX) from before its applications. In accordance with the results of arterial tension detection, BKCa current was significantly magnified by VNP, which could also be mimicked by 8-Br-cGMP, whereas suppressed by HS-142-1, or MB. Taken together, VNP acts as a potent vasodilator, and NPRA/B-cGMP-BKCa is one possible signaling system involved in VNP induced relaxation.

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Effects of dexamethasone on G protein levels and adenylyl cyclase activity in rat vascular smooth muscle cells

Journal of Molecular Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/jme.0.0090237 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 237-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

A. R. McLellan ◽

S. Tawil ◽

F. Lyall ◽

G. Milligan ◽

J. M. C. Connell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Smooth Muscle ◽

Vascular Smooth Muscle ◽

Smooth Muscle Cells ◽

Adenylyl Cyclase ◽

G Proteins ◽

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells ◽

Muscle Cells ◽

Cyclase Activity ◽

Adenylyl Cyclase Activity ◽

Catalytic Unit

ABSTRACT Dexamethasone administration in vitro has been shown to increase adenylyl cyclase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from renal arteries and in non-vascular cell lines. To investigate whether G proteins are involved in this response, cultured VSMC from mesenteric arteries of Sprague—Dawley rats were incubated in the presence and absence of 10 nm dexamethasone for 24 and 48 h. Basal and stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities were increased by approximately 50% after treatment with dexamethasone. The changes were neither specifically associated with ligands which stimulate adenylyl cyclase catalytic unit via Gs (isoproterenol and prostaglandin E1) nor with guanylylimidodiphosphate (0·1 nm), which inhibits the catalytic unit via Gi. This suggests that dexamethasone enhances adenylyl cyclase activity through changes at the level of the catalytic unit, rather than through the G proteins which modulate its activity. No differences were seen in immunoblotting studies of the levels of Giα2, Gsα, Giα3 and β subunits. Similarly, dexamethasone had no effect on the expression of mRNA for Giα2 and Gsα. The results indicate that glucocorticoid-induced increases of adenylyl cyclase activity are due to changes at the level of the adenylyl cyclase catalytic unit rather than alteration of the levels or turnover of Gsα, Giα2, Giα3 and β subunits in the membranes of VSMC.

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