Role of serine-threonine phosphoprotein phosphatases in smooth muscle contractility

2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (6) ◽  
pp. C485-C504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trent Butler ◽  
Jonathan Paul ◽  
Nick Europe-Finner ◽  
Roger Smith ◽  
Eng-Cheng Chan

The degree of phosphorylation of myosin light chain 20 (MLC20) is a major determinant of force generation in smooth muscle. Myosin phosphatases (MPs) contain protein phosphatase (PP) 1 as catalytic subunits and are the major enzymes that dephosphorylate MLC20. MP regulatory targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1), the main regulatory subunit of MP in all smooth muscles, is a key convergence point of contractile and relaxatory pathways. Combinations of regulatory mechanisms, including isoform splicing, multiple phosphorylation sites, and scaffolding proteins, modulate MYPT1 activity with tissue and agonist specificities to affect contraction and relaxation. Other members of the PP1 family that do not target myosin, as well as PP2A and PP2B, dephosphorylate a range of proteins that affect smooth muscle contraction. This review discusses the role of phosphatases in smooth muscle contractility with a focus on MYPT1 in uterine smooth muscle. Myometrium shares characteristics of vascular and other visceral smooth muscles yet, during healthy pregnancy, undergoes hypertrophy, hyperplasia, quiescence, and labor as physiological processes. Myometrium presents an accessible model for the study of normal and pathological smooth muscle function, and a better understanding of myometrial physiology may allow the development of novel therapeutics for the many disorders of myometrial physiology from preterm labor to dysmenorrhea.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 7982
Author(s):  
Yoshihiko Chiba ◽  
Mayumi Matsumoto ◽  
Motohiko Hanazaki ◽  
Hiroyasu Sakai

In allergic bronchial asthma, an increased smooth muscle contractility of the airways is one of the causes of the airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Increasing evidence also suggests a possible involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in airway diseases, including asthma, although their roles in function and pathology largely unknown. The current study aimed to determine the role of a miRNA, miR-140-3p, in the control of protein expression of CD38, which is believed to regulate the contraction of smooth muscles, including the airways. In bronchial smooth muscles (BSMs) of the mice that were actively sensitized and repeatedly challenged with ovalbumin antigen, an upregulation of CD38 protein concurrently with a significant reduction of miR-140-3p was observed. In cultured human BSM cells (hBSMCs), transfection with a synthetic miR-140-3p inhibitor caused an increase in CD38 protein, indicating that its basal protein expression is regulated by endogenous miR-140-3p. Treatment of the hBSMCs with interleukin-13 (IL-13), an asthma-related cytokine, caused both an upregulation of CD38 protein and a downregulation of miR-140-3p. Transfection of the hBSMCs with miR-140-3p mimic inhibited the CD38 protein upregulation induced by IL-13. On the other hand, neither a CD38 product cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) nor its antagonist 8-bromo-cADPR had an effect on the BSM contraction even in the antigen-challenged mice. Taken together, the current findings suggest that the downregulation of miR-140-3p induced by IL-13 might cause an upregulation of CD38 protein in BSM cells of the disease, although functional and pathological roles of the upregulated CD38 are still unclear.


2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (5) ◽  
pp. G964-G973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagmohan Singh ◽  
Ettickan Boopathi ◽  
Sankar Addya ◽  
Benjamin Phillips ◽  
Isidore Rigoutsos ◽  
...  

A comprehensive genomic and proteomic, computational, and physiological approach was employed to examine the (previously unexplored) role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as regulators of internal anal sphincter (IAS) smooth muscle contractile phenotype and basal tone. miRNA profiling, genome-wide expression, validation, and network analyses were employed to assess changes in mRNA and miRNA expression in IAS smooth muscles from young vs. aging rats. Multiple miRNAs, including rno-miR-1, rno-miR-340-5p, rno-miR-185, rno-miR-199a-3p, rno-miR-200c, rno-miR-200b, rno-miR-31, rno-miR-133a, and rno-miR-206, were found to be upregulated in aging IAS. qPCR confirmed the upregulated expression of these miRNAs and downregulation of multiple, predicted targets ( Eln, Col3a1, Col1a1, Zeb2, Myocd, Srf, Smad1, Smad2, Rhoa/Rock2, Fn1, Tagln v2, Klf4, and Acta2) involved in regulation of smooth muscle contractility. Subsequent studies demonstrated an aging-associated increase in the expression of miR-133a, corresponding decreases in RhoA, ROCK2, MYOCD, SRF, and SM22α protein expression, RhoA-signaling, and a decrease in basal and agonist [U-46619 (thromboxane A2analog)]-induced increase in the IAS tone. Moreover, in vitro transfection of miR-133a caused a dose-dependent increase of IAS tone in strips, which was reversed by anti-miR-133a. Last, in vivo perianal injection of anti-miR-133a reversed the loss of IAS tone associated with age. This work establishes the important regulatory effect of miRNA-133a on basal and agonist-stimulated IAS tone. Moreover, reversal of age-associated loss of tone via anti-miR delivery strongly implicates miR dysregulation as a causal factor in the aging-associated decrease in IAS tone and suggests that miR-133a is a feasible therapeutic target in aging-associated rectoanal incontinence.


2002 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 1296-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra J. Turner ◽  
Peter B. Noble ◽  
Matthew P. Lucas ◽  
Howard W. Mitchell

Increased smooth muscle contractility or reduced smooth muscle mechanical loads could account for the excessive airway narrowing and hyperresponsiveness seen in asthma. These mechanisms were investigated by using an allergen-induced porcine model of airway hyperresponsiveness. Airway narrowing to electric field stimulation was measured in isolated bronchial segments, over a range of transmural pressures (0–20 cmH2O). Contractile responses to ACh were measured in bronchial segments and in isolated tracheal smooth muscle strips isolated from control and test (ovalbumin sensitized and challenged) pigs. Test airways narrowed less than controls ( P < 0.0001). Test pigs showed reduced contractility to ACh, both in isolated bronchi ( P < 0.01) and smooth muscle strips ( P < 0.01). Thus isolated airways from pigs exhibiting airway hyperresponsiveness in vivo are hyporesponsive in vitro. The decreased narrowing in bronchi from hyperresponsive pigs may be related to decreased smooth muscle contractility. These data suggest that mechanisms external to the airway wall may be important to the hyperresponsive nature of sensitized lungs.


2008 ◽  
Vol 586 (20) ◽  
pp. 4843-4857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Chun Ruan ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
Jian Yang Du ◽  
Wu Lin Zuo ◽  
Jing Hui Guo ◽  
...  

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