Synergism between cAMP and ATP in signal transduction in cardiac myocytes

1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (1) ◽  
pp. C128-C135 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Zheng ◽  
A. Christie ◽  
M. B. De Young ◽  
M. N. Levy ◽  
A. Scarpa

ATP transiently increases the intracellular Ca2+ concentration in cardiac myocyte suspensions. Pretreatment with norepinephrine (NE) greatly potentiates the ATP response. We performed experiments on adult rat myocyte suspensions loaded with fura-2 to investigate the mechanism of NE potentiation. We found that forskolin (an activator of adenylate cyclase), 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase), and permeative adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) analogues potentiate the increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration induced by ATP. NE, forskolin, and 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP all increase Vmax of the Ca2+ response curve of ATP. Measurement of cAMP by radioimmunoassay confirmed that the changes in the ATP response were accompanied by an increase in cAMP. These results suggest that the noradrenergic potentiation of the ATP-induced Ca2+ mobilization involves cAMP as a second messenger. Patch-clamp studies of isolated myocytes showed that neither NE nor forskolin alters the inward current elicited by ATP, but rather they increase the duration of secondary slow action potentials elicited by ATP. NE also increases the Ca2+ current through L-type Ca2+ channels in the myocytes. We conclude that NE potentiates the ATP-induced Ca2+ transient by increasing cAMP levels and that one of the early events is the increase of the inward Ca2+ current during the action potential.

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (2) ◽  
pp. C535-C542 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Sui ◽  
C. Y. Kao

Physiological roles of Ca2+ vs. Na+ in membrane currents and action potentials of ureteral myocytes were investigated on freshly dissociated guinea pig ureteral myocytes with the patch-clamp method. The myocytes are spindle shaped, with cell volume of 2,473 microm3, surface area of 2,014 microm2, capacitance of 48.2 pF, resting potential of -47.9 mV, and membrane conductance of 840 pS. The membrane current consists of a slow inward Ca2+ current (ICa) conducted by L-type Ca2+ channels and an actively fluctuating Ca2+-activated K+ current [IK(Ca)] conducted by Ca2+-activated maxi-K+ channels. ICa dominates the membrane current by being long lasting and more active at less depolarized potentials than IK(Ca) and by regulating IK(Ca). Ca2+-free media, Co2+, and nifedipine reduce or block ICa, whereas high extracellular Ca2+ concentration and BAY K 8644 enhance it. Action potential amplitudes and plateaus are regulated correspondingly. Related changes are also seen in IK(Ca) In contrast, no fast inward current attributable to Na+ was found. Replacing extracellular Na+ with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane had no apparent effects on the inward or outward current or on the action potentials.


Circulation ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 2501-2504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Ishibashi ◽  
Yoshitoshi Urabe ◽  
Hiroyuki Tsutsui ◽  
Shintaro Kinugawa ◽  
Masaru Sugimachi ◽  
...  

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
Qi Yang ◽  
Katherine A Borkovich

Abstract Heterotrimeric G proteins, consisting of α, β, and γ subunits, transduce environmental signals through coupling to plasma membrane-localized receptors. We previously reported that the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa possesses a Gα protein, GNA-1, that is a member of the Gαi superfamily. Deletion of gna-1 leads to defects in apical extension, differentiation of asexual spores, sensitivity to hyperosmotic media, and female fertility. In addition, Δgna-1 strains have lower intracellular cAMP levels under conditions that promote morphological abnormalities. To further define the function of GNA-1 in signal transduction in N. crassa, we examined properties of strains with mutationally activated gna-1 alleles (R178C or Q204L) as the only source of GNA-1 protein. These mutations are predicted to inhibit the GTPase activity of GNA-1 and lead to constitutive signaling. In the sexual cycle, gna-1R178C and gna-1Q204L strains are female-fertile, but produce fewer and larger perithecia than wild type. During asexual development, gna-1R178C and gna-1Q204L strains elaborate abundant, long aerial hyphae, produce less conidia, and possess lower levels of carotenoid pigments in comparison to wild-type controls. Furthermore, gna-1R178C and gna-1Q204L strains are more sensitive to heat shock and exposure to hydrogen peroxide than wild-type strains, while Δgna-1 mutants are more resistant. In contrast to Δgna-1 mutants, gna-1R178C and gna-1Q204L strains have higher steady-state levels of cAMP than wild type. The results suggest that GNA-1 possesses several Gβγ-independent functions in N. crassa. We propose that GNA-1 mediates signal transduction pathway(s) that regulate aerial hyphae development and sensitivity to heat and oxidative stresses, possibly through modulation of cAMP levels.


2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. e14
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Haedo ◽  
Alison R. Haythornthwaite ◽  
Sonja Stoelzle ◽  
Claudia Haarmann ◽  
Michael George ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (5) ◽  
pp. C1327-C1335 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Toland ◽  
K. D. McCloskey ◽  
K. D. Thornbury ◽  
N. G. McHale ◽  
M. A. Hollywood

Freshly dispersed sheep mesenteric lymphatic smooth muscle cells were studied at 37°C using the perforated patch-clamp technique with Cs+- and K+-filled pipettes. Depolarizing steps evoked currents that consisted ofl-type Ca2+ [ I Ca(L)] current and a slowly developing current. The slow current reversed at 1 ± 1.5 mV with symmetrical Cl− concentrations compared with 23.2 ± 1.2 mV ( n = 5) and −34.3 ± 3.5 mV ( n = 4) when external Cl− was substituted with either glutamate (86 mM) or I− (125 mM). Nifedipine (1 μM) blocked and BAY K 8644 enhanced I Ca(L), the slow-developing sustained current, and the tail current. The Cl− channel blocker anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (9-AC) reduced only the slowly developing inward and tail currents. Application of caffeine (10 mM) to voltage-clamped cells evoked currents that reversed close to the Cl− equilibrium potential and were sensitive to 9-AC. Small spontaneous transient depolarizations and larger action potentials were observed in current clamp, and these were blocked by 9-AC. Evoked action potentials were triphasic and had a prominent plateau phase that was selectively blocked by 9-AC. Similarly, fluid output was reduced by 9-AC in doubly cannulated segments of spontaneously pumping sheep lymphatics, suggesting that the Ca2+-activated Cl− current plays an important role in the electrical activity underlying spontaneous activity in this tissue.


1988 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-328
Author(s):  
R. N. McBurney ◽  
S. J. Kehl

One of the goals in studying the electrical properties of neurosecretory cells is to relate their electrical activity to the process of secretion. A central question in these studies concerns the role of transmembrane calcium ion flux in the initiation of the secretory event. With regard to the secretory process in pituitary cells, several research groups have addressed this question in vitro using mixed primary anterior pituitary cell cultures or clonal cell lines derived from pituitary tumours. Other workers, including ourselves, have used homogeneous cell cultures derived from the pituitary intermediate lobes of rats to examine the characteristics of voltage-dependent conductances, the contribution of these conductances to action potentials and their role in stimulus-secretion coupling. Pars intermedia (PI) cells often fire spontaneous action potentials whose frequency can be modified by the injection of sustained currents through the recording electrode. In quiescent cells action potentials can also be evoked by the injection of depolarizing current stimuli. At around 20 degrees C these action potentials have a duration of about 5 ms. Although most of the inward current during action potentials is carried by sodium ions, a calcium ion component can be demonstrated under abnormal conditions. Voltage-clamp experiments have revealed that the membrane of these cells contains high-threshold, L-type, Ca2+ channels and low-threshold Ca2+ channels. Since hormone release from PI cells appears not to be dependent on action potential activity but does depend on external calcium ions, it is not clear what role these Ca2+ channels play in stimulus-secretion coupling in cells of the pituitary pars intermedia. One possibility is that the low-threshold Ca2+ channels are more important to the secretory process than the high-threshold channels.


1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1404-1420 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Harris-Warrick ◽  
L. M. Coniglio ◽  
R. M. Levini ◽  
S. Gueron ◽  
J. Guckenheimer

1. The lateral pyloric (LP) neuron is a component of the 14-neuron pyloric central pattern generator in the stomatogastric ganglion of the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus. In the pyloric rhythm, this neuron fires rhythmic bursts of action potentials whose phasing depends on the pattern of synaptic inhibition from other network neurons and on the intrinsic postinhibitory rebound properties of the LP cell itself. Bath-applied dopamine excites the LP cell and causes its activity to be phase advanced in the pyloric motor pattern. At least part of this modulatory effect is due to dopaminergic modulation of the intrinsic rate of postinhibitory rebound in the LP cell. 2. The LP neuron was isolated from all detectable synaptic input. We measured the rate of recovery after 1-s hyperpolarizing current injections of varying amplitudes, quantifying the latency to the first spike following the hyperpolarizing prepulse and the interval between the first and second action potentials. Dopamine reduced both the first spike latency and the first interspike interval (ISI) in the isolated LP neuron. During the hyperpolarizating pre-steps, the LP cell showed a slow depolarizing sag voltage that was enhanced by dopamine. 3. We used voltage clamp to analyze dopamine modulation of subthreshold ionic currents whose activity is affected by hyperpolarizing prepulses. Dopamine modulated the transient potassium current IA by reducing its maximal conductance and shifting its voltage dependence for activation and inactivation to more depolarized voltages. This outward current is normally transiently activated after hyperpolarization of the LP cell, and delays the rate of postinhibitory rebound; by reducing IA, dopamine thus accelerates the rate of rebound of the LP neuron. 4. Dopamine also modulated the hyperpolarization-activated inward current Ih by shifting its voltage dependence for activation 20 mV in the depolarizing direction and accelerating its rate of activation. This enhanced inward current helps accelerate the rate of rebound in the LP cell after inhibition. 5. The relative roles of Ih and IA in determining the first spike latency and first ISI were explored using pharmacological blockers of Ih (Cs+) and IA [4-aminopyridine (4-AP)]. Blockade of Ih prolonged the first spike latency and first ISI, but only slightly reduced the net effect of dopamine. In the continued presence of Cs+, blockade of IA with 4-AP greatly shortened the first spike latency and first ISI. Under conditions where both Ih and IA were blocked, dopamine had no additional effect on the LP cell. 6. We used the dynamic clamp technique to further study the relative roles of IA and Ih modulation in dopamine's phase advance of the LP cell. We blocked the endogenous Ih with Cs+ and replaced it with a simulated current generated by a computer model of Ih. The neuron with simulated Ih gave curves relating the hyperpolarizing prepulse amplitude to first spike latency that were the same as in the untreated cell. Changing the computer parameters of the simulated Ih to those induced by dopamine without changing IA caused only a slight reduction in first spike latency, which was approximately 20% of the total reduction caused by dopamine in an untreated cell. Bath application of dopamine in the presence of Cs+ and simulated Ih (with control parameters) allowed us to determine the effect of altering IA but not Ih: this caused a significant reduction in first spike latency, but it was still only approximately 70% of the effect of dopamine in the untreated cell. Finally, in the continued presence of dopamine, changing the parameters of the simulated Ih to those observed with dopamine reduced the first spike latency to that seen with dopamine in the untreated cell. 7. We generated a mathematical model of the lobster LP neuron, based on the model of Buchholtz et al. for the crab LP neuron.


1983 ◽  
Vol 244 (3) ◽  
pp. H454-H457
Author(s):  
M. T. Knabb ◽  
R. Rubio ◽  
R. M. Berne

The effects of endogenous adenosine on rat atrial and ventricular slow action potentials (AP) were studied using theophylline, an adenosine receptor antagonist, or "micro" adenosine deaminase (mADA), small polypeptides having adenosine deaminase activity. Exogenous adenosine (10(-6) M) depressed slow APs at low and high isoproterenol concentrations and shifted the isoproterenol dose-response curve to the right in the atrium. In the ventricle, exogenous adenosine inhibited slow APs at low isoproterenol doses and only shifted the bottom of the dose-response relationship to the right. mADA (0.84 U) or theophylline (5 X 10(-5) M) potentiated the response to threshold concentrations of isoproterenol and caused a parallel shift of the curve to the left in the atrium but only shifted the bottom portion of the curve in the ventricle. This potentiation of slow APs in the presence of mADA or theophylline suggests that endogenous adenosine attenuates the response to isoproterenol in cardiac muscle.


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