Intravascular pressure regulates local and global Ca2+ signaling in cerebral artery smooth muscle cells

2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (2) ◽  
pp. C439-C448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Jaggar

The regulation of intracellular Ca2+ signals in smooth muscle cells and arterial diameter by intravascular pressure was investigated in rat cerebral arteries (∼150 μm) using a laser scanning confocal microscope and the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fluo 3. Elevation of pressure from 10 to 60 mmHg increased Ca2+spark frequency 2.6-fold, Ca2+ wave frequency 1.9-fold, and global intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) 1.4-fold in smooth muscle cells, and constricted arteries. Ryanodine (10 μM), an inhibitor of ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ release channels, or thapsigargin (100 nM), an inhibitor of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, abolished sparks and waves, elevated global [Ca2+]i, and constricted pressurized (60 mmHg) arteries. Diltiazem (25 μM), a voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel (VDCC) blocker, significantly reduced sparks, waves, and global [Ca2+]i, and dilated pressurized (60 mmHg) arteries. Steady membrane depolarization elevated Ca2+ signaling similar to pressure and increased transient Ca2+-sensitive K+ channel current frequency e-fold for ∼7 mV, and these effects were prevented by VDCC blockers. Data are consistent with the hypothesis that pressure induces a steady membrane depolarization that activates VDCCs, leading to an elevation of spark frequency, wave frequency, and global [Ca2+]i. In addition, pressure induces contraction via an elevation of global [Ca2+]i, whereas the net effect of sparks and waves, which do not significantly contribute to global [Ca2+]i in arteries pressurized to between 10 and 60 mmHg, is to oppose contraction.

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Abrenica ◽  
Grant N Pierce ◽  
James S.C Gilchrist

In this study, we investigated whether nucleoplasmic free Ca2+ in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) might be independently regulated from cytosolic free Ca2+. Understanding mechanisms and pathways responsible for this regulation is especially relevant given the role of a numerous intranuclear Ca2+-sensitive proteins in transcriptional regulation, apoptosis and cell division. The question of an independent regulatory mechanism remains largely unsettled because the previous use of intensitometric fluorophores (e.g., Fluo-3) has been criticized on technical grounds. To circumvent the potential problem of fluorescence artifact, we utilized confocal laser scanning microscopy to image intracellular Ca2+ movements with the ratiometric fluorophore Indo-1. In cultured rabbit VSMCs, we found sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) pumps and ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+ channel proteins to be discretely arranged within a perinuclear locus, as determined by fluorescent staining patterns of BODIPY® FL thapsi gargin and BODIPY® FL-X Ry. When intracellular Ca2+ stores were mobilized by addition of thapsigargin (5 μM) and activatory concentrations of ryanodine (1 μM), Indo-1 ratiometric signals were largely restricted to the nucleoplasm. Cytosolic signals, by comparison, were relatively small and even then its spatial distribution was largely perinuclear rather homogeneous. These observations indicate perinuclear RyR and SERCA proteins are intimately involved in regulating VSMC nucleoplasmic Ca2+ concentrations. We also observed a similar pattern of largely nucleoplasmic Ca2+ mobilization upon exposure of cells to the immunosuppressant drug FK506 (tacrolimus), which binds to the RyR-associated immunophillin-binding proteins FKBP12 and FKBP12.6. However, initial FK506-induced nucleoplasmic Ca2+ mobilization was followed by marked reduction of Indo-1 signal intensity close to pretreatment levels. This suggested FK506 exerts both activatory and inhibitory effects upon RyR channels. The latter was reinforced by observed effects of FK506 to only reduce nucleoplasmic Indo-1 signal intensity when added following pretreatment with both activatory and inhibitory concentrations of ryanodine. These latter observations raise the possibility that VSMC nuclei represent an important sink of intracellular Ca2+ and may help explain vasodilatory actions of FK506 observed by others.Key words: Ca2+, RyR, SERCA, cell nucleus, FK506, thapsigargin, ryanodine.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (6) ◽  
pp. C2122-C2128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiling Zhao ◽  
Adebowale Adebiyi ◽  
Qi Xi ◽  
Jonathan H. Jaggar

Arterial smooth muscle cell large-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium (KCa) channels have been implicated in modulating hypoxic dilation of systemic arteries, although this is controversial. KCa channel activity in arterial smooth muscle cells is controlled by localized intracellular Ca2+ transients, termed Ca2+ sparks, but hypoxic regulation of Ca2+ sparks and KCa channel activation by Ca2+ sparks has not been investigated. We report here that in voltage-clamped (−40 mV) cerebral artery smooth muscle cells, a reduction in dissolved O2 partial pressure from 150 to 15 mmHg reversibly decreased Ca2+ spark-induced transient KCa current frequency and amplitude to 61% and 76% of control, respectively. In contrast, hypoxia did not alter Ca2+ spark frequency, amplitude, global intracellular Ca2+ concentration, or sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ load. Hypoxia reduced transient KCa current frequency by decreasing the percentage of Ca2+ sparks that activated a transient KCa current from 89% to 63%. Hypoxia reduced transient KCa current amplitude by attenuating the amplitude relationship between Ca2+ sparks that remained coupled and the evoked transient KCa currents. Consistent with these data, in inside-out patches at −40 mV hypoxia reduced KCa channel apparent Ca2+ sensitivity and increased the Kd for Ca2+ from ∼17 to 32 μM, but did not alter single-channel amplitude. In summary, data indicate that hypoxia reduces KCa channel apparent Ca2+ sensitivity via a mechanism that is independent of cytosolic signaling messengers, and this leads to uncoupling of KCa channels from Ca2+ sparks. Transient KCa current inhibition due to uncoupling would oppose hypoxic cerebrovascular dilation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (4) ◽  
pp. C964-C971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Y. Cheranov ◽  
Jonathan H. Jaggar

Expression of TNF-α, a pleiotropic cytokine, is elevated during stroke and cerebral ischemia. TNF-α regulates arterial diameter, although mechanisms mediating this effect are unclear. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that TNF-α regulates the diameter of resistance-sized (∼150-μm diameter) cerebral arteries by modulating local and global intracellular Ca2+ signals in smooth muscle cells. Laser-scanning confocal imaging revealed that TNF-α increased Ca2+ spark and Ca2+ wave frequency but reduced global intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in smooth muscle cells of intact arteries. TNF-α elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in smooth muscle cells of intact arteries, and this increase was prevented by apocynin or diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), both of which are NAD(P)H oxidase blockers, but was unaffected by inhibitors of other ROS-generating enzymes. In voltage-clamped (−40 mV) cells, TNF-α increased the frequency and amplitude of Ca2+ spark-induced, large-conductance, Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) channel transients ∼1.7- and ∼1.4-fold, respectively. TNF-α-induced transient KCa current activation was reversed by apocynin or by Mn(III)tetrakis(1-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin (MnTMPyP), a membrane-permeant antioxidant, and was prevented by intracellular dialysis of catalase. TNF-α induced reversible and similar amplitude dilations in either endothelium-intact or endothelium-denuded pressurized (60 mmHg) cerebral arteries. MnTMPyP, thapsigargin, a sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase blocker that inhibits Ca2+ sparks, and iberiotoxin, a KCa channel blocker, reduced TNF-α-induced vasodilations to between 15 and 33% of control. In summary, our data indicate that TNF-α activates NAD(P)H oxidase, resulting in an increase in intracellular H2O2 that stimulates Ca2+ sparks and transient KCa currents, leading to a reduction in global [Ca2+]i, and vasodilation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (3) ◽  
pp. H1118-H1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anlong Li ◽  
Adebowale Adebiyi ◽  
Charles W. Leffler ◽  
Jonathan H. Jaggar

In smooth muscle cells, localized intracellular Ca2+ transients, termed “Ca2+ sparks,” activate several large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) channels, resulting in a transient KCa current. In some smooth muscle cell types, a significant proportion of Ca2+ sparks do not activate KCa channels. The goal of this study was to explore mechanisms that underlie fractional Ca2+ spark-KCa channel coupling. We investigated whether membrane depolarization or ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ release (RyR) channel activation modulates coupling in newborn (1- to 3-day-old) porcine cerebral artery myocytes. At steady membrane potentials of −40, 0, and +40 mV, mean transient KCa current frequency was ∼0.18, 0.43, and 0.26 Hz and KCa channel activity [number of KCa channels activated by Ca2+ sparks × open probability of KCa channels at peak of Ca2+ sparks ( NPo)] at the transient KCa current peak was ∼4, 12, and 24, respectively. Depolarization between −40 and +40 mV increased KCa channel sensitivity to Ca2+ sparks and elevated the percentage of Ca2+ sparks that activated a transient KCa current from 59 to 86%. In a Ca2+-free bath solution or in diltiazem, a voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blocker, steady membrane depolarization between −40 and +40 mV increased transient KCa current frequency up to ∼1.6-fold. In contrast, caffeine (10 μM), an RyR channel activator, increased mean transient KCa current frequency but did not alter Ca2+ spark-KCa channel coupling. These data indicate that coupling is increased by mechanisms that elevate KCa channel sensitivity to Ca2+ sparks, but not by RyR channel activation. Overall, KCa channel insensitivity to Ca2+ sparks is a prominent factor underlying fractional Ca2+ spark uncoupling in newborn cerebral artery myocytes.


2002 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 692-696
Author(s):  
Laszlo Nemeth ◽  
Udo Rolle ◽  
Prem Puri

Abstract Context.—Intestinal motility is under the control of smooth muscle cells, enteric plexus, and hormonal factors. In Hirschsprung disease (HD), the aganglionic colon remains spastic or tonically enhanced and unable to relax. The smooth muscle cell's cytoskeleton consists of proteins or structures whose primary function is to link or connect protein filaments to each other or to the anchoring sites. Dystrophin is a subsarcolemmal protein with a double adhesion property, one between the membrane elements and the contractile filaments of the cytoskeleton and the other between the cytoskeletal proteins and the extracellular matrix. Desmin and vinculin are functionally related proteins that are present in the membrane-associated dense bodies in the sarcolemma of the smooth muscle cells. Objective.—To examine the distribution of the cytoskeletal proteins in the smooth muscle of the aganglionic bowel. Design.—Bowel specimens from ganglionic and aganglionic sections of the colon were collected at the time of pull-through surgery from 8 patients with HD. Colon specimens collected from 4 patients at the time of bladder augmentation acted as controls. Anti-dystrophin, anti-desmin, and anti-vinculin antibodies were used for fluorescein immunostaining using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results.—Moderate to strong dystrophin immunoreactivity was observed at the periphery of smooth muscle fibers in normal bowel and ganglionic bowel from patients with HD, whereas dystrophin immunoreactivity was either absent or weak in the smooth muscle of aganglionic colon. Moderate to strong cytoplasmic immunostaining for vinculin and desmin was seen in the smooth muscle of normal bowel and ganglionic bowel from patients with HD, whereas vinculin and desmin staining in the aganglionic colon was absent or weak. Conclusion.—This study demonstrates that the cytoskeletal proteins are abundant in the smooth muscle of normal bowel, but are absent or markedly reduced in the aganglionic bowel of HD. As cytoskeletal proteins are required for the coordinated contraction of muscle cells, their absence may be responsible for the motility dysfunction in the aganglionic segment.


1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (2) ◽  
pp. C472-C480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Naito ◽  
Shunichi Shimizu ◽  
Shigeto Maeda ◽  
Jianwei Wang ◽  
Richard Paul ◽  
...  

Ets-1 is a transcription factor that activates expression of matrix-degrading proteinases such as collagenase and stromelysin. To study the control of ets-1 gene expression in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), cells were exposed to factors known to regulate VSMC migration and proliferation. Platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) induced a dose-dependent expression of ets-1 mRNA. These effects were abrogated by inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) by H-7 or chronic PMA treatment. Ets-1 mRNA was superinduced by PDGF-BB and ET-1 in the presence of cycloheximide. The chelation of intracellular Ca2+ by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane- N, N, N′, N′-tetraacetic acid-acetoxymethyl ester and the depletion of endoplasmic reticulum intracellular Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]i) by thapsigargin inhibited PDGF-BB- and ET-1-induced ets-1 mRNA, whereas ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)- N, N, N′, N′-tetraacetic acid had no effect. However, [Ca2+]irelease alone was not sufficient to increase ets-1 mRNA. Forskolin blocked ET-1-, PDGF-BB-, and PMA-induced ets-1 mRNA, as well as inositol phosphate formation, consistent with an effect through impairment of PKC activation. Inhibitors of ets-1 gene expression, such as H-7 and herbimycin A, inhibited the ET-1 induction of collagenase I mRNA. We propose that ets-1 may be an important element in the orchestration of matrix proteinase expression and of vascular remodeling after arterial injury.


2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (1) ◽  
pp. L157-L164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa A. Shimoda ◽  
J. T. Sylvester ◽  
James S. K. Sham

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) increases intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs); however, the mechanisms for Ca2+ mobilization are not clear. We determined the contributions of extracellular influx and intracellular release to the ET-1-induced Ca2+ response using Indo 1 fluorescence and electrophysiological techniques. Application of ET-1 (10−10 to 10−8 M) to transiently (24–48 h) cultured rat PASMCs caused concentration-dependent increases in [Ca2+]i. At 10−8 M, ET-1 caused a large, transient increase in [Ca2+]i (>1 μM) followed by a sustained elevation in [Ca2+]i(<200 nM). The ET-1-induced increase in [Ca2+]i was attenuated (<80%) by extracellular Ca2+ removal; by verapamil, a voltage-gated Ca2+-channel antagonist; and by ryanodine, an inhibitor of Ca2+ release from caffeine-sensitive stores. Depleting intracellular stores with thapsigargin abolished the peak in [Ca2+]i, but the sustained phase was unaffected. Simultaneously measuring membrane potential and [Ca2+]i indicated that depolarization preceded the rise in [Ca2+]i. These results suggest that ET-1 initiates depolarization in PASMCs, leading to Ca2+influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and Ca2+ release from ryanodine- and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive stores.


2014 ◽  
Vol 306 (7) ◽  
pp. C659-C669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna P. Subedi ◽  
Omkar Paudel ◽  
James S. K. Sham

Intracellular calcium (Ca2+) plays pivotal roles in distinct cellular functions through global and local signaling in various subcellular compartments, and subcellular Ca2+ signal is the key factor for independent regulation of different cellular functions. In vascular smooth muscle cells, subsarcolemmal Ca2+ is an important regulator of excitation-contraction coupling, and nucleoplasmic Ca2+ is crucial for excitation-transcription coupling. However, information on Ca2+ signals in these subcellular compartments is limited. To study the regulation of the subcellular Ca2+ signals, genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators (cameleon), D3cpv, targeting the plasma membrane (PM), cytoplasm, and nucleoplasm were transfected into rat pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and Ca2+ signals were monitored using laser scanning confocal microscopy. In situ calibration showed that the Kd for Ca2+ of D3cpv was comparable in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm, but it was slightly higher in the PM. Stimulation of digitonin-permeabilized cells with 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) elicited a transient elevation of Ca2+ concentration with similar amplitude and kinetics in the nucleoplasm and cytoplasm. Activation of G protein-coupled receptors by endothelin-1 and angiotensin II preferentially elevated the subsarcolemmal Ca2+ signal with higher amplitude in the PM region than the nucleoplasm and cytoplasm. In contrast, the receptor tyrosine kinase activator, platelet-derived growth factor, elicited Ca2+ signals with similar amplitudes in all three regions, except that the rise-time and decay-time were slightly slower in the PM region. These data clearly revealed compartmentalization of Ca2+ signals in the subsarcolemmal regions and provide the basis for further investigations of differential regulation of subcellular Ca2+ signals in PASMCs.


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