Qualitative immunoblot analysis of PKC isoforms expressed in airway smooth muscle

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (4) ◽  
pp. L603-L607 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Togashi ◽  
C. A. Hirshman ◽  
C. W. Emala

Protein kinase C (PKC) was originally identified as a single serine/ threonine protein kinase with calcium- and phospholipid-dependent activity, but more recently PKC has been found to consist of a family of multiple isoenzymes with different biochemical characteristics, substrates, and cofactor requirements. PKC is particularly important in regulating airway smooth muscle (ASM) tone. Although a previous investigation has demonstrated PKC-beta, -delta, -epsilon, -theta and -zeta in canine trachealis muscle, additional PKC isoforms have not been characterized in ASM. Therefore, immunoblot analysis using nine isotype-specific antibodies was used to further characterize the expression of PKC isoforms in porcine ASM. In addition to the previously described beta-, delta-, epsilon-, and zeta-isoforms in ASM, the calcium-dependent alpha-isoform, and the calcium- and diacylglycerol-independent isoforms iota/lambda and mu were identified. This study demonstrates multiple PKC isoforms in porcine ASM that can participate in intracellular signaling pathways in this tissue.

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 2028-2033 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sundaresan ◽  
D. Risin ◽  
N. R. Pellis

In long-term space travel, the crew is exposed to microgravity and radiation that invoke potential hazards to the immune system. T cell activation is a critical step in the immune response. Receptor-mediated signaling is inhibited in both microgravity and modeled microgravity (MMG) as reflected by diminished DNA synthesis in peripheral blood lymphocytes and their locomotion through gelled type I collagen. Direct activation of protein kinase C (PKC) bypassing cell surface events using the phorbol ester PMA rescues MMG-inhibited lymphocyte activation and locomotion, whereas the calcium ionophore ionomycin had no rescue effect. Thus calcium-independent PKC isoforms may be affected in MMG-induced locomotion inhibition and rescue. Both calcium-dependent isoforms and calcium-independent PKC isoforms were investigated to assess their expression in lymphocytes in 1 g and MMG culture. Human lymphocytes were cultured and harvested at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h, and serial samples were assessed for locomotion by using type I collagen and expression of PKC isoforms. Expression of PKC-α, -δ, and -ϵ was assessed by RT-PCR, flow cytometry, and immunoblotting. Results indicated that PKC isoforms δ and ϵ were downregulated by >50% at the transcriptional and translational levels in MMG-cultured lymphocytes compared with 1- g controls. Events upstream of PKC, such as phosphorylation of phospholipase Cγ in MMG, revealed accumulation of inactive enzyme. Depressed calcium-independent PKC isoforms may be a consequence of an upstream lesion in the signal transduction pathway. The differential response among calcium-dependent and calcium-independent isoforms may actually result from MMG intrusion events earlier than PKC, but after ligand-receptor interaction.


2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (1) ◽  
pp. L59-L67 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Zacour ◽  
J. G. Martin

Fischer rat airway smooth muscle (ASM) models two potential risk factors for asthma: hyperresponsiveness to contractile agonists and to growth stimuli. The aim of this study was to identify the mechanisms responsible for enhanced ASM mitogenic response in Fischer rats compared with the control Lewis strain. The enhanced Fischer ASM cell growth response to fetal bovine serum (FBS) could not be accounted for by phospholipase C, mitogen-activated protein kinases, or tyrosine kinase activities as assessed by pharmacological inhibition and Western blotting. In contrast, depletion of phorbol ester-sensitive isoforms of the serine/threonine kinase protein kinase C (PKC) removed the difference in growth response between the rat strains. Additionally, FBS selectively induced serine/threonine phosphorylation of a 115-kDa protein in Fischer ASM cells. Enhanced activation of PKC-βI and decreased activation of PKC-δ in Fischer compared with Lewis cells following FBS stimulation were suggested by Western blotting of membrane and cytosolic fractions. The data are consistent with a role for PKC in the enhanced ASM cell growth of hyperresponsive rats.


1995 ◽  
Vol 306 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Moughal ◽  
P A Stevens ◽  
D Kong ◽  
S Pyne ◽  
N J Pyne

Bradykinin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate stimulate adenylate cyclase activity in serum-depleted cultured airway smooth muscle via a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent pathway. The probable target is the type II adenylate cyclase, which can integrate coincident signals from both PKC and Gs. Therefore, activation of Gs (by cholera-toxin pre-treatment) amplified the bradykinin-stimulated cyclic AMP signal and concurrently attenuated the partial activation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase-2 (ERK-2) by bradykinin. We have previously demonstrated that, in order to induce full activation of ERK-2 with bradykinin, it is necessary to obliterate PKC-stimulated cyclic AMP formation. We concluded that the cyclic AMP signal limits the magnitude of ERK-2 activation [Pyne, Moughal, Stevens, Tolan and Pyne (1994) Biochem. J. 304, 611-616]. The present study indicates that the bradykinin-stimulated ERK-2 pathway is entirely cyclic AMP-sensitive, and suggests that coincident signal detection by adenylate cyclase may be an important physiological route for the modulation of early mitogenic signalling. Furthermore, the direct inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity enables bradykinin to induce DNA synthesis, indicating that the PKC-dependent activation of adenylate cyclase limits entry of cells into the cell cycle. These studies suggest that the mitogenicity of an agonist may be governed, in part, by its ability to stimulate an inhibitory cyclic AMP signal pathway in the cell. The activation of adenylate cyclase by PKC appears to be downstream of phospholipase D. However, in cells that were maintained in growth serum (i.e. were not growth-arrested), bradykinin was unable to elicit a PKC-stimulated cyclic AMP response. The lesion in the signal-response coupling was not at the level of either the receptor or phospholipase D, which remain functionally operative and suggests modification occurs at either PKC or adenylate cyclase itself. These studies are discussed with respect to the cell signal regulation of mitogenesis in airway smooth muscle.


2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 663-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing-Hua Liu ◽  
Yun-Min Zheng ◽  
Amit S. Korde ◽  
Xiao-Qiang Li ◽  
Jianjie Ma ◽  
...  

1995 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Donnelly ◽  
K Yang ◽  
M B Omary ◽  
S Azhar ◽  
J L Black

2007 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueqin Ding ◽  
Paul A. Murray

Background The authors investigated whether acetylcholine-induced contraction in pulmonary venous smooth muscle (PVSM) is associated with the activation of specific protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Methods Isolated canine pulmonary venous rings without endothelium were suspended in modified Krebs-Ringer's buffer for measurement of isometric tension. The effects of nonspecific PKC inhibition (bisindolylmaleimide I; 3 x 10 m) and conventional PKC isoform inhibition (Gö7936 10 m) on the acetylcholine dose-response relation were assessed. The expression of conventional PKC isoforms (alpha, beta, gamma), novel PKC isoforms (delta, epsilon, theta), and atypical PKC isoforms (zeta, iota, mu) was measured in PVSM cells by Western blot analysis. The immunofluorescence technique and confocal microscopy were used to localize the cellular distribution of PKC isoforms before and after the addition of acetylcholine. Results Acetylcholine caused dose-dependent contraction in E-pulmonary veins. Pretreatment with bisindolylmaleimide I or Gö7936 attenuated acetylcholine contraction. PKC-alpha, -iota, -mu, and -zeta were expressed, whereas PKC-beta, -gamma, -delta, -epsilon;, and -theta were not expressed in PVSM cells. Immunofluorescence staining for PKC isoforms showed that in unstimulated cells, PKC-alpha and PKC-mu were detected only in the cytoplasm. PKC-iota and PKC-zeta also exhibited a cytoplasmic immunofluorescence pattern, which was especially abundant in the perinuclear zone. Activation with acetylcholine induced translocation of PKC-alpha from cytoplasm to membrane, whereas acetylcholine had no effect on the other PKC isoforms. Translocation of PKC-alpha in response to acetylcholine was blocked by the muscarinic receptor antagonist, atropine. Conclusion Acetylcholine contraction is attenuated by PKC inhibition in PVSM. Acetylcholine induces translocation of PKC-alpha from cytoplasm to membrane in PVSM. These results suggest that PKC-dependent acetylcholine contraction in PVSM may involve activation and translocation of PKC-alpha.


2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seema Mukherjee ◽  
Jacquelyn Trice ◽  
Paurvi Shinde ◽  
Ray E. Willis ◽  
Thomas A. Pressley ◽  
...  

Protein kinase C (PKC) has been implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction and may contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness. Here, we combined optical and biochemical analyses of mouse lung slices to determine the effects of PKC activation on Ca2+ signaling, Ca2+ sensitivity, protein phosphorylation, and contraction in SMCs of small intrapulmonary airways. We found that 10 µM phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate or 1 µM phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate induced repetitive, unsynchronized, and transient contractions of the SMCs lining the airway lumen. These contractions were associated with low frequency Ca2+ oscillations in airway SMCs that resulted from Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and the subsequent release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores through ryanodine receptors. Phorbol ester stimulation of lung slices in which SMC intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was “clamped” at a high concentration induced strong airway contraction, indicating that PKC mediated sensitization of the contractile response to [Ca2+]i. This Ca2+ sensitization was accompanied by phosphorylation of both the PKC-potentiated PP1 inhibitory protein of 17 kD (CPI-17) and the regulatory myosin light chain. Thrombin, like the phorbol esters, induced a strong Ca2+ sensitization that was inhibited by the PKC inhibitor GF-109203X and also potentiated airway contraction to membrane depolarization with KCl. In conclusion, we suggest that PKC activation in small airways leads to both the generation of Ca2+ oscillations and strong Ca2+ sensitization; agents associated with airway inflammation, such as thrombin, may activate this pathway to sensitize airway smooth muscle to agonists that cause membrane depolarization and Ca2+ entry and induce airway hyperresponsiveness.


Hypertension ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 683-683
Author(s):  
Jena B Jiardina ◽  
Dennis J Tanner ◽  
Raouf A Khalil

31 Oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) plays a critical role in the development of atherosclerotic coronary vasospasm; however, the cellular mechanisms involved are not fully understood. We tested the hypothesis that ox-LDL enhances coronary vasoconstriction by increasing the activity of specific protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in coronary smooth muscle. Active stress was measured in de-endothelialized porcine coronary artery strips, [Ca 2+ ] i was monitored in single coronary smooth muscle cells loaded with fura-2, and the whole tissue, cytosolic and particulate fractions were examined for PKC activity and reactivity with isoform-specific anti-PKC antibodies using Western blot analysis. Ox-LDL (100 μg/ml) caused a slow but significant increase in active stress to 1.2±0.2 x10 3 N/m 2 , that was completely inhibited by the PKC inhibitors staurosporine and calphostin C, with no significant increase in [Ca 2+ ] i . Ox-LDL enhanced coronary contraction to increasing concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and extracellular KCl with no additional increases in [Ca 2+ ] i . Direct activation of PKC by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu, 0.1 μM) caused a contraction similar in magnitude and time course to ox-LDL induced contraction. PDBu also enhanced 5-HT and KCl-induced contraction with no additional increases in [Ca 2+ ] i . Both ox-LDL and PDBu caused an increase in PKC activity in the particulate fraction and a decrease in the cytosolic fraction and increased the particulate/cytosolic PKC activity ratio. Western blot analysis revealed α-, δ-, ε- and ζ-PKC isoforms. In unstimulated tissue, α- and ε-PKC were mainly cytosolic, δ-PKC was mainly in the particulate fraction, while ζ-PKC was equally distributed in the cytosolic and particulate fractions. Ox-LDL and PDBu caused translocation of α- and ε-PKC from the cytosolic to particulate fraction, with minimal effect on the distribution of δ-PKC and ζ-PKC. Native LDL did not significantly affect coronary contraction, [Ca 2+ ] i or PKC activity. These results suggest that ox-LDL enhances coronary vasoconstriction via activation and translocation of α- and ε-PKC isoforms in coronary smooth muscle.


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