scholarly journals Chronic Elevation of Calmodulin in the Ventricles of Transgenic Mice Increases the Autonomous Activity of Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II, Which Regulates Atrial Natriuretic Factor Gene Expression

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1125-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep M. Colomer ◽  
Anthony R. Means

Abstract Although isoforms of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) have been implicated in the regulation of gene expression in cultured cells, this issue has yet to be addressed in vivo. We report that the overexpression of calmodulin in ventricular myocytes of transgenic mice results in an increase in the Ca2+/calmodulin-independent activity of endogenous CaMKII. The calmodulin transgene is regulated by a 500-bp fragment of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) gene promoter which, based on cell transfection studies, is itself known to be regulated by CaMKII. The increased autonomous activity of CaMKII maintains the activity of the transgene and establishes a positive feedforward loop, which also extends the temporal expression of the endogenous ANF promoter in ventricular myocytes. Both the increased activity of CaMKII and transcriptional activation of ANF are highly selective responses to the chronic overexpression of calmodulin. These results indicate that CaMKII can regulate gene expression in vivo and suggest that this enzyme may represent the Ca2+-dependent target responsible for reactivation of the ANF gene during ventricular hypertrophy.

2018 ◽  
Vol 238 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghania Ramdani ◽  
Nadine Schall ◽  
Hema Kalyanaraman ◽  
Nisreen Wahwah ◽  
Sahar Moheize ◽  
...  

NO/cGMP signaling is important for bone remodeling in response to mechanical and hormonal stimuli, but the downstream mediator(s) regulating skeletal homeostasis are incompletely defined. We generated transgenic mice expressing a partly-activated, mutant cGMP-dependent protein kinase type 2 (PKG2R242Q) under control of the osteoblast-specific Col1a1 promoter to characterize the role of PKG2 in post-natal bone formation. Primary osteoblasts from these mice showed a two- to three-fold increase in basal and total PKG2 activity; they proliferated faster and were resistant to apoptosis compared to cells from WT mice. Male Col1a1-Prkg2 R242Q transgenic mice had increased osteoblast numbers, bone formation rates and Wnt/β-catenin-related gene expression in bone and a higher trabecular bone mass compared to their WT littermates. Streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes suppressed bone formation and caused rapid bone loss in WT mice, but male transgenic mice were protected from these effects. Surprisingly, we found no significant difference in bone micro-architecture or Wnt/β-catenin-related gene expression between female WT and transgenic mice; female mice of both genotypes showed higher systemic and osteoblastic NO/cGMP generation compared to their male counterparts, and a higher level of endogenous PKG2 activity may be responsible for masking effects of the PKG2R242Q transgene in females. Our data support sexual dimorphism in Wnt/β-catenin signaling and PKG2 regulation of this crucial pathway in bone homeostasis. This work establishes PKG2 as a key regulator of osteoblast proliferation and post-natal bone formation.


Hypertension ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naohisa Tamura ◽  
Hiroshi Itoh ◽  
Yoshihiro Ogawa ◽  
Osamu Nakagawa ◽  
Masaki Harada ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai-Jun Gao ◽  
Xu-Dong Sun ◽  
Yan-Ping Luo ◽  
Hua-Sheng Pang ◽  
Xing-Ming Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Echinococcosis, which is caused by the larvae of cestodes of the genus Echinococcus, is a parasitic zoonosis that poses a serious threat to the health of humans and animals globally. Albendazole is the drug of choice for the treatment of echinococcosis, but it is difficult to meet clinical goals with this chemotherapy due to its low cure rate and associated side effects after its long-term use. Hence, novel anti-parasitic targets and effective treatment alternatives are urgently needed. A previous study showed that verapamil (Vepm) can suppress the growth of Echinococcus granulosus larvae; however, the mechanism of this effect remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the anti-echinococcal effect of Vepm on Echinococcus with a particular focus on the regulatory effect of Vepm on calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (Ca2+/CaM-CaMKII) in infected mice. Methods The anti-echinococcal effects of Vepm on Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces (PSC) in vitro and Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes in infected mice were assessed. The morphological alterations in Echinococcus spp. induced by Vepm were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the changes in calcium content in both the parasite and mouse serum and liver were measured by SEM-energy dispersive spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and alizarin red staining. Additionally, the changes in the protein and mRNA levels of CaM and CaMKII in infected mice, and in the mRNA levels of CaMKII in E. granulosus PSC, were evaluated after treatment with Vepm by immunohistochemistry and/or real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results In vitro, E. granulosus PSC could be killed by Vepm at a concentration of 0.5 μg/ml or higher within 8 days. Under these conditions, the ultrastructure of PSC was damaged, and this damage was accompanied by obvious calcium loss and downregulation of CaMKII mRNA expression. In vivo, the weight and the calcium content of E. multilocularis metacestodes from mice were reduced after treatment with 40 mg/kg Vepm, and an elevation of the calcium content in the sera and livers of infected mice was observed. In addition, downregulation of CaM and CaMKII protein and mRNA expression in the livers of mice infected with E. multilocularis metacestodes was found after treatment with Vepm. Conclusions Vepm exerted a parasiticidal effect against Echinococcus both in vitro and in vivo through downregulating the expression of Ca2+/CaM-CaMKII, which was over-activated by parasitic infection. The results suggest that Ca2+/CaM-CaMKII may be a novel drug target, and that Vepm is a potential anti-echinococcal drug for the future control of echinococcosis.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2453-2463
Author(s):  
P Yaciuk ◽  
J K Choi ◽  
D Shalloway

The product of the c-src proto-oncogene, pp60c-src, is phosphorylated at Ser-17 by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A and at Ser-12 by calcium-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C (when stimulated by 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate). We tested the effects of Ser----Ala and Ser----Glu mutations at these sites in pp60c-src and in pp60c-src(F527) (a mutant whose transforming activities are enhanced by Tyr-527----Phe mutation) by transfecting single-, double-, and triple-mutant src expression plasmids into NIH 3T3 cells. Tryptic phosphopeptide analyses of the mutant proteins confirmed prior biochemical identifications of the phosphorylation sites and showed that neither separate nor coordinate mutations at Ser-12 and Ser-17 affected Tyr-416, Tyr-527, or Ser-48 phosphorylation or prevented mitosis-specific phosphorylations of either pp60c-src or pp60c-src(F527). Ser-12 mutation did not affect phosphorylation of the Ser-17-containing peptide, but mutation of Ser-17 significantly increased phosphorylation at Ser-12. Specific kinase activities (both with and without in vivo 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate treatment) and the abilities of pp60c-src and pp60c-src(F527) to induce foci, transformed morphologies, and anchorage-independent growth were unaffected by any of the serine mutations. Thus, pp60c-src transforming activity in NIH 3T3 cells is relatively insensitive to phosphorylation at these sites, but there is a suggestion that Ser-17 phosphorylation may have a subtle regulatory effect.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1507-1514
Author(s):  
C L Denis ◽  
S C Fontaine ◽  
D Chase ◽  
B E Kemp ◽  
L T Bemis

Four ADR1c mutations that occur close to Ser-230 of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptional activator ADR1 and which greatly enhance the ability of ADR1 to activate ADH2 expression under glucose-repressed conditions have been shown to reduce or eliminate cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) phosphorylation of Ser-230 in vitro. In addition, unregulated cAPK expression in vivo blocks ADH2 depression in an ADR1-dependent fashion in which ADR1c mutations display decreased sensitivity to unregulated cAPK activity. Taken together, these data have suggested that ADR1c mutations enhance ADR1 activity by blocking cAPK phosphorylation and inactivation of Ser-230. We have isolated and characterized an additional 17 ADR1c mutations, defining 10 different amino acid changes, that were located in the region defined by amino acids 227 through 239 of ADR1. Three observations, however, indicate that the ADR1c phenotype is not simply equivalent to a lack of cAPK phosphorylation. First, only some of these newly isolated ADR1c mutations affected the ability of yeast cAPK to phosphorylate corresponding synthetic peptides modeled on the 222 to 234 region of ADR1 in vitro. Second, we observed that strains lacking cAPK activity did not display enhanced ADH2 expression under glucose growth conditions. Third, when Ser-230 was mutated to a nonphosphorylatable residue, lack of cAPK activity led to a substantial increase in ADH2 expression under glucose-repressed conditions. Thus, while cAPK controls ADH2 expression and ADR1 is required for this control, cAPK acts by a mechanism that is independent of effects on ADR1 Ser-230. It was also observed that deletion of the ADR1c region resulted in an ADR1c phenotype. The ADR1c region is, therefore, involved in maintaining ADR1 in an inactive form. ADR1c mutations may block the binding of a repressor to ADR1 or alter the structure of ADR1 so that transcriptional activation regions become unmasked.


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