Department of Physiology, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
1 Department of Physiology, University of Wisconsin, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706. E-mail: jwalker{at}physiology.wisc.edu
| Abstract |
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-YFP–expressing myocytes, the ET-1–mediated positive inotropic response was greatly diminished to 13 ± 15%, but alkalinization was still observed. Expression of dn-PKC-
-YFP also did not block alkalinization, but in this case the positive inotropic response was still observed. In a previous study, we showed that expression of PKC-
and PKC-
caused a strong positive inotropy on stimulation with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu). Using this system, PDBu failed to affect pHi in the majority of PKC expressing myocytes despite increases in twitch amplitudes of >60%. Overall, the poor correlation of positive inotropic responses and alkalinization was observed for ET-1 with and without dn-PKC constructs and for PDBu with and without wild-type PKC constructs. These results suggest that ET-1 produces positive inotropy via PKC-
by mechanisms other than intracellular alkalinization.
Keywords: endothelin-1, positive inotropy, protein kinase C, alkalinization
| Introduction |
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Recently, we found that phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu)-induced negative inotropism was converted to strong positive inotropism when either PKC-
or PKC-
was expressed in ventricular myocytes. Moreover, PKC-
and PKC-
each promoted a robust positive inotropic response in conjunction with translocation to intracellular sites such as the Golgi apparatus or transverse tubules (5). Identifying whether intracellular alkalinization is involved in this strong positive inotropic response would further expand our understanding of the mechanisms of ET-1, PKC, and positive inotropism in heart.
| Materials and Methods |
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Fluorescent PKC Constructs.
Full-length rabbit PKC-
and mouse PKC-
were fused to the C-terminus of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in a pShuttle vector driven by cytomegalovirus promoters (Stratagene). To alter PKC isoform activity in cardiac myocytes, dominant negative (dn) mutant PKC cDNA were constructed through site-directed mutagenesis of wild-type (wt) PKC cDNAs. Dn-PKC constructs were generated through a double mutation by converting K to R at the ATP binding site (amino acid 376 for PKC-
and amino acid 436 for PKC-
) and A to E at the pseudosubstrate site (amino acid 147 for PKC-
and amino acid 159 for PKC-
) (6). This double mutation permanently impairs the ATP-binding site of the enzyme, but still allows the enzyme to compete for anchoring sites, thereby effectively attenuating the activity of each PKC isoform. All PKC clones were fully sequenced and tested for protein expression by Western blotting and then generated as adenoviruses. Generation of recombinant adenoviruses was accomplished using AdEasy adenoviral vector system (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) according to the manufacturers instructions.
Cardiac Myocyte Adenoviral Infection.
Animal handling practices used in this study have been reviewed by and received approval from the Animal Care Committee of the University of Wisconsin. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from 3-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats with enzymatic digestion, then plated onto laminin-coated cover-slips and infected with adenoviruses as described previously (1).
Twitch Measurements.
Cell twitches were initiated by electric field stimulation with a SD9 stimulator (Grass Instrument, Quincy, MA) in a modified PH1 chamber (Warner Instrument, Hamden, CT) mounted on a Zeiss inverted microscope. The stimulation protocol was 0.4 Hz, 10-ms duration, and 60 V at 22°C. Individual myocytes were monitored with a model VED 104 video edge detector (Crescent Electronics, Sandy, UT) and cell shortening was recorded using Felix software (Photon Technology International, West Sussex, UK).
Intracellular pH Measurement Using SNARF-1.
Myocytes expressing fluorescent PKCs were cultured for 30–40 hours before observation. The pHi of single myocytes was measured using the pH-sensitive fluorophore carboxy-SNARF-1. Myocytes were loaded with the membrane-permeable acetoxy-methylester form of carboxy-SNARF-1 (1 µM) for 10–20 minutes. Confocal images were acquired with a Bio-Rad Radiance 2100 laser scanning confocal microscope to monitor pH changes before and after agonist stimulation. The fluorophore was excited by light at 514 nm, and the emitted fluorescence signals were measured simultaneously at 580 nm and 640 nm. The 640 nm/580 nm emission ratio was converted to a pH value using the nigericin calibration technique (7). All experiments were performed at room temperature (21°C–23°C).
| Results |
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We further examined whether inhibition of PKC function changed the relationship between contractility and pHi in response to ET-1. Three major PKC isozymes are expressed in a rat adult heart: PKC-
, -
, and -
. Because organic inhibitors of PKC-
have no effect on ET-1s inotropic responses, we examined the role of PKC-
and PKC-
isoforms using dn-PKC constructs. Yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusion to dn-PKC allows us to indicate the expression level and the enzymes localization. Within 40 hours of adenovirus infection, fluorescent PKC constructs were well expressed and visualized under the confocal microscope. There was an isoform-dependent preference in anchoring sites in constitutively translocating dn-PKCs (M. Kang, J. W. Walker, unpublished data). Differentially localizing dn-PKC–expressing myocytes were stimulated with ET-1, and changes in contractility and pHi were monitored. In dn-PKC-
-YFP–expressing myocytes, the positive inotropic response to ET-1 was minimal (13 ± 15% increase in twitch amplitude). In contrast, myocytes expressing dn-PKC-
-YFP behaved like controls cells expressing GFP alone or no fluorescent protein showing about a 70% increase in twitch amplitude (Fig. 2A, Table 1). Thus inhibition of ET-1–mediated positive inotropy was PKC-
isoform specific. Again, a poor correlation of alkalinization and inotropic responses was observed in the presence of dn-PKC isoforms. Dn-PKC-
-YFP–expressing cells induced positive inotropic responses to ET-1, but only half showed alkalinization (mean 0.05 ± 0.02 pH units, Fig. 2B, Group A and B). Also, although there was no positive inotropy in dn-PKC-
-YFP–expressing cells with ET-1 stimulation, intracellular alkalinization was detected in 21% of tested cells (Fig. 2B). This reinforces the idea that ET-1–induced positive inotropy is not mediated by intracellular alkalinization.
Next, we tested how negative inotropic responses might affect pHi, and PDBu was chosen as a negative inotropic agonist. Myocytes stimulated with 100 nM PDBu presented about a 46% decrease in twitch amplitude (Fig. 3A, Table 1). Interestingly, PDBu-stimulated cells showing negative inotropy also had a mixed response on pHi. Sixty percent of the population showed no significant change in pHi, but 40% of tested cells showed intracellular alkalinization with a mean of 0.04 ± 0.02 pH units after PDBu stimulation (Fig. 3B, Group A and B). These data indicate intracellular alkalinization occurs even when the overall twitch amplitude is inhibited. When PKC-
or PKC-
was introduced into myocytes, PDBu no longer generated a negative inotropy, but instead gave a robust positive inotropic response (5). To determine whether intracellular alkalinization is more consistent in PDBu-induced positive inotropic responses, we measured pHi after PDBu activation in PKC-expressing cells. Addition of PDBu showed positive inotropic responses from both PKC-
– and PKC-
–expressed cells (93% and 65% increase in twitch amplitude, respectively) (Fig. 4A, Table 1). However, fewer cells showed alkalinization on PDBu stimulation compared with ET-1 stimulation, although bigger positive inotropic responses were observed. Most cells showing positive inotropy presented no significant pH change with PDBu. The mean pH change values are summarized in Fig. 4B, including control cells without PKC expression. These data further support the idea that positive inotropic responses mediated by ET receptor activation or direct PKC activation were not caused by intracellular alkalinization.
| Discussion |
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-YFP–expressing cells).
Because ET-1 induces positive inotropy through G protein–coupled receptor activation, we also compared pH changes in positive inotropic responses mediated by more direct PKC activation. The role of PKC in the regulation of pHi has been proposed to occur via ERK activation (13). Phosphorylation-mediated stimulation of Na+/H+ exchanger activity is caused by a conformational change altering interactions of the regulatory domain with the transport domain resulting in increased H+ affinity of the proton sensor in Na+/H+ exchanger (14). Here we tested how PKC activation affects contractility and pHi. Overexpression of either PKC-
or PKC-
produced a robust positive inotropy by PDBu stimulation (Fig. 4A). Still, we did not find a consistent alkalinization with positive inotropic responses. The mean changes in pHi was less than 0.02 pH units, indicating direct PKC activation was not associated with alkalosis. It has been well documented that addition of PDBu produces a negative inotropy in fresh and cultured myocytes (Fig. 3A) (15, 16). In this study, we found that 40% of PDBu-stimulated myocytes also showed an alkalinization with negative inotropic response, adding more evidence to the poor correlation of inotropy and pH changes (Fig. 3B). Accordingly, factors other than alkalinization may be involved in ET-1–mediated positive inotropy. In this context, it is noteworthy that phosphorylation of myofilament proteins by ET-1 actively regulates twitch dynamics and myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity in mouse ventricular myocytes (17). Pi and colleagues (18) provided evidence that phosphorylation of PKC sites on cardiac troponin I plays a central role in depressing myofilament ATPase activity and in enhancing myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. In addition, increases in cytosolic Ca2+ and prolonged action potential duration might be other key factors affecting positive inotropy mediated by ET-1. These possibilities are now under investigation.
Numerous studies indicate that ET-1 signals through ET receptor/G
q/phospholipase C/PKC signaling cascade. Among PKC isozymes, PKC-
has received attention as a major PKC isoform mediating neurohumoral responses to angiotensin, phenylephrine, epinephrine, and ET in heart (19–21). An important finding in this study is that selective inhibition of the PKC-
isoform blocked ET-1–mediated inotropic responses. This is the first report directly showing PKC-
is the isoform that induces positive inotropy on ET-1 stimulation. Inhibition of PKC-
isoform in the same novel PKC family was not effective to block the ET-1 response. Taken together, the data indicate that ET-1–mediated positive inotropic responses are PKC-
dependent, but that intracellular pH is not consistently changed on ET-1 or PKC stimulation of ventricular myocytes.
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| Footnotes |
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Received for publication September 23, 2005. Accepted for publication October 22, 2005.
| References |
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