Two polyphosphatidylinositide metabolites control two K+ currents in a neuronal cell

Hydrolysis of the membrane phospholipid phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P2) produces two prospective intracellular messengers: inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3), which releases Ca2+ from intracellular stores; and diacylglycerol (DG), which activates protein kinase C. Here we show how the formation of these two substances triggered by one external messenger, bradykinin, leads to the appearance of two different sequential membrane conductance changes in the neurone-like NG108-15 neuroblastoma-glioma hybrid cell line. In these cells bradykinin rapidly hydrolyses PtdIns(4,5)P2 to InsP3 and DG, raises intracellular Ca2+ and hyperpolarizes then depolarizes the cell membrane. By voltage-clamp recording we show that the hyperpolarization results from the activation pharmacologically-identifiable species of Ca2+-dependent K+ current. This is also activated by intracellular injections of Ca2+ or InsP3 so may be attributed to the formation and action of InsP3. The subsequent depolarization results primarily from the inhibition of a different, voltage-dependent K+ current, the M-current that is also inhibited by DG activators. Hence we describe for the first time a dual, time-dependent role for these two intracellular messengers in the control of neuronal signalling by a peptide.     

Activation of chloride channels in normal and cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells by multifunctional calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase.

Cystic fibrosis is associated with defective regulation of apical membrane chloride channels in airway epithelial cells. These channels in normal cells are activated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C. In cystic fibrosis these kinases fail to activate otherwise normal Cl- channels. But Cl- flux in cystic fibrosis cells, as in normal cells, can be activated by raising intracellular Ca2+ (refs 5-10). We report here whole-cell patch clamp studies of normal and cystic fibrosis-derived airway epithelial cells showing that Cl- channel activation by Ca2+ is mediated by multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. We find that intracellular application of activated kinase and ATP activates a Cl- current similar to that activated by a Ca2+ ionophore, that peptide inhibitors of either the kinase or calmodulin block Ca2(+)-dependent activation of Cl- channels, and that a peptide inhibitor of protein kinase C does not block Ca2(+)-dependent activation. Ca2+/calmodulin activation of Cl- channels presents a pathway with therapeutic potential for circumventing defective regulation of Cl- channels in cystic fibrosis.     

Calcium-dependent enhancement of calcium current in smooth muscle by calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II.

Calcium entry through voltage-activated Ca2+ channels is important in regulating many cellular functions. Activation of these channels in many cell types results in feedback regulation of channel activity. Mechanisms linking Ca2+ channel activity with its downregulation have been described, but little is known of the events responsible for the enhancement of Ca2+ current that in many cells follows Ca2+ channel activation and an increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration. Here we investigate how this positive feedback is achieved in single smooth muscle cells. We find that in these cells voltage-activated calcium current is persistently but reversibly enhanced after periods of activation. This persistent enhancement of the Ca2+ current is mediated by activation of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II because it is blocked when either the rise in cytoplasmic Ca2+ is inhibited or activation of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II is prevented by specific peptide inhibitors of calcium-calmodulin or calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II itself. This mechanism may be important in different forms of Ca2+ current potentiation, such as those that depend on prior Ca2+ channel activation or are a result of agonist-induced release of Ca2+ from internal stores.     

Cholecystokinin induces a decrease in Ca2+ current in snail neurons that appears to be mediated by protein kinase C

Three distinct classes of protein kinases have been shown to regulate Ca2+ current in excitable tissues. Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase mediates the action of noradrenaline on the Ca2+ current of cardiac muscle cells. Cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase mediates the serotonin-induced modulation of the Ca2+ current in identified snail neurons. The Ca2+/diacylglycerol-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) has also been found to regulate Ca2+ currents of neurons. However, no neurotransmitter has yet been shown to regulate Ca2+ current through the activation of protein kinase C. We now report that cholecystokinin, a widely occurring neuropeptide which is present in molluscan neuron, modulates the Ca2+ current in identified neurons of the snail Helix aspersa, and that this effect appears to be mediated by protein kinase C. Specifically, sulphated cholecystokinin octapeptide 26-33 (CCK8), activators of protein kinase C, and intracellular injection of protein kinase C, all shorten the Ca2+-dependent action potential and decrease the amplitude of the Ca2+ current in these cells. All these effects are not reversible within the duration of the experiments. Moreover, intracellular injections of low concentrations of protein kinase C, which are ineffective by themselves, enhance the effectiveness of low concentrations of CCK8 on the Ca2+ current.     

A single GTP-binding protein regulates K+-channels coupled with dopamine, histamine and acetylcholine receptors

Recently, a GTP-binding protein sensitive to islet activating protein (IAP) has been suggested to be important in producing K+-currents when the muscarinic receptor of the atrial muscle is activated by acetylcholine (ACh). Here we confirm the blocking effects of IAP and GTP gamma S (a nonhydrolysable analogue of GTP) on the ACh-induced K+-current recorded from the ganglion cells of the sea slug Aplysia and compare their effects on histamine (HA)-induced and dopamine (DA)-induced K+-currents. Intracellular injections of IAP irreversibly and selectively block the openings of K+-channels activated by either ACh, HA, or DA without affecting the resting potential or conductance states of the membranes. Intracellular application of GTP gamma S alone caused extremely slow, irreversible opening of K+-channels; however, repetitive receptor activations significantly increase the rate of the GTP gamma S effect. These results strongly suggest that a GTP-binding protein such as Gi regulates the opening of K+-channels coupled with these receptors.     

Role of intracellular Ca2+ sequestration in beta-adrenergic relaxation of a smooth muscle.

Various mechanisms have been proposed for beta-adrenergically mediated relaxation of smooth muscle. All theories suggest the involvement of cyclic AMP as a second messenger: beta-agonists stimulate adenylate cyclase which converts ATP to cyclic AMP and protein kinase, activated by cyclic AMP, is then thought to catalyse a protein phosphorylation that leads to a reduction in free Ca2+, thus effecting relaxation. How this last step is accomplished is much debated, but the following possibilities are currently considered as the mechanisms responsible for cyclic AMP-induced reduction of cytoplasmic Ca2+: activation of a Ca2+-ATPase in the plasma and/or sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes which lowers cytoplasmic [Ca2+] in a direct manner or stimulation of (Na+-K+)ATPase in the cell membrane which may indirectly effect Ca2+ extrusion. Among the hypotheses suggested, those of Ca2+ sequestration by the sarcoplasmic reticulum and of Ca2+ extrusion across the cell membrane are consistent with each other if it is assumed that both processes are effected by a cyclic AMP-sensitive Ca2+-ATPase. However, quite a different mechanism is implied by involving the Na+-K+ pump and Na+-Ca2+ exchange carrier. In this report, we present evidence that suggests intracellular Ca2+ sequestration is the mechanism involved.     

Quantification of Ca2+-activated K+ channels under hormonal control in pig pancreas acinar cells

Ca2+- and voltage-activated K+ channels are found in many electrically excitable cells and have an important role in regulating electrical activity. Recently, the large K+ channel has been found in the baso-lateral plasma membranes of salivary gland acinar cells, where it may be important in the regulation of salt transport. Using patch-clamp methods to record single-channel currents from excised fragments of baso-lateral acinar cell membranes in combination with current recordings from isolated single acinar cells and two- and three-cell clusters, we have now for the first time characterized the K+ channels quantitatively. In pig pancreatic acini there are 25-60 K+ channels per cell with a maximal single channel conductance of about 200 pS. We have quantified the relationship between internal ionized Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]i) membrane potential and open-state probability (p) of the K+ channel. By comparing curves obtained from excised patches relating membrane potential to p, at different levels of [Ca2+]i, with similar curves obtained from intact cells, [Ca2+]i in resting acinar cells was found to be between 10(-8) and 10(-7) M. In microelectrode experiments acetylcholine (ACh), gastrin-cholecystokinin (CCK) as well as bombesin peptides evoked Ca2+-dependent opening of the K+ conductance pathway, resulting in membrane hyperpolarization. The large K+ channel, which is under strict dual control by internal Ca2+ and voltage, may provide a crucial link between hormone-evoked increase in internal Ca2+ concentration and the resulting NaCl-rich fluid secretion.     

Acetylcholine activates an inward current in single mammalian smooth muscle cells

Acetylcholine, the major excitatory neurotransmitter to the smooth muscle of mammalian intestine, is known to depolarize smooth muscle cells with an apparent increase in membrane conductance. However, the ionic mechanisms that are triggered by muscarinic receptor activation and underlie this response are poorly understood, due in part to the technical problems associated with the electrophysiological study of smooth muscle. The muscarinic action of acetylcholine in certain neurones has been shown to involve the switching off of a resting K+ current (M-current) and a similar mechanism has recently also been identified in smooth muscle of amphibian stomach. We have now applied the patch-clamp technique to single smooth muscle cells of rabbit jejunum and find that muscarinic receptor activation switches on a nonselective, voltage-sensitive inward current. In addition, acetylcholine activates and then suppresses spontaneous K+ current transients, which are probably triggered by rises in intracellular Ca2+ in these cells.     

Distribution of two distinct Ca2+-ATPase-like proteins and their relationships to the agonist-sensitive calcium store in adrenal chromaffin cells

Many cellular functions are regulated by activation of cell-surface receptors that mobilize calcium from internal stores sensitive to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3). The nature of these internal calcium stores and their localization in cells is not clear and has been a subject of debate. It was originally suggested that the Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive store is the endoplasmic reticulum, but a new organelle, the calciosome, identified by its possession of the calcium-binding protein, calsequestrin, and a Ca2+-ATPase-like protein of relative molecular mass 100,000 (100K), has been described as a potential Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive calcium store. Direct evidence on whether the calciosome is the Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive store is lacking. Using monoclonal antibodies raised against the Ca2+-ATPase of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum, we show that bovine adrenal chromaffin cells contain two Ca2+-ATPase-like proteins with distinct subcellular distributions. A 100K Ca2+-ATPase-like protein is diffusely distributed, whereas a 140K Ca2+-ATPase-like protein is restricted to a region in close proximity to the nucleus. In addition, Ins(1,4,5)P3-generating agonists result in a highly localized rise in cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) initiated in a region close to the nucleus, whereas caffeine results in a rise in [Ca2+]i throughout the cytoplasm. Our results indicate that chromaffin cells possess two calcium stores with distinct Ca2+-ATPases and that the organelle with the 100K Ca2+-ATPase is not the Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive store.     

Phorbol ester facilitates 45Ca accumulation and catecholamine secretion by nicotine and excess K+ but not by muscarine in rat adrenal medulla

Several investigators have shown that tumour promoter phorbol esters mimic the effects of endogenous diacylglycerol to activate a second messenger, protein kinase C. These phorbol esters have proved to be valuable tools for exploring the role of protein kinase C in many cellular functions. We demonstrate here that secretion of catecholamines evoked from the rat adrenal gland by stimulation of splanchnic nerves, excess potassium (K+) and nicotine is facilitated by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. An inhibitor of protein kinase C, polymixin B, produced concentration-dependent inhibition of the evoked secretion, and the effect was reversed by the phorbol ester. Furthermore, we show that an increase in the accumulation of radioactively labelled calcium (45Ca) obtained in the adrenal medulla after stimulation with nicotinic agonists and excess K+ is further enhanced by phorbol ester. Muscarine-evoked secretion of catecholamines, which depends on mobilization of intracellularly bound Ca2+, was not associated with an increase in 45Ca2+ uptake, and phorbol ester did not facilitate either catecholamine secretion or 45Ca2+ accumulation. We suggest that protein kinase C is involved in the exocytotic secretion of catecholamines by regulating the influx of Ca2+ through voltage-sensitive and nicotine receptor-linked Ca2+ channels of rat chromaffin cells.     

Voltage-dependent phosphorylation may recruit Ca2+ current facilitation in chromaffin cells.

Bovine chromaffin cells have two components of whole-cell Ca2+ current: 'standard' Ca2+ currents that are activated by brief depolarizations, and 'facilitation' Ca2+ currents, which are normally quiescent but can be activated by large pre-depolarizations or by repetitive depolarizations to physiological potentials. The activation of protein kinase A can also stimulate Ca2+ current facilitation, indicating that phosphorylation can play a part in facilitation. Here we investigate the role of protein phosphorylation in the recruitment of facilitation Ca2+ currents by pre-pulses or repetitive depolarizations. We find that recruitment of facilitation by depolarization is a rapid first-order process which is suppressed by inhibitors of protein phosphorylation or by injection of phosphatase 2A into cells. Recruitment of facilitation Ca2+ current by voltage is normally reversible but phosphatase inhibitors render it irreversible. Our results indicate that recruitment of these Ca2+ currents by pre-pulses or repetitive depolarizations involves voltage-dependent phosphorylation of the facilitation Ca2+ channel or a closely associated regulatory protein. Voltage-dependent phosphorylation may therefore be a mechanism by which membrane potential can modulate ion channel activity.     

A diacylglycerol analogue reduces neuronal calcium currents independently of protein kinase C activation

Diacylglycerol analogues (for example 1,2-oleoylacetylglycerol, OAG) and phorbol esters are activators of protein kinase C, and have been widely used to study the function of this enzyme in both intact cells and cell-free preparations. Electrophysiological studies have shown that these activators can either depress or increase Ca2+ currents, or decrease K+ currents when applied outside the cell. It has been assumed that these effects are mediated by protein kinase C activation. Here we report that micromolar levels of OAG and phorbol esters depress Ca2+ currents in chick sensory neurons independently of their effect as activators of protein kinase C. The depression of the Ca2+ current is rapid and is unaffected by intracellular application of the protein kinase C inhibitors staurosporin, sphingosine and H-7. Furthermore, the activators were ineffective when applied intracellularly, indicating that their site of action is on the outside of the membrane.     

Modulation of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels by glucose metabolism in mouse pancreatic beta-cells

Glucose stimulates insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta-cell by increasing the cytosolic calcium concentration. It is believed that this increment results mainly from Ca2+ influx through dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels because insulin secretion is abolished by dihydropyridine antagonists and is potentiated by dihydropyridine agonists. Glucose may influence Ca2+ influx through these channels in two ways: either by regulating the beta-cell membrane potential or by biochemical modulation of the channel itself. The former mechanism is well established. Glucose metabolism, by closing ATP-sensitive K+ channels, depolarizes the beta-cell membrane and initiates Ca2+-dependent electrical activity, with higher glucose concentrations further increasing Ca2+ influx by raising the frequency of action potentials. We show here that glucose metabolism also increases calcium influx directly, by modulating the activity of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels.     

Inositol trisphosphate-dependent periodic activation of a Ca(2+)-activated K+ conductance in glucose-stimulated pancreatic beta-cells.

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion is associated with the appearance of electrical activity in the pancreatic beta-cell. At intermediate glucose concentrations, beta-cell electrical activity follows a characteristic pattern of slow oscillations in membrane potential on which bursts of action potentials are superimposed. The electrophysiological background of the bursting pattern remains unestablished. Activation of Ca(2+)-activated large-conductance K+ channels (KCa channel) has been implicated in this process but seems unlikely in view of recent evidence demonstrating that the beta-cell electrical activity is unaffected by the specific KCa channel blocker charybdotoxin. Another hypothesis postulates that the bursting arises as a consequence of two components of Ca(2+)-current inactivation. Here we show that activation of a novel Ca(2+)-dependent K+ current in glucose-stimulated beta-cells produces a transient membrane repolarization. This interrupts action potential firing so that action potentials appear in bursts. Spontaneous activity of this current was seen only rarely but could be induced by addition of compounds functionally related to hormones and neurotransmitters present in the intact pancreatic islet. K+ currents of the same type could be evoked by intracellular application of GTP, the effect of which was mediated by mobilization of Ca2+ from inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-sensitive intracellular Ca2+ stores. These observations suggest that oscillatory glucose-stimulated electrical activity, which is correlated with pulsatile release of insulin, results from the interaction between the beta-cell and intraislet hormones and neurotransmitters. Our data also provide evidence for a close interplay between ion channels in the plasma membrane and InsP3-induced mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ in an excitable cell.     

Proposed mechanism of cholinergic action in smooth muscle

An increased turnover of phosphatidate and phosphatidyl inositol has been found in many tissues where hormones or neurotransmitters are postulated to raise Ca2+ influx, for example in smooth muscle. However, the relationship between changes in phospholipid metabolism and changes in Ca2+ permeability was unknown. Following recent reports on the interactions of Ca2+ with phosphatidic acid in membranes and artificial systems, we investigated the hypothesis that phosphatidate accumulation mediates the action of cholinergic and other stimuli on Ca2+ influx. We report here that synthesis and accumulation of phosphatidate was accelerated in smooth muscle cells stimulated by carbamylcholine with a similar time course to that of contraction. This alteration in phosphatidate metabolism does not seem to result from an increase in intracellular Ca2+ or depolarisation of the cell membrane. Furthermore, submicromolar concentrations of phosphatidate rapidly produce contractions of isolated smooth muscle cells. These results support the contention that cholinergic-induced changes in membrane Ca2+ permeability in smooth muscle could be mediated by phosphatidate accumulation.     

A novel receptor-operated Ca2+-permeable channel activated by ATP in smooth muscle

Receptor-operated Ca2+ entry has been proposed as a signalling mechanism in many cells. Receptor-operated Ca2+ channels (ROCs) were first postulated in smooth muscle by Bolton, van Breemen and Somlyo and Somlyo, but recordings of directly ligand-gated Ca2+ current are lacking. Here we describe receptor-operated Ca2+ current evoked in arterial smooth muscle cells by ATP, a sympathetic neurotransmitter. ATP activates channels with approximately 3:1 selectivity for Ca2+ over Na+ at near-physiological concentrations and with a unitary conductance of approximately 5 pS in 110 mM Ca2+ or Ba2+. The channels can be opened even at very negative potentials and resist inhibition by cadmium or nifedipine, unlike voltage-gated Ca2+ channels; they are not blocked by Mg2+, unlike NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate)-activated channels; they are directly activated by ligand, without involvement of readily diffusible second messengers, unlike cation channels in neutrophils and T lymphocytes. Thus, the ATP-activated channels provide a distinct mechanism for excitatory synaptic current and Ca2+ entry in smooth muscle.     

Subthreshold Na+-dependent theta-like rhythmicity in stellate cells of entorhinal cortex layer II

The oscillation of membrane potential in mammalian central neurons is of interest because it relates to the role of oscillations in brain function. It has been proposed that the entorhinal cortex (EC), particularly the stellate cells of layer II (ECIIscs), plays an important part in the genesis of the theta rhythm. These neurons occupy a key position in the neocortex-hippocampus-neocortex circuit, a crucial crossroad in memory functions. Neuronal oscillations typically rely on the activation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ conductances and the Ca2+ -dependent K+ conductance that usually follows, as seen in other limbic subcortical structures generating theta rhythmicity. Here we report, however, that similar oscillations are generated in ECIIscs by a Na+ conductance. The finding of a subthreshold, voltage-gated, Na+ -dependent rhythmic membrane oscillation in mammalian neurons indicates that rhythmicity in heterogeneous neuronal networks may be supported by different sets of intrinsic ionic mechanisms in each of the neuronal elements involved.     

A functional correlate for the dihydropyridine binding site in rat brain

Calcium channels, controlling the influx of extracellular Ca2+ and hence neurotransmitter release, exist in the brain. However, drugs classed as calcium antagonists and which inhibit Ca2+ entry through voltage-activated Ca2+ channels in heart and smooth muscle, seem not to affect any aspect of neuronal function in the brain at pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Yet the dihydropyridine calcium antagonists (for example, nitrendipine) bind stereospecifically with high affinity to a recognition site on brain-cell membranes thought to represent the Ca2+ channel and consequently, the physiological relevance of these sites has been questioned. However, activation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels can increase cytoplasmic Ca2+ and neurotransmitter release in neuronal tissue. We show here that Bay K8644, a dihydropyridine Ca2+-channel activator, can augment K+-stimulated release of serotonin from rat frontal cortex slices and that these effects can be antagonized by low concentrations of calcium antagonists. As 3H-dihydropyridine binding to cortical membrane preparations resembles the binding in heart and smooth muscle where there are good functional correlates we conclude that the dihydropyridine binding sites in the brain represent functional Ca2+ channels that can be unmasked under certain circumstances.     

Activation at M-phase of a protein kinase encoded by a starfish homologue of the cell cycle control gene cdc2+

In both starfish and amphibian oocytes, the activity of a major protein kinase which is independent of Ca2+ and cyclic nucleotides increases dramatically at meiotic and mitotic nuclear divisions. The in vivo substrates of this kinase are unknown, but phosphorylation of H1 histone can be used as an in vitro assay. We have purified this kinase from starfish oocytes. The major band in the most highly purified preparation contained a polypeptide of relative molecular mass (Mr) 34,000 (34K). This is the same size as the protein kinase encoded by cdc2+, which regulates entry into mitosis in fission yeast and is a component of MPF purified from Xenopus. Here, we show that antibodies against p34 recognize the starfish 34K protein and propose that entry into meiotic and mitotic nuclear divisions involves activation of the protein kinase encoded by a homologue of cdc2+. Given the wide occurrence of cdc2+ homologues from budding yeast to Xenopus and human cells, this activation may act as a common mechanism controlling entry into mitosis in eukaryotic cells.     

Myosin phosphorylation, agonist concentration and contraction of tracheal smooth muscle

Myosin phosphorylation plays an important part in excitation--contraction coupling in smooth muscle. Phosphorylation by a Ca2+, calmodulin-dependent kinase stimulates the actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity of smooth muscle myosin, suggesting that myosin phosphorylation regulates smooth muscle contraction. This hypothesis is supported by evidence that myosin is phosphorylated during contraction and dephosphorylated during relaxation of intact smooth muscles stimulated with a single agonist concentration. However, there is little information regarding the response to stimulation with various agonist concentrations. As the dose-response relationships for phosphorylation and tension should be similar if myosin phosphorylation does, in fact, regulate smooth muscle contraction, we studied myosin phosphorylation in tracheal smooth muscle stimulated with a broad range of concentrations of the cholinergic agonist, methacholine. The results of these experiments are consistent with the hypothesis that myosin phosphorylation regulates smooth muscle contraction but they indicate a relatively complex relationship between myosin phosphorylation and the generation of isometric tension.