Effects of calyculin A on tension and myosin phosphorylation in skinned smooth muscle of the rabbit mesenteric artery.
1. Using beta-escin and ionomycin-treated skinned smooth muscle strips of the rabbit mesenteric artery, the effects of calyculin A (CL-A, an inhibitor of type 1 and 2A phosphatases) on mechanical activities, phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC) and the relationship between the two were studied in Ca(2+)-free solution containing 4 mM EGTA and these effects were compared with those evoked by Ca2+. 2. The threshold concentration of Ca2+ required to increase either tension or MLC-phosphorylation was 0.1 microM and maximum effects were obtained at 10 microM. MLC was mainly monophosphorylated, rather than diphosphorylated, in the presence of Ca2+. ED50 value for Ca2+ was 0.54 microM for either tension or MLC-phosphorylation. The relationship between tension and MLC-phosphorylation is linear in the pCa range 7-5.5. 3. In Ca(2+)-free solution (containing either 20 mM EGTA or 4 mM EGTA with or without 4 mM BAPTA), 3 microM CL-A produced a contraction, the maximum amplitude of which was similar to that evoked by 10 microM Ca2+. CL-A (0.03-3 microM) concentration-dependently increased both tension and MLC-phosphorylation in Ca(2+)-free solution containing 4 mM EGTA. The threshold concentration of CL-A required for the increase in either tension or MLC-phosphorylation was 0.03 microM and maximum effects were obtained at 3 microM. In the presence of CL-A, MLC was not only monophosphorylated but also diphosphorylated. ED50 values for CL-A were 0.39 microM for tension, 0.44 microM for the monophosphorylated form of MLC and 0.54 microM for all phosphorylated (mono + di) forms. The relationship between tension and the monophosphorylated form of MLC was linear over the concentration range studied and was similar to that for Ca2+. 4. H-7 (3 microM, an inhibitor of protein kinase C) inhibited neither the tension nor phosphorylation of MLC induced by 10 microM Ca2+ or 3 microM CL-A. At a high concentration (30 microM), H-7 slightly inhibited both the tension and phosphorylation of MLC induced by either stimulant without a change in the tension-MLC-phosphorylation relationship. KN-62, an inhibitor of Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, did not modify either the tension or the phosphorylation of MLC induced by 10 microM Ca2+ or 3 microM CL-A. CK-II, another inhibitor of Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, did not inhibit the contraction induced by 3 microM CL-A. 5. SM-1 (0.03-0.3 mM) and ML-9 (0.1 and 0.3 mM), inhibitors of MLC-kinase, each lowered the resting level of MLC-phosphorylation in Ca2+-free solution and also inhibited both the tension and MLC-phosphorylation induced by 10 microM Ca2+ or 3 microM CL-A, in a concentration-dependent manner.Neither SM-1 nor ML-9 modified the relationship between tension and either monophosphorylated or all phosphorylated (mono + di) forms of MLC in the presence of Ca2+ or CL-A.6. In a solution containing MgITP (the substrate for myosin ATPase but not for MLC-kinase) with no MgATP, 10 microM Ca2+ failed to produce contraction. Under these conditions, the amplitude of the contraction induced by 3 microM CL-A was greatly diminished in comparison with that induced in the presence of MgATP.7. The present results suggest that in smooth muscle cells of the rabbit mesenteric artery, CL-A in Ca2+-free solution, produces a maximum contraction through an indirect activation of Ca2+-calmodulin independent(constitutively active) MLC-kinase via its inhibitory action on MLC-phosphatases. Based on this evidence, it is hypothesized that, in these cells, a constitutively active MLC-kinase may be present, though its action may be concealed by that of endogenous MLC-phosphatase.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
A
A
Suzuki
T
T
Itoh
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007293:Inosine Triphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008387:Marine Toxins; D008638:Mesenteric Arteries / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009219:Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D009218:Myosins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010080:Oxazoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
D008387:Marine Toxins; D010080:Oxazoles; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D007293:Inosine Triphosphate; C059041:calyculin A; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D011494:Protein Kinases; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D009219:Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase; D009218:Myosins; D002118:Calcium