title: Cyclic nucleotides regulate the activity of L-type calcium channels in smooth muscle cells from rat portal vein.
abstract: In order to advance our previous findings that the macroscopic slow Ca2+ currents of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells are regulated by cyclic nucleotides, the effects of cAMP and cGMP on the activity of single slow (L-type) Ca2+ channels were investigated using cell-attached patch clamp (22-25 degrees C). Freshly isolated VSM cells were obtained from adult male rat portal vein. For the single-channel recordings, the pipette was filled with a solution containing 90 mM Ba2+ and 1 microM Bay-K-8644 solution, and the bath contained 140 mM KCl to "zero" the membrane potential. Depolarizing pulses to 0 mV, from a holding potential (HP) of -80 mV, elicited inward unitary currents. The activity of these channels was completely blocked by superfusion of 10 microM nifedipine. Extracellular perfusion of the single cells with membrane-permeable cGMP and cAMP analogs (8Br-cGMP and 8Br-cAMP) at 1 mM caused a slight inhibition, but higher doses (3 mM), clearly showed an inhibitory effect on the single-channel activity. cAMP (100 microM) stimulated one out of five patches tested, and 100 microM cGMP showed no effect in three patches tested. Compared with control, both cyclic nucleotides at 3 mM decreased the ensemble-averaged currents by 26.7 +/- 4.1% and 37.3 +/- 2.1%, respectively. Unit amplitude and slope conductance were not changed. The normal conductance of the Ca2+ channel was 20.8 +/- 0.04 pS (n = 9), and the conductances in the presence of cAMP (n = 5) and cGMP (n = 6) were 19.3 +/- 0.04 and 20.5 +/- 0.05 pS, respectively. Single-channel kinetic analysis showed that cAMP did not affect the mean open-time, and cGMP slightly decreased the mean open-time. However, both cAMP and cGMP increased the mean closed-time. In addition, cAMP decreased the open probability (NPo) by a factor of 1.7, from 0.26 +/- 0.04 to 0.15 +/- 0.03 (P < 0.05, Student's t-test) and cGMP decreased NPo by a factor of 2.5, from 0.24 +/- 0.08 to 0.10 +/- 0.02 (P < 0.05). H-7, a non-specific protein kinase inhibitor, prevented the inhibitory effects of both cAMP and cGMP on the activity of single Ca2+ channels in rat portal vein cells. The results demonstrate that both cAMP and cGMP inhibit L-type Ca2+ channel activities in VSM cells from rat portal vein. This inhibition may be mediated by the cAMP and cGMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation of the L-type Ca2+ channels (or an associated regulatory protein).
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, OH 45267, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sperelakis
mesh_terms: D019307:1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine / Q000494:pharmacology; D015124:8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008297:Male; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D015124:8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate; C016276:8-bromocyclic GMP; D019307:1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine; D006152:Cyclic GMP