title: c-Ha-rasEJ transfection in vascular smooth muscle cells circumvents PKC requirement during mitogenic signaling.
abstract: In view of the prominent role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth and differentiation, the present studies were conducted to assess the impact of c-Ha-rasEJ transfection on PKC-dependent growth programming. PKC activity was elevated in the cytosolic and particulate compartments of c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC, relative to naive or pSV2neo vector controls. Constitutive and 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-inducible binding to a TPA-responsive element (TRE) was also enhanced in c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) did not increase TRE-binding activity in serum-starved c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC but increased TRE-binding activity in pSV2neo VSMC. FBS-mediated TRE-binding activity was dramatically decreased in serum-starved pSV2neo VSMC pretreated with 100 ng/ml TPA for 24 h to downregulate PKC activity. c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC exhibited a marked proliferative advantage over controls under both restrictive and growth-permissive serum conditions. PKC downregulation did not influence the mitogenic response to serum in c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC but ablated [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in naive or pSV2neo vector counterparts. Western blot analysis demonstrated increased expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2), but not ERK1, in c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC, relative to pSV2neo control. Immunoblots of serum-starved and PKC-depleted c-Ha-rasEJ VSMC demonstrated a dramatic increase in the phosphorylated form of ERK2, relative to pSV2neo controls. These data suggest that oncogenic c-Ha-rasEJ circumvents a requirement for a TPA-responsive PKC isoform(s) during mitogenic stimulation of VSMC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A & M University, College Station 77843-4466, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D008934:Mitogens / Q000502:physiology*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D008934:Mitogens; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1