title: Surfactant protein-A receptor-mediated inhibition of calcium signaling in alveolar type II cells.
abstract: Receptor-mediated inhibition of cellular activating signals is not well understood. Type II alveolar cells secrete surfactant in response to such secretagogs as terbutaline, calcium (Ca) ionophores (e.g., ionomycin [Io]), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). A cell membrane receptor for SP-A, one of the surfactant proteins, regulates secretion by negative feedback. We used quantitative fluorescence microscopy to study the effects of SP-A on alterations in cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) elicited by surfactant secretagogs. Freshly isolated type II cells were loaded with Fura-2, then treated with secretagog, in the presence or absence of SP-A. Io and ATP produced biphasic increases in cytosol [Ca2+]i, reflecting first Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, and then influx through the cell membrane. Thapsigargin (TG) and Io directly initiate Ca2+ release; ATP elicits Ca2+ release via receptor-mediated mechanisms. Ca2+ release causes cell membrane Ca channels to open by as yet poorly understood mechanisms. Io itself acts as an additional Ca2+ channel. SP-A blocks much of the Ca2+ release and some of the Ca2+ influx elicited by these secretagogs. Antibody against SP-A receptor restores secretagog-induced Ca2+ fluxes from inhibition by SP-A, confirming that the inhibitory activity of SP-A is mediated through its receptor. Type II cells incubated in Ca2+-free medium plus SP-A show diminished Ca2+ release responses to TG or ATP, suggesting that the action of SP-A to prevent secretagog initiated increases in [Ca2+]i may reflect its ability to block Ca2+ release from cytoplasmic Ca stores. The feedback inhibition of surfactant secretion by SP-A may, correspondingly, be a manifestation of this effect. Because recent work suggests that TGF-beta also inhibits Ca2+ fluxes, SP-A and TGF-beta could be representative of a group of physiologic regulators that act by modulating intracellular Ca signaling.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Strayer
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Korutla
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015759:Ionomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D011510:Proteolipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D037662:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein A; D037661:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Proteins; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019284:Thapsigargin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010743:Phospholipids; D011510:Proteolipids; D037662:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein A; D037661:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Proteins; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C067774:surfactant protein A receptor; D015759:Ionomycin; D019284:Thapsigargin; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D002118:Calcium