title: The mechanism of ciliary stimulation by acetylcholine: roles of calcium, PKA, and PKG.
abstract: Stimulation of ciliary cells through muscarinic receptors leads to a strong biphasic enhancement of ciliary beat frequency (CBF). The main goal of this work is to delineate the chain of molecular events that lead to the enhancement of CBF induced by acetylcholine (ACh). Here we show that the Ca(2+), cGMP, and cAMP signaling pathways are intimately interconnected in the process of cholinergic ciliary stimulation. ACh induces profound time-dependent increase in cGMP and cAMP concentrations mediated by the calcium-calmodulin complex. The initial strong CBF enhancement in response to ACh is mainly governed by PKG and elevated calcium. The second phase of CBF enhancement induced by ACh, a stable moderately elevated CBF, is mainly regulated by PKA in a Ca(2+)-independent manner. Inhibition of either guanylate cyclase or of PKG partially attenuates the response to ACh of [Ca(2+)](i), but completely abolishes the response of CBF. Inhibition of PKA moderately attenuates and significantly shortens the responses to ACh of both [Ca(2+)](i) and CBF. In addition, PKA facilitates the elevation in [Ca(2+)](i) and cGMP levels induced by ACh, whereas an unimpeded PKG activity is essential for CBF enhancement mediated by either Ca(2+) or PKA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zagoory
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Braiman
authors.forename: Zvi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Priel
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000378:metabolism; D002923:Cilia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology; D046508:Culture Techniques; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000378:metabolism; D017869:Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011895:Rana ridibunda; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D002147:Calmodulin; D005576:Colforsin; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D017869:Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D000109:Acetylcholine; D002118:Calcium