title: Low-concentration heparin suppresses ionomycin-activated CAMK-II/EGF receptor- and ERK-mediated signaling in mesangial cells.
abstract: Heparin and endogenous heparinoids inhibit the proliferation of smooth muscle cells, including renal mesangial cells; multiple effects on signaling pathways are well established, including effects on PKC, Erk, and CaMK-II. Many studies have used heparin at concentrations of 100 microg/ml or higher, whereas endogenous concentrations of heparinoids are much lower. Here we report the effects of low-concentration (1 microg/ml) heparin on activation of several kinases and subsequent induction of the c-fos gene in mesangial cells in response to the calcium ionophore, ionomycin, in the absence of serum factors. Ionomycin rapidly increases the phosphorylation of CaMK-II (by 30 s), and subsequently of the EGF receptor (EGFR), c-Src, and Erk 1/2. Low-dose heparin suppresses the ionomycin-dependent phosphorylation of EGFR, c-Src, and Erk 1/2, but not of CaMK-II, whereas inhibition of activated CaMK-II reduces phosphorylation of EGFR, c-Src, and Erk. Our data support a mechanism whereby heparin acts at the cell surface to suppress downstream targets of CaMK-II, including EGFR, leading in turn to a decrease in Erk- (but not c-Src-) dependent induction of c-fos.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Lifang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Weiqun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Douglas M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Templeton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015759:Ionomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects*; D050527:Mesangial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D051571:Protein Kinase C-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D019061:src-Family Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D015759:Ionomycin; D006493:Heparin; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D019061:src-Family Kinases; D051571:Protein Kinase C-alpha; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3