title: Contribution of Rho kinase to the early phase of the calcium-contraction coupling in airway smooth muscle.
abstract: We investigated theoretically and experimentally the role of Rho kinase (RhoK) in Ca(2+)-contraction coupling in rat airways. Isometric contraction was measured on tracheal, extrapulmonary and intrapulmonary bronchial rings. Intracellular [Ca(2+)] was recorded in freshly isolated tracheal myocytes. Stimulation by carbachol (0.3 and 10 μm) and 50 mm external KCl induced a short-time, Hill-shaped contraction obtained within 90 s, followed by a sustained or an additional delayed contraction. Responses of [Ca(2+)](i) to acetylcholine consisted in a fast peak followed by a plateau and, in 42% of the cells, superimposed Ca(2+) oscillations. The RhoK inhibitor Y27632 (10 μm) did not alter the [Ca(2+)](i) response. Whatever the agonist, Y27632 did not modify the basal tension but decreased the amplitude of the short-duration response, without altering the additional delayed contraction. The Myosin Light Chain Phosphatase (MLCP) inhibitor calyculin A increased the basal tension and abolished the effect of RhoK. KN93 (Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II inhibitor) and DIDS (inhibitor of Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channels) had no influence on the RhoK effect. We built a theoretical model of Ca(2+)-dependent active/inactive RhoK ratio and subsequent RhoK-dependent MLCP inactivation, which was further coupled with a four-state model of the contractile apparatus and Ca(2+)-dependent MLCK activation. The model explains the time course of the short-duration contraction and the role of RhoK by Ca(2+)-dependent activation of MLCK and RhoK, which inactivates MLCP. Oscillatory and non-oscillatory [Ca(2+)](i) responses result in a non-oscillatory contraction, the amplitude of which is encoded by the plateau value and oscillation frequency. In conclusion, Ca(2+)-dependent but CaMK II-independent RhoK activation contributes to the early phase of the contractile response via MLCP inhibition.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire Respiratoire, INSERM U885, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, Bordeaux cedex, France.
authors.forename: Prisca
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mbikou
authors.forename: Ales
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fajmut
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brumen
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roux
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001980:Bronchi / Q000502:physiology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D002118:Calcium