cAMP Imaging at Ryanodine Receptors Reveals ß2-Adrenoceptor Driven Arrhythmias.

[Figure: see text].

Phosphodiesterases 4B and 4D Differentially Regulate cAMP Signaling in Calcium Handling Microdomains of Mouse Hearts.

The ubiquitous second messenger 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) regulates cardiac excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) by signaling in discrete subcellular microdomains. Phosphodiesterase subfamilies 4B and 4D are critically involved in the regulation of cAMP signaling in mammalian cardiomyocytes. Alterations of PDE4 activity in human hearts has been shown to result in arrhythmias and heart failure. Here, we sought to systematically investigate specific roles of PDE4B and PDE4D in the regulation of cAMP dynamics in three distinct subcellular microdomains, one of them located at the caveolin-rich plasma membrane which harbors the L-type calcium channels (LTCCs), as well as at two sarco/endoplasmic reticulum (SR) microdomains centered around SR Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a) and cardiac ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2). Transgenic mice expressing Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based cAMP-specific biosensors targeted to caveolin-rich plasma membrane, SERCA2a and RyR2 microdomains were crossed to PDE4B-KO and PDE4D-KO mice. Direct analysis of the specific effects of both PDE4 subfamilies on local cAMP dynamics was performed using FRET imaging. Our data demonstrate that all three microdomains are differentially regulated by these PDE4 subfamilies. Whereas both are involved in cAMP regulation at the caveolin-rich plasma membrane, there are clearly two distinct cAMP microdomains at the SR formed around RyR2 and SERCA2a, which are preferentially controlled by PDE4B and PDE4D, respectively. This correlates with local cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) substrate phosphorylation and arrhythmia susceptibility. Immunoprecipitation assays confirmed that PDE4B is associated with RyR2 along with PDE4D. Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy of immunostained cardiomyocytes suggested possible co-localization of PDE4B with both sarcolemmal and RyR2 microdomains. In conclusion, our functional approach could show that both PDE4B and PDE4D can differentially regulate cardiac cAMP microdomains associated with calcium homeostasis. PDE4B controls cAMP dynamics in both caveolin-rich plasma membrane and RyR2 vicinity. Interestingly, PDE4B is the major regulator of the RyR2 microdomain, as opposed to SERCA2a vicinity, which is predominantly under PDE4D control, suggesting a more complex regulatory pattern than previously thought, with multiple PDEs acting at the same location.

Using FRET-Based Fluorescent Sensors to Monitor Cytosolic and Membrane-Proximal Extracellular ATP Levels.

The assessment of local concentrations of extracellular ATP (eATP) at the site of receptor binding remains a challenge in the field of purinergic signaling. In many cases, biosensors exploiting the principle of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) have provided useful tools to visualize local concentrations of metabolites. A series of FRET-based biosensors based on the epsilon subunits of bacterial ATP synthases have been described for the visualisation of ATP. These sensors carry ATP-sensing units with different affinities for ATP, permitting imaging of ATP under the widely different concentration conditions found in subcellular locations such as the cytoplasm and the membrane-proximal extracellular space.

Angiotensin-II-Evoked Ca2+ Entry in Murine Cardiac Fibroblasts Does Not Depend on TRPC Channels.

TRPC proteins form cation conducting channels regulated by different stimuli and are regulators of the cellular calcium homeostasis. TRPC are expressed in cardiac cells including cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and have been implicated in the development of pathological cardiac remodeling including fibrosis. Using Ca2+ imaging and several compound TRPC knockout mouse lines we analyzed the involvement of TRPC proteins for the angiotensin II (AngII)-induced changes in Ca2+ homeostasis in CFs isolated from adult mice. Using qPCR we detected transcripts of all Trpc genes in CFs; Trpc1, Trpc3 and Trpc4 being the most abundant ones. We show that the AngII-induced Ca2+ entry but also Ca2+ release from intracellular stores are critically dependent on the density of CFs in culture and are inversely correlated with the expression of the myofibroblast marker α-smooth muscle actin. Our Ca2+ measurements depict that the AngII- and thrombin-induced Ca2+ transients, and the AngII-induced Ca2+ entry and Ca2+ release are not affected in CFs isolated from mice lacking all seven TRPC proteins (TRPC-hepta KO) compared to control cells. However, pre-incubation with GSK7975A (10 µM), which sufficiently inhibits CRAC channels in other cells, abolished AngII-induced Ca2+ entry. Consequently, we conclude the dispensability of the TRPC channels for the acute neurohumoral Ca2+ signaling evoked by AngII in isolated CFs and suggest the contribution of members of the Orai channel family as molecular constituents responsible for this pathophysiologically important Ca2+ entry pathway.

Heart failure leads to altered ß2-adrenoceptor/cyclic adenosine monophosphate dynamics in the sarcolemmal phospholemman/Na,K ATPase microdomain.

AIMS: Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) regulates cardiac excitation-contraction coupling by acting in microdomains associated with sarcolemmal ion channels. However, local real time cAMP dynamics in such microdomains has not been visualized before. We sought to directly monitor cAMP in a microdomain formed around sodium-potassium ATPase (NKA) in healthy and failing cardiomyocytes and to better understand alterations of cAMP compartmentation in heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: A novel Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensor termed phospholemman (PLM)-Epac1 was developed by fusing a highly sensitive cAMP sensor Epac1-camps to the C-terminus of PLM. Live cell imaging in PLM-Epac1 and Epac1-camps expressing adult rat ventricular myocytes revealed extensive regulation of NKA/PLM microdomain-associated cAMP levels by ß2-adrenoceptors (ß2-ARs). Local cAMP pools stimulated by these receptors were tightly controlled by phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 3. In chronic heart failure following myocardial infarction, dramatic reduction of the microdomain-specific ß2-AR/cAMP signals and ß2-AR dependent PLM phosphorylation was accompanied by a pronounced loss of local PDE3 and an increase in PDE2 effects. CONCLUSIONS: NKA/PLM complex forms a distinct cAMP microdomain which is directly regulated by ß2-ARs and is under predominant control by PDE3. In heart failure, local changes in PDE repertoire result in blunted ß2-AR signalling to cAMP in the vicinity of PLM.

FRET Microscopy for Real-Time Visualization of Second Messengers in Living Cells.

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) microscopy is a useful tool in molecular biology and medical research to monitor and quantify real-time dynamics of protein-protein interactions and biochemical processes. Using this well-established technique, many novel signaling mechanisms can be investigated in intact cells or tissues and even in various subcellular compartments. Here, we describe how to perform FRET measurements in living cells expressing FRET-based biosensors and how to evaluate these data. This general protocol can be applied for FRET measurements with various fluorescent biosensors.