Mobilization of intracellular calcium by methacholine and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in rat parotid acinar cells.

In the rat parotid acinar cell, methacholine caused an increase in [Ca2+]i as determined by quin-2 fluorescence. The increase in [Ca2+]i was initially independent of, and subsequently dependent on, the presence of extracellular Ca2+, indicating mobilization of intracellular Ca2+, as well as activation of Ca2+ entry. Methacholine mobilization of the internal Ca2+ pool and stimulation of the initial transient phase of K+ efflux have similar concentration dependencies; the EC50 value for Ca2+ mobilization is 80 nmol/L, the EC50 value for K+ efflux is 200 nmol/L. In a permeable parotid cell preparation, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, inositol 2,4,5-trisphosphate, and inositol 4,5-bisphosphate were able to release Ca2+ from an ATP-dependent, oligomycin-insensitive pool. These observations, when taken with the previous finding that methacholine stimulates Ca-independent inositol trisphosphate formation, support the view that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate acts as a second messenger mediating the release of an intracellular Ca2+ pool following muscarinic receptor activation in the parotid gland.

Metabolism of inositol phosphates in parotid cells: implications for the pathway of the phosphoinositide effect and for the possible messenger role of inositol trisphosphate.

Rat parotid acinar cells were used to investigate the time course of formation and breakdown of inositol phosphates in response to receptor-active agents. In cells preincubated with [3H]inositol and in the presence of 10 mM LiCl (which blocks hydrolysis of inositol phosphate), methacholine (10(-4)M) caused a substantial increase in cellular content of [3H]inositol phosphate, [3H]inositol bisphosphate and [3H]inositol trisphosphate. Subsequent addition of atropine (10(-4) M) caused breakdown of [3H]inositol trisphosphate and [3H]inositol bisphosphate and little change in accumulated [3H]inositol phosphate. The data could be fit to a model whereby inositol trisphosphate and inositol bisphosphate are formed from phosphodiesteratic breakdown of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol phosphate respectively, and inositol phosphate is formed from hydrolysis of inositol bisphosphate rather than from phosphatidyl-inositol. Consistent with this model was the finding that [3H]inositol trisphosphate and [3H]inositol bisphosphate levels were substantially increased in 5 sec while an increase in [3H]inositol phosphate was barely detectable at 60 sec. These results indicate that in the parotid gland the phosphoinositide cycle is activated primarily by phosphodiesteratic breakdown of the polyphosphoinositides rather than phosphatidyl-inositol. Also, the results show that formation of inositol trisphosphate is probably sufficiently rapid for it to act as a second messenger signalling internal Ca2+ release in this tissue.

Properties of receptor-controlled inositol trisphosphate formation in parotid acinar cells.

Activation of muscarinic receptors in rat parotid cells results in breakdown of polyphosphoinositides liberating inositol phosphates, including inositol trisphosphate. Formation of inositol trisphosphate appears independent of agonist-induced Ca2+ mobilization, since neither formation nor degradation of inositol trisphosphate are appreciably altered in low-calcium media, and elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ with a calcium ionophore does not cause an increase in cellular inositol trisphosphate. Further, activation of substance P receptors and alpha 1-adrenoreceptors, but not beta-adrenoreceptors, increases inositol trisphosphate formation. The dose-response curve for methacholine activation of inositol trisphosphate formation more closely approximates the curve for receptor occupancy than for Ca2+-activated K+ release. These results are all consistent with the suggestion that inositol trisphosphate could function as a second messenger linking receptor occupation to cellular Ca2+ mobilization.

Regulation of thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor binding and phospholipase C activation by a single GTP-binding protein.

In a crude membrane preparation of rat 7315c cells, GTP was found to enhance thyrotropin-releasing hormone- (TRH) stimulated inositol triphosphate (IP3) formation with a potency of 0.97 +/- 0.1 microM. TRH stimulation of IP3 formation was inhibited by high GDP concentrations. Neither nucleotide had any effect in the absence of TRH. 5'-Guanosine gamma-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S) stimulated IP3 formation in the absence of TRH; the apparent affinity of GTP gamma S was 0.16 +/- 0.05 microM. GTP blocked GTP gamma S stimulation of IP3 formation in a concentration-dependent manner. The apparent affinity of GTP for the site of action shared by GTP gamma S was calculated to be 0.98 +/- 0.3 microM. TRH was able to reverse inhibition of GTP gamma S-stimulated IP3 formation by GTP but could not reverse inhibition by GDP. A lag in the rate of IP3 formation in response to GTP gamma S was abolished by addition of TRH. These data support the proposal that activation of the TRH receptor enhances turnover of guanine nucleotides at the binding protein coupling the receptor to phospholipase C. In addition, GTP gamma S diminished high affinity [3H]Me-TRH binding. The potency of GTP gamma S at decreasing [3H]Me-TRH binding was 0.092 +/- 0.03 microM. GTP gamma S (0.1 microM) decreased the affinity of the TRH receptor for [3H]Me-TRH from 2 to 100 nM. Maximally effective concentrations of GTP gamma S, Gpp(NH)p, GTP, and GDP decreased specific [3H]Me-TRH binding by 80%. Pretreatment of cells with pertussis toxin (30 ng/ml for 24 h) failed to affect TRH receptor affinity or the potency or efficacy of GTP gamma S in diminishing [3H]Me-TRH binding, supporting the identification of Gp (a GTP-binding protein associated with phospholipase C and Ca2+-mobilizing receptors) as distinct from Gi (an inhibitory GTP-binding protein). In contrast to its lack of effect on TRH receptor binding, 3-h pertussis toxin treatment decreased agonist affinity of the mu-opiate receptor and abolished the ability of GTP gamma S to shift the affinity of the mu-opiate receptor for its agonist. The affinities calculated for GTP, GDP, GTP gamma S, and Gpp (NH)p for the G-protein regulating receptor affinity and IP3 formation are nearly identical for each guanine nucleotide tested, suggesting the same G-protein regulates both activities.

Nature of the receptor-regulated calcium pool in the rat parotid gland.

1. The transient release of 86Rb from parotid slices induced by secretagogues was investigated. 2. In the absence of external Ca, only one transient response (to carbachol) could be obtained. 3. After blocking the cholinergic stimulus with atropine, a second response (to substance P) could be elicited if the slices were briefly (2 min) exposed to a Ca-containing medium. 4. The magnitude of the substance P response depended on the concentration of Ca to which the slices had been exposed. 5. An exposure to Ca of 2 min duration was found to be sufficient to restore maximal substance P responsiveness. 6. These results are interpreted to mean that the cholinergic stimulus elicited a transient 86Rb efflux response by first releasing a finite pool of cellular Ca which could be reloaded from the extracellular space by a brief (2 min) incubation in a Ca-containing medium. The magnitude of the subsequent response to substance P apparently reflects the quantity of Ca taken up by the pool. 7. A number of cationic substances antagonized the restoration by Ca of the substance P response; the rank order of potency was: La3+ = Tm3+ greater than Co2+ = Ni2+ greater than neomycin much greater than Mg2+. 8. These same substances were examined for their relative abilities to inhibit Ca binding to phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate; in this case the rank order of potency was: La3+ = Tm3+ greater than neomycin greater than Co2+ greater than Ni2+ = Mg2+. 9. It is concluded that the uptake process does not appear to reflect Ca binding to phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate.

Coupling of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor to phospholipase C by a GTP-binding protein distinct from the inhibitory or stimulatory GTP-binding protein.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulated a rapid rise in inositol trisphosphate (IP3) formation and prolactin release from 7315c tumor cells. The potencies (half-maximal) of TRH in stimulating IP3 formation and prolactin release were 100 +/- 30 and 140 +/- 30 mM, respectively. Pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (for up to 24 h) had no effect on either process. Pretreatment of the cells with cholera toxin (30 nM for 24 h) also failed to affect basal or TRH-stimulated IP3 formation. TRH was also able to stimulate IP3 formation with a half-maximal potency of 118 +/- 10 nM in a lysed cell preparation of 7315c cells; the TRH-stimulated formation of IP3 was enhanced by GTP. 5'-Guanosine gamma-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S) and 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p), nonhydrolyzable analogs of GTP, stimulated IP3 formation in the absence of TRH with half-maximal potencies of 162 +/- 50 and 7500 +/- 4300 nM, respectively. In contrast to the lack of effect of pertussis toxin on the TRH receptor system, treatment of 7315c cells with pertussis toxin for 3 h or longer completely abolished the ability of morphine, an opiate agonist, to inhibit either adenylate cyclase activity or prolactin release. During this 3-h treatment, pertussis toxin was estimated to induce the endogenous ADP ribosylation of more than 70% of Ni, the inhibitory GTP-binding protein. GTP gamma S and Gpp(NH)p inhibited cholera toxin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity (presumably by acting at Ni) with half-maximal potencies of 25 +/- 9 and 240 +/- 87 nM, respectively. Finally, Gpp(NH)p was also able to inhibit the [32P]ADP ribosylation of Ni with a half-maximal potency of 300 nM. These results suggest that a novel GTP-binding protein, distinct from Ni, couples the TRH receptor to the formation of IP3.

Formation and biological action of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.

A wide variety of receptors appear to be coupled to a phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) that hydrolyzes inositol lipids. This reaction is believed to provide a link between receptor activation and cellular Ca2+ mobilization. The mechanisms by which this occurs are believed to involve inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (1,4,5-IP3), which signals release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum. In rat parotid acinar cells made permeable with saponin, 1,4,5-IP3 induced rapid release of sequestered Ca2+. In intact parotid cells, the concentration-response relationship for methacholine-induced IP3 formation was similar to the relationship for muscarinic receptor occupancy by methacholine. About 10-fold lower concentrations of methacholine were sufficient to increase cytosolic [Ca2+] and to activate secretion, indicating an excess IP3 forming capacity for the muscarinic receptor. The mechanisms for the coupling of receptors to IP3 formation were studied in pancreatic acinar cells made permeable electrically. In this preparation, nonhydrolyzable derivatives of GTP potentiated agonist-induced IP3 production, which suggests the involvement of a guanine nucleotide-dependent regulatory protein. The effects of agonists and guanine nucleotides were not altered by pretreating the acinar cells with cholera or pertussis toxins, which indicated that the regulatory protein linking receptors to IP3 formation is distinct from the ones involved in the regulation of adenylate cyclase.

Phorbol ester-induced protein secretion in rat parotid gland. Relationship to the role of inositol lipid breakdown and protein kinase C activation in stimulus-secretion coupling.

When added to rat parotid gland slices incubated in vitro, 4 alpha-phorbol-dibutyrate (PDBu) induced a dose-dependent increase in protein secretion, but did not affect membrane permeability to K+ (as determined by 86Rb efflux). The response to PDBu was unaffected by the removal of extracellular Ca2+ and was not markedly potentiated by incubation with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, methylisobutylxanthine. PDBu did not activate phospholipase C breakdown of inositol lipids as shown by a failure to increase formation of soluble inositol phosphates. When applied in combination with the Ca2+ ionophore, ionomycin, a secretory rate was obtained that was greater than the predicted sum of rates obtained when the two drugs were given alone. These results, when taken with the reported results of others, are consistent with an action of PDBu in activating protein kinase C and suggest that this enzyme plays an important role in the pathway linking receptor activation to protein secretion, but not K+ flux, in the parotid gland.