Compartmentation of ß2 -adrenoceptor stimulated cAMP responses by phosphodiesterase types 2 and 3 in cardiac ventricular myocytes.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In cardiac myocytes, cyclic AMP (cAMP) produced by both ß1 - and ß2 -adrenoceptors increases L-type Ca2+ channel activity and myocyte contraction. However, only cAMP produced by ß1 -adrenoceptors enhances myocyte relaxation through phospholamban-dependent regulation of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2 (SERCA2). Here we have tested the hypothesis that stimulation of ß2 -adrenoceptors produces a cAMP signal that is unable to reach SERCA2 and determine what role, if any, phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity plays in this compartmentation. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The cAMP responses produced by ß1 -and ß2 -adrenoceptor stimulation were studied in adult rat ventricular myocytes using two different fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensors, the Epac2-camps, which is expressed uniformly throughout the cytoplasm of the entire cell and the Epac2-αKAP, which is targeted to the SERCA2 signalling complex. KEY RESULTS: Selective activation of ß1 - or ß2 -adrenoceptors produced cAMP responses detected by Epac2-camps. However, only stimulation of ß1 -adrenoceptors produced a cAMP response detected by Epac2-αKAP. Yet, stimulation of ß2 -adrenoceptors was able to produce a cAMP signal detected by Epac2-αKAP in the presence of selective inhibitors of PDE2 or PDE3, but not PDE4. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These results support the conclusion that cAMP produced by ß2 -adrenoceptor stimulation was not able to reach subcellular locations where the SERCA2 pump is located. Furthermore, this compartmentalized response is due at least in part to PDE2 and PDE3 activity. This discovery could lead to novel PDE-based therapeutic treatments aimed at correcting cardiac relaxation defects associated with certain forms of heart failure.