Involvement of calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in endothelin receptor expression in rat cerebral arteries

Abstract

Experimental cerebral ischemia and organ culture of cerebral arteries result in the enhanced expression of endothelin ETB receptors in smooth muscle cells via increased transcription. The present study was designed to evaluate the involvement of calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CAMK) in the transcriptional expression of endothelin receptors after organ culture. Rat basilar arteries were incubated for 24 h with or without the CAMK inhibitor KN93 or ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126. The contractile responses to endothelin-1 (ET-1; ETA and ETB receptor agonist) and sarafotoxin 6c (S6c; ETB receptor agonist) were studied using a sensitive myograph. The mRNA levels of the ETA and ETB receptors and CAMKII were determined by real-time PCR, and their protein levels were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The mRNA levels of CAMKII and the ETB receptor increased during organ culture, but there was no change in the expression of the ETA receptor. This effect was abolished by coincubation with KN93 or U0126. In functional studies, both inhibitors attenuated the S6c-induced contraction. Incubating the arteries with KN93, but not U0126, decreased the amount of phosphorylated CAMKII. The inhibitors had no effect on the levels of myosin light chain during organ culture, as measured by Western blot. CAMKII is involved in the upregulation of the endothelin ETB receptor and interacts with the ERK1/2 pathway to enhance receptor expression. CAMKII has no effect on the contractile apparatus in rat cerebral arteries.