Synergistic stimulation of Ca2+ uptake by glucagon and Ca2+-mobilizing hormones in the perfused rat liver. A role for mitochondria in long-term Ca2+ homoeostasis

Exposure to depolarizing concentrations of K+ inhibits hormonally-induced calcium influx in rat liver

The exposure of perfused rat livers to depolarizing concentrations of K+ (60 mM) by partial substitution of the NaCl in the medium with KCl induces glycogenolysis, respiratory changes and vasoconstriction. These responses were found to be inhibited 70-80% by 20 microM indomethacin and by 20 microM bromophenacyl bromide. This suggests that eicosanoids, namely prostaglandins, are involved in mediating these effects, and hence that the action of K+ involves primarily an effect on eicosanoid-producing cells (Kupffer and endothelial cells) within the liver. A 5 min pre-exposure of perfused livers to depolarizing concentrations of K+ (in the presence of indomethacin) was found to inhibit (by approx. 85%) the influx of Ca2+ induced by the co-administration of 10 nM glucagon and 10 nM vasopressin. A similar result was observed in isolated hepatocytes. The inhibition was probably not due to a decrease in the concentration of Na+ in the medium since the substitution of 80 mM NaCl with 80 mM choline chloride resulted in significantly less inhibition (30-40%). These results suggest that under these conditions the influx of Ca2+ in liver occurs through a pathway that is inhibited by high K+ concentration and/or a depolarization of the plasma membrane.

The role of IP3, PKC, and pHi in the stimulus-response coupling of calfluxin-stimulated albumen glands of the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Signal-response coupling was studied in an exocrine female accessory sex gland (albumen gland) of the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Glands were incubated in vitro with Calfluxin (CaFl), a neuropeptide which stimulates the influx of Ca2+ into the mitochondria of the secretory cells. This influx, which is considered to reflect an increase of Ca2+ in the cytosol, was measured as the percentage mitochondria containing Ca deposits. Ca deposits. Ca deposits were visualized at the ultrastructural level with the pyroantimonate precipitation technique. The origin of the Ca2+ and the mechanism by which the Ca2+ concentration in the cytosol is elevated were investigated. The results indicate that CaFl stimulates the influx of extracellular Ca2+ and mobilizes intracellular Ca2+. The increase of the percentage of mitochondria containing Ca deposits is sensitive to Ca2+ channel blockers (D600, Co2+, La3+), indicating that Ca2+ channels are involved. Li+ ions suppress the CaFl response, which suggests that the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), and thus the production of myo-inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and 1,2-diacylglycerol (DG) is involved in the Ca2+ mobilization. The protein kinase-C (PKC) stimulator 4-beta-phorbol 12-beta-myrastate 13-alpha-acetate (PMA) mimicked the response to CaFl. The PKC inhibitors trifluoperazine (TFP) and chlorpromazine (CP) markedly decreased the CaFl-stimulated influx of Ca2+ into the mitochondria. The PMA-stimulated influx of Ca2+ into the mitochondria is not dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and is not sensitive to Ca2+ channel blockers. In PMA-stimulated glands, the Na+/H+ exchange blocker amiloride completely abolished the Ca2+ influx into mitochondria. In CaFl-stimulated glands the influx was partly blocked. Increasing the internal pH of the glandular cells with the Na+/H+ ionophore monensin or with NH4Cl mimicked the CaFl response. It is proposed that upon stimulation with CaFl, mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ is mediated via the PKC-stimulated activation of the Na+/H+ exchange, thus leading to an increase of the internal pH. The role of IP3 in the mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ is uncertain.

Prostaglandin F2 alpha and the thromboxane A2 analogue ONO-11113 stimulate Ca2+ fluxes and other physiological responses in rat liver. Further evidence that prostanoids may be involved in the action of arachidonic acid and platelet-activating factor

The administration of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) and the thromboxane A2 analogue, ONO-11113, to rat livers perfused with media containing either 1.3 mM- or 10 microM-Ca2+ was followed by a stimulation of Ca2+ efflux, changes in O2 uptake and glucose output, and increase in portal pressure. The responses elicited by 5 microM-PGF2 alpha were similar to those induced by the alpha-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine. At both 1.3 mM and 10 microM extracellular Ca2+, PGF2 alpha induced Ca2+ efflux (70-90 nmol/g of liver), probably from the same source as that released by phenylephrine. Prostaglandin D2 (5 microM) and prostaglandin E2 (5 microM) also induced responses, but these were generally much smaller (less than 30%) than those induced by PGF2 alpha. Similarly to vasopressin and other Ca2+-mobilizing hormones, PGF2 alpha also interacted synergistically with glucagon (and cyclic AMP) in stimulating Ca2+ influx both in the perfused liver and in isolated hepatocytes. By comparison with phenylephrine and PGF2 alpha, ONO-11113 was much more potent in inducing vasoconstriction, and, at concentrations of 10-200 nM, induced a different pattern of changes in Ca2+ flux, respiration and glycogenolysis. There was first a rapid efflux of Ca2+ (45-60 nmol/g of liver), followed by a smaller Ca2+ influx, and a further release of Ca2+ (approx. 90 nmol/g of liver) when ONO-11113 was removed. Respiration was first stimulated but then markedly inhibited. At concentrations less than 5 nM, ONO-11113 induced a sustained stimulation of O2 uptake and a more prolonged efflux of Ca2+, with less Ca2+ efflux occurring upon the removal of the agent. Glycogenolysis followed a pattern which was similar to the Ca2+ response. Co-administration of glucagon did not potentiate Ca2+ influx by ONO-11113, but the action of ONO-11113 was inhibited (50%) by a few minutes' prior administration of 10 nM-vasopressin. The vasoconstrictive action of ONO-11113 was synergistically potentiated by the co-administration of phenylephrine. Since the actions of arachidonic acid, platelet-activating factor and lysophosphatidylcholine in liver were recently found to be cyclo-oxygenase-sensitive, the results provide strong evidence that at least PGF2 alpha and thromboxane A2 may be involved in mediating the action of these agents.

Phosphatidic acid and arachidonic acid each interact synergistically with glucagon to stimulate Ca2+ influx in the perfused rat liver

The administration of phosphatidic acid to rat livers perfused with media containing either 1.3 mM- or 10 microM-Ca2+ was followed by a stimulation of Ca2+ efflux, O2 uptake and glucose output. The responses elicited by 100 microM-phosphatidic acid were similar to those induced by the alpha-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine. Contrary to suggestions that phosphatidic acid acts like a Ca2+-ionophore, no net influx of Ca2+ was detected until the phosphatidic acid was removed. Sequential infusions of phenylephrine and phosphatidic acid indicate that the two agents release Ca2+ from the same intracellular source. The co-administration of glucagon (or cyclic AMP) and phosphatidic acid, and also of glucagon and arachidonic acid, led to a synergistic stimulation of Ca2+ uptake of the liver, a feature similar to that observed after the co-administration of glucagon and other Ca2+-mobilizing hormones [Altin & Bygrave (1986) Biochem. J. 238, 653-661]. A notable difference, however, is that the synergistic stimulation of Ca2+ uptake induced by the co-administration of glucagon and arachidonic acid was inhibited by indomethacin, whereas that induced by glucagon and phosphatidic acid, or glucagon and other Ca2+-mobilizing agents, was not. The results suggest that the synergistic action of glucagon and arachidonic acid in stimulating Ca2+ influx is mediated by prostanoids, but that of glucagon and phosphatidic acid is evoked by a mechanism similar to that of Ca2+-mobilizing agents.

The influx of Ca2+ induced by the administration of glucagon and Ca2+-mobilizing agents to the perfused rat liver could involve at least two separate pathways

The Ca2+-mobilizing actions of ADP, ATP and epidermal growth factor (EGF) and their interaction with glucagon were studied in a perfused liver system incorporating a Ca2+-selective electrode. ADP (1-100 microM), ATP (1-100 microM) and EGF (10-50 nM) all induced a net efflux, followed by a net uptake of Ca2+ in the intact liver. The co-administration of glucagon (or of cyclic AMP) with these agents resulted in a synergistic potentiation of the Ca2+ uptake response in a way which resembles the synergism observed when glucagon is administered with phenylephrine, vasopressin or angiotensin [Altin & Bygrave (1986) Biochem J. 238, 653-661]. The inability of diltiazem, verapamil and nifedipine to inhibit the Ca2+-influx response suggests that the stimulation of Ca2+ influx does not occur through voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels. By contrast, the synergistic effects of glucagon in the stimulation of Ca2+ influx are inhibited by 10 mM-neomycin, and a lowering of the extracellular pH to 6.8. Simultaneous measurements of perfusate Ca2+ and pH changes suggest that the Ca2+ influx response is not mediated by a Ca2+/H+ exchange. The inability of neomycin and low extracellular pH to inhibit the refilling of the hormone-sensitive pool of Ca2+, after the administration of Ca2+-mobilizing agents alone, provides evidence for the existence in liver of at least two Ca2+-influx pathways, or mechanisms for regulating Ca2+ influx.

Ca2+ uptake stimulated by the synergistic action of glucagon and Ca2+-mobilizing agents in the perfused rat liver occurs through the activation of a unidirectional Ca2+ influx pathway

The mechanism by which the synergistic action of glucagon and the Ca2+-mobilizing hormone vasopressin induces Ca2+ uptake was studied by using both 45Ca2+ and a Ca2+-selective electrode in the perfused rat liver. The co-administration of glucagon and vasopressin was accompanied by a unidirectional uptake of 45Ca2+ by the liver; the bulk of the 45Ca2+ was accumulated by the mitochondria. This suggests that the main effect of these hormones is to activate a Ca2+ influx pathway, rather than to inhibit Ca2+ extrusion by the Ca2+-ATPase. The efflux of Ca2+ taken up following the co-administration of glucagon and phenylephrine was inhibited by the presence of phenylephrine alone, but was not significantly affected by the presence of glucagon alone. Contrary to suggestions that glucagon can inhibit the Ca2+-ATPase, these results suggest that glucagon (at concentrations up to 1 microM) does not affect Ca2+ efflux via the Ca2+-ATPase.