Evidence for two isoforms of the endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2+ pump in pig smooth muscle

Characterization of the 3' end of the pig sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2+ pump gene 2

The gene 2 for the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2+ pump (SERCA2) is expressed both in muscle and non-muscle tissues and four distinct SERCA2 mRNAs which differ only in their 3' end have been described. In order to understand the differential 3' end processing of the SERCA2 transcripts, we have now cloned a 12.6 kb pig genomic clone which contains the 3' end of the pig SERCA2 gene. Part of this clone (7510 nucleotides) was sequenced and it was found to contain four constitutive exons followed by four optional exons which underlie the 3' end diversity of the SERCA2 mRNAs. The inclusion or the exclusion of these optional exons is explained by the presence of four optional processing sites: two polyadenylation sites and two optional donor splice sites.

Expression of isoforms of internal Ca2+ pump in cardiac, smooth muscle and non-muscle tissues

Smooth muscle and several non-muscle tissues contain mRNA for an alternative splice of the mRNA for the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca,Mg-ATPase. Based on amino acid composition deduced from cDNA sequences the cardiac isoform (Ic) is 110 kDa while the smooth muscle and the non-muscle isoform (Is) is 115 kDa. This prediction in their molecular masses was tested at the protein level in rabbit stomach, aorta, uterus and vas deferens smooth muscles; stomach mucosa, brain, liver, kidney and heart. The major species of the acylphosphates formed in the presence of Ca2+ and electrophoresed in acid SDS-acrylamide gels were 5 kDa smaller for the heart (Ic) than those for all the other tissues (Is). The size difference was also confirmed in Western blots using a monoclonal antibody which binds to both Is and Ic. Thus consistent with the mRNA splices for the internal Ca2+ pumps previously reported to be present in these tissues, rabbit heart expresses predominantly the Ca2+ pump protein Ic and the various smooth muscle, mucosa, brain, liver and kidney express mainly the isoform Is.

Ca2+ extrusion across plasma membrane and Ca2+ uptake by intracellular stores

The aim of this review is to summarize the various systems that remove Ca2+ from the cytoplasm. We will initially focus on the Ca2+ pump and the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger of the plasma membrane. We will review the functional regulation of these systems and the recent progress obtained with molecular-biology techniques, which pointed to the existence of different isoforms of the Ca2+ pump. The Ca2+ pumps of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum will be discussed next, by summarizing the discoveries obtained with molecular-biology techniques, and by reviewing the physiological regulation of these proteins. We will finally briefly review the mitochondrial Ca(2+)-uptake mechanism.

Molecular cloning and sequencing of the plasma-membrane Ca2+ pump of pig smooth muscle

cDNAs coding for the plasma-membrane Ca2+ pump have been isolated from a pig smooth-muscle cDNA library and sequenced. The open reading frame encodes a protein of 1220 amino acids, which corresponds to the one already described in a human teratoma cell line. We demonstrate here that this cDNA probably represents the only isoform of the plasma-membrane Ca2(+)-transport ATPase expressed in this smooth muscle. There is no evidence for the expression of any other plasma-membrane Ca2(+)-pump gene, or for the presence of other alternatively spliced isoforms. These results are in apparent contradiction to those obtained on protein levels which demonstrate the reaction of at least two different polypeptides with a panel of antibodies against the plasma-membrane ATPase. It is suggested that these two polypeptides could result from a post-translational modification of one single enzyme.

Expression of endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2(+)-pump isoforms and of phospholamban in pig smooth-muscle tissues

The expression of the gene 2 sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2(+)-pump isoforms (SERCA2a and SERCA2b) and of phospholamban was studied in pig smooth muscle of the stomach, longitudinal ileum, pulmonary artery and aorta. mRNA levels were determined using an RNAase protection assay. The SERCA2 isoforms and phospholamban were tested on Western blots with a panel of antibodies, some of which were isoform-specific. The pig smooth-muscle tissues all contained comparable SERCA2 mRNA levels, but these levels were 10-20-fold lower than SERCA2 mRNA levels in cardiac muscle. Of the SERCA2 mRNAs in smooth muscle, 72-81% encoded the non-muscle isoform (SERCA2b), and Western blot analysis with isoform-specific antibodies confirmed that the SERCA2b isoform is the predominant endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2(+)-pump in smooth muscle. In contrast with SERCA2 mRNA levels, phospholamban mRNA levels varied by 12-fold between the different pig smooth-muscle tissues, with low and very low levels in the pig pulmonary artery and the pig aorta respectively. The differential expression of phospholamban was also confirmed on Western blots. The finding that the phospholamban content varied between the different smooth-muscle tissues whereas the SERCA2 expression remained rather constant indicates that, in pig smooth muscle, the expression of phospholamban is not coupled with that of SERCA2.

Abundance of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump isoforms in stomach and cardiac muscles

Rabbit stomach smooth muscle contains mRNA for an internal Ca2+ pump identical in sequence to that reported for rabbit uterus [Lytton, Zarain-Herzberg, Periasamy & MacLennan (198) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 7059-7065]. This is an alternatively spliced form (Is) of the cardiac muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump (Ic). The splicing results in replacement of the last 4 amino acids (Ala-Ile-Leu-Glu) present in Ic by 49 amino acids and by a different 3'-non-coding region. Using cDNA probes against the conserved and the alternatively spliced regions, we determined that poly(A+) RNA isolated from rabbit stomach smooth muscle did not contain any transcripts for Ic. The poly(A+) RNA from cardiac muscle contained transcripts mostly for Ic, but also some for Is. The abundance of the Ca2(+)-pump transcripts as measured by the binding of a cDNA probe against the conserved region to poly(A+) RNA was 6-8 times higher in cardiac than in smooth muscle. The amount of the corresponding pump protein, measured using two antibodies, was 60-80 times higher in cardiac membranes than in smooth muscle membranes. Thus the protein-to-transcript level was approx. 10-fold higher in the cardiac muscle. We conclude that the regulation of the abundance of this protein occurs at steps leading to the formation of the mature mRNA for the two splices, which may differ in their translation efficiency.

Effects of cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinases on the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump of bovine pulmonary artery

This paper describes the stimulation by cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinases on the Ca2+ uptake by isolated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) vesicles from the bovine main pulmonary artery. This ER fraction has previously been shown to be highly enriched in phospholamban, a protein kinase substrate that has been well characterized in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), where its phosphorylation is accompanied by an increased rate of Ca2+ uptake. As previously observed for the phosphorylation of phospholamban, the stimulation of the rate of Ca uptake was as high with cGMP dependent protein kinase as with cAMP dependent protein kinase. The effect of phosphorylation of the ER membranes from smooth muscle on the Ca2+ uptake was smaller than that seen in cardiac SR, and it was only observed if albumin was included during the isolation of the membranes. This relatively small effect is probably not due to a lower ratio of phospholamban to Ca2(+)-transport enzyme in the ER membranes as compared to cardiac SR. Several alternative explanations are discussed.

Characterization of the mRNAs encoding the gene 2 sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2+ pump in pig smooth muscle

The gene 2 sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic-reticulum (SR/ER) Ca2+ pump is expressed in slow skeletal and cardiac muscle, smooth muscle and non-muscle tissues. We have analysed the gene 2 Ca2+ pump mRNAs using a panel of anti-sense RNA probes which recognize either the muscle (class 1) or the non-muscle (class 2) transcript, or both. In pig smooth muscle, we confirmed the presence of the class 1 and class 2 mRNAs of 4.4 kb length and we also detected a third mRNA of 8.0 kb which reacted with both the class 1 and class 2 riboprobes. A 4.2 kb cDNA corresponding to the 3' part of the 8.0 kb mRNA was cloned from a pig gastric smooth muscle cDNA library. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this clone revealed that the 8.0 kb mRNA (class 3 transcript) contained both the non-muscle-specific and the muscle-specific exons separated by a 2.4 kb intron which has not been removed. The class 3-mRNA-encoded SR/ER Ca2+ pump is identical to the class 2-encoded non-muscle isoform. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that, in cardiac muscle, the class 1 mRNA (encoding the muscle isoform) is the predominant messenger, whereas in non-muscle tissues the class 2 and 3 mRNAs (encoding the non-muscle isoform) predominate. In smooth muscle all three mRNA types are present. The tissue distribution of the mRNA types suggests a tissue-dependent processing of the primary transcript of the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump gene 2.

Antibodies against the non-muscle isoform of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2(+)-transport ATPase

We report here the production of a polyclonal antiserum which specifically recognizes an epitope confined to the ultimate 12-residue-long C-terminus of an alternatively spliced transcript of gene 2 encoding the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump in slow skeletal and cardiac muscle. This alternatively spliced transcript was shown to be mainly represented in non-muscle tissues. These antibodies have enabled us to show the presence of the unique C-terminus of this type of Ca2+ pump, as predicted from the cDNA sequence, in the endoplasmic reticulum of vascular and gastric smooth muscle, liver and kidney.