Endothelium-dependent frequency modulation of Ca2+ signalling in individual vascular smooth muscle cells of the rat

Local and cellular Ca2+ transients in smooth muscle of pressurized rat resistance arteries during myogenic and agonist stimulation

1. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to visualize Ca2+ transients in the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) of intact, pressurized rat mesenteric resistance arteries loaded with fluorescent calcium indicators. Vasoconstriction was assessed by measuring inner arterial diameter. All arteries were studied at 70 mmHg intralumenal pressure and 37 C. 2. In the control condition of myogenic tone the arteries were constricted to 62 % (n = 10) of their passive diameter (p.d.). The [Ca2+]i in most VSMC of these arteries was constant over time. In a small percentage (< 10 %) of cells in each artery, [Ca2+]i oscillated regularly. Local calcium transients (Ca2+ sparks) were observed in five arteries studied with confocal linescan imaging. 3. Activation of alpha-adrenoceptors by phenylephrine (PE, 1.0 microM) induced further vasoconstriction of pressurized arteries (to 27 % of p.d.). In this condition, [Ca2+]i oscillations were prominent in a large percentage (83 %) of the VSMC. The Ca2+ oscillations ranged in frequency from 4 to 22 min-1, and were usually asynchronous between cells. 4. High [KCl]o (65 mM) induced nearly comparable vasoconstriction to PE (37 % of p.d.) but [Ca2+]i oscillated in only about 13 % of cells in each artery. 5. Block of L-type Ca2+ channels (with nifedipine) in arteries activated by PE caused nearly full vasodilatation, but did not abolish the Ca2+ oscillations. Subsequent block of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump (with cyclopiazonic acid) abolished Ca2+ oscillations in all cells. 6. We conclude that Ca2+ entering VSMC via L-type Ca2+ channels has an obligatory role in force development, both in myogenic tone and during alpha1-adrenoceptor activation. The oscillatory pattern of [Ca2+]i that persists in the absence of Ca2+ entry via L-type Ca2+ channels is ineffective in activating contraction.

Voltage-dependent K(+) current in capillary endothelial cells isolated from guinea pig heart

Capillary fragments were isolated from guinea pig hearts, and their electrical properties were studied using the perforated-patch and cell-attached mode of the patch-clamp technique. A voltage-dependent K(+) current was discovered that was activated at potentials positive to -20 mV and showed a sigmoid rising phase. For depolarizing voltage steps from -128 to +52 mV, the time to peak was 71 +/- 5 ms (mean +/- SE) and the amplitude of the current was 3.7 +/- 0.5 pA/pF in the presence of 5 mM external K(+). The time course of inactivation was exponential with a time constant of 7.2 +/- 0.5 s at +52 mV. The current was blocked by tetraethylammonium (inhibitory constant approximately 3 mM) but was not affected by charybdotoxin (1 microM) or apamin (1 microM). In the cell-attached mode, depolarization-activated single-channel currents were found that inactivated completely within 30 s; the single-channel conductance was 12.3 +/- 2.4 pS. The depolarization-activated K(+) current described here may play a role in membrane potential oscillations of the endothelium.

Tension oscillation in arteries and its abnormality in hypertensive animals

1. The mechanisms of oscillatory contraction of arterial smooth muscle in vitro are discussed. 2. The membrane potential and cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration in smooth muscle cells oscillate in the presence of agonists. 3. The oscillatory change in the membrane potential of smooth muscle cells is related to Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. 4. Gap junctions between smooth muscle cells play important roles in the synchronized oscillation of the cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration in this population of cells. 5. Endothelial cells may increase or decrease the tension oscillation of smooth muscle cells. 6. In arteries from hypertensive rats, an increase in membrane excitability and the number of gap junctions between smooth muscle cells and impaired endothelial function are the main factors responsible for the modulation of tension oscillation.

Gender differences in coronary artery diameter reflect changes in both endothelial Ca2+ and ecNOS activity

Elevation of nitric oxide (NO) release from the vascular endothelium may contribute to some of the gender-associated differences in coronary artery function. The mechanisms by which gender affects NO release from the endothelium of coronary arteries are not known. In this study, endothelial function was examined in pressurized coronary arteries from female and male rats. Diameter and endothelial cell intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in intact arteries, as well as enzymatic activity of endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS) in arterial lysates, was measured. Elevation of intravascular pressure to 60 mmHg constricted coronary arteries from female animals less than coronary arteries from male animals (18% and 31% constriction, respectively). The increased arterial diameter of coronary arteries from females was associated with elevated endothelial [Ca2+]i (female 174 nM, male 90 nM; P < 0.001). Elevation of Ca2+ activated ecNOS with a similar slope and half-activation constant ( approximately 160 nM) for both female and male coronary arteries. However, at [Ca2+] > 100 nM, ecNOS activity was significantly higher in coronary arteries from female rats compared with their male equivalents (P < 0.01). Maximal activity for ecNOS at saturating Ca2+ (300 nM) was 37% higher in coronary arteries from female animals compared with male animals (P < 0.05). Thus elevated [Ca2+]i in the endothelium of female coronary arteries alone is predicted to increase the production of NO (by nearly 2-fold). This gender difference combined with increased ecNOS activity at a given [Ca2+] in females indicates that tonic NO production should be nearly threefold greater in female coronary arteries compared with male coronary arteries. We conclude that, in the regulation of endothelial Ca2+ and ecNOS, gender differences contribute significantly to the overall decrease in myogenic tone observed in coronary arteries of females.

Radial localization of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca2+ release sites in Xenopus oocytes resolved by axial confocal linescan imaging

The radial localization and properties of elementary calcium release events ("puffs") were studied in Xenopus oocytes using a confocal microscope equipped with a piezoelectric focussing unit to allow rapid (>100 Hz) imaging of calcium signals along a radial line into the cell with a spatial resolution of <0.7 micrometer. Weak photorelease of caged inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) evoked puffs arising predominantly within a 6-micrometer thick band located within a few micrometers of the cell surface. Approximately 25% of puffs had a restricted radial spread, consistent with calcium release from a single site. Most puffs, however, exhibited a greater radial spread (3.25 micrometer), likely involving recruitment of radially neighboring release sites. Calcium waves evoked by just suprathreshold stimuli exhibited radial calcium distributions consistent with inward diffusion of calcium liberated at puff sites, whereas stronger flashes evoked strong, short-latency signals at depths inward from puff sites, indicating deep InsP3-sensitive stores activated at higher concentrations of InsP3. Immunolocalization of InsP3 receptors showed punctate staining throughout a region corresponding to the localization of puffs and subplasmalemmal endoplasmic reticulum. The radial organization of puff sites a few micrometers inward from the plasma membrane may have important consequences for activation of calcium-dependent ion channels and "capacitative" calcium influx. However, on the macroscopic (hundreds of micrometers) scale of global calcium waves, release can be considered to occur primarily within a thin, essentially two-dimensional subplasmalemmal shell.