MRP transporters as membrane machinery in the bradykinin-inducible export of ATP

The P2X7 Receptor in the Maintenance of Cancer Stem Cells, Chemoresistance and Metastasis

Metastasis is the worst prognosis predictor in the clinical course of cancer development. Features of metastatic cancer cells include migratory ability, low degree of differentiation, self-renewal and proliferation potentials, as well as resistance to therapies. Metastatic cells do not present all of the necessary characteristics at once. Indeed, they have a unique phenotypic plasticity, allowing the acquisition of features that make them successful in all steps of metastasis. Cancer stem cells (CSC), the most undifferentiated cells in the tumor mass, display highest metastatic potential and resistance to radio- and chemotherapy. Growing tumors exhibit marked upregulation of P2X7 receptor expression and secrete ATP. Since the P2X7 receptor plays an important role in the maintenance of undifferentiated state of pluripotent cells, its importance on cell fate regulation in the tumor mass is suggested. Considering the extensive crosstalk between CSCs, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, drug resistance and metastasis, current knowledge implicating P2X7 receptor function in these phenomena and new avenues for therapeutic strategies to control metastasis are reviewed.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulates enteric cholinergic activities and is abnormally expressed in the enteric ganglia of patients with slow transit constipation

BACKGROUND

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) was recently found in the enteric nervous system, where its role is unclear. We aimed to identify which enteric neuronal structures express CFTR, whether CFTR modulates enteric neurotransmission and if altered CFTR expression is associated with slow transit constipation (STC).

METHODS

Immunofluorescence double labeling was performed to localize CFTR with various neuronal and glial cell markers in the human colon. The immunoreactivity (IR) of CFTR and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) on myenteric plexus of control and STC colon was quantitatively analyzed. In control colonic muscle strips, electrical field stimulation (EFS) evoked contractile responses and the release of acetylcholine (ACh) was measured in the presence of the CFTR channel inhibitor, CFTR(inh)-172.

RESULTS

CFTR-IR was densely localized to myenteric ganglia, where it was co-localized with neuronal markers HuC/D and β-tubulin, and glial marker S-100 but little with glial fibrillary acidic protein. Vesicular ACh transport was almost exclusively co-localized with CFTR, but neurons expressing nitric oxide synthase were CFTR negative. Significant reductions of CFTR-IR (P < 0.01) and ChAT-IR (P < 0.05) were observed on myenteric ganglia of STC compared to control. Pre-treatment of colonic muscle strips with CFTR(inh)-172 (10 µM) significantly inhibited EFS-evoked contractile responses (P < 0.01) and ACh release (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Co-localization of CFTR-IR with cholinergic markers, inhibition of EFS-induced colonic muscle contractility and ACh release by CFTR(inh)-172 suggest that CFTR modulates enteric cholinergic neurotransmission. The downregulation of CFTR and ChAT in myenteric ganglia of STC correlated with the impaired contractile responses to EFS.

Close association of B2 bradykinin receptors with P2Y2 ATP receptors

Two G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that couple with Gαq/11, B2 bradykinin (BK) receptor (B2R) and ATP/UTP receptor P2Y2 (P2Y2R), are ubiquitously expressed and responsible for vascular tone, inflammation, and pain. We analysed the cellular signalling of P2Y2Rs in cells that express B2Rs. B2R desensitization induced by BK or B2R internalization-inducing glycans cross-desensitized the P2Y2R response to ATP/UTP. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer from P2Y2R-AcGFP to B2R-DsRed was detected in the cells and on the cell surfaces, showing the close association of these GPCRs. BK- and ATP-induced cross-internalization of P2Y2R and B2R, respectively, was shown in a β-galactosidase complementation assay using P2Y2R or B2R fused to the H31R substituted α donor peptide of a β-galactosidase reporter enzyme (P2Y2R-α or B2R-α) with coexpression of the FYVE domain of endofin, an early endosome protein, fused to the M15 acceptor deletion mutant of β-galactosidase (the ω peptide, FYVE-ω). Arrestin recruitment to the GPCRs by cross-activation was also shown with the similar way. Coimmunoprecipitation showed that B2R and P2Y2R were closely associated in the cotransfected cells. These results indicate that B2R couples with P2Y2R and that these GPCRs act together to fine-tune cellular responsiveness. The collaboration between these receptors may permit rapid onset and turning off of biological events.

Multidrug resistance protein transporter and Ins(1,4,5)P₃-sensitive Ca²+-signaling involved in adenosine triphosphate export via Gq protein-coupled NK₂-receptor stimulation with neurokinin A

The purpose of this study is to identify the membrane transport machinery and cell signaling involved in the neurokinin A-inducible release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as an autocrine/paracrine signal from cultured guinea-pig taenia coli (T. coli) smooth muscle cells (SMCs). ATP release evoked by neurokinin A was inhibited by L-659877, a NK(2)-receptor antagonist; by modulators for Ins(1,4,5)P(3)-sensitive Ca(2+)-signaling, U-73122, thapsigargin, and 2-APB; and by W-7, a calmodulin inhibitor, and staurosporine, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, but not by wortmannin, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor. The evoked release was suppressed by a multidrug resistance protein (MRP)-transporter inhibitors, MK-571, indomethacin, and benzbromarone, but not by CFTR-inh 172, a CFTR-Cl(-) channel blocker, and α-glycyrrhetinic acid, a gap junction hemichannel blocker. Neurokinin A caused a marked accumulation of Ins(1,4,5)P(3) and an increase in [Ca(2+)](i) in the cultured cells. These findings suggest that stimulation of Gq/(11) protein-coupled NK(2) receptor with neurokinin A caused a substantial release of ATP from cultured T. coli SMCs and that the evoked release may be mediated by Ins(1,4,5)P(3)-sensitive Ca(2+)-signaling, further by PKC and Ca(2+)/calmodulin signals, and finally by an activation of MRP transporters as the membrane device.

Ins(1,4,5)P(3) facilitates ATP accumulation via phosphocreatine/creatine kinase in the endoplasmic reticulum extracted from MDCK cells

So far, the content and accumulation of ATP in isolated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are little understood. First, we confirmed using electron microscopic and Western blotting techniques that the samples extracted from MDCK cells are endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The amounts of ATP in the extracted ER were measured from the filtrate after a spinning down of ultrafiltration spin column packed with ER. When the ER sample (5mug) after 3days freezing was suspended in intracellular medium (ICM), 0.1% Triton X and ultrapure water (UPW), ATP amounts from the ER with UPW were the highest and over 10 times compared with that from the control with ICM, indicating that UPW is the most effective tool in destroying the ER membrane. After a 10-min-incubation with ICM containing phosphocreatine (PCr)/creatine kinase (CK) of the fresh ER. ATP amounts in the filtrate obtained by spinning down were not changed from that in the control (no PCr/CK). However, ATP amounts in the filtrate from the second spinning down of the ER (treated with PCr/CK) suspended in UPW became over 10-fold compared with the control. When 1muM inositol(1,4,5)trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P(3)) was added in the incubation medium (ICM with PCr/CK), ATP amounts from the filtrate after the second spinning down were further enhanced around three times. This enhancement was almost canceled by Ca(2+)-removal from ICM and by adding thapsigargin, a Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor, but not by 2-APB and heparin, Ins(1,4,5)P(3) receptor antagonists. Administration of 500muM adenosine to the incubation medium (with PCr/CK) failed to enhance the accumulation of ATP in the ER. These findings suggest that the ER originally contains ATP and ATP accumulation in the ER is promoted by PCr/CK and Ins(1,4,5)P(3).

Effect of purinergic receptor activation on Na+-K+ pump activity, excitability, and function in depolarized skeletal muscle

Activity-induced elevation of extracellular purines and pyrimidines has been associated with autocrine and paracrine signaling in many tissues. Here we investigate the effect of purinergic signaling for the excitability and contractility of depolarized skeletal muscle. Muscle excitability was experimentally depressed by elevating the extracellular K(+) from 4 to 10 mM, which reduced the tetanic force to 24 +/- 2% of the force at 4 mM K(+). Upon addition of 1 mM ATP, however, the force recovered to 65 +/- 8% of the control force (P < 0.001, n = 5). A similar recovery was seen with ADP, but not with UTP or adenosine. The ATP-induced force recovery could be inhibited by P2Y(1) receptor antagonists (3 muM SCH-202676 or 1 muM MRS-2500). A fourfold increase in M-wave area demonstrated that the ATP-induced force recovery was associated with restoration of muscle excitability (P < 0.05, n = 4). Experiments using (86)Rb(+) as a tracer for K(+) showed that ATP also induced a twofold increase in the activity of muscle Na(+)-K(+) pumps. The force recovery and the stimulation of the Na(+)-K(+) pump activity by ATP were inhibited by 50 muM of the phospholipase C inhibitor U-73122. It is concluded that purinergic signaling can increase the Na(+)-K(+) pump activity and improve force and excitability of depolarized skeletal muscles. This novel purinergic regulation may be important for the maintenance of muscle excitability during intense exercise, where the extracellular K(+) can increase substantially.