Differential Effects of Protein Kinase C Activators and Inhibitors on alpha- and beta-Adrenoceptor-mediated Positive...

BACKGROUND: A number of novel agents that activate or inhibit protein kinase C (PKC) in vitro have been developed to evaluate the physiologic role of PKC in regulation of cellular function. However, most of the PKC inhibitors also affect the protein kinase A, and the effects of these agents in intact myocardium remain still controversial. The present study was carried out to examine the effects of these agents on the positive inotropic effect (PIE) medicated by alpha- and beta-adrenoceptors in isolated rabbit papillary muscle. METHODS AND RESULTS: A potent PKC activator, phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate (PDBu) at 10 and 30 nM, induced a significant PIE. PDBu at 3 nM and higher inhibited the alpha-mediated PIE and abolished it at 100 nM without affecting the beta-mediated PIE. Phorbol 12-myrisate 13-acetate (PMA) and 1-oleyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG) elicited a similar selective inhibitory action on the alpha-mediated PIE. The PIE of PDBu was abolished by chelerythrine and partially inhibited by staurosporine, but H-7 or calphostin-C did not affect the PIE. These PKC inhibitors consistently inhibited the alpha-mediated PIE by 20-30% at concentrations that they did not affect the beta-mediated PIE. None of the PKC inhibitors influence the PDBu-induced inhibitory action on the alpha-mediated PIE, an indication that they failed to reach the site of the inhibitory action of PDBu. CONCLUSION: Selective modulation by the PKC activators and inhibitors of the alpha-mediated PIE with little effect on the beta-mediated PIE implies that the activation of PKC has a physiological relevance to the alpha-mediated PIE. However, the externally administered PKC activators do not mimic the effect of diacylglycerol that is generated endogenously by alpha-stimulation. By contrast, externally applied PKC inhibitors selectively antagonize the alpha-adrenoreceptor-mediated PIE in rabbit ventricular myocardium.