The effects of sphingosine on sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane calcium release

In this study, we report that sphingosine is a potent inhibitor of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium release. Evidence is presented demonstrating a direct effect of sphingosine on the SR ryanodine receptor. Calcium release from "skinned" rabbit skeletal muscle fibers and isolated junctional SR derived from the terminal cisternae (TC) was measured in response to caffeine, doxorubicin, 5'-adenylyl-beta,gamma-imidodiphosphate or calcium. Sphingosine inhibited caffeine-induced release in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 0.1 microM for the single muscle fibers and 0.5 microM for the isolated TC vesicles. Near complete blockage of TC calcium release rate was observed with 3 microM sphingosine. Neither sphingomyelin nor sphingosylphosphorylcholine had any effect at the 3 microM level, suggesting that the sphingosine effect was specific. Doxorubicin-induced calcium release and spontaneous calcium release were also blocked by sphingosine. Sphingosine was also capable of stimulating calcium transport in the isolated TC vesicles without an effect on Ca-ATPase activity. Ruthenium red was not capable of substantial additional stimulation of calcium transport nor inhibition of calcium release beyond the action of sphingosine. Sphingosine's blockage of calcium release was not reversed by the protein kinase inhibitor, 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2- methylpiperazine dihydrochloride, suggesting that the action of sphingosine on calcium release was not dependent on ryanodine receptor phosphorylation. Sphingosine significantly increased (8-fold) the Kd for specific [3H]ryanodine binding to TC membranes and decreased the Bmax with a dose dependence similar to the inhibition of calcium release, but sphingosine did not affect the pCa tension relationship of skinned skeletal muscle fibers. These data are consistent with a direct effect of submicromolar sphingosine on the ryanodine receptor. Substantially higher concentrations of sphingosine (30-50 microM) or sphingosylphosphorylcholine (10-20 microM) were capable of inducing calcium release by themselves. Preliminary data indicate that the transverse tubule and not the SR contain substantial sphingomyelinase activity consistent with a transverse tubule source of sphingosine production. Considering that sphingosine is found in micromolar concentrations in some cells, our data indicate that sphingosine generated by the transverse tubule membranes may be a physiologically relevant mechanism for modulating SR calcium release.