Receptor-operated calcium influx in rat hepatocytes. Identification and characterization using manganese

Agonist-stimulated divalent cation entry was studied in fura-2-loaded hepatocytes. In the presence of extracellular Mn2+, the Ca2(+)-mobilizing hormone vasopressin produced a severalfold stimulation of the basal rate of fura-2 fluorescence quenching as a result of Mn2+ influx; this effect was blocked by the presence of Ni2+ in the incubation medium. Half-maximum and maximum stimulation of Mn2+ influx was observed with 0.1 and 0.8 nM vasopressin, respectively. Agonist-stimulated Mn2+ influx was also seen with angiotensin II, ATP, phenylephrine, and the combination of AlCl3 and NaF. The stimulation of Mn2+ influx did not occur immediately after addition of Ca2(+)-mobilizing agents, but was characterized by a latency period of 20-30 s. In contrast to vasopressin, glucagon did not stimulate Mn2+ influx into hepatocytes, but produced both a 3-fold enhancement of the rate of vasopressin-stimulated Mn2+ entry and the abolishment of the latency period. The effects of glucagon were mimicked by forskolin and dibutyryl cAMP. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with pertussis toxin or depolarization of the cells altered neither the basal rate of Mn2+ entry nor the ability of vasopressin to stimulate this rate. Emptying of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca2+ store by treatment with 2,5-di-(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone (tBuBHQ) did not enhance Mn2+ entry into hepatocytes; however, exposure of the cells to tBuBHQ for 2 min markedly enhanced the ability of vasopressin, alone or in combination with glucagon, to increase the rate of Mn2+ influx. Furthermore, pretreatment with tBuBHQ for 2 min abolished the latency of vasopressin-stimulated Mn2+ influx. It is concluded that Ca2(+)-mobilizing hormones stimulate Ca2+ influx in hepatocytes, possibly through receptor-operated Ca2+ channels. The stimulation of divalent cation entry is transduced by a G protein, and the rate of influx appears to be controlled both by the intracellular level of cAMP and the empty state of an intracellular Ca2+ pool that may be inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-insensitive.