Receptor-operated calcium-permeable channels in vascular smooth muscle

The extracellular Ca2+ dependence of agonist stimulation of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) has been investigated in rat cultured aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and isolated mesenteric resistance vessels (MRVs). Agonists such as [Arg8]vasopressin (AVP), angiotensin II (Ang II), and adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) stimulated 45Ca2+ entry into the SMCs that was (a) independent of the extent to which the membranes were polarized, and (b) was not inhibited by organic Ca2+ channel antagonists. Measuring the intracellular Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]i) after stimulation with agonists revealed a rapid increase of [Ca2+]i, which was followed by a sustained rise that was insensitive to Ca2+ antagonists. In Ca2+-free medium, only the initial peak of [Ca2+]i was still observed, but the sustained response to the agonists disappeared completely. This observation indicates that the sustained elevation seen in Ca2+-containing medium was the consequence of agonist-induced Ca2+ entry. In MRVs, a corresponding Ca2+-antagonist-insensitive, agonist (norepinephrine and AVP)-induced tonic tension was also identified. Moreover, agonists were able to induce sustained tension in the MRVs regardless of whether the membrane was normally polarized or was previously depolarized (80 mM K+) upon their administration. The agonist-stimulated 45Ca2+ entry in the SMCs could be blocked by the multivalent cations La3+, Cd2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, and Mg2+ (in this order of potency). Depolarization-induced 45Ca2+ influx was inhibited by these cations in the same order of potency, but was significantly more sensitive to Cd2+ and significantly less sensitive to La3+ than that stimulated by agonists. Treatment with 2-nitro-4-carboxyphenyl-N,N-diphenyl-carbamate (NCDC, a proposed inhibitor of phospholipase C) reduced both the agonist-induced 45Ca2+ influx and the sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i in the SMCs. NCDC also abolished both contraction and depolarization induced by agonists in the MRVs. The kinase C stimulator phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) inhibited the agonist-induced 45Ca2+ influx and sustained increase in [Ca2+]i in the SMCs, whereas the kinase C inhibitor staurosporine had no effect. In the MRVs, in contrast, PMA had no influence on agonist-induced contractions. Staurosporine (1 microM), however, completely prevented these contractions, as did NCDC, but, unlike NCDC, it did so without affecting the agonist-induced depolarization. These data support an important role of receptor-operated Ca2+-permeable channels in VSM activation by agonists and suggest that these channels may be controlled by intracellular enzymic pathways and second messenger systems.