cGMP-kinase mediates cGMP- and cAMP-induced Ca2+ desensitization of skinned rat artery

(Rp)-8-Bromo-guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate (Rp-8-Br-cGMPS) inhibited competitively both isozymes of type I alpha and I beta cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGMP-kinase) purified from porcine aorta with apparent Ki values (microM) of 3.7 for I alpha and 1.8 for I beta. The compound also inhibited bovine heart type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAMP-kinase), but with a Ki of 25 microM. Thus, it is a selective inhibitor of cGMP-kinase. In alpha-toxin-skinned smooth muscle preparations from rat mesenteric artery, 8-Br-cGMP (10(-7) M) and 8-Br-cAMP (10(-6) M) produced a rightward shift of the concentration-contraction curves for Ca2+, denoting a decrease in Ca2+ sensitivity of the contractile elements. The shift by 8-Br-cAMP as well as by 8-Br-cGMP was completely reversed by Rp-8-Br-cGMPS, while a selective inhibitor of activation of cAMP-kinase, (Rp)-adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate (Rp-cAMPS), was without effects on the shift produced by these two compounds. These findings indicate the pivotal role that the activation of cGMP-kinase plays in the production of a decrease in Ca2+ sensitivity of contractile elements.