Alpha1D-adrenergic receptors and mitogen-activated protein kinase mediate increased protein synthesis by arterial...

Catecholamines may influence vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) growth and vascular hypertrophic diseases. We previously demonstrated that stimulation of alpha1-adrenoceptors (AR) causes hypertrophy of vascular SMCs in vitro and in situ. Here, we used adult rat aorta SMCs that express alpha1D- and alpha1B-ARs (but not alpha1A-ARs) in vitro to examine the mechanisms and alpha1-AR subtypes involved. Norepinephrine (NE) increased protein synthesis and content in a time- and dose-dependent manner. To identify the responsible alpha1-AR subtype, we first documented the selectivity of two alpha1-AR subtype antagonists, BMY 7378 (alpha1D-AR antagonist) and chloroethylclonidine (CEC; alpha1B-AR antagonist), using Rat-1 fibroblasts stably transfected with the three different rodent alpha1-AR cDNAs. NE dose-dependently increased protein synthesis in each cell line. In alpha1D fibroblasts, BMY 7378 inhibited growth and protected alpha1D-ARs from CEC alkylation while having little blocking or protecting effect on the growth induced by stimulation of fibroblasts that express alpha1A- or alpha1B-ARs. In rat aorta SMCs, pretreatment with CEC in the presence of BMY 7378 to protect alpha1D-ARs had no effect on NE-induced protein synthesis. BMY 7378 inhibited the SMC growth response with a pKb of 8.4. NE caused rapid and transient p42-p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation that was alpha1D-AR dependent. Furthermore, NE caused tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple cellular proteins, phosphorylation of Raf-1, and stimulation of c-fos mRNA expression in aorta SMCs. The selective MAPK kinase inhibitor PD 98059 inhibited NE-induced protein synthesis and MAPK activation with IC50 values of 2.3 and 1.6 microM, respectively. These data demonstrate that SMC growth induced by NE is mediated by alpha1D-ARs that couple to activation of the MAPK cascade.