Hydrogen peroxide stimulates extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has emerged as an important intracellular signaling molecule and has been shown to stimulate the growth of vascular smooth muscle cells. Activation of p44 and p42 extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK1 and ERK2) is an important step in the cascade leading to cell growth and proliferation. In the present study, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of H2O2 on activation of ERK1 and ERK2 in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC). Assays of immune-complex kinase activity revealed that exposure of PASMC to H2O2 stimulated myelin basic protein (MBP) phosphorylation in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Western blot analysis done with phospho-specific mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase antibodies demonstrated that H2O2 stimulated the phosphorylation of p42, p44, p46, and p38 MAP kinases. H2O2 also increased the expression of the early immediate genes c-jun and fra-1. Activation of ERK1 and ERK2 by H2O2 was significantly reduced by downregulation of protein kinase C (PKC) with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) or by a PKC inhibitor, calphostin C. In addition, removal of extracellular Ca2+, depletion of the intracellular Ca2+ pool by thapsigargin, or pretreatment of PASMC with the calmodulin antagonist N-(6 aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (W-7) or with calmidazolium chloride also decreased H2O2-induced ERK1 and ERK2 activation. Furthermore, stimulation of ERK1 and ERK2 activity by H2O2 was partly attenuated by genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Taken together, these data suggest that H2O2 activates ERK1, ERK2, p46 JNK, and p38 MAP kinases in PASMC. The activation of ERK1 and ERK2 appears to be primarily dependent on PKC, and to be partly modulated by Ca2+/calmodulin and by activation of tyrosine kinases.