Activation of ERK by Ca2+ store depletion in rat liver epithelial cells

In rat liver epithelial (WB) cells, Ca2+ pool depletion induced by two independent methods resulted in activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK). In the first method, Ca2+ pool depletion by thapsigargin increased the activity of ERK, even when rise in cytosolic Ca2+ was blocked with the Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM. For the second method, addition of extracellular EGTA at a concentration shown to deplete intracellular Ca2+ pools also increased ERK activity. In each instance, ERK activation, as measured by an immunocomplex kinase assay, was greatly reduced by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein, suggesting that Ca2+ store depletion increased ERK activity through a tyrosine kinase pathway. The intracellular Ca2+-releasing agent thapsigargin increased Fyn activity, which was unaffected by BAPTA-AM pretreatment, suggesting that Fyn activity was unaffected by increased cytosolic free Ca2+. Furthermore, depletion of intracellular Ca2+ with EGTA caused inactivation of protein phosphatase 2A and protein tyrosine phosphatases. ANG II-induced activations of Fyn, Raf-1, and ERK were augmented in cells pretreated with BAPTA-AM, but ANG II-induced expression of the dual-specificity phosphatase mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 was blocked by BAPTA-AM pretreatment. Together these results indicate that ERK activity is regulated by the balance of phosphorylation vs. dephosphorylation reactions in intact cells and that the amount of Ca2+ stored in intracellular pools plays an important role in this regulation.