Membrane Stretch and Angiotensin II type 1a Receptor: Causes and Role in the Myogenic Response

The ligand-independent activation of Angiotensin II type 1 receptors following vascular stretch plays very important (patho) physiological roles. Indeed, recent studies have implicated this mechanism in cardiac hypertrophy under conditions of pressure overload and it has shown to be indispensable in the regulation of the myogenic response in smooth muscle cells of small resistance arteries, as well as mesenteric and renal resistance arteries. The information discussed in here will highlight the involvement of the mechanoactivation of the Angiotensin II type I receptors in the development of the myogenic response and the molecular mechanisms modulating them following activation

The Role of DPO-1 and XE991-Sensitive Potassium Channels in Perivascular Adipose Tissue-Mediated Regulation of Vascular Tone

The anti-contractile effect of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is an important mechanism in the modulation of vascular tone in peripheral arteries. Recent evidence has implicated the XE991-sensitive voltage-gated Kv (KCNQ) channels in the regulation of arterial tone by PVAT. However, until now the in vivo pharmacology of the involved vascular Kv channels with regard to XE991 remains undetermined, since XE991 effects may involve Ca2+ activated BKCa channels and/or voltage-dependent Kv1.5 channels sensitive to diphenyl phosphine oxide-1 (DPO-1). In this study, we tested whether Kv1.5 channels are involved in the control of mesenteric arterial tone and its regulation by PVAT. Our study was also aimed at extending our current knowledge on the in situ vascular pharmacology of DPO-1 and XE991 regarding Kv1.5 and BKCa channels, in helping to identify the nature of K+ channels that could contribute to PVAT-mediated relaxation. XE991 at 30 µM reduced the anti-contractile response of PVAT, but had no effects on vasocontraction induced by phenylephrine (PE) in the absence of PVAT. Similar effects were observed for XE991 at 0.3 µM, which is known to almost completely inhibit mesenteric artery VSMC Kv currents. 30 µM XE991 did not affect BKCa currents in VSMCs. Kcna5-/- arteries and wild-type arteries incubated with 1 µM DPO-1 showed normal vasocontractions in response to PE in the presence and absence of PVAT. Kv current density and inhibition by 30 µM XE991 were normal in mesenteric artery VSMCs isolated from Kcna5-/- mice. We conclude that Kv channels are involved in the control of arterial vascular tone by PVAT. These channels are present in VSMCs and very potently inhibited by the KCNQ channel blocker XE991. BKCa channels and/or DPO-1 sensitive Kv1.5 channels in VSMCs are not the downstream mediators of the XE991 effects on PVAT-dependent arterial vasorelaxation. Further studies will need to be undertaken to examine the role of other Kv channels in the phenomenon

Reduced endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis and impaired unfolded protein response in TRPC3-deficient M1 macrophages

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a prominent mechanism of macrophage apoptosis in advanced atherosclerotic lesions. Recent studies from our laboratory showed that advanced atherosclerotic plaques in Apoe-/- mice with bone marrow deficiency of the calcium-permeable channel Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 3 (TRPC3) are characterized by reduced areas of necrosis and fewer apoptotic macrophages than animals transplanted with Trpc3+/+ bone marrow. In vitro, proinflammatory M1 but not anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages derived from Trpc3-/- Apoe-/- animals exhibited reduced ER stress-induced apoptosis. However, whether this was due to a specific effect of TRPC3 deficiency on macrophage ER stress signaling remained to be determined. In the present work we used polarized macrophages derived from mice with macrophage-specific deficiency of TRPC3 to examine the expression level of ER stress markers and the activation status of some typical mediators of macrophage apoptosis. We found that the reduced susceptibility of TRPC3-deficient M1 macrophages to ER stress-induced apoptosis correlates with an impaired unfolded protein response (UPR), reduced mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis, and reduced activation of the proapoptotic molecules calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1. Notably, none of these pathways was altered in TRPC3- deficient M2 macrophages. These findings show for the first time an obligatory requirement for a member of the TRPC family of cation channels in ER stress-induced apoptosis in macrophages, underscoring a rather selective role of the TRPC3 channel on mechanisms related to the UPR signaling in M1 macrophages.Fil: Solanki, Sumeet. University of Toledo; Estados UnidosFil: Dube, Prabhatchandra R.. University of Toledo; Estados UnidosFil: Tano, Jean Yves. University of Toledo; Estados UnidosFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Vazquez, Guillermo. University of Toledo; Estados Unido