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Staurosporine Mobilizes Ca2+ from Secretory Granules by Inhibiting Protein Kinase C in Rat Submandibular Acinar Cells
1 Department of Oral Biology & Oral Science Research Center, BK21 Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Shinchon-dong 134, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul 120-752, Korea; and Correspondence: 3 corresponding author, jeong{at}yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
Staurosporine was previously shown to mobilize Ca2+ from the thapsigargin-insensitive Ca2+ store in rat submandibular acinar cells. However, the nature of the store is not yet known. Therefore, in the present study, the staurosporine-releasable intracellular Ca2+ store was characterized. Staurosporine increased the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) after the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-sensitive Ca2+ store was depleted. Ionomycin caused only small increases in [Ca2+]c after the depletion of the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ store, whereas ionomycin+monensin caused large increases. However, ionomycin+monensin did not increase [Ca2+]c when added after [Ca2+]c was increased by staurosporine, indicating that the acidic Ca2+ store was the main source of Ca2+. The acidic Ca2+ store appeared to be associated with secretory granules, since ionomycin+monensin- and staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increases were significantly reduced when the acinar cells were degranulated. The effect of staurosporine on [Ca2+]c was mimicked by other protein kinase C inhibitors. Therefore, we conclude that staurosporine mobilizes Ca2+ from secretory granules, probably through the inhibition of protein kinase C in rat submandibular acinar cells.
Key Words: Secretory granules staurosporine submandibular acinar cells calcium
Fluid and electrolyte secretion from salivary acinar cells is mainly evoked by the stimulation of cholinergic, 1-adrenergic, and substance P receptors (Case et al., 1986). The stimulation of these receptors increases cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c), which opens Ca2+-sensitive Cl- channels on the apical membrane, allowing for Cl- efflux into the ductal lumen (Foskett, 1990). This provides a driving force for Na+ transport through the interstitial space from blood to the lumen, and the increase in the osmolarity causes water transport (Nauntofte, 1992). The increase in [Ca2+]c is achieved by the mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular Ca2+ stores and its influx across the plasma membrane (Putney, 1990). The Ca2+ mobilization from internal stores is triggered by the binding of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), which is produced from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate by the activation of phospholipase C (Berridge, 1993). The intracellular Ca2+ store, which is responsible for Ca2+ release in response to IP3 binding, is thought to be located in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Stimulation of phospholipase C also produces 1,2-diacylglycerol that activates protein kinase C, which has been implicated as a participant in Ca2+ homeostasis in various cell types, by providing negative feedback control of the intracellular signaling pathways (Nishizuka, 1988). Protein kinase C lowers [Ca2+]c to prevent sustained elevation, either by inhibiting the hydrolysis of inositol phospholipids or by activating Ca2+ ATPase at the plasma membrane (Nishizuka, 1988). We reported previously that a large amount of Ca2+ is released from thapsigargin-insensitive intracellular Ca2+ stores of rat submandibular acinar cells in response to staurosporine, a potent protein kinase C inhibitor (Shin et al., 1998). Since thapsigargin inhibits Ca2+ ATPase on the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ store and thus depletes Ca2+ from the ER, the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase is thought to result from Ca2+ mobilization from non-ER compartments. In secretory acinar cells, such as salivary acinar cells and pancreatic acinar cells, mitochondria and secretory granules have been suggested to be involved in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis (Gerasimenko et al., 1996; Park et al., 2001). Therefore, we attempted to determine which subcellular compartment is responsible for the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase, and whether this effect is mediated by the inhibition of protein kinase C. In this study, we found that secretory granules, an IP3-insensitive, non-mitochondrial acidic Ca2+ store, were probably responsible for the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase. Furthermore, other protein kinase C inhibitors, such as K252a, chelerythrine, H-7, and calphostin C, were also found to increase [Ca2+]c, suggesting that the effect of staurosporine on the [Ca2+]c increase might be mediated by the inhibition of protein kinase C.
Isolation of Acini from Rat Submandibular Glands Submandibular salivary gland acini were isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats, each weighing from 200 to 300 g, by the method described previously (Seo et al., 1999). Briefly, the rats were anesthetized with diethyl ether and killed by cardiac puncture. The submandibular salivary glands were removed and dissected free from the surrounding connective tissue and sublingual glands. The glands were minced and digested with 60 U/mL of collagenase for 1 hr in a HEPES-buffered physiological solution containing (in mM): NaCl 130, KCl 4.5, NaH2PO4 1.0, MgSO4 1.0, CaCl2 1.5, HEPES-Na 10, HEPES free acid 10, D-glucose 10, Minimum Eagles Medium (MEM) amino acids (X1), 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA), and glutamine 2 (adjusted to pH 7.4, gassed with 100% O2). The glands were mechanically dissociated by gentle pipetting at 20-minute intervals during digestion. The resulting suspensions of acini were filtered through a nylon mesh and washed twice. To deplete secretory granules, isoproterenol (20 mg/kg) was given to the rats by intraperitoneal injection as described previously (Martinez et al., 1996), and the acini were obtained 2 hrs after the injection by the same method described above. The project was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Yonsei University Medical Center.
Fura-2 Loading and [Ca2+]c Measurements Results are presented as means + SEM. The statistical significance of differences between averaged data was assessed by unpaired Students t tests.
Materials
Staurosporine Induced a [Ca2+]c Increase by Mobilizing Ca2+ from a Non-ER Compartment Cells were first stimulated with CCh, and perfusate Ca2+ was removed in the continued presence of CCh to deplete Ca2+ from the ER, the IP3-sensitive intracellular Ca2+ store. As shown in Fig. 1A
Mitochondria Did Not Contribute to the Staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c Increase Since mitochondria have been known to be involved in the regulation of [Ca2+]c (Friel, 2000; Park et al., 2001), we examined whether mitochondria contributed to the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase by examining the amount of Ca2+ stored in mitochondria. As shown in Fig. 2A
Acidic Compartment was Responsible for the Staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c Increase We next tested whether secretory granules were the source for a staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase using ionomycin+monensin. Because monensin disrupts the pH gradient across the membrane of subcellular organelles, ionomycin in combination with monensin is known to release Ca2+ from acidic compartments, which, in this cell type, are primarily composed of secretory granules (Martinez et al., 1996). As shown in Fig. 2C
To investigate whether this acidic compartment was responsible for the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase, we treated cells with both ionomycin and monensin after [Ca2+]c increase had reached a maximum level in response to staurosporine. As shown in Fig. 2D
Secretory Granules were the Source of Ca2+ for the Staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c Increase
Inhibition of Protein Kinase C was Probably Responsible for the Staurosporine-induced Mobilization of Ca2+ from Secretory Granules We next tested whether the inhibition of protein kinase C was responsible for the staurosporine-induced mobilization of Ca2+ from secretory granules. As shown in Figs. 4A-4D
In the present study, we found that staurosporine caused a large increase in [Ca2+]c even after the depletion of Ca2+ from the ER, the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ store, in the absence of perfusate Ca2+. This result indicates that IP3-insensitive, non-ER compartments are responsible for the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase in rat submandibular acinar cells. Previously, at least three Ca2+ stores have been identified in rat submandibular acinar cells—i.e., the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ store, the IP3-insensitive but ionomycin-sensitive Ca2+ store, and the IP3-insensitive acidic Ca2+ store (Martinez et al., 1996). Therefore, we first tested whether the IP3-insensitive but ionomycin-sensitive Ca2+ store was the source of the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase. In fact, in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells, staurosporine was shown to release Ca2+ from mitochondria, which are known to be an IP3-insensitive but ionomycin-sensitive Ca2+ store (Zhu et al., 1999). However, analysis of our data showed that the mitochondrial contribution to the staurosporine-induced increase in [Ca2+]c was negligible. After the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ store was depleted by CCh in the absence of perfusate Ca2+, ionomycin evoked only a small increase in [Ca2+]c, which did not correspond to the large increase in [Ca2+]c induced by staurosporine. In addition, FCCP, which "collapses" mitochondrial membrane potential and thus releases Ca2+ from mitochondria, also induced only a slight increase in [Ca2+]c. Furthermore, we observed that subsequent addition of 200 nM staurosporine in the presence of 5 µM FCCP induced a further increase in [Ca2+]c (data not shown). Therefore, these results show that mitochondria are not the source of staurosporine-induced Ca2+ increase in our system. Next we tested whether the IP3-insensitive acidic Ca2+ store was responsible for the [Ca2+]c increase induced by staurosporine. It has been well-established that ionomycin is not able to discharge acidic Ca2+ stores unless the pH gradient across the membrane of the acidic Ca2+ store has collapsed (Pressman and Fahim, 1982). Therefore, in the present study, we used monensin, a Na+/H+ exchanger, to "collapse" the pH gradient and found that ionomycin in combination with monensin released a large amount of Ca2+. Having confirmed that the acidic Ca2+ store contained a large amount of Ca2+, we examined whether the acidic Ca2+ store was responsible for the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase. If staurosporine releases Ca2+ from the acidic Ca2+ store, then the application of ionomycin+monensin would not increase [Ca2+]c after staurosporine had depleted this store. Indeed, in our study, ionomycin+monensin did not increase [Ca2+]c after the staurosporine-sensitive Ca2+ store was depleted, suggesting that staurosporine mobilized Ca2+ from the ionomycin+monensin-sensitive acidic Ca2+ store. The subcellular localization of the acidic Ca2+ store responsible for the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase was further examined. Previous reports have suggested that, among the acidic compartments, such as the lysosomal/endosomal compartment, the secretory granules, and the trans-Golgi network, the secretory granules are the major Ca2+ reservoir in most secretory cells, including rat submandibular acinar cells (Nicaise et al., 1992; Martinez et al., 1996; Scheenen et al., 1998). In support of this, analysis of our data showed that the [Ca2+]c increase induced by ionomycin+monensin was greatly reduced in degranulated cells, suggesting that the secretory granules were the major acidic Ca2+ store in rat submandibular acinar cells. Furthermore, we also showed that the size of the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase was significantly smaller in the degranulated cells. Therefore, the increase in [Ca2+]c in response to staurosporine observed in our study was probably due to the release of Ca2+ from secretory granules. The physiological significance of intragranular Ca2+ has not been fully elucidated. High Ca2+ concentrations in acidic compartments have long been suggested to play a role in packaging and processing of intravesicular content and in the regulation of the exocytosis process in many cell types, including salivary acinar cells (Lucy and Ahkong, 1986; Lang and Schleef, 1996; Scheenen et al., 1998). In addition, the presence of IP3 receptors on the granular membrane, and thus the involvement of secretory granules in [Ca2+]c regulation, has also been suggested in pancreatic acinar cells (Gerasimenko et al., 1996) but remains controversial (Muallem and Lee, 1997; Yule et al., 1997). In the present study, prolonged stimulation of cells with CCh, an IP3-generating agonist, did not deplete Ca2+ from secretory granules, suggesting that secretory granules in rat submandibular acinar cells do not possess functional IP3 receptors and thus do not seem to participate in the regulation of [Ca2+]c in this cell type. The mechanisms by which Ca2+ is transported and accumulated in the secretory granules are still unknown. The Ca2+-proton exchanger driven by the low pH inside the granules and the ATPase-dependent Ca2+ uptake system have been reported to be responsible for the maintenance of the high Ca2+ concentration in the secretory granules, although the exact nature of these systems has not been identified (Porter et al., 1991; Nicaise et al., 1992). In the present study, we provide evidence that protein kinase C might have a role in the maintenance of the intragranular Ca2+ concentration. If the activity of the transporters responsible for Ca2+ uptake into the granules is maintained by protein kinase C, then inhibition of the kinase may lead to Ca2+ leakage into cytosol. Since the exchange rate of Ca2+ across the granular membrane is slow (Pozzan et al., 1994), the inhibition of the Ca2+ uptake system will lose Ca2+ into cytosol slowly, as observed in this study. Furthermore, the presence of protein kinase C activities and kinase substrates was reported in rat parotid gland secretory granule membrane and was suggested to contribute to secretion (Dowd et al., 1987). Therefore, it might be possible that protein kinase C is involved in the maintenance of the Ca2+ transport activity and thus the maintenance of a high Ca2+ concentration in the secretory granules, which plays an important role in the exocytosis of the granules. Staurosporine is one of the most potent inhibitors of protein kinase C, and it has been reported to increase [Ca2+]c in many cell types by inhibiting protein kinase C (King and Rittenhouse, 1989; Winkler et al., 1990; Xu et al., 1993). However, staurosporine is not specific, and it has also been shown to increase [Ca2+]c by mechanisms that are independent of protein kinase C (Wong et al., 1992; Turkson et al., 1994; Tojyo et al., 1995). Therefore, in this study, we used various protein kinase C inhibitors—such as K252a and chelerythrine, which inhibit the catalytic domain of protein kinase C, and H-7 and calphostin C, which inhibit the regulatory domain—to examine whether the staurosporine-induced [Ca2+]c increase resulted from the inhibition of protein kinase C. All of the inhibitors induced qualitatively similar changes in [Ca2+]c, although the magnitudes and the time courses of [Ca2+]c increases were not identical. In contrast to the protein kinase C inhibitors, H-89, an inhibitor of protein kinase A, did not cause an increase in [Ca2+]c. Analysis of these data suggests that the inhibition of protein kinase C might be responsible for the staurosporine-induced Ca2+ release from secretory granules. We therefore conclude that staurosporine mobilizes Ca2+ from secretory granules, probably by the inhibition of protein kinase C in rat submandibular acinar cells.
This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Health 21 R&D Project (01-PJ5-PG3-20507-0098), Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea.
* authors contributing equally to this work; Received for publication November 7, 2001. Revision received August 19, 2002. Accepted for publication September 10, 2002.
Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 81, No. 11,
788-793 (2002)
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1-adrenergic, and substance P receptors (



