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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 35, 30705-30711, September 2, 2005
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From the Department of Cell Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 9HN United Kingdom
Received for publication, April 19, 2005 , and in revised form, June 21, 2005.
| ABSTRACT |
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-cyclodextrin (10 mM for 1 h). This led to a redistribution of the P2X1 receptor throughout the sucrose gradient and reduced P2X1 receptor-mediated (
,
-methylene ATP, 10 µM) currents in HEK293 cells by >90% and contractions of the rat tail artery by
50%. However contractions evoked by potassium chloride (60 mM) were unaffected by methyl-
-cyclodextrin and the inactive analogue
-cyclodextrin had no effect on P2X1 receptor-mediated currents or contractions. P2X1 receptors are subject to ongoing regulation by receptors and kinases, and the present results suggest that lipid rafts are an essential component in the maintenance of these localized signaling domains and play an important role in P2X1 receptor-mediated control of arteries. | INTRODUCTION |
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10% of current flowing through the channel under physiological conditions, Refs. 7 and 8), and a substantial component of the calcium required for contraction enters by this route (4, 9). P2X receptors therefore provide a mechanism for sympathetic nerve-mediated regulation of vascular tone that is resistant to
-adrenoreceptor and calcium channel antagonists.
Seven P2X receptor subunits have been identified (P2X17), and these can assemble as homo- and heterotrimeric receptors with a range of properties (10). The characteristic features of artery smooth muscle P2X receptors; (i) sensitivity to the ATP analogues:
,
-methylene and L-
,
-methylene ATP, and (ii) responses that desensitize during agonist application, are consistent with the expression of P2X1 receptor subunits. In arterial smooth muscle the P2X1 receptor is the dominant isoform, and P2X receptor-mediated responses are abolished in arteries from P2X1 receptor-deficient mice (11, 12). Studies with these P2X1 receptor-deficient mice have established a role for these receptors in sympathetic nerve-mediated vasoconstriction (11) and autoregulation of blood flow in the kidney (12, 13). The level of P2X1 receptors can be regulated by congestive heart failure (14), cardiomyopathy (15), and shear stress (16). In addition it has been shown recently that P2X receptors are involved in sensitizing responses following heart failure (17). P2X1 receptors are also expressed on blood cells, including platelets and P2X1 receptors contribute to platelet activation (18) and aggregation (1921) and P2X1 receptor deficiency is protective against thromboembolism (22). Thus evidence is building that P2X1 receptors can play important roles in the cardiovascular system and regulation of blood flow.
In arteries P2X1 receptors do not appear to be randomly distributed throughout the plasma membrane as P2X1 receptor immunoreactivity appears in clusters (23). This clustering of receptors is supported by electrophysiological studies on dissociated artery muscle-excised membrane patches; some patches had multiple P2X receptor channels whereas channel activity was absent in others (24). Recent studies also indicate that the P2X1 receptors can be regulated by phosphorylation of interacting proteins (25), suggesting that the P2X1 receptor exists in an organized signaling domain. One possible explanation for the clustering of P2X1 receptors could be the inclusion in membrane lipid rafts (26). Lipid rafts are rich in cholesterol and glycosphingolipids that results in liquid-ordered microdomains within the liquid-disordered glycerophospholipid membrane bilayer (27, 28). Recent evidence suggests that there is heterogeneity in lipid rafts and that a range of different domains can be separated based on differences in detergent solubility (for a review see Ref. 27). A wide range of proteins, including many signaling molecules have been shown to be preferentially associated with rafts (29) including a range of ion channels (for a review see Ref. 30). In this study we have shown that P2X1 receptors are concentrated in lipid rafts and that disruption of rafts reduces P2X1 receptor signaling in arteries.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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,
-meATP,1 cholesterol, filipin III, KCl,
-cyclodextrin (
-CD),
-cyclodextrin (
-CD), and methyl-
-cyclodextrin (M
-CD) were obtained from Sigma (Sigma-Aldrich).
Cell Culture and Transient TransfectionNative human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells and HEK293 cells subcloned after transfection with the human wild-type P2X1 receptor (P2X1cl-1 cells), were maintained in culture as previously described (25). For some studies native HEK293 cells were transiently transfected with plasmid cDNA encoding either the rat wild-type P2X1 receptor or human wild-type P2X1 receptor tagged with EGFP at its C terminus (P2X1-EGFP cells) using LipofectamineTM 2000 reagent (Invitrogen). Control and
-CD-treated cells (10 mM for 1 h at 37 °C) were imaged live using a x60 oil immersion lens mounted on a Fluoview FV300 confocal microscope (excitation wavelength of 488 nm for EGFP and filters set to capture emission at wavelengths greater than 510 nm) (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). Fluorescence was captured using Olympus Fluoviewer 4.2 software.
Rat Tissue CollectionMale Wistar rats (250350 g) were killed by stunning and cervical dislocation. For membrane fractionation, tail artery, vas deferens, and bladder were excised and processed immediately or frozen in liquid nitrogen for later use. For contraction experiments, tail arteries were kept at 4 °C in physiological saline solution (150 mM NaCl, 2.5 mM KCl, 10 mM HEPES, 2.5 mM CaCl2,1mM MgCl2, pH to 7.3 with NaOH) for a maximum of 3 h before use.
Membrane FractionationCells and rat tissues were fractionated using a detergent-free method adapted from Refs. 31 and 32. Two 80-cm2 tissue flasks of HEK293 P2X1cl-1 cells were washed three times with phosphate-buffered saline and scraped into 2 ml of 500 mM sodium carbonate, pH 11 and left on ice for 20 min. Either seven tail arteries, 3 vas deferens, or 3 bladders from rat were crushed in liquid nitrogen using a pestle and a mortar. When reduced to powder, the tissues were then homogenized into 2 ml of 500 mM Na2CO3, pH 11 using a tissue grinder and left on ice for 20 min. The lysed cells and rat tissues were then subjected to three 20-s bursts of sonication. Homogenates were brought to 45% sucrose by addition of an equal volume of 90% sucrose in MBS (25 mM MES and 150 mM NaCl, pH 6.5) and loaded in an ultracentrifuge tube. A discontinuous sucrose gradient was layered on top of the sample by placing 4 ml of 35% sucrose prepared in MBS with 250 mM Na2CO3 then 4 ml of 5% sucrose (also in MBS/Na2CO3). The gradient was centrifuged at 39,000 rpm on a TH-641 rotor in a Sorvall OTD65B ultracentrifuge (Kendro Laboratory Products Plc, Bishop's Stortford, UK) for 16 h at 4 °C. In some studies HEK293 P2X1c1-1cells were lysed in 2 ml of MBS containing either 0.1% Triton X-100 or 1% Triton X-100 and were homogenized using a tissue grinder and left for 20 min on ice. The homogenates were brought to 45% sucrose by addition of an equal volume of 90% sucrose in MBS and loaded in an ultracentrifuge tube. A discontinuous sucrose gradient (35 and 5% sucrose in MBS, lacking Triton X-100) was formed above the homogenate and centrifuged as described above for the detergent-free condition. After centrifugation, 11 fractions of 1 ml were collected from the top to the bottom of each tube. Cholesterol measurements were assessed with the Amplex Red cholesterol assay kit (Molecular Probes Europe BV, Leiden, The Netherlands). The cell volume or tissue quantities used for the sample preparations described above where each representative of one individual experiment. Each experimental condition was repeated three times.
Western BlotsThe protein level of fraction 4 was used as a loading reference. To do so, the same volumes of samples (different fractions) were loaded for each gel after normalization for protein quantity in fraction 4 (0.04 µg for tail artery, vas deferens, or bladder and 0.1 µg for HEK293 P2X1cl-1 cells). After separation of the samples on 1012% SDS-PAGE gels and transfer onto nitrocellulose, the membrane was processed with the primary antibody (anti-P2X1 receptor antibody (1:2000) (Alomone, Jerusalem, Israel) or anti-caveolin-1 (1:1000), anti-caveolin-2 (1:250), anti-flotillin-1 (1:250), anti-flotillin-2 (1:5000) (BD Biosciences Europe, Erembodegem, Belgium). Protein bands were visualized using an ECL+plus kit and Hyperfilm MP (Amersham Biosciences).
Surface Cell Expression and ImmunoprecipitationsCell surface proteins were biotinylated as previously described (33) and washed with phosphate-buffered saline. Cells from two 80-cm2 tissue flasks were processed for membrane fractionation as described above and blotted with Immunopure streptavidin/horseradish peroxidase-conjugated (0.5 µg/ml) (Pierce). Cells contained in a 35-mm Petri dish were processed for immunoprecipitation (33). The samples were resuspended in 15 µl of gel sample buffer before running on SDS-PAGE gels. In parallel an aliquot of total lysate (0.5 µg of total protein) was blotted with anti-p44/42 MAP kinase antibody (1:1000) (PerkinElmer Life Sciences). Each experimental condition was repeated three times.
Patch Clamp RecordingsConventional whole cell and amphotericin-permeabilized patch-clamp experiments were performed at a holding potential of 60 mV at room temperature (21 °C) as described previously (11, 34). The agonist (
,
-meATP, 10 µM) was rapidly applied via a U-tube. When looking at the effect of cyclodextrins on the P2X1 receptor responses to
,
-meATP, the cells were incubated with the drugs at a concentration of 10 mM for 1 h at 37 °C, for cholesterol repletion cells were subsequently incubated for 1 h at 37 °C with 660 µg/ml cholesterol M
-CD. Filipin (10 µM) was incubated with the cells for 30 min at 37 °C.
Contraction StudiesRat tail artery rings were mounted in a Mulvany myograph and perfused with physiological saline solution at 34 °C and vasoconstrictions to applied drugs measured as described previously (35). Reproducible responses to 10 µM
,
-meATP could be recorded when the agonist was added at 30-min intervals. The superfusate was stopped when the arteries were incubated in the presence of cyclodextrin drugs (10 mM for 1 h at 34 °C). In the control condition, the superfusate was also stopped for 1 h. Before testing subsequent contraction responses to
,
-meATP and KCl (60 mM), the superfusion was reinitiated, and the arteries were washed with physiological saline solution.
Data AnalysisData are expressed as mean ± S.E. throughout and n = number of cells, number of arteries. Differences between means were determined by Student's t test and a p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
| RESULTS |
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10% of the total protein, Fig. 1b) confirming the presence of the P2X1 receptor protein in the cellular enriched-cholesterol fractions. As the P2X1 receptor is a transmembrane protein one possibility was that the fractionation concentrates the plasma membrane in fractions 3 and 4, and this could account for the predominant localization of the P2X1 receptors in these fractions and not lipid raft association. To test this we used membrane-impermeant sulfo-NHS-LC-biotin to label surface proteins and determine their distribution on the gradient. Biotinylated proteins were distributed throughout the gradient, demonstrating that the fractionation does not just concentrate membrane proteins. Moreover, the biotinylation process was specific for surface proteins as no trace of the cytosolic p44/42 MAP kinases was observed at the cell surface although present in the total lysate (Fig. 1e). Taken together these data demonstrate that P2X1 receptors are localized to enriched cholesterol lipid rafts.
P2X1 Receptors Remain in the Lipid Raft Fraction following Activation and DesensitizationActivation of some receptors, for example the
2-adrenoreceptor leads to movement out of the lipid rafts and a reduction in signaling (37, 38). P2X1 receptors desensitize rapidly following agonist stimulation, and require several minutes for recovery, raising the possibility that the recovery process is dependent on movement between lipid rafts and the rest of bulk membrane. Activation of the P2X1 receptor with
,
-meATP (10 µM) for 10 min should fully desensitize the receptor; however it had no effect on the distribution of the receptor in the lipid raft fractions (Fig. 1f) indicating that movement out of the lipid rafts is not associated with desensitization of the P2X1 receptor channel.
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-CD (10 mM for 1 h) reduced by 51 ± 28% the total cellular cholesterol content and induced a redistribution of the P2X1 receptor along the gradient (Fig. 2a). Following cholesterol depletion, the P2X1 receptor was now detected readily in fractions 511. M
-CD is membrane impermeable and does not deplete cholesterol from intracellular membranes, this may in part account for the P2X1 receptor detected in fractions 3 and 4 that could correspond to receptors on intracellular membranes being trafficked.
In patch-clamp studies, the ATP analogue
,
-meATP (10 µM a maximal concentration) evokes transient inward currents through P2X1 receptors from HEK293 P2X1cl-1 cells (Fig. 2b). Depletion of cellular cholesterol with either M
-CD or
-CD (10 mM for 1 h) reduced the amplitude of agonist-evoked responses by >90% with no effect on either the rise time or rate of decay of the response (Fig. 2b). The reduced amplitude of response is unlikely to result from a decrease in agonist potency at the receptor, as suggested for the effects of cholesterol depletion on cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (39), as there was no effect on the time course of the response and a supramaximal concentration of ATP (1 mM, 1,000-fold greater than the EC50 concentration) was also reduced by >90% (data not shown). M
-CD or
-CD treatment also has no effect on the recovery of P2X1 receptors from the desensitized state as reproducible responses to
,
-meATP were evoked at 5-min intervals using the amphotericin-permeabilized patch technique (as shown previously, Ref. 34) from control cells and following M
-CD or
-CD treatment (data not shown). The inactive cyclodextrin stereoisomer
-CD (10 mM for 1 h) (40) had no effect on agonist-evoked responses (Fig. 2b). Following M
-CD treatment responses to
,
-meATP (10 µM) were partially restored (
4-fold increase in amplitude compared with M
-CD, p < 0.05) by cholesterol repletion (660 µg/ml for l h)(3222 ± 549, 212 ± 130, and 818 ± 240 pA for control, M
-CD and cholesterol repletion, respectively, n = >8). The reduction in current amplitude in response to M
-CD is unlikely to result from a decrease in the number of P2X1 receptor channels at the cell surface as the localization of EGFP-tagged P2X1 receptors at the cell membrane (peak currents through these receptors are also reduced by
85% by M
-CD treatment; 5224 ± 1063 and 887 ± 200 pA for control and M
-CD respectively, n>6) was unaffected by
-CD treatment (observation of 17 and 14 cells, respectively, for control and
-CD treatment) (Fig. 2d).
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With What Type of Lipid Rafts Are P2X1 Receptors Associated? Lipid rafts are thought to be heterogeneous with a range of different types of domain dependent on the protein and lipid content of the rafts (27). The only subtype of rafts that can be identified morphologically are caveolae. These are small plasma membrane invaginations associated with the expression of the caveolins (27). In this study caveolin-1 and -2 were below the limit of detection in HEK293 cell lines (data not shown; however caveolins were detected in arterial smooth muscle cells, see below) suggesting that P2X1 receptors are not associated with caveolae in lipid rafts.
The composition of lipid rafts appears to be dependent on the method of isolation and different types of lipid raft domain have been postulated based on differences in detergent solubility of individual raft proteins. Lipid rafts prepared by non-detergent methods are enriched in glycerophospholipids whereas, in contrast, detergent extraction with Triton X-100 leads to a depletion of these glycerophospholipids and in addition non-detergent methods lead to a greater retention of inner leaflet membrane lipids (for review, see Ref. 27). Thus comparing results from different isolation procedures may give an insight into which subpopulation of lipid rafts the P2X1 receptor associates with. We therefore compared rafts isolated by non-detergent methods with extraction with 0.1 and 1% Triton X-100 (Fig. 3). At 0.1% Triton X-100 P2X1 receptors were associated with the buoyant fraction, however in addition the P2X1 receptor was also significantly detected in bottom fractions. When 1% Triton X-100 was used the P2X1 receptor was detectable at low levels in the buoyant fractions and predominantly in the bottom fractions, this is consistent with a previous report on Triton X-100 (1%) extracted P2X1 receptors (43). The Triton X-100 concentration-dependent localization of the P2X1 receptor was mirrored by the fractions in which the lipid raft marker flotillin-2 was found. This suggests that the association of P2X1 receptors in lipid rafts, like for other proteins, for example the T cell receptor in Jurkat cells (Ref. 44 and for a more general review, see Ref. 27), are sensitive to Triton X-100 extraction. This raises the possibility that the association of P2X1 receptors with lipid rafts may be regulated by glycerophospholipids or inner leaflet membrane lipids as these are depleted by Triton X-100 treatment.
P2X1 Receptors in Rafts in Smooth Muscle CellsWe have shown that recombinant P2X1 receptors are associated with lipid rafts and disruption of these leads to an inhibition of P2X1 receptor-mediated currents. In this series of studies we determined whether native P2X1 receptors are expressed in lipid rafts in smooth muscle preparations and whether disruption of the rafts can regulate the functional properties of native P2X1 receptors. Rat tail arteries were lysed under detergent-free conditions and ultracentrifuged on a discontinuous sucrose gradient. The P2X1 receptor protein was identified in the fractions 4 and 5 of the gradient just as the lipid raft markers, flotillin-1 and flotillin-2. P2X1 receptor protein also co-localized with caveolae (specialized subtype of lipid rafts) proteins caveolin-1 and caveolin-2 (Fig. 4a). The enriched cholesterol fractions represented by fractions 3, 4, and 5, contain more than 70% of the total cellular cholesterol (with a peak
30% for fraction 4) but less than 10% of the total cellular protein (Fig. 4b). Taken together, these results confirm that P2X1 receptor protein is present in the cellular-enriched cholesterol fractions of rat tail arteries. P2X1 receptor protein and the lipid raft marker caveolin-1 were similarly distributed along rat vas deferens and bladder gradients in fractions 4 and 5 (Fig. 4c). It is interesting to note that there were slight differences in the distribution of lipid rafts between HEK293 cells and smooth muscle cells; P2X1 receptor and lipid raft-associated proteins were present in fractions 3 and 4 of HEK293 cells whereas in fractions 4 and 5 of smooth muscle cells. This localization reflected the distribution of cholesterol (for comparison see Figs. 1b and 4b). Because HEK293 cells and smooth muscles are distinct cell types, the membrane fractionation divergences are likely to be caused by cell membrane composition differences.
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-CD (10 mM for 1 h) disrupts lipid rafts and resulted in a redistribution of the P2X1 receptor along the gradient (Fig. 5a) similar to its effects observed previously on HEK293 P2X1cl-1 cells. Tail artery constriction amplitudes to
,
-meATP (10 µM for 10 min) were dramatically reduced by half after M
-CD treatment (10 mM for 1 h), whereas the inactive analogue
-CD (10 mM for 1 h) had no effect (110.5 ± 5.8%, 52.5 ± 4.1%, and 115.4 ± 6.9% of the initial control response, respectively for control, M
-CD and
-CD, n = 47 from three and four different animals) (Fig. 5, b and c). In contrast, vasoconstrictions induced by 60 mM KCl were unaffected either by treatment with M
-CD or
-CD (97.3 ± 4.2%, 104.2 ± 10.9%, and 96.1 ± 2.5% of the initial control response, respectively for control, M
-CD and
-CD, n = 48 from three and five different animals) demonstrating that the cyclodextrins do not interfere with the ability of the smooth muscle to contract. Taken together these data suggest that P2X1 receptors are associated with lipid rafts in arteries and that disruption of these rafts inhibits responses through the channel.
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| DISCUSSION |
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Lipid rafts are characterized as cholesterol- and sphingolipid-rich regions of membrane. Density fractionation of cholesterol-rich lipid rafts has shown that there is heterogeneity in the rafts (45) and demonstrates that there are likely to be different populations of microdomains that vary in lipid and protein composition. The only clearly identifiable subtype of lipid rafts are the caveolae (46), these membrane invaginations are characterized by the presence of caveolins. Many proteins are associated with caveolae through interaction with these caveolins; for example the ATP-sensitive potassium channel pore-forming subunit Kir6.1 co-immunoprecipitates with caveolin in arterial smooth muscle (47). We were unable to co-immunoprecipitate the P2X1 receptor with anti-caveolin antibodies2 suggesting that caveolin is not directly associated with the localization of the P2X1 receptor to lipid rafts. This is further supported by our work in HEK293 cells where levels of caveolin-1 and -2 were below the limit of detection (data not shown). A similar lack of caveolins has been reported in other HEK293 cell lines and used to suggest that
-adrenoreceptor raft localization is not caveolin-dependent (37). However caveolins have been described in some HEK293 cell lines (39) and it seems likely that their expression may vary between different subclones of these cells. Myristylation and palmitylation of proteins may be involved in associations with caveolae (48, 49); however, the lack of motifs for such forms of protein modification suggests that this is unlikely for the P2X1 receptor. Additional support that caveolin-1 is unlikely to be involved in P2X1 receptor function comes from studies with knock-out mice; P2X1 receptor mice show male infertility because of a reduced contractile responses of the vas deferens (50), and in this study we show that disruption of lipid rafts with
-CD reduced P2X1 receptor currents by >90%; however caveolin-1 knock-out mice show normal levels of fertility (51). Finally as P2X1 receptors are associated with rapid nerve-mediated depolarization of smooth muscle it seems counterintuitive that the receptor would be localized to membrane invaginations (caveolae), because the ATP would have to diffuse into the caveolae before activating the channel. It therefore seems likely that the P2X1 receptor is associated with non-caveolar lipid rafts.
Pike (27) has recently suggested a model where lipid rafts can be divided into three classes based on their sensitivity to extraction by a variety of methods: (i) Triton X-100- and CHAPS-resistant, (ii) Brij96, Brij98, and non-detergent isolation-resistant, and (iii) lubrol and Tween-resistant fractions. The findings that the P2X1 receptor is found in the buoyant lipid raft fraction when non-detergent methods are used and is sensitive to the concentration of Triton X-100 used suggests that the P2X1 receptor is associated with class (ii) lipid rafts; however, the motif/region of the receptor associated with raft localization, either directly or through an interacting protein remains to be determined.
Cholesterol depletion with M
-CD resulted in a re-distribution of P2X1 receptors throughout the membrane fractions consistent with a disruption of the lipid rafts. Similar movements have been described for a range of ion channels and raft-associated proteins (e.g. 28, 39, 52). In addition M
-CD treatment or the use of filipin to sequester cholesterol in the membrane to disrupt the lipid rafts (41, 42) reduced P2X1 receptor-mediated responses. Recombinant human P2X1 receptor currents recorded in HEK293 cells were reduced by >90% (also for recombinant rat P2X1 receptors, control 799 ± 137 pA and 31 ± 7 following M
-CD treatment, p < 0.001, n = 10, 5) and contractions of arteries were reduced by
50% (this difference most likely results from the reduced access of M
-CD in whole artery studies compared with patch clamp studies on isolated single cells). It is unlikely that these effects of M
-CD result from nonspecific effects or a block of the ability of the muscle to contract as responses evoked by depolarization with 60 mM KCl were unaffected by M
-CD treatment (this study), and M
-CD has previously been shown to have no effect on L-type calcium currents expressed in HEK293 cells (53). Similarly P2X1 receptor currents or contractions were unaffected by
-CD, the stereoisomer that has no effect on membrane cholesterol (40). In addition cholesterol repletion following M
-CD treatment resulted in a significant restoration of P2X1 receptor-mediated responses. Taken together these data strongly suggest that the reduction in P2X1 receptor responsiveness is caused by depletion of cholesterol and disruption of the lipid rafts. Similar reductions in function following lipid raft disruption have been described for a number of other ion channels for example voltage-dependent potassium channel Kv2.1 (28) and cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (39).
Lipid raft association of the P2X1 receptor may be a method for bringing the receptor into an organized signaling domain. We have previously shown that P2X1 receptors are basally phosphorylated, P2X1 receptor currents are reduced following treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein and can be potentiated by kinase activation or stimulation of G
q-coupled receptors e.g. mGlur1
(54). M
-CD treatment dissociates proteins from rafts and inactivates signaling cascades (26), for example the Src family of tyrosine kinases are present in rafts (30). Therefore disruption of the localized signaling pathways could result in disruption of ongoing regulatory mechanisms and account for the decrease in P2X1 responses following cholesterol depletion.
The association of P2X1 receptors in lipid rafts may not only be important in maintaining the responsiveness of the receptor but may also be a mechanism to achieve clustering of the receptor. Immunohistochemical and single channel recording studies have indicated that the P2X1 receptor is not randomly distributed in the membrane but forms clusters (23, 24) and that in smooth muscle preparations these clusters are often seen close to sympathetic nerve varicosities; the site of transmitter release. Thus lipid rafts may be a way of concentrating the P2X1 receptor at signaling hot spots. Calcium imaging studies on the rat tail artery showed the initial transient rise in calcium was caused by purinergic receptor stimulation, and this was quickly followed by the noradrenergic component that oscillates and propagates as a wave through the vessel (55). Subsequent, higher resolution studies from vas deferens (56), mesenteric arteries (9, 57), and bladder (58) showed discrete, localized, P2X receptor-mediated calcium rises in the smooth muscle cells following nerve stimulation. The sympathetic nerves that innervate arteries and the vas deferens release the co-transmitters ATP and noradrenaline. It is interesting that nerve evoked P2X receptor, but not
-adrenoreceptor mediated rises in calcium are recorded in response to short trains of stimulation from the vas deferens (56) and mesenteric arteries (9). A similar finding was reported in contractile studies on submucosal arterioles where following sympathetic nerve stimulation the vasoconstriction is mediated solely by P2X receptors, noradrenaline is released from the nerves but acts prejunctionally through
2-adrenoceptors to regulate transmitter release (6). These data suggest that although sympathetic nerves release both ATP and noradrenaline under certain conditions P2X receptors appear to be preferentially activated. One possible reason for this could be the differential membrane localization of P2X and
-adrenoceptors. This seems likely because in this study we have shown that the P2X1 receptor is localized in lipid rafts, and in previous work it has been shown that
1-adrenoceptors are not present in the lipid raft fractions, and noradrenaline-mediated contractions are not affected by cholesterol depletion with M
-CD (59). This would provide a mechanism where P2X1 receptors in lipid rafts could be concentrated close to the site of transmitter release while
-adrenoceptors would be excluded from these domains and thus be less responsive and require longer periods of nerve stimulation to be activated (57).
In summary the present study shows for the first time that P2X1 receptors are associated with lipid rafts and that disruption of these rafts compromises P2X1 receptor responsiveness probably through interference with organized signaling microdomains. This has significant implications for cardiovascular function where P2X1 receptors have been shown to have important signaling roles, for example in the control of resistance artery vasoconstriction following sympathetic nerve stimulation (6, 11), pressure-induced autoregulation in the kidney (12), and platelet regulation (1822).
| FOOTNOTES |
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To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 44-116-252-3032; Fax: 44-116-252-5045; E-mail: rje6{at}le.ac.uk.
1 The abbreviations used are:
,
-meATP, adenosine 5'-[
,
-methylene]triphosphate; HEK, human embryonic kidney; MES, 4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid; MAP, mitogen-activated protein; CHAPS, 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonic acid; EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein; CD, cyclodextrin. ![]()
2 C. Vial and R. Evans, unpublished observations. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| REFERENCES |
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