|
Advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 283, Issue 1, 175-183, January 4, 2008
Extracellular Calcium-sensing Receptor Activation Induces Vitamin D Receptor Levels in Proximal Kidney HK-2G Cells by a Mechanism That Requires Phosphorylation of p38
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
completely diminished high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR induction. Direct CaSR involvement was demonstrated by using an si-RNA of CaSR that impeded [Ca2+]e-mediated induction of VDR. In conclusion, a high extracellular [Ca2+]e concentration in the physiological range is capable of directly increasing renal proximal VDR expression, and the induction mechanism requires activation of the CaSR and signal mediation by the p38
MAP kinase pathway. | INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
-hydoxylation (7). Resultant increase in [Ca2+]e by 1,25(OH)2D3 regulates PTH at two levels; where CaSR signaling shuts down PTH secretion (8, 9) and 1,25(OH)2D3 through transactivation of its nuclear receptor (VDR) inhibits prepro-PTH transcription (10).
[Ca2+]e is also a potent mediator of the balance between cellular proliferation and differentiation while VDR mediates biological functions of 1,25(OH)2D3 and is expressed in many different cell types (11). Past work has focused on the role of VDR in mineral homeostasis, with VDR activators used mainly to treat hyperparathyroidism secondary to chronic kidney disease (12). A more recent perspective includes the use of vitamin D analogs in combination with calcimimetics and phosphate binders in the management of hyperparathyroid disorders (13). It is therefore important to identify the mechanisms whereby CaSR signaling and VDR activation coincide in the tissues that co-express these two receptors. We previously reported for the first time that [Ca2+]e is a direct regulator of VDR in proximal human kidney HK-2G cells (14). The present study was designed to better explore the mechanism by which [Ca2+]e influences VDR increase in these cells.
PTH exerts several actions in the renal proximal tubule that include control of phosphate transport and induction of 1,25(OH)2D3-1
-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) mRNA (15–17). The receptor for PTH is a another member of the GPCR family capable of coordinating bidirectional signaling through pathways involving adenylate cyclase or activation of protein kinase C depending on the concentration of PTH and the specific cell type (18, 19). In proximal tubule epithelial cells, PTH stimulates 1
-hydroxylation, mediates 1,25(OH)2D3-24-hydroxylase (CYP24) down-regulation and represses 1,25(OH)2D3-receptor (VDR) transcription all by increasing cAMP and activating the cAMP-dependent response element-binding protein (CREB) (20–22). However, the set of molecular mechanisms for transmitting and reversing these PTH effects is still unclear.
In addition to its more well studied effects in the distal tubule, reports demonstrate that CaSR also is expressed in the proximal tubule suggesting that [Ca2+]e plays an as yet undefined role in proximal kidney physiology (23, 24). Studies of inherited disorders of calcium sensing have established the central role of CaSR in calcium homeostasis (25). Dysregulation of CaSR may cause an irregular pattern of PTH secretion and excessive tubular calcium reabsorption (26). Because PTH indirectly influences [Ca2+]e homeostasis largely through regulated synthesis of 1,25(OH)2D3 in the kidney proximal tubule (27, 28), we asked the question of whether [Ca2+]e plays a direct role in the compensatory down-regulation of the vitamin D system in the proximal tubule.
The effect of [Ca2+]e on renal vitamin metabolism has been addressed both in vitro (29–31) and in vivo (32) by studying the regulation patterns of CYP27B1 or CYP24. The direct role of [Ca2+]e in cell culture is minimal, but a correlation has been seen between the rise in serum [Ca2+]e and the suppression of CYP27B1 (32). The CaSR has been shown to be involved in multiple mechanisms that include mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) intermediates and release of stored intracellular Ca [Ca2+]i (33). These pathways are known for their roles in mediating increases in VDR (34, 35) and renal VDR is a key determinant for the reciprocal regulation of CYP27B1 and CYP24 by PTH (36). It is therefore plausible to hypothesize that [Ca2+]e is counter-regulatory to the effects of PTH in the proximal tubule by inducing VDR up-regulation (14).
In the present study, the mechanism regarding high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells was explored. We found this effect to be associated with rapid activation of p38 MAPK and more specifically phosphorylation of p38
MAPK, but not the ERK MAPK signaling pathways. Thus, specific intracellular targets of [Ca2+]e in proximal tubule epithelial cells were confirmed, establishing [Ca2+]e as a potential trigger for the counter-regulatory effects by interaction with its CaSR.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
-tubulin, (Sigma-Aldridge), VDR, phospho-EGF, phospho-p38, p38β MAPK, protein A/G-agarose beads (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA), phospho-ATF2, phospho-MKK3/6, p38
MAPK, immobilized phospho-p38 MAPK (Thr18/Tyr182) mouse mAb (Cell Signaling Technologies, Danvers, MA), CaSR (Affinity BioReagents, Golden, CO) EDTA, Triton X-100, β-glycerophosphate, and Na3VO4 (Sigma). Selective inhibitors of MAPK Kinase-1 (PD98059, U0126), p38 MAPK (SB203580), phospholipase C (U73122
[GenBank]
) were purchased from Calbiochem-Novabiochem (EMD Biosciences, San Diego, CA). SB202190 was purchased from BIOMOL international (Plymouth Meeting, PA). The enhanced chemiluminescence kit, employing the SuperSignal West Pico substrate, was purchased from Pierce Biotechnology Inc. Lysis buffer and protease inhibitors were obtained from Pierce. Cell Culture—The human proximal kidney cell type (HK-2) was purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA). This cell line was originally developed for the purpose of a well differentiated proximal kidney cell line derived from human adult kidney (37). To establish a human renal proximal cell model to study the mechanism by which PTH and high [Ca2+]e influences VDR gene expression, HK-2 cells were further stably transfected with human PTHR1 and selected in G418 and made a stable clone (HK-2G) to study VDR and CYP27B1 expression in response to PTH (14). Cells were maintained in DMEM/F12 medium (Invitrogen) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% penicillin/streptomycin and grown at 37 °C in a humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere. Cells were passaged every 4–5 days with 0.05% Versene and used for experimentation within 10 passages. Experiments were started by switching the medium to non-supplemented synthetic Ketatinocyte serum-free medium (Invitrogen) containing a minimal calcium concentration (0.02 mM), and antibiotics. In this medium, the cells could be manipulated with changes in calcium concentration. No effect on cell growth or viability during the experimental periods used were observed at concentrations of [Ca2+]e at or below 3 mM. Treatments were as described in figure legends using calcium chloride as the active agent for [Ca2+]e delivery. In addition to HK-2G cells, the study used the human proximal cell line HKC-8 obtained from Dr. Loraine Racusen, murine proximal MPCT and distal DKC-9 cells provided by Dr. Peter Friedman and human MG-63 osteosarcoma cells purchased from the ATCC.
Transfection and Luciferase Assay—For transient transfection experiments, HK-2G cells were seeded in 6-well dishes in DMEM/F12 plus 10% fetal bovine serum (1.5 x 105 cells/well,
80% confluent) and incubated overnight. The next day cells were transfected with 1 µg of hVDR promoter fused to luciferase (from Dr. Sylvia Christakos (38) and 500 ng of β-galactosidase and 4 µl of Lipofectamine (Invitrogen) in 1 ml of serum deficient DMEM/F12 per well. At 3 h post-transfection, media containing 10% fetal bovine serum replaced the transfection medium for the next 24 h. The following day, cells were serum-starved in DMEM/F12 overnight and pretreated for an hour with the MEK inhibitor, PD98059 (10 µM) or the p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580 or SB202190 (10 µM). Following incubations with the inhibitors, cells were treated with or without [Ca2+]e. Lysates for luciferase assays were extracted 6 h after Ca treatment. The cells were washed in phosphate-buffered saline and lysed in 150 µl of lysis buffer (1% Triton X-100, 15 mM MgSO4, 4 mM EGTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 25 mM glycyl-glycine) on ice. Extracted samples were subjected to a luciferase assay system (Promega, Madison, WI) in triplicate and measured using a luminometer (Applied Biosystem TR17, Foster City, CA). The β-galactosidase measurements were performed on a Spectramax plus 384 (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA). Luciferase activity was normalized to β-galactosidase activity.
For siRNA experiments, HK-2G cells were seeded in complete medium without antibiotics the day before the experiment in 6-well plates at a density of 1.5 x 105 cells per well on the day of the experiment. Cells were transfected with 100 nM SMARTpool PLUS siRNA, specifically targeting either CaSR or p38
, along with scrambled SMARTpool PLUS siControl (Dharmacon Inc., Lafayette, CA) using DharmaFECT 1 (Dharmacon Inc.) diluted in Opti-MEM I (Invitrogen) for 24 h. Transfectants were then incubated with fresh complete medium for a total time period of 48 or 72 h before protein extraction. For other experiments, siRNA transfected HK-2G cells were grown in complete medium for 48 h and serum-starved overnight, stimulated with or without [Ca2+]e for 12 h.
Immunoprecipitation—Cells were lysed in 1x lysis buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1% Triton X-100, 1 mM β-glycerophosphate, 1 mM Na3VO4, and 10 µg/ml protease inhibitor mixture as described previously (39) with slight modification. Briefly, aliquots of cleared lysates containing 1 mg total proteins were pre-cleared with protein A/G-agarose beads and incubated with 2 µg of p38, p38
, p38β, phospho-p38 antibodies overnight with gentle rocking at 4 °C. Immune complexes were precipitated with protein A/G-agarose beads. For other experiments, protein lysates were incubated with immobilized phospho-p38 MAPK (Thr180/Tyr182) mouse mAb beads overnight, and immune complexes containing beads were isolated by centrifugation. Washed and precipitated protein/bead complexes were boiled with 2x SDS sample buffer and spun down the beads. The sample was loaded without beads on a 10% SDS-PAGE for Western blot analysis.
Western Blot Analysis—For the determination of ERK1/2 and p38 phosphorylation and VDR protein regulation, monolayers of HK-2G cells were grown on 6-well plates up to 80–90% confluent. Cells were incubated for 18 h in serum-free DMEM/F12 medium with normal (1.2 mM) calcium. This medium was removed and replaced with same medium supplemented with a variable Ca concentration or the 3 mM [Ca2+]e treatment as outlined in each experiment. Inhibitors were treated an hour before [Ca2+]e treatment. At the end of incubation period, media was removed and the cells were washed with ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline and then lysed in MPER lysis buffer (Pierce) containing 10 µl/ml of protease inhibitor mixture (Pierce). Cell lysates were centrifuged at 14,000 x g to separate cell protein from cell debris. The soluble protein content was measured by a Bradford assay (Bio-Rad) and was stored at –70 °C. After thawing, the cell lysates were combined with an equal volume of Laemmli sample buffer (Bio-Rad) heated at 95 °C, and separated using a 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The separated proteins were transferred electrophoretically to nitrocellulose membranes (Bio-Rad). After transfer, the membranes were blocked with 5% powdered nonfat milk in TBST (20 mM Tris-HCl, 137 mM NaCl, and 0.05% Tween 20) pH 8.0 for 1 h at room temperature.
ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation and VDR induction were detected by immunoblotting using an overnight incubation with 1:1,000 dilution of rabbit/mouse monoclonal/polyclonal antiserum specific for phospho-ERK1/2, phospho-p38 MAPK and VDR. Blots were then washed in TBST 4 times for 10 min each at room temperature and then incubated at 1:10,000 for 1 h with Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) diluted in 5% nonfat milk in TBST. The membranes were washed with TBST again four times for 10 min each. After washing the membranes, bands were visualized by chemiluminescence according to the manufacturer's protocol for SuperSignal West Pico detection (Pierce). The same membrane was used after 30 min stripping for determination of β-tubulin band as loading control.
Statistical Analysis—Results were expressed as the mean ± S.E., and significance was determined by analysis with two tailed Student's t test. Values sharing the superscript are significant at p < 0.05.
|
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
High [Ca2+]e Activates Phosphorylation of ERK1/2 MAPK in HK-2G Cells—It has been shown that high levels of [Ca2+]e causes rapid protein tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of ERK1/2 in both primary cells of the parathyroid gland and HEK-293 cells transfected with CaSR (33). The MAPKs are pleiotropic regulators of numerous cellular activities. It was our interest to examine the involvement of MAPKs in high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells, in which CaSR was found to be endogenously expressed. To identify the signal transduction pathways involved in VDR up-regulation, we first examined whether ERK1/2 is phosphorylated by high [Ca2+]e in HK-2G cells. Fig. 2 showed that high [Ca2+]e increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in a time (Fig. 2A) and dose-dependent manner (Fig. 2C), as assayed by use of a phospho-ERK1/2 specific polyclonal antibody. Fig. 2, B and D depict the fold increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the time and dose-dependent experiments. The results of this experiment demonstrated that 3mM [Ca2+]e caused a rapid activation of pERK1/2
2.5-fold at 10 min, which remain elevated at 30 min. However, [Ca2+]e treatment of 4 mM and higher affected cell viability.
High [Ca2+]e Stimulates Phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in HK-2G Cells—It was previously shown that high [Ca2+]e (4.5 mM) or addition of the polycationic CaSR agonists, gadolinium (Gd3+) (25 µM), or neomycin (300 µM) or spermine (1 mM), each can stimulate phosphorylation of both ERK1/2 and p38 MAPKs, but not JNK, as assessed using phosphospecific antibodies to the respective MAPKs in mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cell line (40). Therefore, we next examined whether p38 MAPK was activated by high [Ca2+]e in HK-2G cells. Fig. 3 showed that high [Ca2+]e increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in a time (Fig. 3, A and B) and dose-dependent manner (Fig. 3, C and D), as assayed by use of a phospho-p38 MAPK specific polyclonal antibody. The results demonstrate that 3 mM [Ca2+]e treatment caused a rapid and cyclical activation of p38 MAPK
2–3-fold at 0.5 min that subsided at 1 min and rose again at 5 and 10 min time intervals (Fig. 3, A and B). Fig. 3, C and D demonstrate that 2–3 mM of [Ca2+]e elicited a highly significant increase in p38 MAPK phosphorylation (p < 0.001), while the effect at 4 mM of [Ca2+]e was abrogated.
|
|
Next, to confirm further that VDR activated by high [Ca2+]e directly involves the p38 MAPK pathway, a similar experiment was done using the selective inhibitor of the p38 MAPK pathway, SB203580. The results of this experiment demonstrated that pretreatment of the SB203580 inhibitor abolished [Ca2+]e-mediated activation of phospho-p38, and furthermore diminished high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells (Fig. 4C). These results clearly indicate the involvment of the p38 MAPK pathway in [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells. To check if this regulation also occurs at the level of transcription of VDR, transfection experiments were done with minus 1500 to plus 60 bp (–1500/+60) of the hVDR promoter fused to a luciferase gene (38) and subjected to the same treatments. Luciferase assay results revealed that pretreatment of SB203580 had a significant inhibitory effect both alone and further on high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR gene expression (Fig. 4D). These data plainly demonstrate that high [Ca2+]e activates multiple MAPKs, but only activation of p38 MAPK is involved in VDR up-regulation, which occurred at the level of VDR gene transcription in HK-2G cells.
Phosphorylation of MKK3/6 and ATF2 by High [Ca2+]e in HK-2G Cells—To demonstrate the involvement of p38 MAPK pathway in high [Ca2+]e mediated up-regulation of VDR in HK-2G cells, we investigated additional upstream and downstream signals to p38 MAPK in this experiment. We tested whether the effect of high [Ca2+]e involves phosphorylation of MAP kinase kinase-3/6 (MKK3/6) and activation of the transcription factor ATF2. Fig. 5, A and B demonstrate that MKK3/6 was phosphorylated quickly at 30 s, reached its maximum at 1 min and declined at 5 min, activated again at 10 min and declined at 30 min following high [Ca2+]e treatment. Results also show that ATF2, a downstream effector molecule of p38 MAPK activation, had detectable phosphorylation at 0.5 min and sustained this elevated state of phosphorylation out to 10 min (Fig. 5, C and D).
CaSR Is Involved in High [Ca2+]e-mediated Up-regulation of VDR in HK-2G Cells—In a previous study it was observed that HK-2G cells express CaSR endogenously, and we showed that VDR could be increased in these cells by treatment of 20 mM gadolinium (Gd3+) (14). Western blot results confirm that the CaSR agonist, Gd3+, dose-dependently activates VDR in HK-2G cells (Fig. 6A).
|
|
siCaSR Abrogates High [Ca2+]e-mediated Up-regulation of VDR in HK-2G Cells—To test for a mediatory role of the CaSR in activating VDR, we used different approaches to down-regulate endogenous expression of CaSR in HK-2G cells. Endogenous CaSR expression was significantly down regulated by transfection with SMARTpool PLUS siRNA specifically targeting CaSR as demonstrated by Western blot analysis with anti-CaSR antibodies in Fig. 7A. A time course experiment showed that 72 h of treatment of siCaSR had a down-regulation effect of
70% of endogenous CaSR expression compared with a siControl. To further confirm that VDR activation was mediated by CaSR, we examined the effects of siCaSR on VDR both in presence and absence of high [Ca2+]e treatment. The results in Fig. 7B demonstrated that high [Ca2+]e stimulates VDR in wild type as well as by a scrambled siControl construct transfected in HK-2G cells, and furthermore, siCaSR dramatically diminished up-regulation of VDR mediated by high [Ca2+]e treatment.
Accordingly, as it was observed that gadolinium potently induced VDR up-regulation via CaSR (Fig. 6A), it was confirmed that the gadolinium-mediated VDR up-regulation could also be diminished by knocking down CaSR using siRNA targeting CaSR. Fig. 7C clearly demonstrates that VDR induction was profoundly inhibited when endogenous expression of CaSR in HK-2G cells was knocked-down compared with a scrambled siControl treatment. Surprisingly, down-regulation of endogenous expression of CaSR caused an increase in phosphorylation of ERK1/2, that we were not able to explain.
Activation of p38
Not p38β MAPK Associated with High [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR Up-regulation in HK-2G Cells—To further confirm that high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells is associated with activation of specific isoform of p38 MAPK, we used a selective p38
and p38β MAPK specific pharmacological agent, SB202190 (42). Results demonstrated that pretreatment of this agent completely abolished [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells (Fig. 8A), indicating that activation of one or both p38
and p38β MAPK isoforms are involved in [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation. Additional experiments were done to determine if a specific single isoform of p38 MAPK is activated in response to high [Ca2+]e in HK-2G cells. Total p38 MAPK was first immunoprecipitated with a pan p38 antibody, and immunoblotted with antibodies specific for p38
and p38β (Fig. 8B). This showed that HK-2G cells expressed both isoforms of p38 and [Ca2+]e treatment did not affect the total level of either p38
or p38β. The increase in p38
phosphorylation in high [Ca2+]e-activated cells was confirmed by immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies against p38
or p38β and subsequent immunoblot analysis with phospho-p38 antibody (Fig. 8C). We further confirmed that high [Ca2+]e treatment can induce the specific activation of p38
MAPK in HK-2G cells. In this experiment, total phospho-p38 was immunoprecipitated using immobilized phospho-p38 MAPK (Thr180/Tyr182) mouse mAb followed by an immunoblot with antibodies specific for p38
and p38β (Fig. 8D). These data clearly demonstrated that high [Ca2+]e treatment activates p38
, but not p38β MAPK and that this activation of p38
is linked to up-regulation of VDR HK-2G cells.
|
|
MAPK Abrogates High [Ca2+]e-mediated Up-regulation VDR in HK-2G Cells—To elucidate the regulation of VDR signaling by p38
MAPK isoforms in HK-2G cells, we inhibited p38
expression by using siRNA. High [Ca2+]e does not affect the level of total p38
in siControl cells, but expression of total p38
was abrogated in si-p38
-treated cells (Fig. 8E, middle panel). As expected, high [Ca2+]e-mediated up-regulation of VDR was inhibited in si-p38
-treated cells (Fig. 8E). These data illustrate that activation of p38
, not p38β MAPK, is associated with high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells. | DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
It is also well established that 1,25(OH)2D3 activates its own break down by induction of CYP24 expression (30) and simultaneously down-regulation of CYP27B1 expression (30, 46). The molecular details of these events are just beginning to unfold, but both of these effects by 1,25(OH)2D3 require VDR (47). In the case of CYP27B1, the regulation by 1,25(OH)2D3 might be indirect because a classical VDRE is absent in the first 1500 bp of CYP27B1 promoter, while suppressive effects on this promoter segment still occur via ligand-mediated transrepression via a novel negative VDRE (48). The mechanism for the transrepressive regulation appears to involve recruitment of acetylated histones and methylation (49). The phosphaturic molecule, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), is a secondary repressive mechanism on CYP27B1, where FGF-23 induction from bone tissue is under 1,25(OH)2D3 control (50). Based on this finding and the data of this study, Ca/VDR/1,25(OH)2D3 and FGF-23 represent distinct mechanisms for controlling CYP27B1. Whether or not [Ca2+]e can directly repress CYP27B1 will require more data.
|
Importantly, the concentration of [Ca2+]e used to study signaling and VDR induction in HK-2G cells was within the physiological range of 3 mM indicating that activation of CaSR was likely. Furthermore, use of calcium channel blockers did not preclude the [Ca2+]e-mediated regulation of VDR (data not shown), strengthening the hypothesis for CaSR involvement. CaSR activation in other cell models has been demonstrated to result in ERK phosphorylation that is tied to effects of [Ca2+]e on targets in the central nervous system and cell survival and proliferation (53–56). Thus, it was reasonable to examine this signaling pathway in the context of VDR regulation. The results in Figs. 3 and 5 demonstrate that [Ca2+]e-mediated ERK phosphorylation does occur in the HK-2G cells, but blocking ERK phosphorylation failed to confirm it plays a direct role in VDR up-regulation, as was the case with p38 phosphorylation. Nevertheless, ERK phosphorylation seems to have some involvement with regulating HK-2G cell VDR levels since levels of phospho-ERK are dramatically increased when CaSR is knocked-down by siRNA treatment (Fig. 8). We also acquired data (not shown) indicating an up-regulation of VDR promoter in the presence of the PD98059 inhibitor of phospho-ERK, but these results cannot be explained in the framework of the present study.
The most significant effect of [Ca2+]e in the HK-2G model was rapid and highly significant phosphoactivation of p38 that was critical to the induction of VDR (see Figs. 3C and 4D). Numerous reports also demonstrate the ability of CaSR activation to lead to an increase of phospho-p38 (56–58) that results in changes in PTHrP release during humoral hypercalcemia, for example. As well, the repression of VDR promoter activity by treatment with SB203580 emphasizes an important role of phospho-p38 to maintain constitutive VDR expression in the HK-2G cell type. We further dissected the p38 MAPK signaling in regulating high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR up-regulation in HK-2G cells. Using another specific pharmacological inhibitor that affects both p38
, p38β isoforms, SB202190; and using an siRNA specifically targeting p38
, we demonstrated that p38
, not the p38β MAPK, is involved in high [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR regulation in HK-2G cells.
SB inhibitors are pyridinyl immidazole compounds have been widely used in investigation of the biological function of p38 MAPK (30). These compounds are also well known for their ability to inhibit TGFβ receptor activation (59). TGFβ is an important regulator of 1,25(OH)2D3-mediated VDR transactivation on target genes (60). SB203580 belongs to a class of pyridinyl imidazoles that inhibits the stress-activated protein (SAP) kinases SAPK2a/p38 and SAPK2b/p38 beta 2 but not other mitogen-activated protein kinase family members. As with inhibitors of other protein kinases, SB203580 binds in the ATP-binding pocket of SAPK2a/p38
. The type I TGFβ receptor, which has serine at the position equivalent to Thr106 of SAPK2a/p38
and SAPK2b/p38β, is inhibited by SB203580. In the present study, 1,25(OH)2D3 effects were not studied and treatment of HK-2G cells with the SB inhibitors was only used to demonstrate the involvement of p38 in [Ca2+]e-mediated increase in VDR. Control of this effect by [Ca2+]e was confirmed to involve transcriptional regulation of VDR itself. We showed that activation of the upstream intermediate of p38, MKK3/6, and p38-mediated downstream transcriptional control by ATF2 were both involved. Thus, we can rule out the interference of TGFβ in [Ca2+]e-mediated VDR gene expression.
During this study, we did not have access to pharmaceutical CaSR inhibitors or the CaSR mimetic drugs; we therefore used siRNA to knock down CaSR expression to examine its intermediary effect on VDR induction. A SMARTpool PLUS siRNA specifically and effectively targeted the CaSR in HK-2G cells and dramatically inhibited CaSR protein expression. This molecular tool, which includes a combination of 3 siRNA constructs, was successfully utilized to demonstrate the involvement of CaSR in both the Ga3+- and [Ca2+]e-mediated inductions of VDR in proximal cells, respectively (see Fig. 7C). Further study will be needed to determine which actual si-construct(s) was responsible for the interference signal against CaSR. A recent report published by Rodriguez et al., (61) demonstrated a positive inductive action of the calcimimetic R-568 on VDR levels in the parathyroid gland (PTG). Given that Garfia et al., (62) have shown a positive correlation of PTG VDR with exposure to [Ca2+]e in the PTG and an inverse regulation of VDR with blood PTH in PTG, it is now plausible to predict that the proximal convoluted tubule and the PTG share common effecters for coupling of G-protein, respectively, for Ca and PTH signaling in these cell types. These findings provide strong rationale for the use of potent calcimimetic drugs that specifically target the CaSR for treatment of chronic kidney disease and severe secondary hyperparathyroidism. Caution should be applied if it can be determined that CaSR activation leads to weakened 1,25(OH)2D3 responsiveness in distal convoluted tubules, bone cells and extrarenal tissues where [Ca2+]e signaling may decrease cellular VDR concentrations (see Fig. 1). Osteoblasts were previously reported to express functional CaSR, and also to sense fluctuations in local [Ca2+]e resulting in induced osteoblast activity (63).
Additionally, the present study indicates that the CaSR utilizes Gq/11 for coupling to its major signaling pathways. The data in Fig. 7 demonstrated that knocking down endogenous CaSR, resulted in suppression of VDR in response to high [Ca2+]e, while activating CaSR with gadolinium, a known polycationic agonist of CaSR, increased VDR protein levels. This confirms a direct role of CaSR to mediate [Ca2+]e induced up-regulation of VDR in proximal kidney cells. Thus in a high [Ca2+]e condition (Fig. 9), CaSR couples to the Gq/11 system, leading to PLC activation and phosphorylation of p38
MAPK, which in turn may activate ATF2 to promote the gene expression of VDR. This last step is currently under investigation (Fig. 9).
|
MAPK. The data herein demonstrate that CaSR signaling is key to the mechanism of VDR increase in HK-2G cells. Our data suggest that serum [Ca2+]e concentrations may be counter-regulatory to actions of PTH in renal proximal cells. | FOOTNOTES |
|---|
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Biochemistry, VA Commonwealth University, 1112 E. Clay St., Richmond, VA 23298. Tel.: 804-628-0225; Fax: 804-828-1532; E-mail: mjbeckma{at}vcu.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: PTH, parathyroid hormone; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; DMEM, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium; PLC, phospholipase C; PTX, pertussis toxin; CaSR, calcium sensing receptor. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
Z. Saidak, R. Mentaverri, and E. M. Brown The Role of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor in the Development and Progression of Cancer Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2009; 30(2): 178 - 195. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. Li, C. Wang, Y. Wu, X. Liu, and X. Cao Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II Promotes Cell Cycle Progression by Directly Activating MEK1 and Subsequently Modulating p27 Phosphorylation J. Biol. Chem., January 30, 2009; 284(5): 3021 - 3027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| All ASBMB Journals | Molecular and Cellular Proteomics |
| Journal of Lipid Research | ASBMB Today |