A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation

Efficient mechanotransduction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is intimately coupled to physical coupling of the cell to extracellular matrix proteins (ECM) by integrins. Integrin adhesion receptors are essential for normal vascular function and defective integrin signaling is associated with...

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Main Authors: Huang Huang, Zhe Sun, Michael A. Hill, Gerald A. Meininger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Physiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2018.01810/full
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author Huang Huang
Zhe Sun
Michael A. Hill
Gerald A. Meininger
author_facet Huang Huang
Zhe Sun
Michael A. Hill
Gerald A. Meininger
author_sort Huang Huang
collection DOAJ
description Efficient mechanotransduction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is intimately coupled to physical coupling of the cell to extracellular matrix proteins (ECM) by integrins. Integrin adhesion receptors are essential for normal vascular function and defective integrin signaling is associated with cardiovascular disease. However, less is known about the mechanism of integrin activation in VSMCs in relation to vasoregulation. Our laboratory previously demonstrated that the vasoconstrictor Angiotensin II increases VSMC stiffness in concert with enhanced adhesion to fibronectin (FN), indicating an important role for adhesion in contraction. However, the mechanism of this coordination remains to be clarified. In this study, intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was hypothesized to link integrin activation through inside-out signaling pathways leading to enhanced adhesion in response to AII. By using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with an anti-α5 antibody coated AFM probe, we confirmed that cell stiffness was increased by AII, while we observed no change in adhesion to an α5 integrin antibody. This indicated that increases in cell adhesion to FN induced by AII were occurring through an integrin activation process, as increased membrane integrin expression/receptor density would have been accompanied by increased adhesion to the anti-α5 antibody. Further studies were performed using either KCl or BAPTA-AM to modulate the level of [Ca2+]i. After KCl, VSMCs showed a rapid transient increase in cell stiffness as well as cell adhesion to FN, and these two events were synchronized with superimposed transient increases in the level of [Ca2+]i, which was measured using the Ca2+ indicator, fluo-4. These relationships were unaffected in VSMCs pretreated with the myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, ML-7. In contrast, unstimulated VSMCs incubated with an intracellular calcium chelator, BAPTA-AM, showed reduced cell adhesion to FN as well the expected decrease in [Ca2+]i. These data suggest that in VSMCs, integrin activation is linked to signaling events tied to levels of [Ca2+]i while being less dependent on events at the level of contractile protein activation. These findings provide additional evidence to support a role for adhesion in VSMC contraction and suggest that following cell contractile activation, that adhesion may be regulated in tandem with the contractile event.
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spelling doaj.art-e3a6c3b562864a56bf66ccc0ea14a1a12022-12-21T20:44:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2018-12-01910.3389/fphys.2018.01810361859A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl ActivationHuang HuangZhe SunMichael A. HillGerald A. MeiningerEfficient mechanotransduction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is intimately coupled to physical coupling of the cell to extracellular matrix proteins (ECM) by integrins. Integrin adhesion receptors are essential for normal vascular function and defective integrin signaling is associated with cardiovascular disease. However, less is known about the mechanism of integrin activation in VSMCs in relation to vasoregulation. Our laboratory previously demonstrated that the vasoconstrictor Angiotensin II increases VSMC stiffness in concert with enhanced adhesion to fibronectin (FN), indicating an important role for adhesion in contraction. However, the mechanism of this coordination remains to be clarified. In this study, intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was hypothesized to link integrin activation through inside-out signaling pathways leading to enhanced adhesion in response to AII. By using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with an anti-α5 antibody coated AFM probe, we confirmed that cell stiffness was increased by AII, while we observed no change in adhesion to an α5 integrin antibody. This indicated that increases in cell adhesion to FN induced by AII were occurring through an integrin activation process, as increased membrane integrin expression/receptor density would have been accompanied by increased adhesion to the anti-α5 antibody. Further studies were performed using either KCl or BAPTA-AM to modulate the level of [Ca2+]i. After KCl, VSMCs showed a rapid transient increase in cell stiffness as well as cell adhesion to FN, and these two events were synchronized with superimposed transient increases in the level of [Ca2+]i, which was measured using the Ca2+ indicator, fluo-4. These relationships were unaffected in VSMCs pretreated with the myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, ML-7. In contrast, unstimulated VSMCs incubated with an intracellular calcium chelator, BAPTA-AM, showed reduced cell adhesion to FN as well the expected decrease in [Ca2+]i. These data suggest that in VSMCs, integrin activation is linked to signaling events tied to levels of [Ca2+]i while being less dependent on events at the level of contractile protein activation. These findings provide additional evidence to support a role for adhesion in VSMC contraction and suggest that following cell contractile activation, that adhesion may be regulated in tandem with the contractile event.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2018.01810/fullintegrinsfibronectincalciumvascular smooth musclecell adhesioncell stiffness
spellingShingle Huang Huang
Zhe Sun
Michael A. Hill
Gerald A. Meininger
A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation
Frontiers in Physiology
integrins
fibronectin
calcium
vascular smooth muscle
cell adhesion
cell stiffness
title A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation
title_full A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation
title_fullStr A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation
title_full_unstemmed A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation
title_short A Calcium Mediated Mechanism Coordinating Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Adhesion During KCl Activation
title_sort calcium mediated mechanism coordinating vascular smooth muscle cell adhesion during kcl activation
topic integrins
fibronectin
calcium
vascular smooth muscle
cell adhesion
cell stiffness
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2018.01810/full
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AT zhesun acalciummediatedmechanismcoordinatingvascularsmoothmusclecelladhesionduringkclactivation
AT michaelahill acalciummediatedmechanismcoordinatingvascularsmoothmusclecelladhesionduringkclactivation
AT geraldameininger acalciummediatedmechanismcoordinatingvascularsmoothmusclecelladhesionduringkclactivation
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AT zhesun calciummediatedmechanismcoordinatingvascularsmoothmusclecelladhesionduringkclactivation
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