Intracellular pathways of calcitonin gene‐related peptide‐induced relaxation of human coronary arteries: A key role for Gβγ subunit instead of cAMP

Tessa de Vries, Sieneke Labruijere, Eduardo Rivera‐Mancilla, Ingrid M. Garrelds, René de Vries, Dennis Schutter, Antoon van den Bogaerdt, David R. Poyner, Graham Ladds, A. H. Jan Danser, Antoinette MaassenVanDenBrink*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) is a potent vasodilator. While its signalling is assumed to be mediated via increases in cAMP, this study focused on elucidating the actual intracellular signalling pathways involved in CGRP‐induced relaxation of human isolated coronary arteries (HCA). Experimental Approach: HCA were obtained from heart valve donors (27 M, 25 F, age 54 ± 2 years). Concentration–response curves to human α‐CGRP or forskolin were constructed in HCA segments, incubated with different inhibitors of intracellular signalling pathways, and intracellular cAMP levels were measured with and without stimulation. Results: Adenylyl cyclase (AC) inhibitors SQ22536 + DDA and MDL‐12330A, and PKA inhibitors Rp‐8‐Br‐cAMPs and H89, did not inhibit CGRP‐induced relaxation of HCA, nor did the guanylyl cyclase inhibitor ODQ, PKG inhibitor KT5823, EPAC1/2 inhibitor ESI09, potassium channel blockers TRAM‐34 + apamin, iberiotoxin or glibenclamide, or the Gαq inhibitor YM‐254890. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors induced a concentration‐dependent decrease in the response to KCl but did not potentiate relaxation to CGRP. Relaxation to forskolin was not blocked by PKA or AC inhibitors, although AC inhibitors significantly inhibited the increase in cAMP. Inhibition of Gβγ subunits using gallein significantly inhibited the relaxation to CGRP in human coronary arteries. Conclusion: While CGRP signalling is generally assumed to act via cAMP, the CGRP‐induced vasodilation in HCA was not inhibited by targeting this intracellular signalling pathway at different levels. Instead, inhibition of Gβγ subunits did inhibit the relaxation to CGRP, suggesting a different mechanism of CGRP‐induced relaxation than generally believed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2478-2491
Number of pages14
JournalBritish Journal of Pharmacology
Volume181
Issue number15
Early online date7 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 7 Apr 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.

Data Access Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the
corresponding author upon reasonable request. Some data may not
be made available because of privacy or ethical restrictions

Keywords

  • cAMP
  • signalling
  • CGRP
  • vasodilation
  • GPCR

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