Zuo-Liang Xiao

CCK receptor dysfunction in muscle membranes from human gallbladders with cholesterol stones

Human gallbladders with cholesterol stones exhibit impaired muscle contraction induced by agonists that act on transmembrane receptors, increased membrane cholesterol content, and abnormal cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratio compared with those with pigment stones. The present study was designed to investigate the functions of the CCK receptor of gallbladder muscle membranes by radioreceptor assay and cross-linking.125I-labeled CCK-8 binding was time-dependent, competitive, and specific. Scatchard analysis showed that the maximum specific binding (Bmax) was significantly decreased in cholesterol compared with pigment stone gallbladders (0.18 ± 0.07 vs. 0.38 ± 0.05 pmol/mg protein, P < 0.05). In contrast, the affinity for CCK was higher in cholesterol than pigment stone gallbladders (0.18 ± 0.06 vs. 1.2 ± 0.23 nM). Similar results were observed in binding studies with the CCK-A receptor antagonist [3H]L-364,718. Cross-linking and saturation binding studies also showed significantly less CCK binding in gallbladders with cholesterol stones. These abnormalities were reversible after incubation with cholesterol-free liposomes. The Bmax increased ( P < 0.01) and the dissociation constant decreased ( P < 0.001) after incubation with cholesterol-free liposomes. In conclusion, human gallbladders with cholesterol stones have impaired CCK receptor binding compared with those with pigment stones. These changes are reversed by removal of the excess membrane cholesterol. These receptor alterations may contribute to the defective contractility of the gallbladder muscle in patients with cholesterol stones.Human gallbladders with cholesterol stones exhibit impaired muscle contraction induced by agonists that act on transmembrane receptors, increased membrane cholesterol content, and abnormal cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratio compared with those with pigment stones. The present study was designed to investigate the functions of the CCK receptor of gallbladder muscle membranes by radioreceptor assay and cross-linking. 125I-labeled CCK-8 binding was time-dependent, competitive, and specific. Scatchard analysis showed that the maximum specific binding (Bmax) was significantly decreased in cholesterol compared with pigment stone gallbladders (0.18 +/- 0. 07 vs. 0.38 +/- 0.05 pmol/mg protein, P < 0.05). In contrast, the affinity for CCK was higher in cholesterol than pigment stone gallbladders (0.18 +/- 0.06 vs. 1.2 +/- 0.23 nM). Similar results were observed in binding studies with the CCK-A receptor antagonist [3H]L-364,718. Cross-linking and saturation binding studies also showed significantly less CCK binding in gallbladders with cholesterol stones. These abnormalities were reversible after incubation with cholesterol-free liposomes. The Bmax increased (P < 0.01) and the dissociation constant decreased (P < 0.001) after incubation with cholesterol-free liposomes. In conclusion, human gallbladders with cholesterol stones have impaired CCK receptor binding compared with those with pigment stones. These changes are reversed by removal of the excess membrane cholesterol. These receptor alterations may contribute to the defective contractility of the gallbladder muscle in patients with cholesterol stones.

Signal transduction pathways mediating CCK-induced gallbladder muscle contraction

The signal transduction that mediates CCK-induced contraction of gallbladder muscle was investigated in the cat. Contraction was measured by scanning micrometry in single muscle cells isolated enzymatically with collagenase. Production ofd- myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) was quantitated using HPLC and TLC, respectively. Protein kinase C (PKC) activity was determined by measuring the phosphorylation of a specific substrate peptide from myelin basic protein, Ac-MBP-(4-14). CCK-induced contraction was blocked by incubation in strontium medium, pertussis toxin (PTx), and antibodies against Giα3or βγ-subunits but was not blocked by Ca2+-free medium or by antibodies against Gq/11α, Giα1-2, or Goα. The contraction induced by CCK was inhibited by the phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor U-73122, anti-PLC-β3 antibody, and the IP3 receptor antagonist heparin but was not inhibited by the the phospholipase D inhibitor propranolol or antibodies against PLC-β1 or PLC-β2. Western blot analysis of gallbladder muscle revealed the presence of PLC-β2 and PLC-β3 but not PLC-β1. CCK caused a 94% increase in IP3 generation and an 86% increase in DAG generation. A low dose of CCK caused PKC translocation, and CCK-induced contraction was blocked by the PKC inhibitor H-7. A high dose of CCK, however, caused no PKC translocation, and its contraction was blocked by the calmodulin antagonist CGS9343B. In conclusion, CCK contracts cat gallbladder muscle by stimulating PTx-sensitive Gi 3 protein coupled with PLC-β3, producing IP3 and DAG. Low doses activate PKC, whereas high doses activate calmodulin.

Effects of bile acids on the muscle functions of guinea pig gallbladder

Hydrophobic bile acids impair gallbladder emptying in vivo and inhibit gallbladder muscle contraction in response to CCK-8 in vitro. This study was aimed at determining the mechanisms of muscle cell dysfunction caused by bile acids in guinea pig gallbladders. Muscle cells were obtained by enzymatic digestion. Taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDC), a hydrophobic bile acid, caused a contraction of up to 15% and blocked CCK-induced contraction. Indomethacin abolished the TCDC-induced contraction. Hydrophilic bile acid tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDC) had no effect on muscle contraction but prevented the TCDC-induced contraction and its inhibition on CCK-induced contraction. Pretreatment with NADPH oxidase inhibitor PH2I, xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol, and free-radical scavenger catalase also prevented TCDC-induced contraction and its inhibition of the CCK-induced contraction. TCDC caused H2O2 production, lipid peroxidation, and increased PGE2 synthesis and activities of catalase and SOD. These changes were significantly inhibited by pretreatment of PH2I or allopurinol. Inhibitors of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), protein kinase C (PKC), and mitogen-activating protein kinase (MAPK) also blocked the TCDC-induced contraction. It is concluded that hydrophobic bile acids cause muscle cell dysfunction by stimulating the formation of H2O2 via activation of NADPH and xanthine oxidase. H2O2 causes lipid peroxidation and activates cPLA2 to increase PGE2 production, which, in turn, stimulates the synthesis of free-radical scavengers through the PKC-MAPK pathway.

PAF-like lipids and PAF induced gallbladder (GB) muscle contraction are mediated by different pathways in guinea pigs

H2O2 stimulates gallbladder muscle contraction and scavengers of free radicals through the generation of PGE2. Oxidative stress causes lipid peroxidation and generation of platelet-activating factor (PAF) or PAF-like lipids. The present studies therefore were aimed at determining whether either one induced by H2O2 mediates the increased generation of PGE2. Dissociated muscle cells of guinea pig gallbladder were obtained by enzymatic digestion. Both PAF-like lipids and PAF-induced muscle contraction was blocked by the PAF receptor antagonist CV-3988. This antagonist also blocked the increased PGE2 production caused by PAF-like lipids or PAF. Actions of PAF-like lipids were completely inhibited by indomethacin, but those of PAF were only partially reduced by indomethacin or by nordihydroguaiaretic acid and completely blocked by their combination. PAF-like lipids-induced contraction was inhibited by AACOCF3 (cystolic phospholipase A2 inhibitor), whereas the actions of PAF were blocked by MJ33 (secretory phospholipase A2 inhibitor). Receptor protection studies showed that pretreatment with PAF-like lipids before N-ethylmaleimide protected the contraction induced by a second dose of PAF-like lipids or PGE2 but not by PAF. In contrast, pretreatment with PAF protected the actions of PAF and PGE2 but not that of PAF-like lipids. Both PAF-like lipids and PAF-induced contractions were inhibited by anti-Galphaq/11 antibody and by inhibitors of MAPK and PKC. In conclusion, PAF-like lipids seem to activate a pathway different from that of PAF probably by stimulating a different PAF receptor subtype.

Impaired muscle cytoprotection in human gallbladders with cholesterol stones

Background: The functional integrity of G protein coupling is a prerequisite for normal non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) relaxation of the rabbit sphincter of Oddi (SO), a mechanism previously shown to be essentially nitrergic. To fulfil their biological function, however, G proteins must undergo a post-translational farnesylation process that enables them to associate with the membrane. Aim: We sought to establish whether the inhibition of farnesylation by either a dietary cholesterol overload or 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) inhibition influences the NANC relaxation of the rabbit SO. Methods: SO muscle rings from normal (N) or from hypercholesterolaemic (HC) animals, with or without treatment with lovastatin, a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (5 mg/kg/day orally during 5 days) were tested for changes in isometric tension in response to electrical field stimulation (FS :50 V, 0.1 ms, 20 Hz, 30 stimuli) in the presence of atropine (I /LM) and guanethidine (4 /LM). Additionally, both HC and lovastatin-treated animals underwent supplementary treatment with farnesol (30 /LM/kg i.v. twice a day during 3 days). Results FS relaxed the muscle rings, with an increase in tissue cyclic GMP content, as measured by radioimmunoassay. Preparations from HC rabbits (1.5% dietary cholesterol over 8 weeks, increasing the serum total cholesterollevel from 1.6~0.4 to 19.6~3.7 mmol/l) exhibited contractions with no change in cGMP content under the same conditions. The relaxation response was recaptured, with an increase in tissue cGMP content in preparations from HC rabbits treated with farnesol in the last 3 days of the dietary period. The treatment with lovastatin deteriorated the nitrergic relaxation of the SO from N animals, similarly to that produced by hypercholesterolemia. Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that treatment with lovastatin blunts the NANC relaxation phenomenon in preparations from normal animals, whereas farnesol supplementation improves the NANC relaxation function of the SO from animals with hypercholesterolemia, a condition which deteriorates NANC relaxation by itself. We therefore conclude that a deficiency in protein prenylation resulting from either the diet or HMG-CoA inhibition impairs the relaxation function of the rabbit SO. This work was supported by grant from the National Research Fund (OTKA No. F029398).