Presynaptic stimulus-release and postsynaptic compensatory changes in mice lacking the N-type calcium channel alpha sub(1B)-subunit

• Published in: Autonomic neuroscience 2011-02, Vol.160 (1-2), p.9-15
• Main Authors: Petrashevskaya, Natalia N, Ishii, Masakazu, D'Souza, Karen, Koch, Sheryl E, Fuller-Bicer, Geraldine A, Schwartz, Arnold
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1566-0702
• DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2010.09.007

N-type (Ca sub(v)2.2) voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) play an important role in presynaptic neurotransmitter release in the autonomic nervous system and may be clinically relevant in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The physiological impact of N-type VDCC ablation on cardiac function, stimulus-release coupling and cardiac autonomic regulation was studied using mice deficient in the alpha sub(1B) subunit of the N-type channel (N-type-/-).The positive inotropic effect (increase in + dP/dt) secondary to high frequency field stimulation (HFFS), mediated by the sympathetic nervous system, was decreased by 33 +/- 12.6% in N-type-/- versus 89 +/- 11.4% in Wild-Type (WT)(P < 0.01), whereas the negative inotropic response (decrease in + dP/dt) following HFFS in the presence of propranolol, mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system, was similar to that in Wild-type (WT) animals 34 +/- 5.0% and 35 +/- 5.4%, respectively. There were no changes in the postsynaptic beta -adrenergic responsiveness, beta -adrenoreceptor density or adenylyl cyclase activity. N-type-/- hearts demonstrated an increased contractile response to alpha sub(1)-adrenoreceptor ( alpha sub(1)-ADR) stimulation with 10 super(-5) M phenylephrine in the presence of the beta -blocker propranolol, which might be attributed to an increased expression of PLC beta 1. Protein abundance of other signal transducers for alpha sub(1) ADR transduction protein was not changed in the N-type-/- hearts. These results suggest that selective impairment of sympathetic inflow does not modulate postsynaptic beta -adrenergic responsiveness, but causes increased functional response to alpha sub(1)-adrenergic stimulation.