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The prevalence of sleep apnea is very high in patients with heart failure (HF). The aims of this study were to investigate the influence of intermittent hypoxia (IH) on the failing heart and to evaluate the antioxidant effect of hydrogen gas. Normal male Syrian hamsters ( n = 22) and cardiomyopathic (CM) hamsters ( n = 33) were exposed to IH (repeated cycles of 1.5 min of 5% oxygen and 5 min of 21% oxygen for 8 h during the daytime) or normoxia for 14 days. Hydrogen gas (3.05 vol/100 vol) was inhaled by some CM hamsters during hypoxia. IH increased the ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to mitral annulus velocity (E/e′, 21.8 vs. 16.9) but did not affect the LV ejection fraction (EF) in normal Syrian hamsters. However, IH increased E/e′ (29.4 vs. 21.5) and significantly decreased the EF (37.2 vs. 47.2%) in CM hamsters. IH also increased the cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area (672 vs. 443 μm2) and interstitial fibrosis (29.9 vs. 9.6%), along with elevation of oxidative stress and superoxide production in the left ventricular (LV) myocardium. Furthermore, IH significantly increased the expression of brain natriuretic peptide, β-myosin heavy chain, c- fos, and c- jun mRNA in CM hamsters. Hydrogen gas inhalation significantly decreased both oxidative stress and embryonic gene expression, thus preserving cardiac function in CM hamsters. In conclusion, IH accelerated LV remodeling in CM hamsters, at least partly by increasing oxidative stress in the failing heart. These findings might explain the poor prognosis of patients with HF and sleep apnea.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) increases the activity of Na+/H+exchanger 3 (NHE3), the major proximal tubule apical membrane Na+/H+antiporter. This effect is seen in opossum kidney (OKP) cells expressing the endothelin-B (ETB) and not in cells expressing the endothelin-A (ETA) receptor. However, ET-1 causes similar patterns of protein tyrosine phosphorylation, adenylyl cyclase inhibition, and increases in cell [Ca2+] in ETA- and ETB-expressing OKP cells, implying that an additional mechanism is required for NHE3 stimulation by the ETBreceptor. The present studies used ETAand ETBreceptor chimeras and site-directed mutagenesis to identify the ET receptor domains that mediate ET-1 regulation of NHE3 activity. We found that binding of ET-1 to the ETAreceptor inhibits NHE3 activity, an effect for which the COOH-terminal tail is necessary and sufficient. ET-1 stimulation of NHE3 activity requires the COOH-terminal tail and the second intracellular loop of the ETBreceptor. Within the second intracellular loop, a consensus sequence was identified, KXXXVPKXXXV, that is required for ET-1 stimulation of NHE3 activity. This sequence suggests binding of a homodimeric protein that mediates NHE3 stimulation.

Cardiomyopathy is primary degenerative disease of myocardium, which leads to cardiac failure and lethal arrhythmia. An appropriate model animal of a particular disease is, in general, greatly helpful for better understanding of its pathogenesis. In 1962, a naturally occurring mutant line of Syrian hamster named BIO1.50 was reported, which inherited cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy as autosomal recessive mode with 100% penetrance. To date, several sublines of cardiomyopathic hamsters (CM hamsters) have been derived. The genomic deletion of delta-sarcoglycan, a member of dystrophin-associated proteins, was demonstrated to be the common genetic cause of CM hamsters in 1997. Over the past 40 years, hundreds of papers have been published on the pathophysiological aspects of CM hamsters. The aim of this paper is to annotate every one of the CM hamsters with its historical background and then summarize the previous findings on CM hamsters with special focus on electrical and ionic properties. This review article is expected to serve as a basis to build up a new paradigm for the pathogenesis of cardiac failure and severe arrhythmia.

1. Recombinant human ETA receptors were expressed in a mouse fibroblast cell line (Ltk- cell) and functional coupling of the receptors with Ca2+ permeable channels at low concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1) was investigated using whole-cell recordings and monitoring the changes in intracellular free Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) with a Ca2+ indicator, fluo-3. A similar type of coupling was investigated in freshly dispersed vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of rabbit thoracic aorta by use of whole-cell recordings. 2. In Ltk- cells expressing recombinant human ETA receptors, concentrations of ET-1 (10(-8) M, 10(-9) M) evoked an initial transient peak and a subsequent sustained elevation in [Ca2+]i whereas a lower concentration of ET-1 (10(-10) M) evoked only a sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i. After removal of extracellular Ca2+, ET-1 evoked only an initial peak without a sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i. The sustained elevation induced by 10(-10) M ET-1 was blocked by 300 microM mefenamic acid (a cation channel blocker) but not by 10 microM nifedipine (a blocker of voltage-operated Ca2+ channel). 3. In whole-cell recordings with Ltk- cells, a brief (3-5 min) application of ET-1 (10(-10) M) induced a sustained inward current at a holding potential of -60 mV. The current-voltage relationship revealed that the reversal potential of the ET-1-induced current was close to 0 mV (1.9 mV) and was not altered by reducing the concentration of Cl- in the bath solution, indicating that the current is carried by cations. The current was reversibly blocked by 300 microM mefenamic acid, and it persisted after all cations in the bath solution had been replaced by Ca2+ (5 or 30 mM) and nonpermeant cation N-methyl-D glucamine,indicating that the ET-1-activated channel is permeable to Ca2+. Activation of the current was independent of membrane potential and the current was induced even after addition of a high concentration (10 mM) of a Ca2+ chelator, EGTA, to the pipette solution.4. In whole-cell recordings from rabbit aortic VSMCs, ET-l (101-10 M) induced a sustained inward current at a holding potential of -60 mV. The reversal potential was - 12 mV and was not altered when the concentration of Cl- in the pipette solution was decreased, indicating that the current is carried by cations. Again activation of the current was independent of membrane potential and was observed even after addition of a high concentration (10 mM) of a Ca2+ chelator, EGTA to the pipette solution. The current was reversibly blocked by 300 microM mefenamic acid and was permeable to Ca2+,showing marked similarities to ET-1-induced cationic current in Ltk- cells.5. These results indicate that in Ltk- cells transfected with cDNA for recombinant ETA receptors andVSMCs, ETA receptors can functionally couple with a nonselective cation channel permeable to Ca2+.Thus the present data suggest that the cation channel plays an essential role in the sustained elevation of[Ca2+]i at low concentrations of ET-l by causing Ca2+ entry through the channel.

Abstract Endothelins exert potent excitatory cardiac effects by acting on specific receptors on myocytes. In this study, we have examined the signal transduction mechanism for the chronotropic effect of endothelins in guinea pig atria. A competition binding of [ 125 I]endothelin 1 ([ 125 I]ET-1) using the recently developed ET A receptor–selective antagonist BQ123 showed the presence of almost equal populations of ET A (44%) and ET B (56%) receptors in the guinea pig right atria. In a concentration-response study, endothelin 3 (ET-3), an agonist with higher affinity to ET B receptors than to ET A receptors, and sarafotoxin S6c (STXS6c), an ET B receptor–selective agonist, increased the rate of spontaneous beating at all concentrations tested (10 pmol/L to 100 nmol/L). In contrast, ET-1, a nonselective agonist, increased the heart rate at lower concentrations (10 pmol/L to 10 nmol/L) but decreased it at higher concentrations (30 to 100 nmol/L). When ET-1 (100 nmol/L) was applied in a single amount, heart rate was strongly increased; however, this increase was followed by a rapid decline in the response. ET-1 (100 nmol/L) but not ET-3 or STXS6c significantly reduced the heart rate when it was raised by isoproterenol (ISO, 300 nmol/L) either in the absence or presence of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). Correspondingly, ET-1 significantly reduced the ISO-induced elevation of cAMP accumulation (19.1±1.7 pmol/mg protein [n=8] and 12.6±1.2 pmol/mg protein [n=7] in the absence and presence of ET-1, respectively; P A receptors are involved in an inhibitory cardiac action of endothelins, which is coupled to a pertussis toxin–sensitive G protein/adenylate cyclase inhibition pathway. This ET A receptor–mediated inhibitory action gives new insights into understanding physiological and pathophysiological modulations of cardiac functions by endothelins.

Endothelin-l (ET-I) induces persistent vasoconstriction via a sustained increase in intracellular free Ca 2+ concentrations ([Ca 2+ ] i ). The mechanisms of the elevation of [Ca 2+ ] i operating at physiologically low concentrations of ET-1 are controversial. Here we report that both native ET A receptors in vascular smooth-muscle cells and recombinant ET A receptors expressed in mouse fibroblasts (Ltk cells) are functionally coupled with a nonselective cation channel, which is permeable to Ca 2+ and is blocked by mefenamic acid. The channel is persistently activated by a low concentration of ET-1 (10 -10 M) without stimulation of inositol triphosphate (IP 3 ) formation and mediates sustained vasoconstriction.

Recent cDNA cloning of pharmacological receptors revealed their primary structures, and the following functional studies with those cloned receptors enabled us to discover the existence of various receptor subtypes. Each receptor has three characteristics properties: 1) ligand binding, 2) effector coupling and 3) desensitization. Delineation of precise domains of a receptors involved in these functions is now an important matter. The molecular mapping of receptors would give us not only a rationale for designing selective drugs, but also new insight about the genotype-phenotype relationships of a certain kinds of hereditary diseases caused by a mutation of receptor genes. A mutagenesis study is a powerful approach for elucidating the structure-function relationships of pharmacological receptors. In contrast to a peptide, a protein is impossible to engineer in vitro. However, modulation of a specific codon in a given cDNA could bring about a substitution of a corresponding amino acid in the protein expressed in vivo. In this article, the popular strategies for generating artificially mutated receptors are discussed. This review will focus on three types of mutant receptors: 1) point mutation, 2) chimeric and 3) truncated receptors. The annotated bibliographies will also come in handy when devising experimental protocols.

The family of endothelins, endothelin-1 (ET-1), ET-2 and ET-3, act on two subtypes of receptors called ETA and ETB receptors. BQ123 is an ETA-selective competitive antagonist. In this study, however, BQ123 inhibited ET-1-induced transients of cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) in an apparently noncompetitive manner in mouse L cell stably expressing cloned human ETA receptor. BQ123 (3-30 nM) did not change the EC50 of ET-1 (6.6 nM), but reduced the maximum responses down to 15.0%. In an non-equilibrium binding assay which mimicks the conditions of [Ca2+]i transient assay (cells were incubated with [125I]ET-1 only for 30 s), BQ123 (30 nM) constantly decreased the specific [125I]ET-1 binding to approximately 13% of that without the antagonist. Thus, the apparent noncompetitive antagonism by BQ123 of ETA receptor-mediated [Ca2+]i transient is due to the assay condition where the interactions of the agonist, antagonist and receptor remained non-equilibrium state.

Metabolically generated acid is the major physiological stimulus for increasing proximal tubule citrate reabsorption, which leads to a decrease in citrate excretion. The activity of the Na-citrate cotransporter, NaDC-1, is increased in vivo by acid ingestion and in vitro by an acidic pH medium. In opossum kidney cells the acid stimulatory effect and the ability of endothelin-1 (ET-1) to stimulate NaDC-1 activity are both blocked by the endothelin B (ET(B)) receptor antagonist, BQ788. Acid feeding had no effect on brush border membrane NaDC-1 activity in mice in which ET(B) receptor expression was knocked out, whereas a stimulatory effect was found in wild-type mice. Using ET(A)/ET(B) chimeric and ET(B) C-terminal tail truncated constructs, ET-1 stimulation of NaDC-1 required a receptor C-terminal tail from either ET(A) or ET(B). The ET-1 effect was greatest when either the ET(B) transmembrane domain and C-terminal tail were present or the ET(B) C-terminal tail was linked to the ET(A) transmembrane domain. This effect was smaller when the ET(B) transmembrane domain was linked to the ET(A) C-terminal tail. Thus, the acid-activated pathway mediating stimulation of NaDC-1 activity requires a functional ET(B) receptor in vivo and in vitro, as does acid stimulation of NHE3 activity. Since increased NaDC-1 and NHE3 activities constitute part of the proximal tubule adaptation to an acid load, these studies indicate that there are similarities in the signaling pathway mediating these responses.

1. Electrophysiological effects of endothelin-1 (ET-1) were studied in rabbit sinoatrial node (SAN) using conventional microelectrode and whole-cell voltage and current recordings. 2. In rabbit SAN, RT-PCR detected ET(A) endothelin receptor mRNA. ET-1 (100 nM) increased the cycle length of action potentials (APs) from 305 +/- 15 to 388 +/- 25 ms; this effect was antagonised by the ET(A) receptor-selective antagonist BQ-123 (1 microM). ET-1 increased AP duration (APD50) by 22%, depolarised the maximum diastolic potential (MDP) from -59 +/- 1 to -53 +/- 2 mV, shifted the take-off potential by +5 mV and decreased the pacemaker potential (PMP) slope by 15%. Under exactly the same experimental conditions, ET-1 caused a positive chronotropic effect in guinea-pig SAN with a decrease of 13% in APD50, a shift of -4 mV in the take-off potential and an increase of 8% in the PMP slope. 3. Rabbit SAN exhibited two major cell types, distinguished both by their appearances and by their electrophysiological responses to ET-1. Whereas the spontaneous pacing rate and the PMP slope were similarly decreased by ET-1 (10 nM) in both cell types, ET-1 depolarised MDP from -67 +/- 1 to -62 +/- 4 mV in spindle-shaped cells but hyperpolarised it from -73 +/- 1 to -81 +/- 3 mV in rod-shaped cells. ET-1 decreased APD50 by 8 and 52% and shifted the take-off potential by +5 and -9 mV in spindle- and rod-shaped cells, respectively. 4. ET-1 decreased the high-threshold calcium current (I(CaL)) by about 50% in both cell types, without affecting its voltage dependence, and decreased the delayed rectifier K+ current (I(K)) with significant shifts (of +4.7 and +14.0 mV in spindle- and rod-shaped cells, respectively) in its voltage dependence. It was exclusively in rod-shaped cells that ET-1 activated a sizeable amount of time-independent inward-rectifying current. 5. The hyperpolarisation-activated current (I(f)), observed exclusively in spindle-shaped cells, was significantly increased by ET-1 at membrane potentials between -74.7 and -84.7 mV whereas it was significantly decreased at more negative potentials. ET-1 significantly decreased the slope of the current-voltage (I-V) relation of the I(f) tail without changing its half-maximum voltage. 6. The overall negative chronotropic influence of ET-1 on the whole rabbit SAN is interpreted as resulting from the integration of its different actions on spindle- and rod-shaped SAN cells through electrotonic interaction.

TO-2 strain hamsters with dilated cardiomyopathy, gene deletion of delta-sarcoglycan (SG) and no expression of alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-SG proteins are useful for developing the potential gene therapy of intractable heart failure. We prepared recombinant adeno-associated virus vector including normal delta-SG gene driven by CMV promoter and intramurally administered in vivo. The transfected myocardium induced robust expression of both transcript and transgene for 2/3 period of the animal's life expectancy. Immunostaining demonstrated reexpression of not only delta-SG but also other three SGs in 40% cells in the transfected region and normalization of the diameter of transduced cardiomyocytes. Hemodynamic study revealed preferential amelioration of the diastolic indices (LVEDP, the dP/dt(min) and CVP). These results provide the first evidence that supplementation of a specific gene with efficient and sustained transfection capability restores the genetic, morphological, and functional deteriorations.

Both efficient gene transfer and the exact identification of gene product are required for gene therapy. Gene transfection of green fluorescence protein (GFP) might be useful for the reporter. After in vivo cotransfection of GFP and beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) genes in Sendai virus-coated proteoliposomes to rat hearts, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of three methods: GFP detection, histochemical staining (HC) of beta-Gal activity, and immunostaining (IS) of the beta-Gal protein. Fluorescence microscopy and double staining of HC and IS revealed that both GFP and IS were equally sensitive and fourfold superior to HC at the peak of gene expression. However, different from skeletal muscle, the GFP of transfected cardiomyocytes showed two demerits: the fluorescence quenching due to the intense staining of beta-Gal activity, and nonspecific autofluorescence from myocardium. Thus, specific IS would be so far the most reliable to identify the gene product in heart.

The role of phosphorylation of the C-terminal tail of endothelin B receptor (ETBR) in agonist-induced desensitization was investigated, using a mutant lacking C-terminal 40 amino acids (delta 40 ETBR). In cells expressing the wild type or delta 40 ETBR, ET-1 caused rapid desensitization of calcium responses. The wild type ETBR was phosphorylated by biotinylated ET-1, and the phosphorylation was markedly enhanced by coexpression with G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2). However, delta 40 ETBR was not phosphorylated regardless of coexpression with GRK2. On the other hand, ET-1-induced IP3 formation in these cells was decreased by coexpression with GRK2 or catalytically inactive Lys220Arg GRK2 to the similar extent. The present study demonstrates the presence of phosphorylation-independent desensitization mechanism in delta 40 ETBR and suggests that GRK2 might play a role other than that as a kinase.

Cardiomyopathic hamster is a representative animal model for autosomal recessive cardiomyopathy. We have previously shown that the transcript of delta-sarcoglycan is missing in the heart of cardiomyopathic hamster due to genomic deletion. Here we define the normal genomic region deleted in cardiomyopathic hamster, which spans about 30 kb interval and includes the two first exons of the delta-sarcoglycan gene. RNA blot analysis using genomic DNA fragments covering the entire deletion as probes failed to detect any transcript other than delta-sarcoglycan in normal hamster heart, suggesting that delta-sarcoglycan is the only transcript defective in the heart of cardiomyopathic hamster.

We demonstrate that the human endothelin-B (ETB) receptor incorporates [3H]palmitic acid. Mutation of three putative palmitoylated cysteine residues (amino acids 402, 403 and 405) in the carboxyl terminus into serine residues (C2/3/5S) completely prevented palmitoylation of ETB. When expressed in CHO cells, C2/3/5S was localized on the cell surface, retained high affinity for ET-1 and ET-3, and was rapidly internalized when bound to the ligand. However, unlike the wild-type ETB, C2/3/5S transmitted neither an inhibitory effect on adenylate cyclase nor a stimulatory effect on phospholipase C, indicating a critical role of palmitoylation in the coupling with G-proteins, regardless of the G-protein subtype. Truncation of the carboxyl terminus, including all or a part of the three cysteine residues, gave palmitoylation-negative and -positive deletion mutants, delta 402 and delta 403. Despite the absence of the cytoplasmic tail, both delta 402 and delta 403 showed essentially the same features as C2/3/5S, except that delta 403 did transmit a stimulatory effect on phospholipase C via a pertussis toxin-insensitive G-protein, most likely a member(s) of the Gq family. These results indicated a differential requirement for the carboxyl terminus downstream from the palmitoylation site in the coupling with G-protein subtypes, i.e., it is required for the coupling with Gi but not for that with Gq.

Cardiomyopathy (CM) is a primary degenerative disease of myocardium and is traditionally categorized into hypertrophic and dilated CMs (HCM and DCM) according to its gross appearance. Cardiomyopathic hamster (CM hamster), a representative model of human hereditary CM, has HCM and DCM inbred sublines, both of which descend from the same ancestor. Herein we show that both HCM and DCM hamsters share a common defect in a gene for δ-sarcoglycan (δ-SG), the functional role of which is yet to be characterized. A breakpoint causing genomic deletion was found to be located at 6.1 kb 5′ upstream of the second exon of δ-SG gene, and its 5′ upstream region of more than 27.4 kb, including the authentic first exon of δ-SG gene, was deleted. This deletion included the major transcription initiation site, resulting in a deficiency of δ-SG transcripts with the consequent loss of δ-SG protein in all the CM hamsters, despite the fact that the protein coding region of δ-SG starting from the second exon was conserved in all the CM hamsters. We elucidated the molecular interaction of dystrophin-associated glycoproteins including δ-SG, by using an in vitro pull-down study and ligand overlay assay, which indicates the functional role of δ-SG in stabilizing sarcolemma. The present study not only identifies CM hamster as a valuable animal model for studying the function of δ-SG in vivo but also provides a genetic target for diagnosis and treatment of human CM.

Background Nitric oxide (NO) has various actions on the cardiovascular system, although its pathophysiological significance in myocardial cells remains obscure. The aim of the present study was to identify direct NO actions on cardiomyocytes by gene transfection in vivo using a newly developed vector under physiological conditions. Methods and Results Liposomes containing the β-galactosidase (β-gal) gene alone or with the human endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS) gene were coated with UV-inactivated Sendai virus and injected into the left ventricular wall of rat heart in vivo. Histological examination confirmed that the transfection efficiency was comparable to adenovirus-mediated transfection and that the new vector per se caused no inflammation. β-Gal expression was confined to cardiomyocytes between two intercalated discs, suggesting that the transfected gene did not permeate the discs. An immunohistochemical study showed that cotransfection of the ecNOS gene induced massive myocardial cell shrinkage in both transfected cells and the adjacent myocytes in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Histochemical findings in shrunk cells coincided with apoptosis as identified by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling. Electron microscopy of the lesion revealed myofibrillar degradation and accumulation of mitochondria but no apoptotic bodies. Pretreatment with the NOS inhibitor N ω -nitro- l -arginine methyl ester abolished these morphological alterations. Conclusions The efficient expression of the human ecNOS gene in vivo suggests that NO or its toxic metabolite caused myocardial degradation, a part of which was compatible with apoptosis of the transfected cardiomyocytes themselves and the adjacent cells as a paracrine effect. These morphological features mimicked acute myocarditis or ischemic injury.

To elucidate the intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i ) transient responsible for nitric oxide (NO) production in endothelial cells (ECs) and the subsequent Ca2+i reduction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), we administrated four agonists with different Ca2+i-mobilizing mechanisms for both cells in iso- or coculture. We monitored the Ca2+i of both cells by two-dimensional fura-2 imaging, simultaneously measuring NO production as NO2-. The order of potency of the agonists in terms of the peak Ca2+i in ECs was bradykinin (100 nM) > ATP (10 microM) > ionomycin (50 nM) > thapsigargin (1 microM). In contrast, the order in reference to both the extent of Ca2+i reduction in cocultured VSMCs and the elevation in NO production over the level of basal release in ECs completely matched and was ranked as thapsigargin > ionomycin > ATP > bradykinin. Treatment by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine monoacetate but not indomethacin or glybenclamide restored the Ca2+i response in cocultured VSMCs to the isoculture level. In ECs, when the Ca2+ influx was blocked by Ni2+ or by chelating extracellular Ca2+, all four agonists markedly decreased NO production, the half decay time of the Ca2+i degenerating phase, and the area under the Ca2+i curve. The amount of produced NO hyperbolically correlated to the half decay time and the area under the Ca2+i curve but not to the Ca2+i peak level. Thus, the sustained elevation of Ca2+i in ECs, mainly a result of Ca2+ influx, determines the active NO production and subsequent Ca2+i reduction in adjacent VSMCs. Furthermore, L-arginine but not D-arginine or L-lysine at high dose (5 mM) without agonist enhanced the NO production, weakly reduced the Ca2+i in ECs, and markedly decreased the Ca2+i in VSMCs, demonstrating the autocrine and paracrine effects of NO (Shin, W. S., Sasaki, T., Kato, M., Hara, K., Seko, A., Yang, W. D., Shimamoto, N., Sugimoto, T., and Toyo-oka, T. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 20377-20382).

Human ETB endothelin receptor (hETBR) is a heptahelical G-protein-coupled receptor consisting of 442 amino acids whose carboxyl (C)-intracellular region has four and twelve sites for potential palmitoylation and phosphorylation, respectively. In order to elucidate the functional roles of these modification sites, we constructed a series of C-terminal truncated hETBRs and expressed them in Ltk- cells. All the truncated hETBRs showed ligand-binding profiles similar to those of the wild-type hETBR. The truncated receptors holding Cys-402 retained both normal intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) response and its rapid desensitization; however, the deleted receptors lacking Cys-402 failed to induce the [Ca2+]i response. These results showed that Cys-402 of hETBR is necessary for its intracellular calcium signaling and that at least ten of twelve putative phosphorylation sites are irresponsible for the agonist-induced desensitization.

The endothelin (ET) family of peptides acts via two subtypes of G-protein-coupled heptahelical receptors termed ETA and ETB, which have distinct rank orders of affinity to endothelin receptor agonists and antagonists. To delineate which portions of the receptor molecules determine ligand selectivity, we have constructed a series of chimeras between human ETA and ETB receptors and characterized the chimeric receptors expressed in heterologous cell lines by competitive radioligand binding analysis and by measuring agonist-induced transients of intracellular Ca2+. We demonstrate that the binding determinant for the ETB-selective agonists ET-3, BQ3020, and IRL1620 residues within the region spanning the putative transmembrane helices IV-VI and the adjacent loop regions. In contrast, the transmembrane helices I, II, III, and VII plus the intervening loop regions specify the selectivity for BQ123, an ETA-selective antagonist. BQ123 exhibited no detectable agonistic activity in all wild-type and chimeric receptors tested. A chimeric receptor that has the transmembrane helices IV-VI (and adjacent loops) from the ETB receptor inserted into the remaining regions from the ETA receptor binds both the ETA- and ETB-selective ligands with high affinities. Moreover, BQ123 competitively inhibits the binding of the amino-terminally truncated ETB agonists, 125I-BQ3020 and 125I-IRL1620, to this chimeric receptor, suggesting that BQ123 is a mimic of the carboxyl-terminal linear portion of endothelins. These findings indicate that there are at least two separable ligand interaction subdomains within the endothelin receptors.

We report the cloning of human cDNA encoding an ETB (non-isopeptide-selective) subtype of the endothelin receptor. The predicted amino acid sequence of the human ETB endothelin receptor was 87.8% and 62.9% identical with the previously cloned rat ETB and ETA receptors, respectively. COS cells transiently transfected with the cloned cDNA expressed specific, high-affinity binding sites for endothelin isopeptides and responded to the peptides with a transient increase of [Ca2+]i; endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 exhibited approximately equal potencies both in displacing 125I-labeled endothelin-1 binding and in eliciting [Ca2+]i transients. The ETB receptor mRNAs were expressed in various human tissues and also in the intact porcine aortic intimal cells ex vivo.

The delta-sarcoglycan (SG) gene is deleted in hamsters with hereditary cardiomyopathies. Immunological analyses of heart before, but not after, the progression of cardiomyopathy (CM) revealed that the BIO 14.6 strain, a model of hypertrophic CM, heterogeneously preserved alpha- and gamma-SG with loss of beta- and delta-SG. In contrast, the TO-2 strain, a model of dilated CM, did not show either SG. Furthermore, in vivo transfer of the full length delta-SG gene to TO-2 hearts expressed all four SGs. Thus, this age- and strain-dependent features suggest a more feasible setting for TO-2 than BIO 14.6 to verify both CM progression and the efficacy of gene therapy.