1. L-DOPA sensitizes vasomotor tone by modulating the vascular alpha1-adrenergic receptor
- Author
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Fumio Nakamura, Yuji Kamikubo, Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Satoshi Umemura, Hiroshi Ichinose, Anna Sezaki, Koichi Tamura, Daiki Masukawa, Hiromichi Wakui, Aderemi Caleb Aladeokin, Takashi Sakurai, Tatsuo Hashimoto, Yoshio Goshima, Yuka Nakao, Yuki Okuyama-Oki, Motokazu Koga, and Utako Yokoyama
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Agonist ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Vascular smooth muscle ,Adrenergic receptor ,medicine.drug_class ,Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ,Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ,Levodopa ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Mice ,Phenylephrine ,Internal medicine ,Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1 ,medicine ,Extracellular ,Animals ,Vasoconstrictor Agents ,Phosphorylation ,Receptor ,Neurotransmitter ,Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ,Eye Proteins ,Cells, Cultured ,Mice, Knockout ,Membrane Glycoproteins ,Chemistry ,General Medicine ,030104 developmental biology ,Endocrinology ,Muscle Tonus ,Calcium ,medicine.symptom ,Vasoconstriction ,medicine.drug ,Research Article ,Signal Transduction - Abstract
Blood pressure is regulated by extrinsic factors including noradrenaline, the sympathetic neurotransmitter that controls cardiovascular functions through adrenergic receptors. However, the fine-tuning system of noradrenaline signaling is relatively unknown. We here show that l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), a precursor of catecholamines, sensitizes the vascular adrenergic receptor alpha1 (ADRA1) through activation of L-DOPA receptor GPR143. In WT mice, intravenous infusion of the ADRA1 agonist phenylephrine induced a transient elevation of blood pressure. This response was attenuated in Gpr143 gene-deficient (Gpr143-/y) mice. Specific knockout of Gpr143 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) also showed a similar phenotype, indicating that L-DOPA directly modulates ADRA1 signaling in the VSMCs. L-DOPA at nanomolar concentrations alone produced no effect on the VSMCs, but it enhanced phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction and intracellular Ca2+ responses. Phenylephrine also augmented the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases in cultured VSMCs from WT but not Gpr143-/y mice. In WT mice, blood pressure increased during the transition from light-rest to dark-active phases. This elevation was not observed in Gpr143-/y mice. Taken together, our findings provide evidence for L-DOPA/GPR143 signaling that exerts precursor control of sympathetic neurotransmission through sensitizing vascular ADRA1.
- Published
- 2017