Agonist-sensitive calcium pool in the pancreatic acinar cell. I. Permeability properties.

45Ca2+ fluxes and free cytosolic Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) were used to describe the Ca2+ permeability and Ca2+ reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool at rest, during stimulation, and at termination of stimulation. A sequence of stimulation with carbachol, inhibition with atropine (cycling), and restimulation with cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was used to follow Ca2+ reloading. Reloading of the pool required extracellular Ca2+ and was measured as an increased rate and extent of 45Ca2+ uptake into the acini. The 45Ca2+ incorporated into cycled acini could be completely released with CCK-8. The dose-response curves for 45Ca uptake and release were identical to those of the hormonally evoked [Ca2+]i increase. The increased 45Ca2+ uptake during reloading was not due to an expansion of any intracellular pool size but reflects the labeling of the pool to isotopic equilibrium in cycled acini. The rate constant of Ca2+ efflux from the pool of resting cells was approximately 0.67 +/- 0.01/h. With stimulation, the Ca2+ permeability of the pool membrane rapidly increased, resulting in Ca2+ release into the cytosol and an increase in [Ca2+]i. With termination of stimulation, the Ca2+ permeability of the pool membrane rapidly decreased while the pool continued to reload with extracellular Ca2+. Labeling of the pool to isotopic equilibrium allowed determination of the amount of Ca2+ released from the pool, which was 2.94 +/- 0.06 nmol/mg protein. This indicates that total Ca2+ concentration in the pool is in the millimolar range.

Agonist-sensitive calcium pool in the pancreatic acinar cell. II. Characterization of reloading.

45Ca2+ fluxes and free cytosolic Ca2+ measurements in guinea pig pancreatic acini indicated that after agonist stimulation and the release of Ca2+ from the agonist-sensitive pool at least part of the Ca2+ is extruded from the cell, resulting in 45Ca2+ efflux. In the continued presence of agonist, the pool remains permeable to Ca2+ but partially refills with Ca2+. This reloading is dependent on the concentration of extracellular Ca2+. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, the pool is completely depleted of Ca2+. However, with increasing concentrations of CaCl2 in the incubation solution (from 0.5 to 2.0 mM) there is increasing repletion of the pool with Ca2+ during agonist stimulation. With termination of agonist stimulation, the Ca2+ permeability of the agonist-sensitive pool is rapidly reduced to that measured in the unstimulated cell. As a result, the Ca2+ incorporated into the pool during the stimulation period is rapidly trapped within the pool and exchanges poorly with medium Ca2+. Subsequently, the pool completely refills with Ca2+. The rate of Ca2+ reloading at the termination of agonist stimulation is slower than the conversion of the pool to the impermeable state. In incubation media containing 1.3 mM CaCl2, the half-time for reloading at the termination of stimulation is 5 min. These observations demonstrate the characteristics of Ca2+ reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool both during stimulation and at the termination of stimulation.

The agonist-sensitive calcium pool in the pancreatic acinar cell. Activation of plasma membrane Ca2+ influx mechanism.

The purposes of the present study were to investigate the characteristics and regulation of Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane in pancreatic acini and to demonstrate the role of this Ca2+ influx in the mechanism of reloading of the agonist-sensitive Ca2+ pool. In pancreatic acini, depleted of intracellular Ca2+ by stimulation with carbachol in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, 25 microM LaCl3 inhibited the increase in free cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) and reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool that occurred with the addition of extracellular CaCl2 to the medium. LaCl3 also inhibited the increase in cellular 45Ca2+ uptake that occurred during agonist stimulation and its termination but not cellular 45Ca2+ uptake into unstimulated acini. In acini depleted of intracellular Ca2+, increased cellular Ca2+ influx and reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool occurred even if extracellular CaCl2 was added 10 min after the termination of agonist action. Maximal reloading was independent of the extracellular Ca2+ concentration between 0.5 and 2.0 mM CaCl2. However, the time to maximal reloading was longer at lower extracellular Ca2+ concentrations. These results demonstrate a plasma membrane Ca2+ influx mechanism in the pancreatic acinar cell that is activated during cell stimulation. This transport remains activated as long as the agonist-sensitive pool is not completely loaded with Ca2+ suggesting that the Ca2+ influx mechanism is regulated by the quantity of Ca2+ in the agonist-sensitive pool. The activation of this Ca2+ transport mechanism functions to allow Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane and Ca2+ reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool. Furthermore, these results suggest that during reloading Ca2+ crosses the plasma membrane into the cytosol before entering the agonist-sensitive pool.

1,2-Diacylglycerol, protein kinase C, and pancreatic enzyme secretion.

To determine the role of 1,2-diacylglycerol (1,2-DAG) and protein kinase C in pancreatic enzyme secretion, we measured the effect of various pancreatic secretagogues on the cellular mass of 1,2-DAG and amylase release in dispersed pancreatic acini from the guinea pig. In addition, we measured the effect of a recently described protein kinase C inhibitor 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7) (Hidaka, H., Inagaki, M., Kawamoto, S., and Sasaki, Y. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 5036-5041), on secretagogue-stimulated amylase release from the acini. Cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-OP), cholecystokinintetrapeptide, and carbachol each increased 1,2-DAG 2-3-fold but the increases occurred only with concentrations of these secretagogues that were supramaximal for amylase release and that had an inhibitory effect on stimulated amylase release. Supramaximal concentrations of bombesin stimulated only a small increase in 1,2-DAG and did not cause inhibition of stimulated amylase release. When the action of carbachol was terminated with atropine or CCK-OP with dibutyryl cyclic GMP, stimulated amylase release ceased immediately but cellular 1,2-DAG required at least 15 min to return to the basal level. Increasing cytosolic free Ca2+ with the Ca2+ ionophore, A23187, in Ca2+-containing incubation media augmented amylase release stimulated by 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate but inhibited amylase release stimulated by CCK-OP, carbachol, and bombesin without decreasing the cellular content of 1,2-DAG. H-7 inhibited protein kinase C activity in a pancreatic homogenate but augmented amylase release from acini stimulated by either CCK-OP, carbachol, or 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. These findings indicate that 1,2-DAG and protein kinase C do not have a stimulatory role in pancreatic stimulus-secretion coupling but may have an inhibitory one.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor antagonist [4Cl-D-Phe6, Leu17] VIP.

From structure-activity relationship studies of rat growth hormone-releasing factor (rGFR) on the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) receptor in an in vitro preparation of exocrine pancreas, we predicted that [4Cl-D-Phe6, Leu17]VIP would be a competitive antagonist for the action of VIP. Micromolar concentrations of synthetic [4Cl-D-Phe6, Leu17]VIP competitively antagonized VIP-stimulated amylase release in the pancreatic preparation and VIP-stimulated short-circuit current changes in a colonic tumor cell line. In addition, [4Cl-D-Phe6, Leu17]VIP inhibited amylase release stimulated by rGRF, high concentrations of secretin (agents that act through the VIP receptor), and peptide contaminants in a preparation of natural glucagon. Finally, [4Cl-D-Phe6, Leu17]VIP did not inhibit the action of agonists for the secretin, GRF, or glucagon receptors.

Role of free cytosolic calcium in secretagogue-stimulated amylase release from dispersed acini from guinea pig pancreas.

To determine the role of free cytosolic calcium ([Ca+2]i) in stimulated enzyme secretion from exocrine pancreas, we determined the effects of various pancreatic secretagogues on [Ca+2]i and amylase release in dispersed acini from the guinea pig pancreas. Cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-OP), carbachol, and bombesin, but not vasoactive intestinal peptide, stimulated rapid increases in [Ca+2]i from 100 to 600-800 nM that were independent of extracellular calcium. The increases in [Ca+2]i were transient (lasting less than 5 min) and correlated with an initial rapid phase of amylase release. After 5 min, secretagogue-stimulated amylase release occurred at basal [Ca+2]i. Carbachol pretreatment of the acini abolished the effects of CCK-OP and bombesin on [Ca+2]i and the initial rapid phase of amylase release. 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) had no effect on [Ca+2]i but stimulated an increase in amylase release. The addition of CCK-OP or A23187 to PMA-stimulated acini caused an increase in [Ca+2]i and PMA-stimulated amylase release only during the first 5 min after addition of these agents. These results indicate that CCK-OP, carbachol, and bombesin release calcium from an intracellular pool, resulting in a transient increase in [Ca+2]i and that this increase in [Ca+2]i mediates enzyme secretion during the first few minutes of incubation. The results with PMA suggest that secretagogue-stimulated secretion not mediated by increased [Ca+2]i (sustained secretion) is mediated by 1,2-diacylglycerol.

Role of calcium in cholecystokinin-stimulated phosphoinositide breakdown in exocrine pancreas.

In dispersed acini from guinea pig pancreas cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-OP) stimulated breakdown of the phosphoinositides phosphatidylinositol (PI) and its phosphorylated derivative, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI-P2), as measured by a decrease in the mass of PI and decreases in the content of [3H]PI and [32P]PI-P2 in acini prelabeled with myo-[2-3H]inositol or H3(32)PO4. The breakdown occurred in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ and when the CCK-OP-induced rise in free intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was ablated by loading the acini with the Ca2+-selective indicator and chelator quin-2 in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. In contrast to CCK-OP, the calcium ionophore A23187 caused breakdown of PI and PI-P2 in the presence but not in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, although like CCK-OP A23187 stimulated 45Ca outflux, a measure of cellular Ca2+ mobilization, and amylase release during the first 5-10 min of incubation independent of extracellular Ca2+. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+ A23187 did not inhibit the ability of CCK-OP to cause PI breakdown. These results indicate that CCK-OP stimulates breakdown of PI and PI-P2 and that this breakdown is independent of extracellular Ca2+, mobilization of intracellular Ca2+, and the CCK-OP-induced rise in [Ca2+]i. These findings suggest that one of the initial events resulting from CCK-OP interaction with its receptor is phosphoinositide breakdown.