Common ADRB2 haplotypes derived from 26 polymorphic sites direct beta2-adrenergic receptor expression and regulation phenotypes.

BACKGROUND: The beta2-adrenergic receptor (beta2AR) is expressed on numerous cell-types including airway smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes. Drugs (agonists or antagonists) acting at these receptors for treatment of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure show substantial interindividual variability in response. The ADRB2 gene is polymorphic in noncoding and coding regions, but virtually all ADRB2 association studies have utilized the two common nonsynonymous coding SNPs, often reaching discrepant conclusions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We constructed the 8 common ADRB2 haplotypes derived from 26 polymorphisms in the promoter, 5'UTR, coding, and 3'UTR of the intronless ADRB2 gene. These were cloned into an expression construct lacking a vector-based promoter, so that beta2AR expression was driven by its promoter, and steady state expression could be modified by polymorphisms throughout ADRB2 within a haplotype. "Whole-gene" transfections were performed with COS-7 cells and revealed 4 haplotypes with increased cell surface beta2AR protein expression compared to the others. Agonist-promoted downregulation of beta2AR protein expression was also haplotype-dependent, and was found to be increased for 2 haplotypes. A phylogenetic tree of the haplotypes was derived and annotated by cellular phenotypes, revealing a pattern potentially driven by expression. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Thus for obstructive lung disease, the initial bronchodilator response from intermittent administration of beta-agonist may be influenced by certain beta2AR haplotypes (expression phenotypes), while other haplotypes may influence tachyphylaxis during the response to chronic therapy (downregulation phenotypes). An ideal clinical outcome of high expression and less downregulation was found for two haplotypes. Haplotypes may also affect heart failure antagonist therapy, where beta2AR increase inotropy and are anti-apoptotic. The haplotype-specific expression and regulation phenotypes found in this transfection-based system suggest that the density of genetic information in the form of these haplotypes, or haplotype-clusters with similar phenotypes can potentially provide greater discrimination of phenotype in human disease and pharmacogenomic association studies.

Phosphodiesterase 4D is required for beta2 adrenoceptor subtype-specific signaling in cardiac myocytes.

beta adrenoceptor (betaAR) signaling is finely regulated to mediate the sympathetic nervous system control of cardiovascular function. In neonatal cardiac myocytes, beta1AR activates the conventional Gs/cAMP pathway, whereas beta2AR sequentially activates both the Gs and Gi pathways to regulate the myocyte contraction rate. Here, we show that phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) selectively impacts signaling by beta2AR in neonatal cardiac myocytes, while having little or no effect on beta1AR signaling. Although beta2AR activation leads to an increase in cAMP production, the cAMP generated does not have access to the protein kinase A-dependent signaling pathways by which the beta1AR regulates the contraction rate. However, this restricted access is lost in the presence of PDE4 inhibitors or after ablation of PDE4D. These results not only suggest that PDE4D is an integral component of the beta2AR signaling complex, but also underscore the critical role of subcellular cAMP regulation in the complex control of receptor signaling. They also illustrate a mechanism for fine-tuned betaAR subtype signaling specificity and intensity in the cardiac system.

beta(2)-Adrenoceptors and ventricular fibrillation.

beta-Adrenoceptor antagonists significantly reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death in patients with contractile dysfunction. Contractile dysfunction is associated with a decline in beta(1)-adrenoceptors, no change in the number of beta(2)-adrenoceptors, and an increased responsiveness to beta(2)-adrenoceptor stimulation. Selective beta(2)-adrenoceptor blockade prevents ventricular fibrillation in a canine model of sudden cardiac death. Cardiac beta(2)-adrenoceptor stimulation increases L-type Ca(2+) currents, but unlike beta(1)-adrenoceptor stimulation, it fails to elicit phospholamban phosphorylation. Restoration of resting diastolic [Ca(2+)] following beta(2)-adrenoceptor-mediated increases in Ca(2+) influx is more dependent on Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange, which generates an arrhythmogenic transient inward current that can trigger ventricular fibrillation.

Recent advances in cardiac beta(2)-adrenergic signal transduction.

Recent studies have added complexities to the conceptual framework of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) signal transduction. Whereas the classical linear G(s)-adenylyl cyclase-cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA) signaling cascade has been corroborated for beta(1)-AR stimulation, the beta(2)-AR signaling pathway bifurcates at the very first postreceptor step, the G protein level. In addition to G(s), beta(2)-AR couples to pertussis toxin-sensitive G(i) proteins, G(i2) and G(i3). The coupling of beta(2)-AR to G(i) proteins mediates, to a large extent, the differential actions of the beta-AR subtypes on cardiac Ca(2+) handling, contractility, cAMP accumulation, and PKA-mediated protein phosphorylation. The extent of G(i) coupling in ventricular myocytes appears to be the basis of the substantial species-to-species diversity in beta(2)-AR-mediated cardiac responses. There is an apparent dissociation of beta(2)-AR-induced augmentations of the intracellular Ca(2+) (Ca(i)) transient and contractility from cAMP production and PKA-dependent cytoplasmic protein phosphorylation. This can be largely explained by G(i)-dependent functional compartmentalization of the beta(2)-AR-directed cAMP/PKA signaling to the sarcolemmal microdomain. This compartmentalization allows the common second messenger, cAMP, to perform selective functions during beta-AR subtype stimulation. Emerging evidence also points to distinctly different roles of these beta-AR subtypes in modulating noncontractile cellular processes. These recent findings not only reveal the diversity and specificity of beta-AR and G protein interactions but also provide new insights for understanding the differential regulation and functionality of beta-AR subtypes in healthy and diseased hearts.

Influence of beta 2-adrenergic receptor genotypes on signal transduction in human airway smooth muscle cells.

The phenotypic relevance of allelic variation in the structure of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) expressed in lung cells is unknown. In particular, altered responsiveness of the beta 2AR expressed on airway smooth muscle, which are responsible for bronchodilation in the treatment of asthma, may be an important factor in the ultimate physiologic response to agonist. To approach this, we established primary cultures of human airway smooth muscle cells obtained at autopsy and developed a method to determine the beta 2AR genotype at the polymorphic loci of codons 16 and 27, using allele-specific polymerase chain reactions. Radioligand binding studies revealed that these cells expressed approximately 70 fmol/mg of receptor which was exclusively of the beta 2AR subtype. All cell lines obtained (n = 10) exhibited normal agonist binding and receptor-mediated activation of the adenylyl cyclase second messenger pathway. However, distinct differences were found in the response to long-term agonist exposure between the different beta 2AR genotypes. Cells expressing Arg at codon 16 (Arg16) traditionally referred to as wild-type, underwent 77.8 +/- 8.1% downregulations of beta 2AR following prolonged (24-h) exposure to the beta 2AR agonist isoproterenol (10 microM). In contrast, cells expressing Gly16 beta 2AR underwent enhanced agonist-promoted downregulation (95.6 +/- 1.7%, P < 0.05 versus Arg16), whereas cells expressing Glu27 beta 2AR were relatively resistant to such downregulation (29.5 +/- 12.7%, P < 0.01 versus Arg16). For cells expressing Glu27 beta 2AR, this difference resulted in a significant attenuation of agonist-promoted functional desensitization (33 +/- 7 versus 90 +/- 5% desensitization for Arg16, P < 0.001) following preincubation with 1 microM isoproterenol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)