Further investigation of a potential calcium channel modulator isolated from rat erythrocytes
The contractile effects of a peptide isolated from rat erythrocytes were further studied in rat aortic rings. Previous data showed that preincubation of aortic tissue with the peptide had no effect on resting tension, but significantly enhanced K+ and norepinephrine (NE) induced contraction. The calcium channel antagonist verapamil noncompetitively blocked the effect of the peptide, whereas nifedipine blockage appeared to be competitive. In the present study the peptide enhanced K+, NE, and phenylephrine (PE) induced contraction in a concentration-dependent manner, with a maximum enhancement at peptide concentrations of 10−7–10−6 M. At a concentration as low as 10−9 M, the peptide significantly enhanced K+-induced, but not NE- or PE-induced, contraction. The magnitude of maximal enhancement was greater for K+-induced contraction than that for NE- or PE-induced contraction. Preincubation of the tissues with the peptide caused a leftward shift of cumulative concentration–response curves to K+ and NE. The peptide enhancement of contraction increased with increasing K+ and NE concentration. The peptide potentiated the contractile response to Ca2+ in K+-depolarizing medium. It also enhanced the contractile response to NE in intracellular Ca2+-pool-depleted tissue following the replenishment of extracellular Ca2+, but had no apparent effect on the mobilization of intracellular calcium. Addition of nifedipine caused a rightward shift of both the peptide and Bay K 8644 concentration–response curves. Schild analysis for nifedipine antagonism, however, showed that the slope of the plot was significantly different from unity in both the Bay K 8644 and peptide responses, invalidating the use of this technique for conclusions regarding the nature of the nifedipine antagonism and site of action of the peptide. These data indicate that this peptide, like Bay K 8644, may influence the contractile sensitivity of aortic smooth muscle by acting as an endogenous modulator of voltage-dependent calcium channels.Key words: peptide, rat aortic ring, contractility, Bay K 8644.