Role of protein kinase C-δ in the age-dependent secretagogue action of bile acids in mammalian colon
The role of specific PKC isoforms in the regulation of epithelial Cl− secretion by Ca2+-dependent secretagogues remains controversial. In the developing rabbit distal colon, the bile acid taurodeoxycholate (TDC) acts via intracellular calcium to stimulate Cl− transport in adult, but not in young, animals, whereas the PKC activator phorbol dibutyrate (PDB) stimulates Cl− transport at all ages. We tested the hypothesis that specific PKC isoforms account for the age-specific effects of TDC. The effects of conventional (cPKC) and novel (nPKC) PKC-specific inhibitors on TDC- and PDB-stimulated Cl− transport in adult and weanling colonocytes were assessed by using 6-methoxy-quinolyl acetoethyl ester. In adult colonocytes, the cPKC inhibitor Gö-6976 inhibited PDB action but not TDC action, whereas the cPKC and nPKC inhibitor Gö-6850 blocked both TDC and PDB actions. Additionally, rottlerin and the PKC-δ-specific inhibitor peptide (δV1-1) inhibited TDC- and PDB-stimulated Cl− transport in adult colonocytes. Rottlerin also decreased TDC-stimulated short-circuit current in intact colonic epithelia. Only Gö-6976, but neither rottlerin nor δV1-1, inhibited PDB-stimulated transport in weanling colonocytes. Colonic lysates express PKC-α, -λ, and -ι protein equally at all ages, but they do not express PKC-γ or -θ at any age. Expression of PKC-β and PKC-ε protein was newborn>adult>weanling, whereas PKC-δ was expressed in adult but not in weanling or newborn colonocytes. TDC (1.6-fold) and PDB (2.0-fold) stimulated PKC-δ enzymatic activity in adult colonocytes but failed to do so in weanling colonocytes. PKC-δ mRNA expression showed age dependence. Thus PKC-δ appears critical for the action of TDC in the adult colon, and its low expression in young animals may account for their inability to secrete in response to bile acids.