Effects of cyclopiazonic acid and dexamethasone on serotonin-induced calcium responses in vascular smooth muscle cells

We previously observed that sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase (SERCA) blockade by cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) significantly potentiates serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT))-induced vascular contractions. Furthermore, 5-HT receptor antagonist methysergide partially inhibited CPA-potentiated 5-HT contractions. In the present study, we further investigated whether SERCA inhibition potentiates 5-HT-induced Ca(2+) responses along with attenuating the receptor antagonism by store-operated Ca(2+) (SOC) entry and protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated mechanisms. The effects of dexamethasone that was previously shown to induce SOC entry and enhance 5-HT responses were also tested. For this purpose, intracellular Ca(2+) levels were monitored in A7r5 embryonic rat vascular smooth muscle cells by spectrofluorometry using the fluorescent indicator fura-2. The results showed that CPA, although not dexamethasone, significantly potentiated 5-HT-induced Ca(2+) elevations. Ketanserin partially decreased 5-HT-induced and CPA-potentiated Ca(2+) elevations whereas both PKC inhibitor D-sphingosine and SOC entry blocker 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB) abolished the remaining responses. The data suggests that diminished antagonistic effect on 5-HT-induced Ca(2+) elevations in the presence of SERCA inhibition is induced by SOC entry and PKC activation.