Biomedical subjects

Philip W Shaul

Publications and source records attributed to Philip W Shaul.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

HDL stimulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase: a novel mechanism of HDL action.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), and the principal high-affinity HDL receptor, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), are antiatherogenic and beneficial to the response to vascular injury. However, the fundamental mechanisms underlying these properties remain complex and not well understood. Recent work in both cell culture and in mice indicates that HDL causes robust activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and that this effect is mediated in endothelial cell caveolae by SR-BI through a process that requires apoA-I binding. Further studies have revealed that HDL stimulates eNOS through src- and PI3 kinase-mediated signaling, which leads to parallel activation of Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinases and their resultant independent modulation of the enzyme. As such, signaling initiated by HDL increases the production of the potent atheroprotective molecule nitric oxide, and this novel mechanism of action may be critically involved in the impact of the lipoprotein on vascular health and disease.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Estrogen causes dynamic alterations in endothelial estrogen receptor expression.

Estrogen receptor (ER)alpha mediates many of the effects of estrogen on the vascular endothelium. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether estrogen modifies endothelial ERalpha expression. In experiments in cultured ovine endothelial cells, physiological concentrations of 17beta-estradiol (E2, 10(-10) to 10(-8) mol/L) caused an increase in ERalpha protein abundance that was evident after 6 hours of hormone exposure. Shorter (2-hour) E2 treatment caused ERalpha downregulation. In contrast to the upregulation in ERalpha after long-term E2, the expression of the other ER isoform, ERbeta, was downregulated. Both nonselective ER antagonism with ICI 182,780 and the inhibition of gene transcription with actinomycin D blocked the increase in ERalpha with E2. In studies using the human ERalpha gene promoter P-1 coupled to luciferase, an increase in ERalpha gene transcription was evident in endothelial cells within 4 hours of E2 exposure. The transcriptional activation was fully blocked by ICI 182,780, whereas the specific ERbeta antagonist RR-tetrahydrochrysene yielded partial blockade. Overexpression of ERalpha or ERbeta caused comparable 10- and 8-fold increases, respectively, in ERalpha promoter activation by E2. Thus, long-term exposure to E2 upregulates ERalpha expression in endothelial cells through the actions of either ERalpha or ERbeta on ERalpha gene transcription; in contrast, E2 causes ERbeta downregulation in the endothelium. We postulate that E2-induced changes in ERalpha and ERbeta expression modify the effects of the hormone on vascular endothelium.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Developmental changes in nitric oxide synthase isoform expression and nitric oxide production in fetal baboon lung.

Nitric oxide (NO), produced by NO synthase (NOS), plays a critical role in multiple processes in the lung during the perinatal period. To better understand the regulation of pulmonary NO production in the developing primate, we determined the cell specificity and developmental changes in NOS isoform expression and action in the lungs of third-trimester fetal baboons. Immunohistochemistry in lungs obtained at 175 days (d) of gestation (term = 185 d) revealed that all three NOS isoforms, neuronal NOS (nNOS), endothelial NOS (eNOS), and inducible NOS (iNOS), are primarily expressed in proximal airway epithelium. In proximal lung, there was a marked increase in total NOS enzymatic activity from 125 to 140 d gestation due to elevations in nNOS and eNOS, whereas iNOS expression and activity were minimal. Total NOS activity was constant from 140 to 175 d gestation, and during the latter stage (160-175 d gestation), a dramatic fall in nNOS and eNOS was replaced by a rise in iNOS. Studies done within 1 h of delivery at 125 or 140 d gestation revealed that the principal increase in NOS during the third trimester is associated with an elevation in exhaled NO levels, a decline in expiratory resistance, and greater pulmonary compliance. Thus, there are developmental increases in pulmonary NOS expression and NO production during the early third trimester in the primate that may enhance airway and parenchymal function in the immediate postnatal period.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Abnormal vascular function and hypertension in mice deficient in estrogen receptor beta.

Blood vessels express estrogen receptors, but their role in cardiovascular physiology is not well understood. We show that vascular smooth muscle cells and blood vessels from estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta)-deficient mice exhibit multiple functional abnormalities. In wild-type mouse blood vessels, estrogen attenuates vasoconstriction by an ERbeta-mediated increase in inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. In contrast, estrogen augments vasoconstriction in blood vessels from ERbeta-deficient mice. Vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from ERbeta-deficient mice show multiple abnormalities of ion channel function. Furthermore, ERbeta-deficient mice develop sustained systolic and diastolic hypertension as they age. These data support an essential role for ERbeta in the regulation of vascular function and blood pressure.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗

PubMed2002

Rapid activation of endothelial NO synthase by estrogen: evidence for a steroid receptor fast-action complex (SRFC) in caveolae.

Estrogen has important atheroprotective and vasoactive properties related to its capacity to stimulate nitric oxide (NO) production by endothelial NO synthase. Previous work has shown that these effects are mediated by estrogen receptor (ER) alpha functioning in a nongenomic manner via calcium-dependent, MAP kinase-dependent mechanisms. Recent studies have demonstrated that estradiol (E(2)) activates eNOS in isolated endothelial plasma membranes in the absence of added calcium, calmodulin or eNOS cofactors. Studies of blockade by ICI 182,780 and by ER alpha antibody, and also immunoidentification experiments indicate that the process is mediated by a subpopulation of plasma membrane-associated ER alpha. Fractionation of endothelial cell plasma membranes has further revealed that ER alpha protein is localized to caveolae, and that E(2) causes stimulation of eNOS in isolated caveolae which is ER-dependent and calcium-dependent, whereas noncaveolae membranes are insensitive. Furthermore, in intact endothelial cells the activation of eNOS by E(2) is prevented by pertussis toxin, and exogenous GDP beta S inhibits the response in isolated plasma membranes. Coimmunoprecipitation studies have shown that E(2) exposure causes interaction between ER alpha and G(alpha i) on the plasma membrane, and eNOS activation by E(2) is enhanced by overexpression of G(alpha i) and attenuated by expression of a protein regulator of G protein signaling (RGS), RGS4. Thus, a subpopulation of ER alpha is localized to caveolae in endothelial cells, where they are coupled via G(alpha i) to eNOS in a functional signaling module. Emphasizing the dependence on cell surface-associated receptors, these observations provide evidence for the existence of a steroid receptor fast-action complex, or SRFC, in caveolae.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Conventional estrogen receptors are found in the plasma membrane of vaginal epithelial cells of the rat.

Estrogens induce rapid (non-genomic) and delayed (genomic) effects on the target cells. The early effects include induction of signal transduction pathway within seconds, whereas the delayed responses require hours and involve transcription and translation. The rapid effects of estradiol (E) on the vaginal epithelial cells (VEC) involved calcium uptake within seconds via the induction of phosphoinositol lipid metabolism as reported in our earlier studies. In this study, we demonstrate the presence of classical estrogen receptors (ER) on the plasma membrane of VEC of the rats. Immunoreactive bands of 67, 56 and 35 kDa are detectable in the membrane fractions (mf) using antibodies recognizing different epitopes of ER alpha. We have also been able to purify a protein having a mass of 67 kDa from the detergent-soluble fraction of the plasma membrane of VEC, which shows properties identical to the classical receptor purified from the cytosolic fraction of the cells. The membrane receptors get dissociated upon binding to the ligand. Besides a role in signal transduction events induced by estradiol, the membrane estrogen receptors may have an important role to play in translocation of the steroid to the cytosolic compartment.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase: location, location, location.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is expressed in vascular endothelium, airway epithelium, and certain other cell types where it generates the key signaling molecule nitric oxide (NO). Diminished NO availability contributes to systemic and pulmonary hypertension, atherosclerosis, and airway dysfunction. Complex mechanisms underly the cell specificity of eNOS expression, and co- and post-translational processing leads to trafficking of the enzyme to plasma membrane caveolae. Within caveolae, eNOS is the downstream target member of a signaling complex in which it is functionally linked to both typical G protein-coupled receptors and less typical receptors such as estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI displaying novel actions. This compartmentalization facilitates dynamic protein-protein interactions and calcium- and phosphorylation-dependent signal transduction events that modify eNOS activity. Further understanding of these mechanisms will enable us to take preventive and therapeutic advantage of the powerful actions of NO in multiple cell types.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Estrogen acutely activates prostacyclin synthesis in ovine fetal pulmonary artery endothelium.

Prostacyclin (PGI(2)) is a key mediator of pulmonary vasodilation during perinatal cardiopulmonary transition, at a time when fetal plasma estrogen levels are rising. We have previously shown that estradiol-17beta (E(2)) rapidly stimulates nitric oxide production by ovine fetal pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC), and that this occurs through nongenomic mechanisms which are calcium- and tyrosine kinase-mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase-dependent. In the present study, we determined if E(2) acutely activates PGI(2) production in PAEC. E(2) (10(-8) M for 15 min) caused a 52% increase in PGI(2), the threshold concentration was 10(-10) M E(2), the effect occurred within 5 min, and it was not related to changes in cyclooxygenase type 1 (COX-1) or COX-2 abundance. Estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ER beta proteins and mRNAs were found to be constitutively expressed in PAEC, and PGI(2) stimulation with E(2) was fully blocked by both ER antagonism with ICI 182,780, which is not selective for either ER isoform, and the ER beta-specific antagonist RR-tetrahydrochrysene. The rapid response to E(2) was also inhibited by calcium chelation, whereas genistein- or PD98059-induced inhibition of tyrosine kinase and MAP kinase kinase, respectively, had no effect. Thus, E(2) causes rapid stimulation of PGI(2) synthesis in fetal PAEC, this process is mediated by ER beta, and it is calcium-dependent and tyrosine kinase-MAP kinase-independent. These mechanisms may play a role in pulmonary vasodilation in the perinatal period.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Estrogen modulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

Over the past decade, clinical and basic research has demonstrated that estrogen has a dramatic impact on the response to vascular injury and the development of atherosclerosis. Further work has indicated that this is at least partially mediated by an enhancement in nitric oxide (NO) production by the endothelial isoform of NO synthase (eNOS) due to increases in both eNOS expression and level of activation. The effects on eNOS abundance are primarily mediated at the level of gene transcription, and they are dependent on estrogen receptors (ERs), which classically serve as transcription factors, but they are independent of estrogen response element action. Estrogen also has potent nongenomic effects on eNOS activity mediated by a subpopulation of ERalpha localized to caveolae in endothelial cells, where they are coupled to eNOS in a functional signaling module. These observations, which emphasize dependence on cell surface-associated receptors, provide evidence for the existence of a steroid receptor fast-action complex, or SRFC, in caveolae. Estrogen binding to ERalpha on the SRFC in caveolae leads to G(alphai) activation, which mediates downstream events. The downstream signaling includes activation of tyrosine kinase-MAPK and Akt/protein kinase B signaling, stimulation of heat shock protein 90 binding to eNOS, and perturbation of the local calcium environment, leading to eNOS phosphorylation and calmodulin-mediated eNOS stimulation. These unique genomic and nongenomic processes are critical to the vasoprotective and atheroprotective characteristics of estrogen. In addition, they serve as excellent paradigms for further elucidation of novel mechanisms of steroid hormone action.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

ERbeta has nongenomic action in caveolae.

ERalpha and ERbeta serve classically as transcription factors, and ERalpha also mediates nongenomic responses to E2 such as the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). In contrast, the nongenomic capacities of endogenous ERbeta are poorly understood. We evaluated eNOS activation by E2 in cultured endothelial cells that express endogenous ERbeta to determine whether the ERbeta isoform has nongenomic action and to reveal the subcellular locale of that function. A subpopulation of ERbeta was localized to the endothelial cell plasma membrane, overexpression of ERbeta enhanced rapid eNOS stimulation by E2, and the response to endogenous ER activation was inhibited by the ERbeta-selective antagonist RR-tetrahydrochrysene (THC). eNOS activation through ERbeta was reconstituted and shown to occur independent of ERalpha in COS-7 cells, and ERbeta protein in COS-7 was directed to the plasma membrane. THC also blunted E2 activation of eNOS in isolated endothelial cell plasma membranes. Furthermore, ERbeta protein was detected and THC attenuated E2 stimulation of eNOS in isolated endothelial cell caveolae, and functional ERbeta-eNOS coupling was recapitulated in caveolae from transfected COS-7 cells. These findings in the ER-eNOS signaling paradigm indicate that endogenous ERbeta has nongenomic action in caveolae.

Animals↗