Actions of 4‐chloro‐3‐ethyl phenol on internal Ca2+ stores in vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells
Authors: Low A. M. , Sormaz L. , Kwan C. Y. , Daniel E. E. 
Published: January 2005

Recently, 4‐chloro‐3‐ethyl phenol (CEP) has been shown to cause the release of internally stored Ca2+, apparently through ryanodine‐sensitive Ca2+ channels, in fractionated skeletal muscle terminal cisternae and in a variety of non‐excitable cell types. Its action on smooth muscle is unknown. In this study, we characterized the actions of CEP on vascular contraction in endothelium‐denuded dog mesenteric artery. We also determined its ability to release Ca2+, by use of Ca2+ imaging techniques, on dog isolated mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells and on bovine cultured pulmonary artery endothelial cells.

After phenylephrine‐(PE, 10 μM) sensitive Ca2+ stores were depleted by maximal PE stimulation in Ca2+‐free medium, the action of CEP on refilling of the emptied PE stores was tested, by first pre‐incubating the endothelium‐denuded artery in CEP for 15 min before Ca2+ was restored for a 30 min refilling period. At the end of this period, Ca2+ and CEP were removed, and the arterial ring was tested again with PE to assess the degree of refilling of the internal Ca2+ store.

In a concentration‐dependent manner (30, 100 and 300 μM), CEP significantly reduced the size of the post‐refilling PE contraction (49.4, 28.9 and 5.7% of control, respectively) in Ca2+‐free media. This suggests that Ca2+ levels are reduced in the internal stores by CEP treatment. CEP alone did not cause any contraction either in Ca2+‐containing or Ca2+‐free Krebs solution.

Restoring Ca2+ in the presence of PE caused a large contraction, which reflects PE‐induced influx of extracellular Ca2+. The contraction of tissues pretreated with 300 μM CEP was significantly less compared with controls. However, tissues pretreated with 30 and 100 μM CEP were unaffected. Washout of CEP over 30 min produced complete recovery of responses to PE in Ca2+‐free and Ca2+‐containing medium suggesting a rapid reversal of CEP effects.

Concentration‐response curves were constructed for PE, 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) and K+ in the absence of and after 30 min pre‐incubation with 30, 100 and 300 μM CEP. In all cases, CEP caused a concentration‐dependent depression of the maximum response to PE (84.8, 43.4 and 11.6% of control), 5‐HT (65.4, 25.7 and 6.9% of control) and K+ (77.6, 41.1 and 10.8% of control).

Some arterial rings were pre‐incubated with ryanodine (30 μM) for 30 min before the construction of PE concentration‐response curves. In Ca2+‐free Krebs solution, ryanodine alone did not cause any contraction. However, 58% (11 out of 19) of the tissues tested with ryanodine developed contraction (6.9±1.2% of 100 mM K+ contraction, n=11) in the presence of external Ca2+. EC50 values for PE in ryanodine‐treated tissues (1.7±0.25 μM, n=16) were not significantly different from controls (2.5±0.41 μM, n=22). Maximum contractions to PE (118.5±4.4% of 100 mM K+ contraction, n=16) were also unaffected by ryanodine when compared to controls (129±4.2%, n=23).

When fura‐2 loaded smooth muscle cells (n=13) and endothelial cells (n=27) were imaged for Ca2+ distribution, it was observed that 100 and 300 μM CEP in Ca2+‐free medium caused Ca2+ release in both cell types. Smooth muscle cells showed a small decrease in cell length. Addition of EGTA (5 mM) reversed the effect of CEP on intracellular Ca2+ to control values.

These data show, for the first time in vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, that CEP releases Ca2+ more rapidly than ryanodine. Unlike ryanodine, CEP caused no basal contraction but depressed contractions to PE, 5‐HT and K+. The lack of basal contraction may result from altered responsiveness of the contractile system to intracellular Ca2+ elevation.

British Journal of Pharmacology (1997) 122, 504–510; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0701389