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R J Kovacs

Publications and source records attributed to R J Kovacs.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Prevention of docosahexaenoic acid-induced cytotoxicity by phosphatidic acid in Jurkat leukemic cells: the role of protein phosphatase-1.

The present investigation explores the role of phosphatidic acid (PA), a specific protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) inhibitor, in cytotoxicity induced by docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The cytotoxicity of DHA was assayed by quantifying cell survival using the trypan blue exclusion method. A dose-response effect demonstrated that 5 or 10 microM DHA has no effect on Jurkat cell survival; however, 15 microM DHA rapidly decreased cell survival to 40% within 2 h of treatment. Cytotoxicity of 15 microM DHA was prevented by PA. Structurally similar phospholipids (lysophosphatidic acid, sphingosine 1-phosphate, sphingosine, and sphingosine phosphocholine) or metabolites of PA (lyso-PA and diacylglycerol) did not prevent DHA-induced cytotoxicity. PA did not produce micelles alone or in combination with DHA as examined spectrophotometrically, indicating that PA did not entrap DHA and therefore did not affect the amount of DHA available to the cells. Supporting this observation, the uptake or incorporation of [1-14C]DHA in Jurkat cells was not affected by the presence of PA. However, PA treatment reduced the amount of DHA-induced inorganic phosphate released from Jurkat leukemic cells and also inhibited DHA-induced dephosphorylation of cellular proteins. These observations indicate that PA has exerted its anti-cytotoxic effects by causing inhibition of protein phosphatase activities. Cytotoxicity of DHA on Jurkat cells was also blocked by the use of a highly specific caspase-3 inhibitor (N-acetyl-ala-ala-val-ala-leu-leu-pro-ala-val-leu-leu-ala-leu-leu-ala-pro-asp-glu-val-asp-CHO), indicating that the cytotoxic effects of DHA were due to the induction of apoptosis though activation of caspase-3. Consistent with these data, proteolytic activation of procaspase-3 was also evident when examined by immunoblotting. PA prevented procaspase-3 degradation in DHA-treated cells, indicating that PA causes inhibition of DHA-induced apoptosis in Jurkat leukemic cells. Since DHA-induced apoptosis can be inhibited by PA, we conclude that the process is mediated through activation of PP1.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2001

Docosahexaenoic acid induces apoptosis in Jurkat cells by a protein phosphatase-mediated process.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid under intense investigation for its ability to modulate cancer cell growth and survival. This research was performed to study the cellular and molecular effects of DHA. Our experiments indicated that the treatment of Jurkat cells with DHA inhibited their survival, whereas similar concentrations (60 and 90 microM) of arachidonic acid and oleic acid had little effect. To explore the mechanism of inhibition, we used several measures of apoptosis to determine whether this process was involved in DHA-induced cell death in Jurkat cells. Caspase-3, an important cytosolic downstream regulator of apoptosis, is activated by death signals through proteolytic cleavage. Incubation of Jurkat cells with 60 and 90 microM DHA caused proteolysis of caspase-3 within 48 and 24 h, respectively. DHA treatment also caused the degradation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase and DNA fragmentation as assayed by flow cytometric TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling) assay. These results indicate that DHA induces apoptosis in Jurkat leukemic cells. DHA-induced apoptosis was effectively inhibited by tautomycin and cypermethrin at concentrations that affect protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and protein phosphatase 2B (PP2B) activities, respectively, implying a role for these phosphatases in the apoptotic pathway. Okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A, had no effect on DHA-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that one mechanism through which DHA may control cancer cell growth is through apoptosis involving PP1/PP2B protein phosphatase activities.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2001

Phospholipids released from activated platelets improve platelet aggregation and endothelial cell migration.

This study was undertaken to isolate phospholipids released from activated platelets and to investigate their biological activities. Freshly washed platelets were activated with freezing/thawing, thrombin, ionophore 23187, and arachidonic acid. Thrombin was incubated with platelet-rich plasma to promote synthesis and release of phospholipids from platelets. Phospholipids in supernatants of activated platelets were extracted with butanol and separated by thin-layer chromatography. Release of phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidic acid (PA) increased when platelets were treated with freezing/thawing, ionophore, and thrombin. The lysophosphatidyl ethanolamine (LPE) appeared not to be induced with freezing/thawing, but increased significantly by thrombin, ionophore, and arachidonic acid. The effects of platelet phospholipids on hemostasis and angiogenesis were studied with platelet aggregation and endothelium chemotaxis. Phospholipids isolated from thrombin-stimulated platelet-rich/platelet-poor plasmas were used as synergistic agonists in platelet aggregation and as chemotactic agents in endothelial cell migration. Several phospholipids increased chemotaxis and platelet aggregation; these were PS, PA, LPE, and sphingosine-1-phosphate. Also, chemotaxis of those phospholipids increased when combined with charcoal-stripped fetal bovine serum, suggesting that cofactors in serum enhanced phospholipid-induced cell migration. These observations suggest that activated platelets release biologically active phospholipids into the blood stream, where they may play an important role in thrombosis and angiogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Arachidonic acid induces mobilization of calcium stores and c-jun gene expression: evidence that intracellular calcium release is associated with c-jun activation.

Arachidonic acid (AA) plays a signaling role in the induction of several genes. We previously demonstrated that AA induces c-jun gene expression in the stromal cell line +/+.1 LDA 11 by a signaling pathway involving activation of the c-jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK). This study investigated the role of calcium in AA signaling of c-jun activation in +/+.1 LDA 11 cells. AA (10-50 microM) caused a rapid dose-dependent rise in cytosolic calcium. AA-induced calcium mobilization involved both influx of extracellular calcium and the release of intracellular calcium. The importance of calcium was investigated by variation of the extracellular calcium concentration, chelation of intracellular calcium and by calcium ionophore-induced influx of extracellular calcium. AA-induced c-jun gene expression and increased luciferase activity of a construct containing the high affinity AP-1 binding site was decreased in cells preincubated with the intracellular calcium chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)-eThane-N,N,N',N',-tetraacetic acid tetra(aceToxymethyl-esTer) (BAPTA-AM, 10 microM) prior to stimulation with AA. Similarly, chelation of intracellular calcium decreased AA-induced JNK activation. On the contrary, changes in the extracellular calcium concentration had no effect. Also, ionophore A23187 failed to induce c-jun and JNK activation either alone than in combination with AA. These results suggested that calcium was required for AA-dependent activation of c-jun, but that calcium alone was insufficient to induce activation of c-jun. Thus, release of calcium from intracellular stores is implicated in the signaling pathway of AA-induced c-jun activation in stromal cells.

Arachidonic Acid↗
PubMed1991

Unique phosphorylation site on the cardiac ryanodine receptor regulates calcium channel activity.

Ryanodine receptors have recently been shown to be the Ca2+ release channels of sarcoplasmic reticulum in both cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle. Several regulatory sites are postulated to exist on these receptors, but to date, none have been definitively identified. In the work described here, we localize one of these sites by showing that the cardiac isoform of the ryanodine receptor is a preferred substrate for multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase). Phosphorylation by CaM kinase occurs at a single site encompassing serine 2809. Antibodies generated to this site react only with the cardiac isoform of the ryanodine receptor, and immunoprecipitate only cardiac [3H]ryanodine-binding sites. When cardiac junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles or partially purified ryanodine receptors are fused with planar bilayers, phosphorylation at this site activates the Ca2+ channel. In tissues expressing the cardiac isoform of the ryanodine receptor, such as heart and brain, phosphorylation of the Ca2+ release channel by CaM kinase may provide a unique mechanism for regulating intracellular Ca2+ release.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

ATP-sensitive K+ channels from aortic smooth muscle incorporated into planar lipid bilayers.

Glibenclamide binding sites were identified in a membrane preparation from canine aortic smooth muscle. The dissociation constant for [3H]glibenclamide binding was 10 +/- 2 nM, with a density of 420 +/- 108 fmol/mg protein. The properties of ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels from the same membrane preparation incorporated into planar lipid bilayers were investigated. ATP was a potent inhibitor of the channels with half-maximal inhibition of channel activity by 41 microM ATP. Glibenclamide inhibited channel activity, and cromakalim activated the channel in the presence of ATP. Blockers of Ca(2+)-activated K+ (KCa) channels (charybdotoxin and tetraethylammonium ions) did not affect KATP channels in concentrations that caused significant block of KCa channels in bilayers. This membrane preparation should allow further biochemical and functional characterization of KATP channels and glibenclamide receptors in arterial smooth muscle.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1989

Selective parasympathectomy increases the quantity of inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding proteins in canine cardiac ventricle.

In mammalian heart, vagal stimulation or the direct application of acetylcholine produces profound direct effects on the electro-physiologic characteristics of atrial myocytes. At the tissue level, these effects are observed as shortening of atrial action potential duration. Despite anatomic, biochemical, and physiologic evidence for significant vagal input to the mammalian ventricle, similar direct effects of acetylcholine on the ventricular action potential have been difficult to demonstrate. Chronic denervation via cervical vagotomy is one method that has been shown to render previously unresponsive ventricular myocytes sensitive to acetylcholine, but the molecular mechanism has not been defined. In the experiments described, selective cardiac para-sympathectomy was performed on mongrel dogs. Five to seven days after parasympathectomy, the dogs were sacrificed, electrophysiologic responses to acetylcholine were measured, and sarcolemmal vesicles were prepared. After parasympathectomy, ventricular myocytes were responsive to the effects of acetylcholine, manifested as shortening of the action potential duration. A quantitative and functional assessment of the transmembrane signalling mechanisms of the muscarinic receptor was carried out. After parasympathectomy, the density of muscarinic receptors in the sarcolemma was increased, compared with control ventricles. After parasympathectomy, ventricular sarcolemma displayed significant increases in both basal and oxotremorine-stimulated GTPase activity. ADP-ribosylation revealed significantly increased quantities of the pertussis toxin substrates Gi and Go. The quantity of ADP ribose incorporated was correlated with the increased level of GTPase activity in control and oxotremorine-stimulated membranes. Quantitation of the alpha and beta gamma subunits of the guanine nucleotide-binding proteins by immunoblot confirmed the increase in density of inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding proteins following parasympathectomy. The results offer new insights into possible mechanisms of altered electrophysiologic responsiveness to acetylcholine following cardiac parasympathectomy.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1988

Phospholamban forms Ca2+-selective channels in lipid bilayers.

Phospholamban is the major membrane protein of the heart phosphorylated in response to beta-adrenergic stimulation. A role for phospholamban in the control of Ca2+ transport by the sarcoplasmic reticulum has been postulated, but the mechanism is incompletely understood. Structural characterization of the purified protein suggests that it is capable of forming a membrane-spanning pore (Simmerman, H. K. B., Collins, J. H., Theibert, J. L., Wegener, A. D., and Jones, L. R. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 13333-13341). The experiments described here tested the hypothesis that canine cardiac phospholamban, isolated in the fully dephosphorylated state, forms ion channels in lipid bilayers. Phospholamban purified by two different methods formed channels that were permeable to cations, exhibited spontaneous openings and closings, and were selective for Ca2+ over K+. Dihydropyridine drugs and ryanodine did not affect channel activity. The putative membrane-spanning portion of the molecule, residues 26-52, also formed channels in the bilayer. The putative regulatory portion of the molecule, residues 2-25, did not. The results suggest that phospholamban may regulate sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ flux by acting as a Ca2+ channel.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1988

Surgery for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome interrupts efferent vagal innervation to the left ventricle and to the atrioventricular node in the canine heart.

The hypothesis that cardiac surgery to interrupt accessory pathways also interrupts autonomic nerves to the canine ventricle and to the atrioventricular node was tested in four groups of dogs. Group 1 (n = 6) underwent dissection of the atrioventricular fat tissue and cryolesion created by application of a cryoprobe at -60 degrees C for 2 min along the lateral left atrioventricular groove, the same surgical procedure as carried out in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with accessory pathways located in the left ventricular free wall. Group 2 (n = 6) underwent dissection of the atrioventricular fat pad alone and group 3 (n = 6) dissection and cryolesion along the posterior left atrioventricular groove as performed in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with accessory pathways located in the posterior paraseptal area. Group 4 consisted of 11 non-operated control dogs. Four to 13 days after surgery the ventricular effective refractory period (ERP) was determined during bilateral ansae subclaviae stimulation (4 ms pulses, 2-3 Hz, and 2-3 mA), noradrenaline infusion (0.5 micrograms.kg-1.min-1), and bilateral vagal stimulation (4 ms pulses, 20 Hz, and current strength to induce asystole or complete atrioventricular block). Atrioventricular nodal conduction (AH interval) and spontaneous sinus cycle length were also determined in group 3 dogs. Ansae subclaviae stimulation and noradrenaline infusion shortened effective refractory period significantly at each left ventricular test site. The amount of effective refractory period shortening induced by ansae subclaviae stimulation did not differ among the test sites except for the posterior left ventricle in group 1 dogs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Effects of acetylcholine on action potential characteristics of atrial and ventricular myocardium after bilateral cervical vagotomy in the cat.

Acetylcholine, the parasympathetic neurotransmitter, shortens the action potential duration of cat atrial muscle cells, but not ventricular muscle cells. In mammalian species, atrial tissue receives a richer cholinergic nerve supply than ventricular tissue. To determine whether chronic withdrawal of cholinergic tone might influence the subsequent response of these tissues to cholinergic stimulation, we examined the effect of acetylcholine on the action potentials of atrial and ventricular myocytes from cats with intact vagi and cats after chronic bilateral cervical vagotomy. Following bilateral cervical vagotomy, physostigmine (10(-6) M) failed to alter atrial tension development or action potential duration. Acetylcholine produced shortening of the action potential duration in atrial muscle from cats with intact vagi and in cats following bilateral cervical vagotomy. However, the degree of shortening produced by acetylcholine after bilateral cervical vagotomy was significantly greater (P less than 0.001). In ventricular muscle from cats with intact vagi, acetylcholine did not alter action potential duration. In ventricular muscle from cats after bilateral cervical vagotomy, acetylcholine shortened the action potential duration. Maximal effect was seen at a concentration of 10(-5) M where acetylcholine shortened action potential duration at 90% repolarization from a control value of 179 +/- 4 to 150 +/- 7 msec. Atropine (10(-6) M) reversed the effects of acetylcholine. Addition of propranolol (10(-6) M) to the superfusate or pretreatment of the animals with reserpine (2 mg/kg, ip) 24 hours before sacrifice failed to alter the response of ventricular muscle cells to acetylcholine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1984

Adenosine and prostacyclin independent electrophysiological effects of dipyridamole in guinea-pig papillary muscles and canine cardiac Purkinje fibers.

Dipyridamole was initially introduced as a coronary vasodilator. The exact mechanism of action of dipyridamole on the coronary vasculature is unknown, but proposed mechanisms of action include inhibition of adenosine uptake, increased myocardial prostacyclin production and inhibition of phosphodiesterase activity. The purpose of our study was to examine the electrophysiological effects of dipyridamole on guinea-pig papillary muscles and canine cardiac Purkinje fibers to determine whether similar mechanisms might account for the electrophysiological effects of this compound. Conventional microelectrode techniques were used to record transmembrane action potentials from either guinea-pig papillary muscles or canine cardiac Purkinje fibers. Dipyridamole produces a dose-dependent prolongation of action potential duration with a threshold concentration of approximately 5 X 10(-7) M in tissues from either species. Dipyridamole (10(-5) M) increases action potential amplitude (124 +/- 1 to 127 +/- 1 mV), increases action potential duration (119 +/- 6 to 146 +/- 5 msec) and produces hyperpolarization of the resting potential (-85 +/- 1 to -87 +/- 1 mV) in guinea-pig papillary muscles (n = 27, P less than .05). Dipyridamole (10(-5) M) increases action potential duration (276 +/- 5 to 293 +/- 5 msec) in canine cardiac Purkinje fibers (n = 21, P less than .05). The effects of dipyridamole (5 X 10(-7) M) are neither accentuated by adenosine (10(-4) M) nor attenuated by adenosine deaminase (1 U/ml) Pretreatment with indomethacin (10(-5) M) does not block these effects. Dipyridamole (10(-5) M) produces a negative chronotropic response in canine Purkinje fibers, increases mean escape intervals from 4.9 +/- 0.9 to 7.8 +/- 1.4 sec (n = 8, P less than .05) and fails to suppress slow response action potentials in 22 mM K+ depolarized tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

2',3'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases↗