A role for phosphorylation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors in defining calcium signals induced by Peptide agonists in pancreatic acinar cells.

Stimulation of pancreatic acinar cells with acetylcholine (ACh) and cholecystokinin (CCK) results in an elevation of cytosolic calcium (Ca(2+)) through activation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (InsP(3)R). The global temporal pattern of the Ca(2+) changes produced by ACh or CCK stimulation differs significantly. The hypothesis was tested that CCK stimulation results in a protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation of InsP(3)R and this event contributes to the generation of agonist-specific Ca(2+) signals. Physiological concentrations of CCK evoked phosphorylation of the type III InsP(3)R, which was blocked by pharmacological inhibition of PKA. Imaging of fura-2-loaded acinar cells revealed that the rate of Ca(2+) rise during CCK-evoked oscillations slows with each subsequent oscillation, consistent with a developing modulation of release, whereas the kinetics of ACh-evoked oscillations remain constant. Stimulation of cells with ACh following activation of PKA resulted in a slowing of the ACh-evoked Ca(2+) rise, which now resembled a time-matched CCK response. PKA activation also resulted in a slowing of Ca(2+) increases elicited by photolysis of caged InsP(3). Targeted, PKA-mediated phosphorylation of type III InsP(3)R is involved in a physiological CCK response, as disruption of the targeting of PKA with the peptide HT31 resulted in marked changes in the CCK-evoked Ca(2+) signal but had no effect on ACh-evoked responses. Stimulation of cells with bombesin, which evokes Ca(2+) oscillations indistinguishable from those produced by CCK, also results in PKA-mediated phosphorylation of type III InsP(3)R. Thus, we conclude that PKA-mediated phosphorylation of type III InsP(3)R is a general mechanism by which the patterns of Ca(2+) oscillations are shaped in pancreatic acinar cells.