Adrenomedullin as a novel growth-promoting factor for cultured vascular smooth muscle cells: role of tyrosine kinase-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase activation.

To examine whether adrenomedullin (AM), a novel vasodilator peptide, acts as a growth modulator in the vasculature, the effects of AM on protein tyrosine phosphorylation, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, protooncogene expression, DNA synthesis, and cell proliferation were studied in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). AM and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), although weaker than AM, stimulated DNA synthesis and cell proliferation of quiescent VSMC, whose effects were inhibited by a CGRP receptor antagonist, CGRP-(8-37). AM induced a rapid increase in MAPK activity, followed by the expression of the immediate early protooncogene c-fos. AM-induced MAPK activation and cell proliferation were completely blocked by protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (genistein and ST638). Moreover, AM rapidly induced tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins (approximately 120, approximately 90, and approximately 50 kDa) and transiently increased association of a tyrosine-phosphorylated protein (approximately 120 kDa) and Shc with the glutathione-S-transferase-Grb2 fusion protein. A MAPK kinase inhibitor (PD98059) also reduced the AM-induced MAPK activation, c-fos messenger RNA expression, and cell proliferation. Although AM has been shown to induce vasodilation through cAMP production in VSMC, a cAMP antagonist (Rp-cAMP-thionate) and a protein kinase A inhibitor (KT5720) failed to block AM-induced MAPK activation and DNA synthesis. Moreover, 8-bromo-cAMP and forskolin did not affect the MAPK activity. AM had no effect on either the intracellular Ca2+ concentration or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate formation. In addition, a protein kinase C inhibitor (GF109203X) did not inhibit the AM-induced MAPK activation. These data suggest that in addition to its vasodilatory effect through the cAMP-dependent pathway, AM exerts its mitogenic activity via protein tyrosine kinase-mediated MAPK activation in quiescent rat VSMC.