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Calcium-dependent membrane association sensitizes soluble guanylyl cyclase to nitric oxide

Nature Cell Biology volume 4, pages 307–311 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous, cell-permeable intercellular messenger1. The current concept assumes that NO diffuses freely through the plasma membrane2 into the cytoplasm of a target cell, where it activates its cytosolic receptor enzyme3, soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC). Recent evidence, however, suggests that cellular membranes are not only the predominant site of calcium-dependent NO synthesis4, but also the site of its distribution and binding5. Here we extend this concept to NO signalling to show that active sGC is partially associated with the plasma membrane in a state of enhanced NO sensitivity. After cellular activation, sGC further translocates to the membrane fraction in human platelets and associates with the NO-synthase-containing caveolar fraction in rat lung endothelial cells, in a manner that is dependent on the concentration of intracellular calcium. Our data suggest that the entire NO signalling pathway is more spatially confined than previously assumed and that sGC dynamically translocates to the plasma membrane, where it is sensitized to NO.

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Figure 1: Active sGC in a rat heart membrane is more sensitive to stimulation with NO than cytosolic sGC.
Figure 2: NO-sensitive sGC translocates to membranes upon platelet activation and in the presence of elevated calcium levels.
Figure 3: sGC is enriched in a caveolae-containing plasma membrane fraction from lung endothelial cells.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank E. Martinson for editing the manuscript, and H. Fella and M. Hoch for technical assistance. R. Venema is gratefully acknowledged for providing us with caveolin expression vectors. We thank J. Lancaster, H. Repp and K. Wingler for very helpful discussions, L. Neyses for advice with the preparation of rat heart membranes, and J. Geiger for help in determining free calcium concentrations. This work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB547/C7), the Unibund Würzburg, and the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Julius-Maximilians-University, Versbacher Str. 9, Würzburg, 97078, Germany

    Ulrike Zabel & Christoph Kleinschnitz

  2. Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, 10835 Altman Row, San Diego, 92121, California, USA

    Phil Oh & Jan E. Schnitzer

  3. Rudolf-Buchheim-Institute for Pharmacology, Justus-Liebig-University, Frankfurter Str. 107, Giessen, 35392, Germany

    Pavel Nedvetsky, Helmut Müller, Petra Kronich & Harald H. H. W. Schmidt

  4. Dept. of Clinical Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Julius-Maximilians-University, Versbacher Str. 5, Würzburg, Germany

    Albert Smolenski & Ulrich Walter

  5. Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Julius-Maximilians-University, Koellikerstr. 6, Würzburg, Germany

    Peter Kugler

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  1. Ulrike Zabel
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Correspondence to Harald H. H. W. Schmidt.

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Zabel, U., Kleinschnitz, C., Oh, P. et al. Calcium-dependent membrane association sensitizes soluble guanylyl cyclase to nitric oxide. Nat Cell Biol 4, 307–311 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb775

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