Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase activity in pheochromocytoma PC-12 cells by bradykinin.

Tyrosine hydroxylase is activated and phosphorylated following treatment of PC-12 cells with bradykinin. In order to determine the mechanisms by which this occurs, we have evaluated the second messenger systems that may be responsible for this activation and phosphorylation. Inositol phosphates appear to play an important role in the activation and phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase because bradykinin treatment significantly increased the formation of [3H]inositol phosphates and the concentration of intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) in PC-12 cells. The uptake of extracellular 45Ca2+ into PC-12 cells at 1 min was significantly increased (107%) by bradykinin treatment and this increase was blocked by La3+, an inorganic calcium channel inhibitor, but not by nifedipine, an inhibitor of voltage-dependent calcium channels. The activation of tyrosine hydroxylase in PC-12 cells following bradykinin treatment was partially inhibited by La3+. Additivity experiments were performed to evaluate whether the activation and phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase in PC-12 cells following treatment with bradykinin (10 microM) was similar to the activation and phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase in PC-12 cells following treatment with dibutyryl cAMP (2 mM), 4 beta-phorbol-12 beta-myristate-13 alpha-acetate (PMA) (2 microM), and high K+ (56 mM). The combination of bradykinin and PMA produced additive effects, indicating that the activation of tyrosine hydroxylase by treatment with these two compounds was through different mechanisms. Furthermore, exposure of PC-12 cells to bradykinin did not increase intracellular cAMP levels. The combination of bradykinin and PMA treatments produced only partial additivity in tyrosine hydroxylase activity and phosphorylation. No additivity was produced with bradykinin and high K-treatment. Phosphopeptide analysis was performed on tyrosine hydroxylase obtained from PC-12 cells treated with bradykinin. Bradykinin treatment produced a significant incorporation of [32P]-phosphate into two phosphopeptides of tryptically digested tyrosine hydroxylase. One of these peptides corresponds to a peptide obtained by trypsinization of purified tyrosine hydroxylase that is phosphorylated by purified calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. The other 32P-tyrosine hydroxylase-peptide obtained from PC-12 cells treated with bradykinin corresponds to the phosphorylation site obtained during PMA stimulation of PC-12 cells. These results indicate that bradykinin treatment increases intracellular inositol phosphates, calcium, and possibly diacylglycerol levels in PC-12 cells. These effects could then increase calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase activity and possibly calcium/phospholipid-dependent protein (protein kinase C) activity, resulting in increased phosphorylation and activity of tyrosine hydroxylase.