Alterations of cytosolic calcium in LLC-PK1 cells induced by vasopressin and exogenous purines.

The regulation of cytosolic calcium in LLC-PK1 cells by various agonists was characterized. Arginine vasopressin (AVP, 100 nM) rapidly increased cytosolic calcium (Caf) measured with fura-2 from a basal level of 65 +/- 5 to 516 +/- 102 nM followed by a return to a plateau level of 128 +/- 18 nM. Similar responses to 100 nM lysine vasopressin were seen. AVP also increased adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) as previously documented for these cells. A V2-selective AVP analogue increased cAMP without affecting Caf, whereas two V1-receptor antagonists prevented the Caf response to AVP without altering the cAMP response. Increasing cellular cAMP with forskolin, cholera toxin, or stable cAMP analogues did not affect Caf or the response of Caf to AVP. Both adenosine and ATP produced large Caf transients at concentrations of 1-10 microM in both calcium-containing media and after acute chelation of medium Ca with ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). The A1-selective adenosine analogue, (R-phenyl-isopropyl)-adenosine, and the A2-selective analogue, 5'-(N-ethyl)-carboxamido-adenosine, both produced Caf responses similar to adenosine. The Caf responses to adenosine and its analogues but not to ATP were blocked by the adenosine receptor antagonist, 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine. Islet-activating protein, pertussis toxin, inhibited the Caf response to adenosine and enhanced the cAMP response to AVP. Responses to all agonists were demonstrable in greater than 80% of single cells studied by microfluorometry, and individual cells responded to multiple agonists. These studies indicate that the Caf and cAMP responses to AVP in the LLC-PK1 cell line involve separate receptors, and they document the presence in this cell line of at least two types of receptors for exogenous purines.