Hormone-specific defect in insulin regulation of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-adenosine triphosphatase activity in kidney membranes from streptozocin non-insulin-dependent diabetic rats.

The plasma membrane enzyme (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-adenosine triphosphatase [(Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase] is hormonally regulated, and may participate in Ca2+ signaling by removing excess Ca2+ from the cell. Insulin increases ATPase activity in kidney cortical basolateral membranes (BLM) from normal rats, but fails to do so in membranes from insulin-resistant non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDDM) rats. To investigate mechanisms of insulin regulation of ATPase and to evaluate whether the loss of this regulation in diabetes is hormone-specific and depends on blood glucose levels, (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase function and its hormonal regulation were studied in kidney BLM from rats with mild and severe NIDDM. Km values for ATP and Ca2+ affinity of the ATPase were similar in diabetic and control rats, but the maximal velocity (Vmax) of the enzyme was higher in diabetic groups. Insulin, the protein kinase C (PKC) stimulator 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) all increased the ATPase activity in BLM from controls by increasing the enzyme's affinity for Ca2+. A protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor (H8 in low concentrations) abolished cAMP and PTH effects, but not those of insulin, whereas the PKC inhibitors (sphingosine and high concentrations of H8) did abolish the effects of insulin. Stimulations of ATPase activity by insulin and by PTH and cAMP were additive. Insulin and TPA lost their stimulatory effects on ATPase in BLM from rats with either mild or severe NIDDM, but PTH and cAMP maintained their stimulatory effects in these membranes. The data show [1] (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity is increased in NIDDM, and a hormone-specific loss of insulin stimulation of ATPase occurs; (2) these defects are not dependent on the level of glycemia; and (3) the stimulatory effects of insulin on the ATPase may be mediated in part via PKC. We suggest that the hormone-specific defect in insulin regulation of ATPase seen in the NIDDM rats may contribute to their insulin resistance.