A role for protein phosphorylation in modulating Ca2+ elevation in rabbit platelets treated with thapsigargin.

The effect of modifying protein kinase and phosphatase activity on Ca2+ influx induced by inhibition of Ca(2+)-ATPase activity has been investigated in rabbit platelets. Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or inhibition of phosphatase type 1/2A (PP1/2A) activity with calyculin A caused a dose-dependent inhibition of cytosolic Ca2+ elevation in thapsigargin (Tg)-treated platelets and decreased Ca2+ influx into platelets at a time when Ca2+ channels had already been opened by pretreatment of cells with Tg. In addition, both activation of PKC and inhibition of PP1/2A activity caused a dose-dependent inhibition of bivalent cation (Mn2+) influx (acting as a surrogate for Ca2+ influx) in Tg-treated platelets. Inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase activity caused a small decrease in [Ca2+]i elevation in Tg-treated platelets, but had no effect on the ability of PMA or calyculin A to inhibit Tg-induced [Ca2+]i elevation Unexpectedly, PMA inhibited Tg-induced [Ca2+]i elevation in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, and in agreement calyculin A decreased [Ca2+]i elevation almost to basal levels. The results from this study were confirmed with another Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor, namely 2,5-di(tert-butyl)hydroquinone (tBHQ). These findings therefore suggest that modification of phosphorylation of target protein(s) on serine/threonine amino acid residues plays a role in the regulation of both Ca2+ influx and in the filling state of the intracellular Ca2+ pool in platelets treated with Tg.