Reif GA, Yamaguchi T, Nivens E, Fujiki H, Pinto CS, Wallace DP. Tolvaptan inhibits ERK-dependent cell proliferation, Cl Ϫ secretion, and in vitro cyst growth of human ADPKD cells stimulated by vasopressin. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 301: F1005-F1013, 2011. First published August 3, 2011 doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00243.2011In autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), arginine vasopressin (AVP) accelerates cyst growth by stimulating cAMP-dependent ERK activity and epithelial cell proliferation and by promoting Cl Ϫ -dependent fluid secretion. Tolvaptan, a V2 receptor antagonist, inhibits the renal effects of AVP and slows cyst growth in PKD animals. Here, we determined the effect of graded concentrations of tolvaptan on intracellular cAMP, ERK activity, cell proliferation, and transcellular Cl Ϫ secretion using human ADPKD cyst epithelial cells. Incubation of ADPKD cells with 10 Ϫ9 M AVP increased intracellular cAMP and stimulated ERK and cell proliferation. Tolvaptan caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of AVP-induced cAMP production with an apparent IC50 of ϳ10 Ϫ10 M. Correspondingly, tolvaptan inhibited AVP-induced ERK signaling and cell proliferation. Basolateral application of AVP to ADPKD cell monolayers grown on permeable supports caused a sustained increase in short-circuit current that was completely blocked by the Cl Ϫ channel blocker CFTRinh-172, consistent with AVP-induced transepithelial Cl Ϫ secretion. Tolvaptan inhibited AVP-induced Cl Ϫ secretion and decreased in vitro cyst growth of ADPKD cells cultured within a three-dimensional collagen matrix. These data demonstrate that relatively low concentrations of tolvaptan inhibit AVP-stimulated cell proliferation and Cl Ϫ -dependent fluid secretion by human ADPKD cystic cells.

Adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms 1 to 9 are differentially expressed in tissues and constitute an interesting drug target. ACs 1 to 8 are activated by the diterpene, forskolin (FS). It is unfortunate that there is a paucity of AC isoform-selective activators. To develop such compounds, an understanding of the structure/activity relationships of diterpenes is necessary. Therefore, we examined the effects of FS and nine FS analogs on ACs 1, 2, and 5 expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells. Diterpenes showed the highest potencies at AC1 and the lowest potencies at AC2. We identified full agonists, partial agonists, antagonists, and inverse agonists, i.e., diterpenes that reduced basal AC activity. Each AC isoform exhibited a distinct pharmacological profile. AC2 showed the highest basal activity of all AC isoforms and highest sensitivity to inverse agonistic effects of 1-deoxy-forskolin, 7-deacetyl-1,9-dideoxy-forskolin, and, particularly, BODIPY-forskolin. In contrast, BODIPY-forskolin acted as partial agonist at the other ACs. 1-Deoxy-forskolin analogs were devoid of agonistic activity at ACs but antagonized the effects of FS in a mixed competitive/noncompetitive manner. At purified catalytic AC subunits, BODIPY-forskolin acted as weak partial agonist/strong partial antagonist. Molecular modeling revealed that the BODIPY group rotates promiscuously outside of the FS-binding site. Collectively, ACs are not uniformly activated and inhibited by FS and FS analogs, demonstrating the feasibility to design isoform-selective FS analogs. The two-and multiple-state models, originally developed to conceptualize ligand effects at G-protein-coupled receptors, can be applied to ACs to explain certain experimental data.

In renal cystic diseases, sustained enlargement of fluid-filled cysts is associated with severe interstitial fibrosis and progressive loss of functioning nephrons. Periostin, a matricellular protein, is highly overexpressed in cyst-lining epithelial cells of autosomal dominant polycystic disease kidneys (ADPKD) compared to normal tubule cells. Periostin accumulates in situ within the matrix subjacent to ADPKD cysts, binds to αVβ3- and αVβ5-integrins and stimulates the integrin-linked kinase to promote cell proliferation. We knocked out periostin (Postn) in pcy/pcy mice, an orthologous model of nephronophthisis type 3, to determine whether periostin loss reduces PKD progression in a slowly progressive model of renal cystic disease. At 20 weeks of age, pcy/pcy: Postn−/− mice had a 34% reduction in kidney weight/body weight, a reduction in cyst number and total cystic area, a 69% reduction in phosphorylated S6, a downstream component of the mTOR pathway, and fewer proliferating cells in the kidneys compared to pcy/pcy: Postn+/+ mice. The pcy/pcy Postn knockout mice also had less interstitial fibrosis with improved renal function at 20 weeks and significantly longer survival (51.4 compared to 38.0 weeks). Thus, periostin adversely modifies the progression of renal cystic disease by promoting cyst epithelial cell proliferation, cyst enlargement and interstitial fibrosis, all contributing to the decline in renal function and premature death.

The diterpene forskolin (FS) binds to, and activates, mammalian membranous adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms I–VIII. Diterpenes without C1-OH group do not activate ACs. The C1-OH group forms a hydrogen bond with the backbone oxygen of Val506 of the C1 catalytic subunit of AC (isoform V numbering). To better understand the mechanism of AC activation we examined the interactions of FS and eight FS analogs with purified catalytic AC subunits C1 (AC V) and C2 (AC II) by fluorescence spectroscopy, using 2′,3′-O-(N-methylanthraniloyl)-guanosine 5′-triphosphate (MANT-GTP) as fluorescent reporter probe, and by enzymatic activity. FS analogs induced C1/C2 assembly as assessed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer from Trp1020 of C2 to MANT-GTP and by increased direct MANT-GTP fluorescence in the order of efficacy FS ~ 7-deacetyl-FS ~ 6-acetyl-7-deacetyl-FS ~ 9-deoxy-FS > 7-deacetyl-7-(N-methylpiperazino-γ-butyryloxy)-FS > 1-deoxy-FS ~ 1,9-dideoxy-FS ~ 7-deacetyl-1-deoxy-FS ~ 7-deacetyl-1,9-dideoxy-FS. In contrast, FS analogs activated catalysis in the order of efficacy FS > 7-deacety-FS ~ 6-acetyl-7-deacetyl-FS ~ 9-deoxy-FS > 7-deacetyl-7-(N-methylpiperazino-γ-butyryloxy)-FS ≫ 1-deoxy-FS, 1,9-dideoxy-FS, 7-deacetyl-1-deoxy-FS and 7-deacetyl-1,9-dideoxy-FS (all ineffective). 1-Deoxy-FS analogs inhibited FS-stimulated catalysis by an apparently non-competitive mechanism. Our data suggest a two-step mechanism of AC activation by diterpenes. In the first step, diterpenes, regardless of their substitution pattern, promote C1/C2 assembly. In the second and yet poorly understood step, diterpenes that form a hydrogen bond between C1-OH and Val506 promote a conformational switch that results in activation of catalysis. The apparent non-competitive interaction of FS with 1-deoxy-FS analogs is explained by impaired ligand exchange due to strong hydrophobic interactions with C1/C2.