Objective
Angiotensin II (AngII) signal transduction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cyclophilin A (CyPA) is a ubiquitously expressed cytosolic protein that possesses peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity, scaffold function and, significantly enhances AngII-induced ROS production in VSMC. We hypothesized that CyPA regulates AngII-induced ROS generation by promoting translocation of NADPH oxidase cytosolic subunit p47phox to caveolae of the plasma membrane.
Approach and Results
Overexpression of CyPA in CyPA deficient VSMC (CyPA−/−VSMC) significantly increased AngII-stimulated ROS production. NADPH oxidase inhibitors (VAS2870 or diphenylene iodonium) significantly attenuated AngII-induced ROS production in CyPA and p47phox overexpressing CyPA−/−VSMC. Cell fractionation and sucrose gradient analyses showed that AngII-induced p47phox plasma membrane translocation, specifically to the caveolae, was reduced in CyPA−/−VSMC compared to WT-VSMC. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that AngII increased p47phox and CyPA colocalization and translocation to the plasma membrane. In addition, immunoprecipitation of CyPA followed by immunoblotting for p47phox and actin showed that AngII increased CyPA and p47phox interaction. AngII-induced p47phox and actin cell cytoskeleton association was attenuated in CyPA−/−VSMC. Mechanistically, inhibition of p47phox phosphorylation and PX domain deletion attenuated CyPA and p47phox interaction. Finally, cyclosporine A and CyPA-PPIase mutant, R55A, inhibited AngII-stimulated CyPA and p47phox association in VSMC suggesting that PPIase activity was required for their interaction.
Conclusions
These findings provide the mechanism by which CyPA is an important regulator for AngII-induced ROS generation in VSMC through interaction with p47phox and cell cytoskeleton which enhances the translocation of the p47phox to the caveolae.