Coupling of ionic events to protein kinase signaling cascades upon activation of alpha7 nicotinic receptor: cooperative regulation of alpha2-integrin expression and Rho kinase activity.

ABSTRACT: Defining the signaling mechanisms and effector proteins mediating phenotypic and mechanical plasticity of keratinocytes (KCs) during wound epithelialization is one of the major goals in epithelial cell biology. The acetylcholine (ACh)-gated ion channels, or nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs), mediate the nicotinergic signaling that controls crawling locomotion of KCs. To elucidate relative contributions of the ionic and protein kinase-mediated events elicited due to activation of alpha7 nAChRs, we quantitated expression of alpha2-integrin gene at the mRNA and protein levels and also measured Rho kinase activity in KCs stimulated with the alpha7 agonist AR-R17779 while blocking the Na+ or Ca2+ entry and/or inhibiting signaling kinases. The results demonstrated the existence of the two-compone

SUBMITTER: Chernyavsky AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2755938 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature