This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Data Supplement All Versions of this Article: 96/2/207    most recent 01.RES.0000152967.88472.3ev1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by He, Y. Articles by Touyz, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by He, Y. Articles by Touyz, R. M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles HomoloGene UniGene Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS MAGNESIUM, ELEMENTAL Related Collections ACE/Angiotension receptors Cell biology/structural biology Cell signalling/signal transduction Ion channels/membrane transport Other Vascular biology

(Circulation Research. 2005;96:207.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cellular Biology

Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 7 Ion Channels Regulate Magnesium Homeostasis in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Role of Angiotensin II

Ying He, Guoying Yao, Carmine Savoia, Rhian M. Touyz

From the CIHR Multidisciplinary Research Group on Hypertension, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, Canada.

Correspondence to Rhian M. Touyz, MD, PhD, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, 110 Pine Ave West, Montreal, H2W 1R7, Canada. E-mail touyzr{at}ircm.qc.ca

Magnesium modulates vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) function. However, molecular mechanisms regulating VSMC Mg²⁺ remain unknown. Using biochemical, pharmacological, and genetic tools, the role of transient receptor potential membrane melastatin 7 (TRPM7) cation channel in VSMC Mg²⁺ homeostasis was evaluated. Rat, mouse, and human VSMCs were studied. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting demonstrated TRPM7 presence in VSMCs (membrane and cytosol). Angiotensin II (Ang II) and aldosterone increased TRPM7 expression. Gene silencing using small interfering RNA (siRNA) against TRPM7, downregulated TRPM7 (mRNA and protein). Basal [Mg²⁺]_i, measured by mag fura-2AM, was reduced in siRNA-transfected cells (0.39±0.01 mmol/L) versus controls (0.54±0.01 mmol/L; P<0.01). Extracellular Mg²⁺ dose-dependently increased [Mg²⁺]_i in control cells (E_max 0.70±0.02 mmol/L) and nonsilencing siRNA-transfected cells (E_max 0.71±0.04 mmol/L), but not in siRNA-transfected cells (E_max 0.5±0.01 mmol/L). The functional significance of TRPM7 was evaluated by assessing [Mg²⁺]_i and growth responses to Ang II in TRPM7 knockdown cells. Acute Ang II stimulation decreased [Mg²⁺]_i in control and TRPM7-deficient cells in a Na⁺-dependent manner. Chronic stimulation increased [Mg²⁺]_i in control, but not in siRNA-transfected VSMCs. Ang II–induced DNA and protein synthesis, measured by ³[H]-thymidine and ³[H]-leucine incorporation, respectively, were increased in control and nonsilencing cells, but not in TRPM7 knockdown VSMCs. Our data indicate that VSMCs possess membrane-associated, Ang II–, and aldosterone-regulated TRPM7 channels, which play a role in regulating basal [Mg²⁺]_i, transmembrane Mg²⁺ transport and DNA and protein synthesis. These novel findings identify TRPM7 as a functionally important regulator of Mg²⁺ homeostasis and growth in VSMCs.

Key Words: cations • TRPM channels • vessels • aldosterone • angiotensin II • siRNA