Genomic cloning and species-specific properties of the recombinant canine beta3-adrenoceptor

Physiology and pathophysiology of the β3-adrenergic receptor

The β₃-adrenergic receptor (β₃-AR) is an important regulator of various physiological functions, such as thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, lipolysis in white adipose tissue, negative inotropic effect in cardiomyocyte, and relaxation in blood vessel. The activation of β₃-AR by its agonists is shown to have metabolic (antiobesity and antidiabetic) and cardiovascular effects in animal models, highlighting β₃-AR as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of several human diseases. Moreover, a substantial number of studies performed on different populations have identified some β₃-AR polymorphic variants associated with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other disorders. The clinical phenotypes and functional characteristics of these variants provide insights into potential pathophysiological roles of β₃-AR in the development of these diseases.

Nebivolol-induced vasodilation of renal afferent arterioles involves β3-adrenergic receptor and nitric oxide synthase activation

Nebivolol is a β(1)-adrenergic blocker that also elicits renal vasodilation and increases the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). However, its direct actions on the renal microvasculature and vasodilator mechanism have not been established. We used the in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron technique to determine the vasodilator effects of nebivolol and to test the hypothesis that nebivolol induces vasodilation of renal afferent arterioles via an nitric oxide synthase (NOS)/nitric oxide (NO)/soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)/cGMP pathway and the afferent arteriolar vasodilation effect may be mediated through the release of NO by activation of NOS via a β(3)-adrenoceptor-dependent mechanism. Juxtamedullary nephrons were superfused with nebivolol either alone or combined with the sGC inhibitor 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) or the NOS inhibitor N(ω)-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA) or the β-blockers metoprolol (β(1)), butoxamine (β(2)), and SR59230A (β(3)). Nebivolol (100 μmol/l) markedly increased afferent and efferent arteriolar diameters by 18.9 ± 3.0 and 15.8 ± 1.8%. Pretreatment with l-NNA (1,000 μmol/l) or ODQ (10 μmol/l) decreased afferent vasodilator diameters and prevented the vasodilator effects of nebivolol (2.0 ± 0.2 and 2.4 ± 0.6%). Metoprolol did not elicit significant changes in afferent vasodilator diameters and did not prevent the effects of nebivolol to vasodilate afferent arterioles. However, treatment with SR59230A, but not butoxamine, markedly attenuated the vasodilation responses to nebivolol. Using a monoclonal antibody to β(3)-receptors revealed predominant immunostaining on vascular and glomerular endothelial cells. These data indicate that nebivolol vasodilates both afferent and efferent arterioles and that the afferent vasodilator effect is via a mechanism that is independent of β(1)-receptors but is predominantly mediated via a NOS/NO/sGC/cGMP-dependent mechanisms initiated by activation of endothelial β(3)-receptors.

Beta 3-adrenoreceptor regulation of nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system

The presence of a third beta-adrenergic receptor (beta 3-AR) in the cardiovascular system has challenged the classical paradigm of sympathetic regulation by beta1- and beta2-adrenergic receptors. While beta 3-AR's role in the cardiovascular system remains controversial, increasing evidence suggests that it serves as a "brake" in sympathetic overstimulation - it is activated at high catecholamine concentrations, producing a negative inotropic effect that antagonizes beta1- and beta2-AR activity. The anti-adrenergic effects induced by beta 3-AR were initially linked to nitric oxide (NO) release via endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), although more recently it has been shown under some conditions to increase NO production in the cardiovascular system via the other two NOS isoforms, namely inducible NOS (iNOS) and neuronal NOS (nNOS). We summarize recent findings regarding beta 3-AR effects on the cardiovascular system and explore its prospective as a therapeutic target, particularly focusing on its emerging role as an important mediator of NO signaling in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders.

Beta3-adrenergic receptors in cardiac and vascular tissues emerging concepts and therapeutic perspectives

Catecholamines released by the orthosympathetic system play a major role in the short- and long-term regulation of cardiovascular function. Beta1- and beta2-adrenoreceptors (ARs) have classically been considered as mediating most of their effects on cardiac contraction. After their initial cloning and pharmacologic characterization in the late 1980s, beta3-ARs have been mostly thought of as receptors mediating metabolic effects (e.g., lipolysis) in adipocytes. However, definitive evidence for their expression and functional coupling in cardiovascular tissues (including in humans) has recently initiated a re-examination of their implication in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases. Distinctive pharmacodynamic properties of beta3-AR, e.g., their upregulation in disease and resistance to desensitization, suggest that they may be attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. They may substitute efficient vasodilating pathways when beta1/2-ARs are inoperative. In the heart, their contractile effects, which are functionally antipathetic to those of beta1/2-AR, may protect the myocardium against adverse effects of excessive catecholamine stimulation and perhaps mediate additional ancillary effects on key aspects of electrophysiology or remodeling. Longitudinal studies in animals and patients with different stages of heart failure are now needed to identify the optimal therapeutic scheme using specific combinations of agonists or antagonists at all three beta-ARs.

Cloning and expression of canine glucagon receptor and its use to evaluate glucagon receptor antagonists in vitro and in vivo

Glucose homeostasis is maintained by the combined actions of insulin and glucagon. Hyperglucagonemia and/or elevation of glucagon/insulin ratio have been reported in diabetic patients and in animal models of diabetes. Therefore, antagonizing glucagon receptor function has long been considered a useful approach to lower hyperglycemia. Dogs serve as an excellent model for studying glycemic control and various aspects of glucagon biology in vivo; however, the amino acid sequence of the dog glucagon receptor has not been reported. To better understand the pharmacology of the dog glucagon receptor and to characterize glucagon receptor antagonists, we cloned a cDNA corresponding to the glucagon receptor from dog liver RNA. The dog glucagon receptor shares a significant (>75%) homology at both nucleotide and amino acid levels with the glucagon receptor from human, monkey, mouse, and rat. The protein is highly conserved among all species in areas corresponding to the 7 trans-membrane domains. However, it shows significant divergence at the carboxy terminus such that the receptor from dog has the longest cytoplasmic tail among all species examined. When expressed in chinese hamster ovary cells, the dog glucagon receptor bound [125I]Glucagon with a K(d) of 477+/-106 pM. Glucagon stimulated the rise of intracellular cAMP levels in these cells with an EC(50) of 9.6+/-1.7 nM and such effects could be blocked by known peptidyl and non-peptidyl small molecule antagonists. In addition we show that a small molecule glucagon receptor antagonist with significant activity in cell based assays also blocked the ability of glucagon to induce elevation in blood glucose in beagle dogs. These data demonstrate that the cloned cDNA encodes a functional dog glucagon receptor. The availability of the dog cDNA will facilitate the understanding of glucagon pharmacology and aid in the characterization of novel glucagon antagonists that may serve as anti-hyperglycemic treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Modulation of beta2- and beta3-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of rat oesophagus smooth muscle by protein kinase C

Although a prominent role for protein kinase C (PKC) in the cross-talk between the phosphoinositide pathway and beta2-adrenoceptor signalling has been indicated, modulation of beta3-adrenoceptor function by PKC has not been studied thus far. In the present study, we have compared the relative capacity of PKC in modulating beta2- and beta3-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of methacholine-contracted rat oesophagus smooth muscle. To this purpose the effects of the PKC-inhibitor GF 109203X (2-[1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)-maleimide) on relaxation induced by fenoterol, formoterol, (-)-noradrenaline, BRL 35135 (4-[2-[(2-hydroxy-2-(chlorophenyl)ethyl)amino]-propyl]-phenoxyacetic-acidmethylester) and IBMX (3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine) were studied, in the absence and presence of the selective beta2-adrenoceptor antagonist ICI 118,551 (erythro-1(7-methylindan-4-yloxy)-3-(isopropylamin)-butan-2-ol). Our results show that inhibition of PKC resulted in differential augmentation of both beta2- and beta3-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation. In contrast, relaxation induced by IBMX was not influenced at all by GF 109203X. The beta2-adrenoceptor bears phosphorylation sites for several kinases, including PKC. Since the beta3-adrenoceptor lacks these consensus sites, the results may also indicate that PKC-mediated Galphas phosphorylation is involved in the cross-talk between the muscarinic receptor-mediated phosphoinositide pathway and beta2- and, particularly, beta3-adrenoceptor signalling.

(+/-)-Pindolol acts as a partial agonist at atypical beta-adrenoceptors in the guinea pig duodenum

The agonistic and antagonistic effects of (+/-)-pindolol (1-(1H-indol-4-yloxy)-3-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-2-propanol) were estimated to clarify whether (+/-)-pindolol acts as a partial agonist on atypical beta-adrenoceptors in the guinea pig duodenum. (+/-)-Pindolol induced concentration-dependent relaxation with a pD2 value of 5.10 +/- 0.03 and an intrinsic activity of 0.83 +/- 0.03. However, the relaxations to (+/-)-pindolol were not antagonized by the non-selective beta1- and beta2-adrenoceptor antagonist (+/-)-propranolol (1 microM). In the presence of (+/-)-propranolol (1 microM), the non-selective beta1-, beta2- and beta3-adrenoceptor antagonist (+/-)-bupranolol (30 microM) induced a rightward shift of the concentration-response curves for (+/-)-pindolol (apparent pA2 = 5.41 +/- 0.06). In the presence of (+/-)-propranolol, (+/-)-pindolol (10 microM) weakly but significantly antagonized the relaxant effects to catecholamines ((-)-isoprenaline, (-)-noradrenaline and (-)-adrenaline), a selective beta3-adrenoceptor agonist BRL37344 ((R*,R*)-(+/-)-4-[2-[(2-(3-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxyethyl) amino]propyl]phenoxyacetic acid sodium salt) and a non-conventional partial beta3-adrenoceptor agonist (+/-)-CGP12177A([4-[3-[(1,1-dimethylethyl)amino]-2-hydroxypropoxy]-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one] hydrochloride). These results demonstrate that (+/-)-pindolol possesses both agonistic and antagonistic effects on atypical beta-adrenoceptors in the guinea pig duodenum.

The negative inotropic action of catecholamines: Role of β3-adrenoceptors

There is now evidence for the involvement of four β-adrenoceptor populations in the regulation of cardiac function by catecholamines. β1- and β2-adrenoceptor stimulation classically produces an increase in contractility. A fourth β-adrenoceptor, as yet uncloned and designated provisionally as a β4-adrenoceptor, also mediates a positive inotropic effect. β3-adrenoceptors, which had been cloned at the end of the eighties, has been extensively studied as a potential target for antiobesity and antidiabetic drugs. Its characterization in the heart has opened new fields of investigations for the understanding of the cardiac adrenergic regulation. This review describes the cardiac electrical and mechanical effects induced by β3-adrenoceptor stimulation in different species (including human), as well as the signaling pathway. It also analyzes the role of these receptors in the abnormal responsiveness of catecholamines in heart failure.Key words: beta-adrenoceptor, heart, contractility, signaling pathway, heart failure.