Phosphatidic acid increases intracellular free Ca2+ and cardiac contractile force

Although phosphatidic acid (PA) is mainly formed due to the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine by myocardial phospholipase D, its functional significance in the heart is not fully understood. The present study was designed to determine the effects of PA on intracellular free Ca2+ level (Ca2+i) in freshly isolated adult rat cardiomyocytes by using fura 2-acextoxmethylester and free fura 2 technique. Addition of PA at concentrations of 1-200 microM produced a concentration-dependent increase in Ca2+i from the basal level of 117 +/- 8 nM; maximal increase in Ca2+i was 233 +/- 50 nM, whereas median effective concentration (EC50) for PA was 45 +/- 1.2 microM. This increase in Ca2+i was abolished by the removal of extracellular Ca2+ with ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid and was partially attenuated by Ca2+ channel blockers, verapamil or diltiazem. Preincubation of cardiomyocytes with cyclopiazonic acid and thapsigargin or with ryanodine to deplete sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ attenuated the PA-induced increase in Ca2+i by 66, 37, and 43%, respectively. Furthermore, the response of Ca2+i to PA was blunted by 2-nitro-4 carboxyphenylcarbonate, an inhibitor of phospholipase C, but was unaffected by staurosporine, a protein kinase C inhibitor. PA was also observed to induce Ca2+ efflux from the myocytes. In addition, an injection of PA (0.34 microgram/100 g body wt i.v.) in rats produced a significant increase of the left ventricular developed pressure as well as the maximum rates of cardiac contraction and relaxation within 5 min. These data suggest that the PA-induced increase in Ca2+i in cardiomyocytes is a consequence of both Ca2+ influx from the extracellular source and Ca2+ release from the intracellular SR stores. Furthermore, these in vitro data suggest the possibility that PA may regulate Ca2+i and contractile parameters in the heart.