Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator is involved in therelease of ATP from contracting skeletal muscle

Abstract

Contracting skeletal muscle releases ATP into the interstitial space where it is subsequently broken down to adenosine by the action of ecto-5’-nucleotidase. Both ATP and adenosine are vasodilators that contribute to the exercise hyperaemia. However, the mechanism for the release of ATP from muscle during exercise remains unknown. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is involved in ATP release from muscle at low intracellular pH: this study was performed to investigate whether CFTR was involved in the ATP release from skeletal muscle during contractions. Experiments were performed in rats anaesthetised with sodium pentobarbitone and breathing spontaneously. A microdialysis probe was placed in one gastrocnemius muscle: ATP was determined in interstitial microdialysate samples using a bioluminescence assay. The sciatic nerve was stimulated to induce two bouts of muscle contractions, separated by a recovery period of 40 mins; one of the inhibitors was administered prior to the second bout of contractions. Muscle contractions elevated the interstitial ATP by 1500 to 3000%. In the control experiments, no drug was given: both the contractile force and the increase in interstitial ATP were reproducible in repeated contraction bouts. Infusion of a specific inhibitor of CFTR, CFTRinh-172, did not alter the contractile force, but significantly lowered the interstitial ATP during muscle contractions, suggesting that CFTR was involved in the contraction-induced ATP release. Similarly, infusion of the Protein Kinase A inhibitor, KT5720, significantly reduced interstitial ATP during muscle contractions without altering contractile force, suggesting that CFTR in skeletal muscle is activated through the cAMP/PKA pathway. The increase in interstitial ATP during muscle contraction was also inhibited by the Na/H exchanger inhibitor, amiloride, or the Na/Ca exchanger inhibitor, SN6. It has been also shown that two gap junction hemichannel inhibitors, gadolinium and carbenoxolone, could attenuate the increase of ATP during muscle contraction. These data suggest that CFTR, activated through the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway, is involved in the ATP release during muscle contraction, and that activation of the Na/H exchanger and Na/Ca exchanger was also required, indicating that the signal transduction mechanism for CFTR activation during muscle contractions may be similar to that which is reported to occur at low pH. The preliminary data showed that the gap junction hemichannels might mediate the ATP release from skeletal muscle cells during muscle contraction.