Regulation of nitric oxide-responsive recombinant soluble guanylyl cyclase by calcium

Calcium (Ca²⁺) and cyclic GMP (cGMP) subserve antagonistic functions that are reflected in their coordinated reciprocal regulation in physiological systems. However, molecular mechanisms by which Ca²⁺ regulates cGMP-dependent signaling remain incompletely defined. In this study, the inhibition of recombinant nitric oxide (NO)-stimulated soluble guanylyl cyclase (SGC) by Ca²⁺ was demonstrated. The α- and β-subunits of recombinant rat SGC were heterologously coexpressed in HEK 293 cells which do not express NO synthase, whose Ca²⁺-stimulated activity can confound the effects of that cation on SGC. Ca²⁺ inhibited basal and NO-stimulated SGC in a concentration- and guanine nucleotide-dependent fashion. This cation inhibited SGC in crude cell extracts and immunopurified preparations. Ca²⁺ lowered both the V(max) and K(m) of SGC via an uncompetitive mechanism through direct interaction with the enzyme. In intact HEK 293 cells, increases in the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration induced by ionomycin, a Ca²⁺ ionophore, and thapsigargin, which releases intracellular stores of that cation, inhibited NO-stimulated intracellular cGMP accumulation. Similarly, carbachol-induced elevation of the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration inhibited NO-stimulated intracellular cGMP accumulation in HEK 293 cells. These data demonstrate that SGC behaves as a sensitive Ca²⁺ detector that may play a central role in coordinating the reciprocal regulation of Ca²⁺- and cGMP-dependent signaling mechanisms.