Background: Insulin in physiological concentrations attenuates the agonist-induced intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) transient and inhibits contraction in individual nonproliferated cultured canine femoral artery vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). In the present study, we wished to define the effects of insulin on individual components of Ca2+ transport in vascular smooth muscle.
Methods and results: Insulin (40 microU/mL) attenuated the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin; 10(-5) mol/L)-induced [Ca2+]i transient (measured by fura 2 fluorescence) in primary confluent canine femoral artery VSMCs in the presence of extracellular Ca2+. In Ca(2+)-free media, the 5-HT-induced [Ca2+]i transient was reduced by 42% and was not affected by insulin. This finding suggested that insulin inhibits 5-HT-induced Ca2+ influx but does not affect sarcolemmal Ca2+ efflux or Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. In support of those conclusions, we found that insulin inhibited the 5-HT-induced component of Mn2+ (a Ca2+ surrogate) influx (measured by fura 2 fluorescence quenching at the Ca2+ isosbestic excitation wavelength). In addition, 5-HT stimulated the rates of 45Ca2+ efflux from intact cells (a measure of sarcolemmal Ca2+ efflux) and from saponin-permeabilized cells (a measure of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores), but insulin did not affect these rates of 45Ca2+ efflux.
Conclusions: We conclude that a physiological insulin concentration attenuates the 5-HT-induced [Ca2+]i transient in confluent primary cultured canine femoral artery VSMCs by inhibiting the 5-HT-induced component of Ca2+ influx but not by affecting sarcolemmal Ca2+ efflux or Ca2+ release from intracellular stores.