Regulation of the intracellular calcium concentration in MMQ pituitary cells by dopamine and protein kinase C.

The MMQ pituitary cell line, which expresses a membranal dopamine receptor, was used to examine the individual contributions of dopamine and protein kinase C (PKC) to control of the intracellular calcium concentration. The calcium concentrations, monitored with the fluorescent dye Indo-1, increased in response to elevated K+, BAY K8644, and maitotoxin, implicating the presence of voltage-dependent calcium channels. Dopamine had no detectable independent effect, but significantly inhibited the rise in intracellular calcium mediated by activation of voltage-dependent calcium channels; this dopaminergic action was prevented by haloperidol. Acute pharmacological activation of PKC for 60 s inhibited the stimulatory effects of these calcium channel activators, and this acute inhibitory action was abolished by prior depletion of PKC. In contrast, however, PKC depletion did not alter the calcium response to BAY K8644 or maitotoxin. Thus, MMQ cells appear to have voltage-dependent calcium channels which, at rest, are either at low density or in a closed state. The rise in intracellular calcium resulting from stimulation of the channels is under inhibitory control by an apparent D-2 dopamine receptor. When pharmacologically activated, phorbol diester-sensitive PKC limits the rise in the cellular calcium level associated with calcium uptake. In the absence of pharmacological activation, however, this enzyme system does not appear to play a role in the cellular calcium response to BAY K8644 or maitotoxin.