Involvement of Gi/o in the PAR-4-induced NO production in endothelial cells

We investigated the involvement of G(i/o) protein in NO production following the activation of proteinase-activated receptor-4 (PAR-4) in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. AYPGKF-NH(2) (PAR-4 activating peptide), thrombin, and ionomycin induced a concentration-dependent NO production, with the maximal production seen at 30 microM, 0.1U/ml, and 1 microM, respectively. Ionomycin elevated Ca(2+)](i) in a concentration-dependent manner. However, AYPGKF-NH(2) and thrombin induced no Ca(2+)](i) elevation. The loading of cells with BAPTA almost completely inhibited both the NO production and Ca(2+)](i) elevation induced by 1 microM ionomycin, while it had no significant effect on the AYPGKF-NH(2)-induced NO production. Treatment with pertussis toxin inhibited the AYPGKF-NH(2)-induced NO production, while it had no effect on the ionomycin-induced NO production. Our findings thus demonstrate, for the first time, that PAR-4 activation induced NO production in a manner mostly independent of the Ca(2+) signal and also that G(i/o) is involved in such NO production in vascular endothelial cells.