Thromboxane Receptor Activates the AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells via Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract

Thromboxane A₂ receptor (TPr) stimulation induces cellular hypertrophy in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs); however, regulation of VSMC hypertrophy remains poorly understood. Here we show that TPr stimulation activates AMP-activated kinase (AMPK), which in turn limits TPr-induced protein synthesis in VSMCs. Exposure of cultured VSMCs to either TPr agonists, IBOP and U46619, or exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) caused time- and dose-dependent AMPK activation, as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of both AMPK-Thr172 and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase–Ser79, a downstream enzyme of AMPK, whereas SQ29548, a selective TPr antagonist, significantly attenuated TPr-enhanced AMPK activation. In parallel, both IBOP and U46619 significantly increased the production of reactive oxygen species such as H₂O₂. Furthermore, adenoviral overexpression of catalase (an H₂O₂ scavenger) abolished, whereas superoxide dismutase (which catalyzes H₂O₂ formation) enhanced, IBOP-induced AMPK activation, suggesting that TPr-activated AMPK was mediated by H₂O₂. Consistently, exposure of VSMCs to either TPr agonists or exogenous H₂O₂ dose-dependently increased the phosphorylation of LKB1 (at serines 428 and 307), an AMPK kinase, as well as coimmunoprecipitation of AMPK with LKB1. In addition, direct mutagenesis of either Ser428 or Ser307 of LKB1 into alanine, like the kinase-dead LKB1 mutant, abolished both TPr-stimulated AMPK activation and coimmunoprecipitation. Finally, genetic inhibition of AMPK significantly accentuated IBOP-enhanced protein synthesis, whereas adenoviral overexpression of constitutively active AMPK abolished IBOP-enhance protein synthesis in VSMCs. We conclude that TPr stimulation triggers reactive oxygen species–mediated LKB1-dependent AMPK activation, which in return inhibits cellular protein synthesis in VSMCs.