Both Ca 2+ -dependent and -independent pathways are involved in rat hepatic stellate cell contraction and intrahepatic hyperresponsiveness to methoxamine

In chronic liver injury, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) have been implicated as regulators of sinusoidal vascular tone. We studied the relative role of Ca 2+ -dependent and Ca 2+ -independent contraction pathways in rat HSCs and correlated these findings to in situ perfused cirrhotic rat livers. Contraction of primary rat HSCs was studied by a stress-relaxed collagen lattice model. Dose-response curves to the Ca 2+ ionophore A-23187 and to the calmodulin/myosin light chain kinase inhibitor W-7 served to study Ca 2+ -dependent pathways. Y-27632, staurosporin, and calyculin (inhibitors of Rho kinase, protein kinase C, and myosin light chain phosphatase, respectively) were used to investigate Ca 2+ -independent pathways. The actomyosin interaction, the common end target, was inhibited by 2,3-butanedione monoxime. Additionally, the effects of W-7, Y-27632, and staurosporin on intrahepatic vascular resistance were evaluated by in situ perfusion of normal and thioacetamide-treated cirrhotic rat livers stimulated with methoxamine ( n = 25 each). In vitro, HSC contraction was shown to be actomyosin based with a regulating role for both Ca 2+ -dependent and -independent pathways. Although the former seem important, an important auxiliary role for the latter was illustrated through their involvement in the phenomenon of “Ca 2+ sensitization.” In vivo, preincubation of cirrhotic livers with Y-27632 (10 −4 M) and staurosporin (25 nM), more than with W-7 (10 −4 M), significantly reduced the hyperresponsiveness to methoxamine (10 −4 M) by −66.8 ± 1.3%, −52.4 ± 2.7%, and −28.7 ± 2.8%, respectively, whereas in normal livers this was significantly less: −43.1 ± 4.2%, −40.2 ± 4.2%, and −3.8 ± 6.3%, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that HSC contraction is based on both Ca 2+ -dependent and -independent pathways, which were shown to be upregulated in the perfused cirrhotic liver, with a predominance of Ca 2+ -independent pathways.