ryanodine and mastoparan

Application of the tetradecapeptide mastoparan to the prothoracic glands (PGs) of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, and the silkworm, Bombyx mori, resulted in increases in intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](i)). In M. sexta, Gi proteins are involved in the mastoparan-stimulated increase in [Ca(2+)](i). However, there is no involvement of Gi proteins in the mastoparan-stimulated increase in [Ca(2+)](i) in prothoracic gland cells from B. mori. Unlike in M. sexta prothoracic glands, in B. mori prothoracic glands mastoparan increases [Ca(2+)](i) even in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+). Pharmacological manipulation of the Ca(2+) signalling cascades in the prothoracic glands of both insect species suggests that in M. sexta prothoracic glands, mastoparan's first site of action is influx of Ca(2+) through plasma membrane Ca(2+) channels while in B. mori prothoracic glands, mastoparan's first site of action is mobilization of Ca(2+) from intracellular stores. In M. sexta, the combined results indicate the presence of mastoparan-sensitive plasma membrane Ca(2+) channels, distinct from those activated by prothoracicotropic hormone or the IP(3) signalling cascade, that coordinate spatial increases in [Ca(2+)](i) in prothoracic gland cells. We propose that in B. mori, mastoparan stimulates Ca(2+) mobilization from ryanodine-sensitive intracellular Ca(2+) stores in prothoracic gland cells.

Topics: Animals; Bombyx; Boron Compounds; Calcium; Calcium Signaling; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Gadolinium; Guanosine Diphosphate; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Manduca; Peptides; Pertussis Toxin; Ryanodine; Thapsigargin; Thionucleotides; Time Factors; Wasp Venoms