UC Davis

Rationale

β₁ARs (β₁-adrenoceptors) exist at intracellular membranes and OCT3 (organic cation transporter 3) mediates norepinephrine entry into cardiomyocytes. However, the functional role of intracellular β₁AR in cardiac contractility remains to be elucidated.

Objective

Test localization and function of intracellular β₁AR on cardiac contractility.

Methods and results

Membrane fractionation, super-resolution imaging, proximity ligation, coimmunoprecipitation, and single-molecule pull-down demonstrated a pool of β₁ARs in mouse hearts that were associated with sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase at the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Local PKA (protein kinase A) activation was measured using a PKA biosensor targeted at either the plasma membrane (PM) or SR. Compared with wild-type, myocytes lacking OCT3 (OCT3-KO [OCT3 knockout]) responded identically to the membrane-permeant βAR agonist isoproterenol in PKA activation at both PM and SR. The same was true at the PM for membrane-impermeant norepinephrine, but the SR response to norepinephrine was suppressed in OCT3-KO myocytes. This differential effect was recapitulated in phosphorylation of the SR-pump regulator phospholamban. Similarly, OCT3-KO selectively suppressed calcium transients and contraction responses to norepinephrine but not isoproterenol. Furthermore, sotalol, a membrane-impermeant βAR-blocker, suppressed isoproterenol-induced PKA activation at the PM but permitted PKA activation at the SR, phospholamban phosphorylation, and contractility. Moreover, pretreatment with sotalol in OCT3-KO myocytes prevented norepinephrine-induced PKA activation at both PM and the SR and contractility.

Conclusions

Functional β₁ARs exists at the SR and is critical for PKA-mediated phosphorylation of phospholamban and cardiac contractility upon catecholamine stimulation. Activation of these intracellular β₁ARs requires catecholamine transport via OCT3.