Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP) is a membrane phosphoinositide that regulates the activity of many ion channels. Influx of calcium primarily through voltage-gated calcium (Ca) channels promotes insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells. However, whether Ca channels are regulated by PIP, as is the case for some non-insulin-secreting cells, is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Ca channels are regulated by PIP depletion in pancreatic β-cells through activation of a muscarinic pathway induced by oxotremorine methiodide (Oxo-M). Ca channel currents were recorded by the patch-clamp technique. The Ca current amplitude was reduced by activation of the muscarinic receptor 1 (MR) in the absence of kinetic changes. The Oxo-M-induced inhibition exhibited the hallmarks of voltage-independent regulation and did not involve PKC activation. A small fraction of the Oxo-M-induced Ca inhibition was diminished by a high concentration of Ca chelator, whereas ≥50% of this inhibition was prevented by diC8-PIP dialysis. Localization of PIP in the plasma membrane was examined by transfecting INS-1 cells with PH-PLCδ1, which revealed a close temporal association between PIP hydrolysis and Ca channel inhibition. Furthermore, the depletion of PIP by a voltage-sensitive phosphatase reduced Ca currents in a way similar to that observed following MR activation. These results indicate that activation of the MR pathway inhibits the Ca channel via PIP depletion by a Ca-dependent mechanism in pancreatic β- and INS-1 cells and thereby support the hypothesis that membrane phospholipids regulate ion channel activity by interacting with ion channels.

Tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na 1 currents have been extensively studied because they play a major role in neuronal firing and bursting. In this study, we showed that voltage-dependent Na 1 currents are regulated in a slow manner by oxotremorine (oxo-M) and angiotensin II in rat sympathetic neurons. We found that these currents can be readily inhibited through a signaling pathway mediated by G proteins and phospholipase C (PLC) b1. This inhibition is slowly established, pertussis toxin-insensitive, partially reversed within tens of seconds after oxo-M washout, and not relieved by a strong depolarization, suggesting a voltageinsensitive mechanism of inhibition. Specificity of the M1 receptor was tested by the MT-7 toxin. Activation and inactivation curves showed no shift in the voltage dependency under the inhibition by oxo-M. This inhibition is blocked by a PLC inhibitor (U73122, 1-(6-{[(17b)-3-Methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino}hexyl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione), and recovery from inhibition is prevented by wortmannin, a PI3/4 kinase inhibitor. Hence, the pathway involves G q/11 and is mediated by a diffusible second messenger. Oxo-M inhibition is occluded by screening phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 )-negative charges with poly-L-lysine and prevented by intracellular dialysis with a PIP 2 analog. In addition, bisindolylmaleimide I, a specific ATP-competitive protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, rules out that this inhibition may be mediated by this protein kinase. Furthermore, oxo-M-induced suppression of Na 1 currents remains unchanged when neurons are treated with calphostin C, a PKC inhibitor that targets the diacylglycerolbinding site of the kinase. These results support a general mechanism of Na 1 current inhibition that is widely present in excitable cells through modulation of ion channels by specific G protein-coupled receptors.