Chronic activation of the angiotensin II (ANG II) type 1 receptor (AT-1R) is critical in the development of chronic kidney disease. ANG II activates mesangial cells (MCs) and stimulates the synthesis of extracellular matrix components. To determine the molecular mechanisms underlying the induction of MC collagen, a mouse mesangial cell line MES-13 was employed. ANG II treatment induced an increase in collagen synthesis, which was abrogated by cotreatment with losartan (an AT-1R antagonist), wortmannin (a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor), an Akt inhibitor, and stable transfection of dominant negative-Akt1. ANG II induced a significant increase in PI3K activity, which was abolished by co-treatment with losartan or 2,5-dideoxyadenosine (2,5-DOA, an adenylyl cyclase inhibitor) but not by PD123319 (an AT-2R antagonist) or H89 (a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor). The Epac (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP)-specific cAMP analog, 8-pHPT-2-O-MecAMP, significantly increased PI3K activity, whereas a PKAspecific analog, 6-benzoyladenosine-cAMP, showed no effect. The ANG II-induced increase in PI3K activity was also blocked by co-treatment with PP2, an Src inhibitor, or AG1478, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antagonist. ANG II induced phosphorylation of Akt and p70S6K and EGFR, which was abrogated by knockdown of c-Src by small interference RNA. Knockdown of Src also effectively abolished ANG II-induced collagen synthesis. Conversely, stable transfection of a constitutively active Src mutant enhanced basal PI3K activity and collagen production, which was abrogated by AG1478 but not by 2,5-DOA. Moreover, acute treatment with ANG II significantly increased Src activity, which was abrogated with co-treatment of 2,5-DOA. Taken together, these results suggest that ANG II induces collagen synthesis in MCs by activating the ANG II/AT-1R-EGFR-PI3K pathway. This transactivation is dependent on cAMP/Epac but not on PKA. Src kinase plays a pivotal role in this signaling pathway between cAMP and EGFR. This is the first demonstration that an AT1R-PI3K/
Akt crosstalk, along with transactivation of EGFR, mediates ANG II-induced collagen synthesis in MCs.Clinical and experimental studies have identified the reninangiotensin system as a key factor in development and progression of glomerular diseases (1-3). A chronically enhanced effect of the renin-angiotensin system is a central event in the development of proliferative and sclerosing changes in the glomeruli. The octapeptide hormone angiotensin II (ANG II), 2 the major renin-angiotensin system effector, activates mesangial cells (MCs) and increases the synthesis of extracellular matrix components, including collagens, which is a hallmark of the glomerular diseases (4, 5). The physiological functions of ANG II are mediated by at least two structurally and pharmacologically distinct seven-transmembrane helices G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ANG II type 1 and 2 receptors (AT-1R and AT-2R). Glomerular cells, including MCs, express primarily the AT-1R, ...