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Background: A calpain inhibitor, calpeptin, inhibited the cell growth of ER (estrogen receptor) positive breast cancer cells, such as MCF-7, T-47D, and ZR-75-1 in the presence of E2. The mechanism of this inhibition has not been clarified yet., Materials and Methods: MCF-7 cells were employed to investigate the mechanism of the inhibition. We studied the effect of calpeptin on the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and transforming growth factor (TGF-alpha)., Results: The secretion of IGF-I or TGF-alpha was not changed by calpeptin either in the presence or absence of E2. Moreover, the binding of IGF-I or TGF-alpha to MCF-7 cells augmented by the addition of E2 was not affected by calpeptin., Conclusions: These results indicated that the inhibition of cell growth in MCF-7 by calpeptin was not due to the modulation of autocrine growth factors and their receptors.

Calpain (Ca2(+)-activated neutral protease, EC 3.4.22.17) has been reported to hydrolyze the estrogen receptor (ER). However, there has been no report available regarding the role of calpain in the growth of breast cancer cells. To investigate the role of calpain in the growth of various breast cancer cell lines, we employed a synthetic peptide, calpeptin, which is a cell permeable specific inhibitor of calpain. Calpeptin inhibited the cell growth of ER positive breast cancer cells, such as MCF-7, T-47D, and ZR-75-1 in a dose dependent manner in the presence of E2. However, the growth of ER negative breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231, was not inhibited by calpeptin. It is suggested that calpain plays an important role in the growth of ER positive breast cancer cells.

Myonephropathic metabolic syndrome (MNMS) is a serious muscle reperfusion injury associated with acute renal failure. The exact pathogenesis of MNMS has not been fully elucidated, nor effective treatment, through the renal failure is thought to be a consequence of rhabdomyolysis. In the present study, the possible involvement of calpain in the lysis was investigated in a MNMS animal model employing a cell permeable calpain antagonist calpeptin. Male rabbits were subjected to bilateral hind leg ischaemia for 5 hours by clamping the distal aorta, followed by reperfusion for 3 hours. Blood pressure, plasma N-acethyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and the presence of myoglobinuria were serially determined. Blood pressure remained constant during the ischemic period but dropped by about 25% immediately after reperfusion. This was significantly attenuated by intraaortic administration of calpeptin. NAG gradually increased during ischemia and during reperfusion and this was also significantly reduced by calpeptin. Myoglobinuria appeared immediately after reperfusion, and was also attenuated by calpeptin. Calpeptin prevented lytic and degenerative changes of the hind leg muscles, determined by light and electron microscopy. Thus it is concluded that activation of calpain in skeletal muscle is an important etiologic factor of MNMS and that the occurrence of MNMS may be prevented by administration of a calpain antagonist.

Platelets activated by various agonists produce formation of vesicles shed from the plasma membrane (microparticles). However, the mechanism of microparticle (MP) formation has not been clarified yet. The aim of the present study was to determine the possibility of involvement of calpain (a Ca(2+)-dependent thiol protease) in MP formation. Washed platelets preincubated with calpeptin, a cell permeable calpain specific inhibitor, or with a vehicle were activated by thrombin plus collagen or by calcium ionophore A23187. Flow cytometry was used to detect the amount of microparticle formation by using murine monoclonal antibodies against GP IIb-IIIa or GP IIb and fluorescein 5-isothiocyanate labeled goat anti-mouse IgG. MP formation stimulated either by thrombin plus collagen or by A23187 was inhibited by calpeptin in a dose dependent manner. The microparticle formation from platelets activated by A23187 reached a plateau in approximately 5 min after activation, whereas that from platelets activated by thrombin plus collagen reached a plateau at 30 min following the stimulation. These time sequences corresponded well with those of degradation of actin-binding protein (ABP), a well known substrate of calpain, of platelets activated by these two stimulations. However, the inhibition of MP formation by calpeptin was more marked in the early stage (within 10 min) than in the late stage (after 30 min) of platelet activation. At 30 min after platelet activation by either two stimulations, a significant amount of microparticle formation was observed in the presence of 30 microM calpeptin, which inhibited hydrolysis of ABP almost completely. Our data suggest the involvement of calpain in the early stage (especially within 10 min) of microparticle formation.

To clarify the possible role of calpain (calcium activated neutral protease; EC 3.4.22.17) in Ca2+ homeostasis of human platelets, we investigated the effects of cell permeable calpain inhibitors, calpeptin and E-64d (EST), on the restoration of cytoplasmic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in both Fura-2 and aspirin (ASA) loaded platelets. Although neither calpeptin (30 microM) nor EST (250 microM) altered the increase of [Ca2+]i in thrombin (1 U/ml) stimulated platelets, both calpain inhibitors delayed the decrease of [Ca2+]i back towards the basal level. These observations suggested that calpain might be involved in Ca2+ restoration. Then, the activity of Ca(2+)-ATPase was examined in thrombin (2 U/ml) stimulated platelets. Thrombin produced a rapid rise in Ca(2+)-ATPase activity by 2-fold at 8 s of incubation, which then returned to below the basal activity within 2 min. Calpeptin inhibited transient Ca(2+)-ATPase activation induced by thrombin in a dose related manner. Ca(2+)-ATPase of isolated platelet membranes was digested by purified human platelet calpain-I and Ca(2+)-ATPase activity was investigated. With a short incubation (8-15 s), Ca(2+)-ATPase activity was increased about 2-fold and then it decreased below the basal level at longer incubations or at a higher calpain/membrane ratio. The initial rate of Ca2+ uptake was also increased by about 2-fold with a short incubation (8-15 s). For molecular characterization of the Ca(2+)-ATPase, the formation of the enzyme-phosphate complex (EP) was investigated. The membrane bound intact 105 kD Ca(2+)-ATPase was converted by calpain to a fragment of approximately 50 kD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Intracellular localization of calpain (calcium dependent cysteine proteinase) was studied in resting or activated human platelets. When stimulated with 2 U/ml thrombin, approximately 40% of total cellular calpain activity and 25% of antigen translocated mainly to the intracellular membrane fractions with autolytic activation. Translocation of calpain was completely abolished by the addition of EDTA to the sonication medium. However an endogenous calpain inhibitor (calpastatin) activity was not detected in the membrane fractions both in resting and in thrombin stimulated platelets. Translocation of calpain was also observed in the platelets stimulated with ionomycin, collagen or phorbor myristate acetate (PMA). These data suggest that cytosolic calpain reversibly translocates to the intracellular membranes during platelet activation without an interference by calpastatin.

The binding of calpain-I (Ca2+ activated neutral protease with high Ca2+ sensitivity) to the membranes of human platelets and the subsequent autolytic activation of calpain-I were analyzed by an immunoblot technique. In A23187 stimulated platelets, cytosolic calpain-I translocated to the membranes with autolysis in a Ca2+ dependent manner and simultaneously underwent autolysis. Although calpeptin, a cell permeable calpain inhibitor, inhibited autolysis of calpain-I, it was unable to prevent the translocation of calpain-I. In a cell re-constituted system, the membrane binding of calpain-I was also Ca2+ dependent and was significantly inhibited by a substrate of calpain. It was suggested that the binding of calpain-I to the membranes required the substrate binding site of this enzyme.

A calpain (Ca(2+)-activated neutral protease) activator was purified from human platelets by ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel-filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, followed by heat-treatment. The purified calpain activator with a Mr of 47.5 kDa was a heat-stable protein as demonstrated in other cells. The calpain activator did not change the Ca2+ sensitivity of calpain but activated calpain activity about 2-fold. This calpain activator may play an important role in the activation of the protease system leading to the Ca(2+)-mediated physiological process of platelets.

Calpeptin (a cell permeable synthetic peptide calpain inhibitor) inhibited the generation of thromboxane B2 (TxB2) by the direct inhibition on Tx synthetase in platelets at the concentrations more than 30 microM. Calpeptin, its analogues and E-64d (EST) were further examined with regard to cell permiability and inhibitory spectra. Among all compounds, only calpeptin inhibited the degradation of substrate proteins of calpain with negligible effect on TxB2 generation in intact platelets at the concentrations less than 30 microM. These concentrations of calpeptin did not inhibit the platelet aggregation, the elevation of [Ca2+], nor the formation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) in thrombin or collagen activated platelets. These results indicate that calpain dose not participate in the process of platelet activation induced by thrombin or collagen.