Effects of W-7 on catecholamine release and 45Ca2+ uptake in cultured adrenal chromaffin cells.

Effects of N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naph-thalenesulfonamide (W-7), a calmodulin antagonist, on catecholamine (CA) release and 45Ca2+ uptake were studied using cultured bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. W-7 inhibited the carbamylcholine (CCh)-evoked CA release and 45Ca2+ uptake in a concentration-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect of W-7 on CCh-evoked CA release was not overcome either by an increase in extracellular calcium or CCh concentration. Although W-7 inhibited the high K+-evoked CA release and 45Ca2+ uptake, potency of the drug was approximately 50–100 fold less than when inhibiting the CCh-evoked CA release and 45Ca2+ uptake. The inhibitory effects of W-7 were observed both in norepinephrine release and epinephrine release. Moreover, W-7 inhibited the CCh-evoked 45Ca2+ efflux. These results suggest that the inhibition of CA release by W-7 in adrenal chromaffin cells is mainly due to its inhibition of calcium uptake. W-7 may influence the linkage between acetylcholine-receptor and calcium uptake with higher potency than depolarization-dependent calcium entry.