JG Garcia, V Lazar, LI Gilbert-McClain, PJ Gallagher and AD Verin
Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Richard Roudebush Veterans Administration Center, Indianapolis, USA.

The phosphorylation of myosin light chains by myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) is a key event in agonist-mediated endothelial cell gap formation and vascular permeability. We now report the cloning and expression of a nonmuscle MLCK isoform in cultured endothelium. Screening of a human endothelial cell cDNA library identified a 7.7 kb cDNA with substantial (> 95%) homology to the coding region of the rabbit and bovine smooth muscle (SM) MLCK (amino acid #923-1913) as well as with the reported avian nonmuscle MLCK (65-70% homology). Sequence analysis also identified, however, a 5' stretch of novel sequence (amino acids #1-922) which is not contained in the open reading frame of mammalian SM MLCK, and is only 58% homologous to the avian fibroblast MLCK sequence. Immunoprecipitation with NH2-specific antisera revealed a 214 kD high molecular weight MLCK in bovine and human endothelium which exhibits MLC phosphorylation properties. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed endothelial MLCK consensus sequences for a variety of protein kinases including highly conserved potential phosphorylation sites for cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) in the CaM-binding region. Augmentation of intracellular cAMP levels markedly enhanced MLCK phosphorylation (2.5-fold increase) and reduced kinase activity in MLCK immunoprecipitates (4-fold decrease). These data suggest potentially novel mechanisms of endothelial cell contraction and barrier regulation.

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