Adenylyl Cyclase Type VI Increases Akt Activity and Phospholamban Phosphorylation in Cardiac Myocytes

Increased expression of adenylyl cyclase VI has beneficial effects on the heart, but strategies that increase cAMP production in cardiac myocytes usually are harmful. Might adenylyl cyclase VI have beneficial effects unrelated to increased beta-adrenergic receptor-mediated signaling? We previously reported that adenylyl cyclase VI reduces cardiac phospholamban expression. Our focus in the current studies is how adenylyl cyclase VI influences phospholamban phosphorylation. In cultured cardiac myocytes, increased expression of adenylyl cyclase VI activates Akt by phosphorylation at serine 473 and threonine 308 and is associated with increased nuclear phospho-Akt. Activated Akt phosphorylates phospholamban, a process that does not require beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation or protein kinase A activation. These previously unrecognized signaling events would be predicted to promote calcium handling and increase contractile function of the intact heart independently of beta-adrenergic receptor activation. We speculate that phospholamban phosphorylation, through activation of Akt, may be an important mechanism by which adenylyl cyclase VI increases the function of the failing heart.