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Cytosolic Ca2+ signals are often amplified by massive calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) occurs by activation of an ER Ca2+ channel, the ryanodine receptor (RyR), which is facilitated by both cytosolic- and ER Ca2+ levels. Caffeine sensitizes RyR to Ca2+ and promotes ER Ca2+ release at basal cytosolic Ca2+ levels. This outcome is frequently used as a readout for the presence of CICR. By monitoring ER luminal Ca2+ with the low-affinity genetic Ca2+ probe erGAP3, we find here that application of 50 mM caffeine rapidly reduces the Ca2+ content of the ER in HeLa cells by ∼50%. Interestingly, this apparent ER Ca2+ release does not go along with the expected cytosolic Ca2+ increase. These results can be explained by Ca2+ chelation by caffeine inside the ER. Ca2+-overloaded mitochondria also display a drop of the matrix Ca2+ concentration upon caffeine addition. In contrast, in the cytosol, with a low free Ca2+ concentration (10−7 M), no chelation is observed. Expression of RyR3 sensitizes the responses to caffeine with effects both in the ER (increase in Ca2+ release) and in the cytosol (increase in Ca2+ peak) at low caffeine concentrations (0.3–1 mM) that have no effects in control cells. Our results illustrate the fact that simultaneous monitoring of both cytosolic- and ER Ca2+ are necessary to understand the action of caffeine and raise concerns against the use of high concentrations of caffeine as a readout of the presence of CICR., This work was supported by grants from The Spanish MINECO [BFU2017-83066-P] and the Junta de Castilla y León [GR175]. J.R.-R., M.R.-P., and A.D.-L. were supported by fellowships from the Spanish MINECO.

Producción Científica, We have recently described a new class of genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators composed of two jellyfish proteins, a variant of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the calcium binding protein apoaequorin, named GAP (Rodriguez-García et al., 2014). GAP is a unique dual-mode Ca2+ indicator, able to function either as a fluorescent or a luminescent probe, depending on whether the photoprotein aequorin is in its apo-state or reconstituted with its cofactor coelenterazine. We describe here a novel application of GAP as a low affinity bioluminescent indicator, suitable for measurements of [Ca2+] in ER or in Golgi apparatus. We used the low affinity variant, GAP1, which carries mutations in two EF-hands of aequorin, reconstituted with coelenterazine n. In comparison to previous bioluminescent aequorin fusions, the decay rate of GAP1 was decreased 8 fold and the affinity for Ca2+ was lowered one order of magnitude. This improvement allows long-term measurements in high Ca2+ environments avoiding fast aequorin consumption. GAP1 was targeted to the ER of various cell types, where it monitored resting Ca2+ concentrations in the range from 400 to 600 μM. ER could be emptied of calcium by stimulation with ATP, carbachol or histamine in intact cells, and by challenge with inositol tris-phosphate in permeabilized cells. GAP1 was also targeted to the Golgi apparatus where it was able to precisely monitor long-term calcium dynamics. GAP1 provides a novel and robust indicator applicable to bioluminescent high-throughput quantitative assays., Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project BFU2014-534698P), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD06/0010/0000 and RD12/0019/0036)

High Ca2+ content in the Golgi apparatus (Go) is essential for protein processing and sorting. In addition, the Go can shape the cytosolic Ca2+ signals by releasing or sequestering Ca2+. We generated two new aequorin-based Ca2+ probes to specifically measure Ca2+ in the cis/cis-to-medial-Go (cGo) or the trans-Go (tGo). Ca2+ homoeostasis in these compartments and in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has been studied and compared. Moreover, the relative size of each subcompartment was estimated from aequorin consumption. We found that the cGo accumulates Ca2+ to high concentrations (150-300 μM) through the sarco plasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA). The tGo, in turn, is divided into two subcompartments: tGo1 and tGo2. The subcompartment tGo1 contains 20% of the aequorin and has a high internal [Ca2+]; Ca2+ is accumulated in this subcompartment via the secretory pathway Ca2+-ATPase 1 (SPCA-1) at a very high affinity (K50=30 nM). The subcompartment tGo2 contains 80% of aequorin, has a lower [Ca2+] and no SPCA-1 activity; Ca2+ uptake happens through SERCA and is slower than in tGo1. The two tGo subcompartments, tGo1 and tGo2, are diffusionally isolated. Inositol trisphosphate mobilizes Ca2+ from the cGo and tGo2, but not from tGo1, whereas caffeine releases Ca2+ from all the Golgi regions, and nicotinic acid dinucleotide phosphate and cADP ribose from none., This work was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MEC) [grant numbers BFU2010–17379] and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [grant numbers RD06/0010/0000 and RD12/0019/0036]. F.J.A. was supported by an FPI fellowship from MEC.

Functional expression of GFP-VR1 Ca2+ channel. Single-cell [Ca2+]c image kinetic analysis of short pulse-treated cells expressing GFP-VR1. Transiently transfected JHM12 cells were loaded with fura 4F and subjected to digital imaging fluorescence microscopy, and [Ca2+]c images were obtained as indicated under “Experimental Procedures.” The first color frame (GFP) corresponds to the green fluorescence image, and subsequent ratiometric images for [Ca2+]c were recorded every 5 s. Representative frames corresponding to the different [Ca2+]c peaks were taken at the indicated time points . [Ca2+]c profiles were averaged for the two cell populations (GFP-VR1+, n = 45; GFP-VR1−, n = 62) and represented at the bottom of the Fig. 2 In Jambrina et al.. Cells were superfused during the indicated periods with the different solutions containing the VR1 agonist capsaicin (0.1 μm, CAPS) and the HM1R agonist carbachol (50 μm, CBCh), in the presence or the absence (Ca2+0) of calcium in the external medium. The capsaicin-sensitive cells corresponded to cells expressing GFP-VR1, as assessed by superimposition of fluorescence images excited at 490 nm (to visualize GFP) and the ratiometric Ca2+ images (fura-4F, excited at 340 and 380 nm; see upper panels in Fig. 2 A of Jambrina et al.). Color code included in Fig. 2; Blue represents 0 calcium whereas red is high calcium., We address the specific role of cytoplasmic Ca2+ overload as a cell death trigger by expressing a receptor-operated specific Ca2+ channel, vanilloid receptor sub-type 1 (VR1), in Jurkat cells. Ca2+ uptake through the VR1 channel, but not capacitative Ca2+ influx stimulated by the muscarinic type 1 receptor, induced sustained intracellular [Ca2+] rises, exposure of phosphatidylserine, and cell death. Ca2+ influx was necessary and sufficient to induce mitochondrial damage, as assessed by opening of the permeability transition pore and collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential. Ca2+induced cell death was inhibited by ruthenium red, protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, or cyclosporin A treatment, as well as by Bcl-2 expression, indicating that this process requires mitochondrial calcium uptake and permeability transition pore opening. Cell death occurred without caspase activation, oligonucleosomal/50-kilobase pair DNA cleavage, or release of cytochrome c or apoptosis inducer factor from mitochondria, but it required oxidative/nitrative stress. Thus, Ca2+ influx triggers a distinct program of mitochondrial dysfunction leading to paraptotic cell death, which does not fulfill the criteria for either apoptosis or necrosis., This work was supported by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología/European Union and Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica (FEDER, 1FD97-1725-C02-01 and C02-02) and Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain, Grant SAF2000-0118-C03-02).

El pdf del artículo es el manuscrito de autor., Mitochondria take up calcium during cell activation thus shaping Ca2+ signaling and exocytosis. In turn, Ca2+ uptake by mitochondria increases respiration and ATP synthesis. Targeted aequorins are excellent Ca2+ probes for subcellular analysis, but single-cell imaging has proven difficult. Here we combine virus-based expression of targeted aequorins with photon-counting imaging to resolve dynamics of the cytosolic, mitochondrial, and nuclear Ca2+ signals at the single-cell level in anterior pituitary cells. These cells exhibit spontaneous electric activity and cytosolic Ca2+oscillations that are responsible for basal secretion of pituitary hormones and are modulated by hypophysiotrophic factors. Aequorin reported spontaneous [Ca2+] oscillations in all the three compartments, bulk cytosol, nucleus, and mitochondria. Interestingly, a fraction of mitochondria underwent much larger [Ca2+] oscillations, which were driven by local high [Ca2+] domains generated by the spontaneous electric activity. These oscillations were large enough to stimulate respiration, providing the basis for local tune-up of mitochondrial function by the Ca2+ signal., This work was supported by the Spanish Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior (DGES; Grants PB97-0474, APC1999-011, and 1FD97-1725-C02-02). C. Villalobos and L. Núñez hold postdoctoral fellowships from the Spanish DGES, and P. Chamero holds a predoctoral fellowship from the Basque Government.

Emptying the intracellular Ca2+ stores by treatment with the endomembrane Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin activates capacitative Ca2+ entry (CCE). This can be evidenced in fura-2-loaded cells by an increase of [Ca2+]i or by an acceleration of Mn2+ entry. Micromolar concentrations of arachidonic acid inhibited CCE induced by treatment with thapsigargin in rat thymocytes and in human neutrophils. This inhibitory action was shared by other unsaturated fatty acids, but not by the saturated arachidic acid nor by arachidonic acid methyl ester. The effect was not due to metabolites derived from arachidonic acid since several non-metabolizable analogs were able to reproduce it. Phorbol dibutyrate (PDB) acted similarly, suggesting that the inhibitory effect could be mediated by activation of protein kinase C (PKC). However, whereas the inhibition of CCE by PDB was reversed by treatment with the PKC inhibitor staurosporin, the inhibition by arachidonic acid was not. We find that unsaturated fatty acids antagonized microsomal dealkylation of benzyl-resorufin, a cytochrome P450-mediated activity, with the same specificity profile as for inhibition of CCE. These results are consistent with previous proposals suggesting that a microsomal cytochrome P450 may be involved in the regulation of CCE.

We have compared the effects of 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (ET-18-OCH3) on the cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and on apoptosis in several normal and leukaemia cells, including human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), U937 cells, and undifferentiated as well as dimethylsulphoxide-differentiated HL60 cells (uHL60 and dHL60, respectively). ET-18-OCH3 produced apoptosis, as evidenced by DNA degradation into oligonucleosome-size fragments, in U937 and uHL60 cells, but not in dHL60 cells or PMNs. ET-18-OCH3 induced an increase in [Ca2+]i mediated through the platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor in U937, dHL60 cells and PMNs, as shown by cross-desensitization experiments and by prevention of the [Ca2+]i changes by the PAF antagonist WEB-2170. The EC50 values for the increase in [Ca2+]i induced by PAF and ET-18-OCH3 were 5×10−11 and 2.5×10−7M, respectively. In uHL60 cells the effect of ET-18-OCH3 on [Ca2+]i was very small and was not affected by WEB-2170. PAF did not produce apoptosis in any of the cell types tested. WEB-2170 did not prevent the apoptosis induced by ET-18-OCH3. The uptake of [3H]-ET-18-OCH3 was much larger in U937 and uHL60 cells than in dHL60 cells and PMNs. Our results indicate that the apoptotic effect of ET-18-OCH3 is not related to the changes in [Ca2+]i, effected by interaction with plasma membrane PAF receptors, but to other actions which are associated with the uptake of this drug into the cells.

The sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+-ATPase (SERCA) is the third element of capacitative calcium entry. It colocalizes with STIM1 and Orai1 at puncta, where couples plasma membrane store-operated Ca 2+ channels (SOC) to Ca 2+ pumping into the ER. The efficiency of this calcium entry-calcium refilling (CECR) coupling is comparable to the classic excitation-response transduction mechanisms. This allows efficient filling of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with the Ca 2+ entering through SOC channels with little progression of the Ca 2+ wave towards the cell core. CECR coupling is very sensitive to changes in stoichiometry among STIM, Orai and SERCA, with excess Orai antagonizing ER refilling. ER takes up most of the calcium load that enters through SOC, whereas mitochondria take up a very small fraction. This difference is due to the spatial positioning with regard to SOC, the amplitude of the high Ca 2+ microdomains, and the differences in the Ca 2+ affinity of the uptake mechanisms. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd., This work was supported by Grants from the EU-ERA-Net program, the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN; SAF2008-03175-E, BFU2007-60157 and BFU2010-17379), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD06/0010/0000) and the Junta de Castilla y León (gr175).

7 páginas, 5 figuras.-- El pdf del artículo es la versión post-print., CALHM1 (calcium homoeostasis modulator 1), a membrane protein with similarity to NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor channels that localizes in the plasma membrane and the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) of neurons, has been shown to generate a plasma-membrane Ca2+ conductance and has been proposed to influence Alzheimer's disease risk. In the present study we have investigated the effects of CALHM1 on intracellular Ca2+ handling in HEK-293T [HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells expressing the large T-antigen of SV40 (simian virus 40)] cells by using targeted aequorins for selective monitorization of Ca2+ transport by organelles. We find that CALHM1 increases Ca2+ leak from the ER and, more importantly, reduces ER Ca2+ uptake by decreasing both the transport capacity and the Ca2+ affinity of SERCA (sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase). As a result, the Ca2+ content of the ER is drastically decreased. This reduction in the Ca2+ content of the ER triggered the UPR (unfolded protein response) with induction of several ER stress markers, such as CHOP [C/EBP (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein)-homologous protein], ERdj4, GRP78 (glucose-regulated protein of 78 kDa) and XBP1 (X-box-binding protein 1). Thus CALHM1 might provide a relevant link between Ca2+ homoeostasis disruption, ER stress and cell damage in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases., This work was supported by grants from the EU-ERA-Net program, the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN; SAF2008-03175-E, BFU2007-60157 and BFU2010-17379), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD06/0010/0000) and the Junta de Castilla y León (gr175). Sonia Gallego-Sandín was supported by a postdoctoral JAE contract from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

10 páginas, 7 figuras.-- et al.-- El pdf del artículo es la versión post-print., Agonist-sensitive intracellular Ca2+ stores may be heterogeneous and exhibit distinct functional features. We have studied the properties of intracellular Ca2+ stores using targeted aequorins for selective measurements in different subcellular compartments. Both, HEK-293T [HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells expressing the large T-antigen of SV40 (simian virus 40)] and HeLa cells accumulated Ca2+ into the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) to near millimolar concentrations and the IP3-generating agonists, carbachol and ATP, mobilized this Ca2+ pool. We find in HEK-293T, but not in HeLa cells, a distinct agonist-releasable Ca2+ pool insensitive to the SERCA (sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase) inhibitor TBH [2,5-di-(t-butyl)-benzohydroquinone]. TG (thapsigargin) and CPA (cyclopiazonic acid) completely emptied this pool, whereas lysosomal disruption or manoeuvres collapsing endomembrane pH gradients did not. Our results indicate that SERCA3d is important for filling the TBH-resistant store as: (i) SERCA3d is more abundant in HEK-293T than in HeLa cells; (ii) the SERCA 3 ATPase activity of HEK-293T cells is not fully blocked by TBH; and (iii) the expression of SERCA3d in HeLa cells generated a TBH-resistant agonist-mobilizable compartment in the ER. Therefore the distribution of SERCA isoforms may originate the heterogeneity of the ER Ca2+ stores and this may be the basis for store specialization in diverse functions. This adds to recent evidence indicating that SERCA3 isoforms may subserve important physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms., This work was supported by The Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación [grant numbers MICINNFEDER BFU2007-60157, BFU2007-60104, BFU2010-17379, BFU2010- 21043-C02-01 and RD06/0010/0000]; and the Junta de Castilla y León [grant number GR175]. F. J. A. was supported by a fellowship from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.

9 páginas, 9 figuras, 1 tabla.-- El pdf del es la versión pre-print del artículo., Cross-talk between subcellular organelles is essential for cellular Ca2+ homeostasis. We have studied the effects of knocking down STIM1, the Ca2+ sensor of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), on several homeostatic Ca2+-handling mechanisms, including plasma membrane Ca2+ entry and transport by ER, mitochondria and nucleus. We have used targeted aequorins to selectively measure calcium fluxes in different organelles. Actions of STIM1 were extremely selective, restricted to store operated Ca2+ channels (SOC) and Ca2+ uptake by the ER. No interactions with uptake or release of Ca2+ by mitochondria or nucleus were detected. Ca2+ exit from the ER, including passive leak, release via inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and ryanodine receptors, was unaffected. STIM1 knock-down inhibited ER Ca2+ uptake in intact but not in permeabilized cells, suggesting a privileged calcium entry-calcium refilling (CECR) coupling between plasma membrane SOC and ER calcium pump in the intact cell. As a result a large part of the entering Ca2+ is taken up into the ER without reaching the bulk cytosol. The tightness of CECR, as measured by the slope of the stimulus-signal strength function, was comparable to classic excitation–response coupling mechanisms, such as excitation–contraction, excitation–secretion or excitation–transcription coupling., This work was supported by a grant from The Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN; grants BFI2007-60157; BFU2010- 17379 and SAF2008-03175-E). IMM was supported by a fellowship from MICINN. We thank Dr. David H. MacLennan, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the RyR2 cDNA.

The pathway for refilling the intracellular Ca2+ stores of HL60 and U937 human leukaemia cells loaded with fura-2 has been investigated. On addition of external Ca2+ to cells with empty stores there was an increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) which preceded the refilling of the stores. The increase in [Ca2+]i was faster than the refilling, by 3- to 15-fold, depending on the cell type. In measurements in single HL60 cells we found that the refilling of the stores correlated with the extent of the [Ca2+]i increase on addition of external Ca2+. The cells showing no [Ca2+]i increase were unable to refill their stores. The addition of Ni2+ to the extracellular medium prevented both the [Ca2+]i increase and the refilling of the stores. These results indicate that the limiting step for store refilling is the entry of Ca2+ from the extracellular medium to the cytosol. Hence, we conclude that extracellular Ca2+ cannot gain access directly to the intracellular Ca2+ stores in these cells, but must first enter the cytosol and be taken up from there into the stores.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) is a plasma membrane Ca2+ channel involved in transduction of painful stimuli. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons express ectopic but functional TRPV1 channels in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (TRPV1ER). We have studied the properties of TRPV1ER in DRG neurons and HEK293T cells expressing TRPV1. Activation of TRPV1ER with capsaicin or other vanilloids produced an increase of cytosolic Ca2+ due to Ca2+ release from the ER. The decrease of [Ca2+]ER was directly revealed by an ER-targeted aequorin Ca2+ probe, expressed in DRG neurons using a herpes amplicon virus. The sensitivity of TRPV1ER to capsaicin was smaller than the sensitivity of the plasma membrane TRPV1 channels. The low affinity of TRPV1ER was not related to protein kinase A- or C-mediated phosphorylations, but it was due to inactivation by cytosolic Ca2+ because the sensitivity to capsaicin was increased by loading the cells with the Ca2+ chelator BAPTA. Decreasing [Ca2+]ER did not affect the sensitivity of TRPV1ER to capsaicin. Disruption of the TRPV1 calmodulin-binding domains at either the C terminus (Δ35AA) or the N terminus (K155A) increased 10-fold the affinity of TRPV1ER for capsaicin, suggesting that calmodulin is involved in the inactivation. The lack of TRPV1 sensitizers, such as phosphatylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, in the ER could contribute to decrease the affinity for capsaicin. The low sensitivity of TRPV1ER to agonists may be critical for neuron health, because otherwise Ca2+ depletion of ER could lead to ER stress, unfolding protein response, and cell death. © 2009 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Mitochondria shape Ca2+ signaling and exocytosis by taking up calcium during cell activation. In addition, mitochondrial Ca2+ ([Ca2+]M) stimulates respiration and ATP synthesis. Insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells is coded mainly by oscillations of cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]C), but mitochondria are also important in excitation-secretion coupling. Here, we have monitored [Ca2+]M in single β-cells within intact mouse islets by imaging bioluminescence of targeted aequorins. We find an increase of [Ca2+]M in islet-cells in response to stimuli that induce either Ca2+ entry, such as extracellular glucose, tolbutamide or high K+, or Ca2+ mobilization from the intracellular stores, such as ATP or carbamylcholine. Many cells responded to glucose with synchronous [Ca2+]M oscillations, indicating that mitochondrial function is coordinated at the whole islet level. Mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in permeabilized β-cells increased exponentially with increasing [Ca2+], and, particularly, it became much faster at [Ca2+]C > 2 μM. Since the bulk [Ca2+]C signals during stimulation with glucose are smaller than 2 μM, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake could be not uniform, but to take place preferentially from high [Ca2+]C microdomains formed near the mouth of the plasma membrane Ca2+ channels. Measurements of mitochondrial NAD(P)H fluorescence in stimulated islets indicated that the [Ca2+]M changes evidenced here activated mitochondrial dehydrogenases and therefore they may modulate the function of β-cell mitochondria. Diazoxide, an activator of KATP, did not modify mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. © 2007., This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC; BFU2004-02765/BFI, BFU2004-07283 and BFU2005-01052) and Junta de Castilla y León (VA-078/03). Pablo Chamero holded a predoctoral fellowship from the Basque Government.

We have studied the uptake of Ca2+ and its redistribution between the cytoplasm and the intracellular stores in Ehrlich-ascites-tumour cells and rat thymocytes previously depleted of Ca2+ by incubation in Ca2(+)-free medium. Measurements included changes of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), uptake of 45Ca2+ and uptake of Mn2+, a Ca2+ surrogate for Ca2+ channels. Refilling of the Ca2+ stores in thymocytes was very fast (half-filling time: 4 s at 37 degrees C) and very sensitive to temperature (10 times slower at 20 degrees C). It was always preceded by increase of [Ca2+]i. In the Ehrlich cell, both refilling and increase of [Ca2+]i were about one order of magnitude slower. The increase of [Ca2+]i and the refilling of the intracellular stores were both almost completely blocked by Ni2+ in thymocytes, but only partially in the Ehrlich cell. The rates of 45Ca2+ and Mn2+ uptake varied consistently with temperature and the kind of cell. These results suggest that the intracellular stores are refilled by Ca2+ taken up from the cytoplasm. We also find that filling of the Ca2+ stores decreases by about 90% the rate of Mn2+ uptake in thymocytes. This is direct evidence of modulation of the plasma-membrane Ca2+ entry by the degree of filling of the intracellular stores. This modulation occurs in the absence of agonists, suggesting some kind of signalling between the intracellular stores and the Ca2+ entry pathways of the plasma membrane.

The stimulus-secretion coupling for insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells in response to high glucose involves synchronic cytosolic calcium oscillations driven by bursting electrical activity. Calcium inside organelles can regulate additional functions, but analysis of subcellular calcium signals, specially at the single cell level, has been hampered for technical constrains. Here we have monitored nuclear calcium oscillations by bioluminescence imaging of targeted aequorin in individual cells within intact islets of Langerhans as well as in the whole islet. We find that glucose generates a pattern of nuclear calcium oscillations resembling those found in the cytosol. Some cells showed synchronous nuclear calcium oscillations suggesting that the islet of Langerhans may also regulate the activation of Ca2+ -responsive nuclear processes, such as gene transcription, in a coordinated, synchronic manner. The nuclear Ca2+ oscillations are due to bursting electrical activity and activation of plasma membrane voltage-gated Ca2+ channels with little or no contribution of calcium release from the intracellular Ca2+ stores. Irregularities in consumption of aequorins suggests that depolarization may generate formation of steep Ca2+ gradients in both the cytosol and the nucleus, but further research is required to investigate the role of such high [Ca2+] microdomains. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved., This work was funded by grants from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (BFI 2001-2073, BFI2002-01469 and BFU2004-02765/BFI), Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS 03/1231) and RCMN (C03/08). C.V., L.N. and I.Q. are fellows of the Ramón y Cajal program from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spain. P.C. holds a predoctoral fellowship form the Basque government.

Producción Científica, Pituitary adenomas are very common in humans. They are of monoclonal origin, very heterogeneous, and produce frequently paradoxical secretion. The normal anterior pituitary (AP) contains some unorthodox multifunctional cells able to store more than one AP hormone (polyhormonal) and/or to express multiple hypothalamic-releasing hormone receptors (multiresponsive). Multifunctional AP cells seem to be involved in plasticity processes such as transdifferentiation or paradoxical secretion. Here, we have characterized the single-cell phenotypes of 15 human pituitary tumors, including prolactinomas, nonfunctioning adenomas, and adenomas from multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-I) and pituitary Cushing’s disease patients. Individual tumor cells were typed according to expression of AP hormones and hypothalamic-releasing hormone receptors by combination of calcium imaging and multiple sequential immunocytochemistry in the same cells. We found a large heterogeneity among the different tumors. In eight of the 15 tumors studied, more than 80% of the cells presented a multifunctional phenotype. This may explain the occurrence of paradoxical secretion. In addition, our results suggest that human pituitary adenomas might derive from multifunctional cells. This is consistent with the existence of a link between pituitary plasticity and tumorigenesis., Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (grant FIS 01/0769), Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant BFI2001-2073)

El pdf del artículo es el manuscrito de autor., Ca2+ signals may regulate gene expression. The increase of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) promotes activation and/or nuclear import of some transcription factors, but others require the increase of the nuclear Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]N) for activation. Whether the nuclear envelope may act as a diffusion barrier for propagation of [Ca2+]c signals remains controversial. We have studied the spreading of Ca2+ from the cytosol to the nucleus by comparing the cytosolic and the nuclear Ca2+ signals reported by targeted aequorins in adrenal chromaffin, PC12, and GH3 pituitary cells. Strong stimulation of either Ca2+ entry (by depolarization with high K+ or acethylcholine) or Ca2+ release from the intracellular Ca2+ stores (by stimulation with caffeine, UTP, bradykinin, or thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)) produced similar Ca2+ signals in cytosol and nucleus. In contrast, both spontaneous and TRH-stimulated oscillations of cytosolic Ca2+ in single GH3 cells were considerably dampened during propagation to the nucleus. These results are consistent with the existence of a kinetic barrier that filters high frequency physiological [Ca2+]c oscillations without disturbing sustained [Ca2+]c increases. Thus, encoding of the Ca2+ signal may allow differential control of Ca2+-dependent mechanisms located at either the cytosol or the nucleus., This work was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (MCyT; BFI2001-2073).

Recent results indicate that Ca2+ transport by organella contributes to shaping Ca2+ signals and exocytosis in adrenal chromaffin cells. Therefore, accurate measurements of [Ca2+] inside cytoplasmic organella are essential for a comprehensive analysis of the Ca2+ redistribution that follows cell stimulation. Here we have studied changes in Ca2+ inside the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and nucleus by imaging aequorins targeted to these compartments in cells stimulated by brief depolarizing pulses with high K+ solutions. We find that Ca2+ entry through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels generates subplasmalemmal high [Ca2+]c domains adequate for triggering exocytosis. A smaller increase of [Ca2+]c is produced in the cell core, which is adequate for recruitment of the reserve pool of secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane. Most of the Ca2+ load is taken up by a mitochondrial pool, M1, closer to the plasma membrane; the increase of [Ca2+]M stimulates respiration in these mitochondria, providing local support for the exocytotic process. Relaxation of the [Ca2+]c transient is due to Ca2+ extrusion through the plasma membrane. At this stage, mitochondria release Ca2+ to the cytosol through the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, thus maintaining [Ca2+]c discretely increased, especially at core regions of the cell, for periods that outlast the duration of the stimulus., This work was supported by the Spanish Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior (DGES, grants PB97–0474, APC1999–011, and 1FD97–1725-C02–02 to J.G.S., PM98–0142 to J.A., and PM99–0005 to A.G.G.) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (to A.G.G.). C.V. and L.N. hold postdoctoral fellowships from the Spanish DGES.

We have reported that a population of chromaffin cell mitochondria takes up large amounts of Ca2+during cell stimulation. The present study focuses on the pathways for mitochondrial Ca2+efflux. Treatment with protonophores before cell stimulation abolished mitochondrial Ca2+uptake and increased the cytosolic [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]c) peak induced by the stimulus. Instead, when protonophores were added after cell stimulation, they did not modify [Ca2+]ckinetics and inhibited Ca2+release from Ca2+-loaded mitochondria. This effect was due to inhibition of mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+exchange, because blocking this system with CGP37157 produced no further effect. Increasing extramitochondrial [Ca2+]ctriggered fast Ca2+release from these depolarized Ca2+-loaded mitochondria, both in intact or permeabilized cells. These effects of protonophores were mimicked by valinomycin, but not by nigericin. The observed mitochondrial Ca2+-induced Ca2+release response was insensitive to cyclosporin A and CGP37157 but fully blocked by ruthenium red, suggesting that it may be mediated by reversal of the Ca2+uniporter. This novel kind of mitochondrial Ca2+-induced Ca2+release might contribute to Ca2+clearance from mitochondria that become depolarized during Ca2+overload.

1. Arginine and other amino acids are secretagogues for growth hormone and prolactin in the intact animal, but the mechanism of action is unclear. We have studied the effects of amino acids on cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in single rat anterior pituitary (AP) cells. Arginine elicited a large increase of [Ca2+]i) in about 40% of all the AP cells, suggesting that amino acids may modulate hormone secretion by acting directly on the pituitary. 2. Cell typing by immunofluorescence of the hormone the cells store showed that the arginine-sensitive cells are distributed uniformly within all the five AP cell types. The arginine-sensitive cells overlapped closely with the subpopulation of cells sensitive to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone. 3. Other cationic as well as several neutral (dipolar) amino acids had the same effect as arginine. The increase of [Ca2+]i was dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and blocked by dihydropyridine, suggesting that it is due to Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. The [Ca2+]i increase was also blocked by removal of extracellular Na+ but not by tetrodotoxin. The substrate specificity for stimulation of AP cells resembled closely that of the amino acid transport system B0+. We propose that electrogenic amino acid influx through this pathway depolarizes the plasma membrane with the subsequent activation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and Ca2+ entry. 4. Amino acids also stimulated prolactin secretion in vitro with a similar substrate specificity to that found for the [Ca2+]i increase. Existing data on the stimulation of secretion of other hormones by amino acids suggest that a similar mechanism could apply to other endocrine glands.

Hormone secretion by GH3 pituitary cells is regulated by oscillations of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), which are driven by electrical activity and modulated by hypothalamic releasing factors. We find that micromolar concentrations of L-glutamate and other acidic amino acids, but not selective excitatory amino acid receptor agonists, increase [Ca2+]i in GH3 cells. Activation by glutamate is blocked by dihydropyridines or removal of extracellular Ca2+ or Na+, but not by tetrodotoxin or excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists. Glutamate also accelerated the entry of Mn2+ used as a Ca2+ surrogate for Ca2+ channels. L-Glutamate and other acidic amino acids were taken up into GH3 cells by an Na(+)-dependent high-affinity transporter. The half-maximal effect of glutamate on [Ca2+]i was reached at concentrations similar to the Km for the glutamate transporter. Moreover, only those amino acids taken up through this transporter were able to increase [Ca2+]i. We propose that electrogenic entry of Na(+)-glutamate depolarizes the plasma membrane, thus causing an increase of action potentials firing and Ca2+ entry through voltage-gated channels. Our results suggest that glutamate may cooperate to the modulation of pituitary hormone secretion by an unconventional mechanism involving a high-affinity glutamate transporter rather than excitatory amino acid receptors.

N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) inhibited transiently the entry of Ca2+ and Mn2+ induced by emptying with thapsigargin the Ca2+ stores of HL60 cells differentiated toward granulocytes. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) produced a permanent inhibition of this store-operated Ca2+ entry pathway (SOCP), suggesting that inhibition was due to protein phosphorylation mediated by protein kinase C (PKC). Inhibition by PDB was prevented by the PKC inhibitors staurosporin and chelerythrine. Inhibition by fMLP was prevented by chelerythrine but only partially by staurosporin. The characteristics of the inhibition were similar to those reported in human neutrophils (Montero, M., Alvarez, J., and Garcia-Sancho, J. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 13055-13061). Neither fMLP nor PDB inhibited significantly SOCP in undifferentiated HL60 cells. Single-cell [Ca2+]i measurements at different stages of differentiation showed that inhibition by fMLP and PDB developed independently, suggesting different inhibitory mechanisms. The simplest explanation would be that inhibition by fMLP takes place through activation of a protein kinase distinct from PKC and that the PDB-activated PKC isoform necessary to phosphorylate and inhibit SOCP is expressed only along differentiation. Additionally, inhibition by both fMLP and PDB developed gradually. At intermediate stages of differentiation, PDB was able to produce a partial and maintained inhibition and fMLP a partial and short-lived inhibition of SOCP.

The production of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and the release of [3H]arachidonate were studied in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) stimulated with thapsigargin, an inhibitor of endomembrane Ca(2+)-ATPase. Concentrations of thapsigargin as low as 10-25 nM primed PMN for both PAF production and [3H]arachidonate release in response to the chemotactic peptide (fMLP), whereas concentrations in the range 25-200 nM induced a time- and dose-dependent production of PAF, which occurred in the absence of both [3H]arachidonate release and [3H]phosphatidylethanol formation. Studies in fura-2/AM-loaded cells showed that concentrations of thapsigargin that elicited PAF production induced a protracted and long lasting elevation of cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) between 200 and 700 nM. The lower concentrations primed the cells for a late [Ca2+]i elevation in response to fMLP similar to that elicited by cytochalasin B or ionomycin. PAF production showed a good correlation with the increase of [Ca2+]i (r = 0.91) irrespective of the procedure used to grade [Ca2+]i. In contrast, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate failed to induce both PAF production and elevation of [Ca2+]i, but it was a very effective stimulator of [3H]arachidonate release and [3H]phosphatidylethanol production. These data indicate that PAF production and [3H]arachidonate release in PMN differ in both biochemical pathway and modulatory mechanisms. Whereas PAF production seems extremely sensitive to changes in [Ca2+]i, which seems to exert its modulatory effect at the lyso-PAF:acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase step, [3H]arachidonate release seems tightly modulated by protein kinase C-dependent mechanisms and is coincidental with activation of phospholipase D.

The effects of cytochrome P -450 inhibitors of different chemical structures, including several imidazole antimycotics, SKF525A, 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), gossypol and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), were tested on the entry of Ca 2+ and Mn 2+ induced either by emptying the intracellular Ca 2+ stores with thapsigargin or by stimulation with platelet activating factor (PAF). Most of the drugs inhibited thapsigargin-induced Ca 2+ and Mn 2+ entry with the same affinity, with the striking exceptions of econazole and miconazole, which were 5- and 2-fold more potent to inhibit the thapsigargin-induced Mn 2+ entry than to inhibit Ca 2+ entry, respectively. Additionally, high doses of every drug (3–10-times the K i ) activated a pathway permeable to Mn 2+ and Ni 2+ but not to Ca 2+ . These findings indicate that Mn 2+ entry data should be interpreted with caution and always be cross-checked with Ca 2+ uptake measurements. Most of the drugs inhibited PAF-induced Mn 2+ uptake with an affinity similar to that found for thapsigargin-induced Mn 2+ uptake. PAF- and thapsigargin-induced Ca 2+ uptake were also inhibited similarly by NDGA, SKF525A and gossypol, but PAF-induced Ca 2+ -uptake was inhibited about 5-fold more strongly by econazole and ETYA and two-fold more strongly by miconazole and clotrimazole. These findings suggest that the Ca 2+ /Mn 2+ entry pathway opened by agonists in human neutrophils is the same that activates on emptying the Ca 2+ stores and that cytochrome P -450 activity may be involved en the activation of the channels.

1. Inosine-fed human red cells, pre-loaded with calcium with the use of the ionophore A23187, and reincubated at 37 degrees C after ionophore and external calcium removal, pumped calcium out initially fast and then substantially slower when the residual calcium was still very high (García-Sancho & Lew, 1988 a, b). Particularly surprising was the finding of such residual calcium pools in a subpopulation of cells (L cells, García-Sancho & Lew, 1988b) with normal ATP, high active calcium pumping rates, and K+ channels which remained inactive during the density separation procedure (SCN- treatment; García-Sancho & Lew, 1988a). The purpose of the present experiments was to investigate the properties and possible origins of the residual calcium pools. 2. At each ionophore concentration, the pool size increased with the duration and magnitude of the calcium load. At comparable calcium loads, the pool size was smaller the higher the ionophore concentration used. 3. In cells from the same sample, residual calcium pools were present in cells that became dense after SCN- treatment (H cells) as well as those that remained in the light-cell fraction (L cells). Residual calcium was always higher in H cells than in L cells. 4. Re-exposure of cells to ionophore in Ca2+-free media could rapidly extract over 99% of their residual calcium. Residual calcium is therefore in a rapidly mobilizable form within a membrane-bound compartment. 5. Iodoacetamide-induced ATP depletion of H cells with high residual calcium-stimulated calcium loss. Such stimulation could only occur if ATP depletion inhibited a calcium-retaining process within the cells. 6. L cells with high residual calcium may have failed to dehydrate during SCN- treatment because of irreversible K+ channel inactivation or because K+ permeabilization would no longer generate a dehydrating net cation loss. These possibilities were tested and ruled out since it was found that virtually all cells became dense in low-K+, SCN- media after valinomycin addition or re-exposure to A23187 + calcium. 7. The results suggest that part if not all of the residual calcium is contained within compartments with the properties of endocytic inside-out vesicles capable of ATP-dependent calcium accumulation, such as those found in normal and abnormal human red cells (Lew, Hockaday, Sepúlveda, Somlyo, Somlyo, Ortiz & Bookchin, 1985).

When human red cells are incubated at 37°C with the artificial electron donor system ascorbate + phenazine methosulphate the fluxes of Rb + (K + ) through the cell membrane are increased. The effect of this donor system is much stronger in energy-depleted than in normal cells. The same effects are produced by HS-glutathione, NADH or NADPH loaded into resealed ghosts, but these electron donors were ineffective when added to the incubation medium. The Rb + (K + ) fluxes induced by electron donors resemble closely those induced by an increase of intracellular Ca 2+ (Gardos effect). The electron donors require the presence of intracellular Ca 2+ to be effective, but at levels that do not stimulate by themselves the fluxes of K + . Flavoenzyme inhibitors (atebrin and chlorpromazine), oligomycin and quinine prevented the effects of both electron donors and Ca 2+ alone; antimycin, uncouplers and ethacrynic acid inhibited them partially; ouabain, furosemide, and rotenone had no effect. The results could be explained if the effect of electron donors is to bring about a change in the redox state of some membrane component(s) that makes intracellular Ca 2+ more effective to elicit rapid K + movements. Plasma membrane oxidoreductase activities could be engaged in this change.

The human cell line U937 differentiates to monocyte macrophage-like cells in response to tumour-promoting phorbol esters. This effect is attributed to activation of protein kinase C. We show here that U937 cell differentiation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) is associated with cytoplasmic alkalinization. Ethyl-isopropyl-amiloride (EIPA), a potent inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchange, blocked both cytoplasmic alkalinization and cell differentiation. Cell acidification by addition of 2-4 mM sodium propionate also blocked TPA-induced U937 cell differentiation. These results suggest that a sustained cell alkalinization mediated by activation of Na+/H+ exchange is essential for TPA-induced differentiation in U937 cells. The increase of cytoplasmic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) by addition of the calcium ionophore ionomycin enhanced TPA-induced alkalinization by increasing the apparent affinity of the Na+/H+ antiporter for intracellular H+. Treatment with ionomycin also potentiated differentiation of U937 cells induced by TPA. This synergism suggests that [Ca2+]i either potentiates the activation of protein kinase C or triggers additional transducing mechanisms. The key events of this interaction occur during the first 30 min of treatment, even though cell differentiation manifests much later.

We have studied the changes of the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) effected by external ATP, which induces formation of inositol trisphosphate, and by the divalent cation ionophores ionomycin and A23187. Both, ATP (40 microM) and ionophores (1-80 mumol/l cells ionomycin; 20-400 mumol/l cells A23187), produced a transient rise of [Ca2+]i which reached its maximum within 15-30 s and declined near resting values (about 200 nM) within 1-3 min. When the [Ca2+]i peak surpassed 500 nM a transient cell shrinkage due to simultaneous activation of Ca2+-dependent K+ and Cl- channels was also observed. The cell response was similar in medium containing 1 mM Ca2+ and in Ca2+-free medium, suggesting that the Ca mobilized to the cytosol comes preferently from the intracellular stores. Treatment with low doses of ionophore (1 mumol/l cells for ionomycin; 20 mumol/l cells for A23187) depressed the response to a subsequent treatment, either with ionophore or with ATP. Treatment with ATP did also inhibit the subsequent response to ionophore, but in this case the inhibition was dependent on time, the stronger the shorter the interval between both treatments. This result suggests that the permeabilization of Ca stores by ATP is transient and that Ca can be taken up again by the intracellular stores. Refill was most efficient when Ca2+ was present in the incubation medium. Addition of either ATP or ionomycin (1-25 mumol/l cells) to cells incubated in medium containing 1 mM Ca2+ decreased drastically the total cell Ca content during the following 3 min of incubation. In the case of ATP the total cell levels of Ca returned to the initial values after 7-15 min, whereas in the case of the ionophore they remained decreased during the whole incubation period. These results indicate that Ca released from the intracellular stores by either ATP or ionophores is quickly extruded by active mechanisms located at the plasma membrane. They also suggest that, under the conditions studied here, with 1 mM Ca2+ outside, the Ca-mobilizing effect of ionophores is stronger in endomembranes than in the plasma membrane.

The effects of variations of the NAD+/NADH quotient on the uptake of 86Rb by human red cells loaded by non-disruptive means with the chelator Benz2 and different amounts of 45Ca has been examined. The NAD+/NADH quotient was modified by the addition of pyruvate and/or lactate or xylitol. It was found that the uptake of 86Rb at a given intracellular Ca2+ concentrations was faster in the reduced state (lactate or xylitol added). Metabolic changes were associated with variations of the redox state. However, glycolitic intermediates did not significantly modify the apparent affinity for Ca2+ of the Ca2+-dependent K+ channel in one-step inside-out vesicles prepared from the erythrocyte membrane. Taken together, these results suggest that modifications of the cytoplasmic redox potential could modulate the sensitivity to Ca2+ of the Ca2+-dependent K+ channel in the human red cells under physiological conditions. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings in inside-out vesicles of human erythrocytes using artificial electron donors.

We have investigated the effects of Ca2+ on AMP deaminase from human red cells. At variance with the other known modulators, Ca2+ increased the apparent affinity for AMP without modifying the characteristic positive cooperativity of the enzyme towards the substrate. Ca2+ sensitivity was not modified by dialysis, but dilution of the haemolysate produced an activation of the enzyme similar to that induced by Ca2+. Simultaneously, the Ca2+ dependence was lost. The sensitivity to other modulators, such as ATP, diphosphoglycerate or phosphate, was not modified by dilution. Partial purification of the enzyme produced the same effects as haemolysate dilution. These results may be interpreted to mean that Ca2+ acts by antagonizing an endogenous inhibitor present in red cell lysates.

The effects of changes of membrane potential on amino acid transport through systems A, ASC and L was investigated in the Ehrlich cell and the human erythrocyte. Changes of membrane potential were produced by incubating cells whose K + permeability had been increased, either by valinomycin or by activation of Ca 2+ -dependent K + channels, in medium containing different K + concentrations. The changes in membrane potential were followed by measuring the distribution ratio reached by lipophilic indicators. Transport through Na + -dependent system A was sensitive to the membrane potential, the rate of amino acid uptake increasing 2.2–3.1-times for each 60 mV-hyperpolarization. The Na + -dependent system ASC was insensitive to membrane potential. The Na + -independent system L was not directly affected by membrane potential, but the steady-state accumulation of system L substrates was increased by hyperpolarization.

Ca2+-dependent K+ transport and plasma membrane NADH dehydrogenase activities have been studied in several 'high-K+' (human, rabbit and guinea pig) and 'low-K+' (dog, cat and sheep) erythrocytes. All the species except sheep showed Ca2+-dependent K+ transport. NADH-ferricyanide reductase was detected in all the species and showed positive correlation with the flavin contents of the membranes. NADH-cytochrome c reductase was very low or absent in dog, sheep and guinea pig membranes. No correlation was found between NADH dehydrogenase and Ca2+-dependent K+ channel activities in the species studied. Nor were any of the above activities correlated with (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity.

The interactions between reducing agents and Ca2+ in the activation of Ca2+-dependent K+ transport have been studied in one-step inside-out vesicles. The artificial electron donor system ascorbate + phenazine methosulphate increases the apparent sensitivity to Ca2+ by about 5-times over control values (half activation constant, about 5·10−8 M) while oxidized cytochrome c decreases the sensitivity to about 1 3 of the controls. Using redox buffers at a fixed pCa it is shown that the shift from the low to the high-affinity state can be accounted for by the reduction of a membrane component accepting two electrons and with an apparent standard redox potential (pH 7.5) of 47 mV. The electrons can be transferred directly from reduced PMS or to oxidized cytochrome c, but not from ascorbate, NADH or reduced glutathione.

1. Calcium permeabilization of inosine-fed human red cells using the divalent cation ionophore A23187 induces pump-leak steady states in which the mean total calcium content of the cells may be held below electrochemical equilibrium for hours. A new method developed to detect and separate cells with different calcium contents revealed a striking heterogeneity of calcium contents in subpopulations of cells in pump-leak steady state (García-Sancho & Lew, 1988a). Most of the mean total cell calcium was found within a fraction of cells rendered dense by the separation procedure (H cells), with relatively little within the remaining light cells (L cells). The experiments in this paper were designed to study the nature and origin of the observed heterogeneity. 2. The fraction of steady-state H cells increased, and the mean ATP content of the cells fell, both linearly, as calcium influx was increased. The H/L divide is therefore the result of a continuous variation in cell properties. When calcium influx was above about 30 mmol/(l cells.h), all cells became dense, calcium distribution was at or near equilibrium, and cell ATP was 0.1-0.2 mmol/l cells. 3. Inosine-fed cells, subjected to ionophore-mediated net calcium influx of 13-15 mmol/(l cells.h), attained a steady state with mean calcium contents far below equilibrium. After ionophore removal and reincubation in calcium-free media, the initial calcium efflux was only a fraction of that required to sustain the previous steady state (less than 25% for H cells, and less than 2% for L cells). The ATP content of L cells was normal whereas that of H cells was irreversibly reduced. These results revealed a paradoxical discrepancy between leak influx and calcium pump efflux in H and L cells which were supposed to have been in steady-state pump-leak balance. 4. The changes in cell calcium and ATP were followed in time after calcium permeabilization to characterize the development of steady-state heterogeneity. Calcium influx triggered a sharp peak in the H cell fraction within 15 s of permeabilization. The mean calcium content of H cells increased towards steady-state values as their fraction decreased; most other cells transferred from H to L density fractions (HL cells) within the first 5 min of permeabilization. 5. In substrate-starved cells calcium influx triggered an immediate fall in cell ATP, steeper in H cells than in L cells. The initial calcium and density transients were unattected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Alamethicin causes a concentration-dependent increase of [Ca2+]i in suspensions of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells loaded with fura-2. The basal levels of Cai2+ (234 +/- 37 nM; n = 4) increased to a maximum of 2347 +/- 791 nM (n = 3) with 100 micrograms/ml alamethicin. In the presence of 1 mM Cae2+ the increase reached a plateau within about 2-5 s. This increase was due to Ca2+ entry into chromaffin cells, since in the absence of Cae2+ alamethicin did not modify [Ca2+]i. This contrasts with ionomycin (1 microM) which produced a Cai2+ transient even in the absence of Cae2+. Mn2+ ions also entered chromaffin cells in the presence of alamethicin, as measured by the quenching of fura-2 fluorescence following excitation at 360 nm. Resting chromaffin cells had a measurable permeability to Mn2+ which was drastically increased by cell depolarization by K+ (50 mM) addition. This suggests that Mn2+ is able to permeate voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. Ni2+ uptake into either resting or K(+)-stimulated chromaffin cells was undetectable, but addition of alamethicin induced rapid uptake of this cation. The alamethicin-induced entry of Ni2+ was decreased by 50 mM K+. Overall, the results are compatible with the formation by alamethicin of ion channels in chromaffin cell plasma membranes.

Calcium chelators which can be incorporated inside small cells without disruption have become useful tools to investigate the role of intracellular ionized calcium in the processes of cell activation and signal-effect mediation. In experiments designed to investigate further Ca2+ pump function in chelator-loaded human red cells we found that the chelator-loading procedure itself caused delayed Ca2+-pump inhibition when pump function was explored by increasing the intracellular Ca2+ levels with the aid of the divalent cation ionophore A23187. Ca2+-pump inhibition was found to be secondary to ATP-depletion, and ATP-depletion, in turn, could be attributed to formaldehyde, which was released during the hydrolytic incorporation of free chelator, from the cleavage of the four ester groups which anchor it to cell membranes on addition to cell suspensions. The evidence suggests that the formaldehyde released stays largely within the cells. Formaldehyde, in concentrations of up to 20 mmol/l cells had no direct effects on Ca2+ transport in red cells, other than through ATP depletion. Procedures to circumvent the difficulties arising from the formaldehyde effects are outlined and discussed.

An original approach has been designed to count Ca2+-dependent K+ channels in the human red cell using a preparation of inside-out vesicles. The relative frequency of vesicles having no K+ channels is estimated from the fraction of 42K+ (or 86Rb+) which is not released from loaded vesicles on maximal stimulation with Ca2+. The mean number of channels per vesicle is then calculated from this figure assuming a Poisson distribution for the K+ channels. From this value and the mean vesicular radius, computed from the volume / surface ratio, the mean number of channels per cell can be estimated. A value of 142 ± 27 (mean ± S.E.) was obtained, which is well above that estimated by comparison of unitary conductance and tracer equilibration rate measurements (about 10 channels / cell, Grygorczyk, R. Schwarz, W. and Passow, H. (1984) Biophys. J. 45, 693–698), but compares favourably with the channel density inferred from comparison with the number of Na+ pumps in a similar preparation of inside-out vesicles (100–200 / cell, Lew, V.L., Muallem, S. and Seymour, C.A. (1982) Nature 296, 742–744). The procedure described here can be considered for general application as an alternative to other known procedures.

We have studied the all or none cell response of Ca2+-dependent K+ channels to added Ca in human red cells depleted of ATP by incubation with iodoacetate and inosine. A procedure was used which allows separation and differential analysis of responding and nonresponding cells. Responding (H for heavy) cells incubated in medium containing 5 mM K lose KCl and water and increase their density to the point of sinking on diethylphthalate (specific gravity = 1.12) on centrifugation. Nonresponding (L for light) cells do not lose KCl at all. There is no intermediate behavior. Increasing the Ca concentration in the medium increases the fraction of cells which become H. No differences in the sensitivity to Ca2+ of the individual K+ channels were detected in inside-out vesicles prepared either from H or from L cells. The Ca content of H cells was higher than that of L cells. Cells depleted of ATP by incubation with iodoacetate and inosine sustain pump-leak Ca fluxes of about 15 mumol/liter cells per hour. ATP seems to be resynthesized in these cells at the expense of cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate stores at a rate of about 150 mumol/liter cells per hour. Inhibition of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate phosphatase by tetrathionate increased 6-8 times the measured rate of uptake of external 45Ca. This was accompanied by an increase in the fraction of H cells. All or none cell responses of Ca2+-dependent K channels have also been evidenced in intact human red cells on addition of Pb. They have the same characteristics as those in responding and nonresponding cells. The detailed study of the kinetics of Pb-induced shrinkage of red cells suspended in medium containing 5 mM K showed that changes of Pb concentration changed not only the fraction of H cells but also the rate of shrinkage of responding cells. H cells generated by Pb treatment contained significantly more lead than L cells. The above results suggest that the two all or none cell responses studied here can be explained by heterogeneity of agonist distribution among cells. Since pump-leak fluxes exist in both cases, differences of agonist distribution could be generated by heterogeneity of pumping among cells. This interpretation turns interest from K channels to Ca pumps to explain the heterogeneous behavior of red cells in response to a uniform stimulus.

Pb2+ modified the apparent threshold sensitivity to Ca2+ of individual K+ channels with a biphasic time-course. At first, the sensitivity to Ca2+ was lowered with the result of a decrease of the fraction of activated vesicles at a given Ca2+ concentration. Later, Pb2+ increased the sensitivity to Ca2+ and the fraction of activated vesicles. The increase of Pb2+ concentration increased the extent of the initial inhibition but decreased its duration. The inhibitory effect was not observed when the addition of Ca2+ preceded the addition of Pb2+. The presence of Mg2+ in the incubation medium was also required. In the absence of Mg2+, Pb2+ decreased the rate of uptake of 86Rb, but no decrease in the fraction of activated vesicles could be demonstrated.

The possible presence and properties of the Ca2+-dependent K+ channel have been investigated in the Ehrlich ascites tumor cell. The treatment with ionophore A23187 + CA2+, propranolol or the electron donor system ascorbate-phenazine methosulphate, all of which activate that transport system in the human erythrocyte, produces in the Ehrlich cell a net loss of K+ (balanced by the uptake of Na+) and a stimulation of both the influx and the efflux of 86Rb. These effects were antagonized by quinine, a known inhibitor of the Ca2+-dependent K+ channel in other cell systems, and by the addition of EGTA to the incubation medium. Ouabain did not have an inhibitory effect. These results suggests that the Ehrlich cell possesses a Ca2+-dependent K+ channel whose characteristics are similar to those described in other cell systems.

Activation of receptor-operated calcium channels has been monitored by measurements of the quenching of the fluorescence of intracellularly trapped fura-2 by Mn entering from the extracellular medium. Release of calcium from intracellular stores was followed simultaneously by measurements of the ratio of the fluorescence excited at 340 and 380 nm. Thrombin, ADP, platelet-activating-factor (PAF) and collagen, all produced both release of calcium from the intracellular stores and uptake of Mn from the extracellular medium. The uptake of Mn, but not the increase of (Ca2+)i, was blocked by nickel. These results suggest the existence of plasma membrane calcium channels which can be activated by the different agonists tested here. The activation of calcium channels was very fast and transient with ADP and PAF, fast and maintained with thrombin, and delayed with collagen.

Formaldehyde released during hydrolysis of calcium-chelator esters incorporated into cells blocks glycolysis in the human erythrocyte (Tiffert T., Garcia—Sancho, J. and Lew, V.L. (1984) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 773, 143–156). This blockade is due to the inhibition of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by NAD + depletion caused by enzymatic oxidation of formaldehyde coupled to NADH production. The addition of pyruvate to the incubation medium prevents or reverts ATP depletion.

Removal of extracellular sodium decreased clacium mobilization from intracellyular stores induced by thrombin in aspirin-treated human platelets. ATP and serotonin secretion were also significantly reduced. Secretion was positively correlated with calcium mobilization, but the presence or absence of sodium did not modify the slope of the regression line. Half-maximal secretion was reached when [Ca2+]1 was increased by about 0.1 μM. Calcium mobilization induced by the divalent cation ionophore ionomycin was not modified by sodium removal. Secretion induced by ionomycin was much smaller than the thrombin-induced one for the same increases of [Ca2+]1. These results suggest that the presence of external sodium is required for normal thrombin-induced calcium release from the intracellular stores and hence for dense granule secretion. However, secretion cannot be only attributed to the increase of cell [Ca2+]1 but also to other process(es) which are not affected by external sodium.

We have investigated the effects of several snake venoms on the Ca 2+ -dependent K + channels of human red cells. A heat-resistant component of the venom of the snake Notechis scutatus irreversibly inhibited Ca 2+ -dependent K + transport with a K i value of 0.1−0.2 μg/ml. Metabolic changes of the cells modified the maximal effect of the venom. Binding of the venom required extracellular Ca 2+ and was quick, but development of full inhibition required additional time. The effects of the venoms from Notechis scutatus and Leiurus quinquestriatus were additive, suggesting that both venoms act through different mechanisms. Venoms of the snakes Vipera russelli russelli and Oxyuranus scutellatus also inhibited Ca 2+ -dependent K + transport with the same characteristics as the Notechis scutatus venom.

Ehrlich cells treated with dinitrophenol and iodoacetate rapidly recover their 30-sec uptake of 2-(methyl-amino)-isobutyrate on treatment with 0.1 mM phenazine methosulfate + 20 mM sodium ascorbate before they begin to recover from the severely depressed ATP levels and alkali-ion gradients. Addition of 10 mM pyruvate also restores uptake of methylaminoisobutyrate before the alkali-ion gradients rise. This restoration is prevented by rotenone, but rotenone does not handicap restoration by phenazine methosulfate/ascorbate. Na+-independent uptake of 2-aminonorbornane-2-carboxylate by Ehrlich cells is affected the same way. Quinacrine almost completely suppresses uptake of methylaminoisobutyrate within the 30-sec uptake test, even when ATP levels are sustained by pyruvate and alkali-ion gradients are not depressed. Ouabain prevents restoration of both Na+-dependent and Na+-independent amino-acid transport by phenazine methosulfate/ascorbate or pyruvate. We interpret these results to indicate that amino-acid transport can be energized not only by known means, but also by reducing equivalents, which presumably reach the plasma membrane in the form of NADH from the mitochondria when the source of energy is pyruvate. In support of this hypothesis, the distribution of methylaminoisobutyrate between plasma membrane vesicles and their supporting media was influenced in the predictable way by NADH, quinacrine, and an uncoupling agent, proceeding on the assumption that more of the vesicles had the everted rather than the natural orientation.

The activation of Ca 2+ -dependent K + channel by propranolol or by ascorbate-phenazine methosulphate stimulates Na + -dependent transport of α-aminoisobutyric acid. This stimulation arises from a membrane hyperpolarization due to the specific increase of membrane K + conductance. The same treatment does not modify the Na + -independent uptake of the norbornane amino acid.

Several lipophilic calmodulin antagonists (phenotiazines, butyrophenones and diphenylbutylpiperidines) inhibited Ca 2+ -induced loss of KCl from human red cells. However, the K i values for this effect did not bear good correlation with the K i values reported for well-known calmodulin-dependent systems. In addition, the inhibition was strongly dependent on the haematocrit and valinomycin-induced KCl fluxes were also affected. Added calmodulin did not have any effect on Ca 2+ -dependent 86 Rb uptake by inside-out vesicles derived from red cell membranes whereas stimulation of Ca 2+ -dependent ATPase was apparent. Lipophilic anticalmodulins at high doses had all kinds of effects on 86 Rb uptake by inside-out vesicles: increase, decrease or no change of the fraction of activated vesicles reached at submaximal Ca 2+ concentrations, with or without modification of the relative rate of 86 Rb uptake. The hydrophylic compound 48/80 decreased the fraction of activated vesicles reached at submaximal Ca 2+ concentrations without affecting the relative rate of 86 Rb uptake, but this effect took place only at concentrations 10-fold higher than the reported K i for calmodulin-dependent systems. These results suggest that Ca 2+ -dependent K + channels of red cells are not regulated by calmodulin.