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Introduction and Objectives: Chagas is an endemic disease in Latin America, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which usually affects the functioning of the heart. We have studied the regulation of intracellular calcium in cardiomyocytes isolated from chagasic patients with different degrees of heart dysfunction., Methods: Calcium selective microelectrodes were used to simultaneously measure diastolic calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺](d)) and resting membrane potential in endomyocardial biopsies obtained from chagasic patients and controls., Results: The [Ca²⁺](d) increased by 123%, 295%, and 738% in chagasic patients in functional class I, II, and III, respectively, in relation to controls. Membrane potential showed a partial depolarization of 6% in functional class I, 10% in functional class II, and 22% in functional class III, compared to control values. Alteration in the [Ca²⁺](d) was partially reverted by 1-[6-[[(17ß)-3-metoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino]hexyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (U-73122), a β-phospholipase C antagonist, and by 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl-borate (2-APB), an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor blocker. Phenylephrine, an agent that induces a rapid transient increase in 1,4,5-trisphosphate intracellular content, produced a rise in [Ca²⁺](d), higher in chagasic cardiomyocytes than in controls, and its effect was fully inhibited by 2-APB., Conclusions: In cardiomyocytes from chagasic patients there is a dysfunction of the regulation of the [Ca²⁺](d), which correlates with the cardiac abnormalities observed in the different stages of the disease. This disturbance in the regulation of intracellular calcium appears to be associated with alterations in the regulation of intracellular messenger inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate., (Copyright © 2011 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play important roles in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes, including cell proliferation, angiogenesis, central nervous system development and carcinogenesis. Whilst many ion channels and transporters are recognized to be controlled by a change in cell membrane potential, little is known about the voltage dependence of other proteins involved in cell signalling. Here, we show that the InsP(3)-mediated Ca(2+) response stimulated by the endogenous LPA GPCR in Xenopus oocytes is potentiated by membrane depolarization. Depolarization was able to repetitively stimulate transient [Ca(2+)](i) increases after the initial agonist-evoked response. In addition, the initial rate and amplitude of the LPA-dependent Ca(2+) response were significantly modulated by the steady holding potential over the physiological range, such that the response to LPA was potentiated at depolarized potentials and inhibited at hyperpolarized potentials. Enhancement of LPA receptor-evoked Ca(2+) mobilization by membrane depolarization was observed over a wide range of agonist concentrations. Importantly, the amplitude of the depolarization-evoked intracellular Ca(2+) increase displayed an inverse relationship with agonist concentration such that the greatest effect of voltage was observed at near-threshold levels of agonist. Voltage-dependent Ca(2+) release was not induced by direct elevation of InsP(3) or by activation of heterotrimeric G-proteins in the absence of agonist, indicating that the LPA GPCR itself represents the primary site of action of membrane voltage. This novel modulation of LPA signalling by membrane potential may have important consequences for control of Ca(2+) signals both in excitable and non-excitable tissues.

Stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and the chemokine receptor CXCR4 are highly expressed in the nervous system. Knockout studies have suggested that both SDF-1 and CXCR4 play essential roles in cerebellar, hippocampal, and neocortical neural cell migration during embryogenesis. To extend these observations, CXCR4 signaling events in rat and human neural progenitor cells (NPCs) were examined. Our results show that CXCR4 is expressed in abundance on rat and human NPCs. Moreover, SDF-1alpha induced increased NPCs levels of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2, Akt, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and intracellular calcium whereas it diminished cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Finally, SDF-1alpha can induce human NPC chemotaxis in vitro, suggesting that CXCR4 plays a functional role in NPC migration. Both T140, a CXCR4 antagonist, and pertussis toxin (PTX), an inactivator of G protein-coupled receptors, abrogated these events. Ultimately, this study suggested that SDF-1alpha can influence NPC function through CXCR4 and that CXCR4 is functional on NPC., (Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Somatostatin receptors are members of the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily and exert their principal effects by coupling to inhibitory G-proteins. We used fura-2-based digital calcium imaging and assayed for [3H]inositol phosphates (IPs) to study the effects of somatostatin on intracellular calcium signaling in neuroblastomaxglioma NG108-15 cells. Both somatostatin-14 and octreotide induced concentration-dependent increases in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). Thirty-four percent of the cells responded to treatment with 100 nM somatostatin-14. Somatostatin-induced responses were not blocked by the removal of extracellular calcium; instead, they were abolished by pretreatment with 100 nM thapsigargin, an agent that depletes and prevents refilling of intracellular Ca(2+) stores. Pretreatment with the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptor antagonist xestospongin C (10 microM) for 20 min inhibited markedly the somatostatin-induced response. Somatostatin (100 nM) increased [3H]IPs formation. U73122 (1 microM), an inhibitor of phospholipase C (PLC), completely blocked the somatostatin-induced [Ca(2+)](i) increases and the formation of [3H]IPs. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin (PTX, 200 ng/ml) for 24 h blocked the somatostatin-induced responses. Thus, we conclude that activation of endogenous somatostatin receptors in NG108-15 cells induces the release of calcium from IP(3)-sensitive intracellular stores through PTX-sensitive G-protein-coupled PLC.

Introduction: Experimental evidence suggests a major role for Fas receptor activation in a wide range of myocardial pathologies. Because clinical situations, which are likely to be associated with Fas activation, are accompanied by a variety of ventricular arrhythmias, the major goal of this study was to investigate the ionic mechanisms responsible for these phenomena., Methods and Results: To delineate the origin of Fas-mediated electrophysiologic perturbations, the transient outward K+ current I(to) and the L-type Ca2+ current I(Ca,L) were studied in murine ventricular myocytes treated with the Fas-activating monoclonal antibody Jo2. Jo2 decreased I(to) (4.36 +/- 1.2 pA/pF vs 17.48 +/- 2.36 pA/pF in control, V(M) = +50 mV; P < 0.001) and increased I(Ca,L) (-13.17 +/- 1.38 pA/pF vs -3.94 +/- 0.78 pA/pF in control, V(M) = 0 mV; P < 0.001). Pretreatment of ventricular myocytes with ryanodine or thapsigargin prevented the electrophysiologic effects of Jo2, suggesting that [Ca2+]i elevation is important for Fas-mediated action. In agreement with our previous studies demonstrating dependence of Fas-based myocyte dysfunction on an intact inositol trisphosphate (1,4,5-IP3) pathway, the effects of Jo2 on I(to) and I(Ca,L) were prevented by the phospholipase C (generates 1,4,5-IP3) blocker U73122, and by xestospongin C (tested with I(to)), a specific blocker of IP3-operated sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channels. Furthermore, intracellular perfusion with 1,4,5-IP3, but not with 1,3,4-IP3, caused electrophysiologic effects resembling those of Jo2., Conclusion: Decreased I(to) and increased I(Ca,L) underlie Fas-induced action potential alterations and arrhythmias in murine ventricular myocytes, effects that appear to be mediated by 1,4,5-IP3-induced intracellular calcium release.

The radial localization and properties of elementary calcium release events ("puffs") were studied in Xenopus oocytes using a confocal microscope equipped with a piezoelectric focussing unit to allow rapid (>100 Hz) imaging of calcium signals along a radial line into the cell with a spatial resolution of <0.7 micrometer. Weak photorelease of caged inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) evoked puffs arising predominantly within a 6-micrometer thick band located within a few micrometers of the cell surface. Approximately 25% of puffs had a restricted radial spread, consistent with calcium release from a single site. Most puffs, however, exhibited a greater radial spread (3.25 micrometer), likely involving recruitment of radially neighboring release sites. Calcium waves evoked by just suprathreshold stimuli exhibited radial calcium distributions consistent with inward diffusion of calcium liberated at puff sites, whereas stronger flashes evoked strong, short-latency signals at depths inward from puff sites, indicating deep InsP3-sensitive stores activated at higher concentrations of InsP3. Immunolocalization of InsP3 receptors showed punctate staining throughout a region corresponding to the localization of puffs and subplasmalemmal endoplasmic reticulum. The radial organization of puff sites a few micrometers inward from the plasma membrane may have important consequences for activation of calcium-dependent ion channels and "capacitative" calcium influx. However, on the macroscopic (hundreds of micrometers) scale of global calcium waves, release can be considered to occur primarily within a thin, essentially two-dimensional subplasmalemmal shell.

Transduction mechanisms were investigated in human olfactory neurons by determining characteristics of odorant-induced changes in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). Olfactory neurons were freshly isolated from nasal biopsies, allowed to attach to coverslips, and loaded with the calcium-sensitive indicator fura-2. Changes in [Ca2+]i were studied in response to exposure to individual odors, or odorant mixtures composed to distinguish between transduction pathways mediated by adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate (cAMP; mix A) or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3; mix B). Overall, 52% of biopsies produced one or more odorant-responsive olfactory neurons, whereas 24% of all olfactory neurons tested responded to odorant exposure with a change in [Ca2+]i. As in olfactory neurons from other species, the data suggest that odorant exposure elicited calcium influx via second-messenger pathways involving cAMP or InsP3. Unlike olfactory neurons from other species that have been tested, some human olfactory neurons responded to odorants with decreases in [Ca2+]i. Also in contrast with olfactory neurons from other species, human olfactory neurons were better able to discriminate between odorant mixtures in that no neuron responded to more than one type of odor or mixture. These results suggest the presence of a previously unreported type of olfactory transduction mechanism, and raise the possibility that coding of odor qualities in humans may be accomplished to some degree differently than in other vertebrates, with the olfactory neuron itself making a greater contribution to the discrimination process.

It has been suggested that the isolation and culture of human detrusor smooth muscle cells may provide useful insights into the physiology of the intact detrusor muscle. In the present paper, data are presented from cultured human bladder smooth muscle cells isolated from small, routinely available biopsies. Since the initiation of contractions involves a rise in intracellular Ca2+, this study has focused on the mechanisms involved in the rise of Ca2+ in cultured cells. Exposure of cells to bathing solutions with elevated K+ concentrations resulted in an increase in Ca2+ consistent with the presence of voltage-activated Ca2+ channels. Agonists, including carbachol, histamine and ATP, also activated repetitive transient increases in Ca2+ in the presence and absence of external Ca2+. Spontaneous Ca2+ transients were recorded in 31% of cells isolated from normal bladders. Such spontaneous and agonist-induced oscillations were not abolished in depolarized cells, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying the oscillations are not dependent on the cyclical operation of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels. However, the spontaneous activity was inhibited by the Ca2+ blocker verapamil, pointing to the presence of Ca2+ channels. The operation of an IP3-sensitive Ca2+ release mechanism was examined using saponin-permeabilized cells, which demonstrated that IP3 increased the rate of 45Ca2+ efflux. The conclusion from this study is that many of the mechanisms described in the intact tissue are operational in cultured cells.

1. The mechanisms underlying inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-induced Ca2+ liberation were studied in Xenopus oocytes by using scanning and stationary-point confocal fluorescence microscopy to record Ca2+ signals evoked by photorelease of InsP3 from a caged precursor. 2. Fluorescence measurements from confocal images showed that increasing [InsP3] evoked three distinct modes of Ca2+ liberation: a diffuse 'pacemaker' signal, localized transient puffs, and propagating waves. Peak free Ca2+ concentrations during waves and puffs (respectively, 2-5 microM and 100-200 nM) varied only slightly with [InsP3], whereas the pacemaker amplitude varied over a wider range (at least 1-30 nM Ca2+). 3. The improved resolution provided by confocal point recording revealed discontinuous Ca2+ 'blips' during pacemaker release. These events were resolved only at particular locations and had time courses similar to the puffs (rise, approximately 50 ms; decay, a few hundred milliseconds) but with amplitudes one-fifth or less of puff amplitudes. 4. We conclude that blips may arise through opening of single InsP3-gated channels, whereas puffs reflect the concerted opening of several clustered channels due to local regenerative feedback by Ca2+.

Excitation-contraction coupling is achieved by translocation of calcium from the extracellular space as well as by the release of calcium from intracellular stores. Thapsigargin has been shown to selectively block the sarcoplasmic Ca-ATPase, thereby preventing the reuptake of calcium into intracellular stores and the participation of these calcium storage sites in the contractile response to stimulation. The current study determined the effect of thapsigargin on the contractile response to field stimulation, bethanechol, and KCl in control rabbit bladders and bladders obtained from rabbits subjected to partial outlet obstruction. Partial bladder outlet obstruction resulted in a marked increase in bladder mass and in significant decreases in the contractile response to field stimulation, bethanechol, and KCl. Thapsigargin (5-40 microM) had no effect on the contractile responses of bladder strips isolated from control rabbits to field stimulation, bethanechol, or KCl. However, bladder strips isolated from obstructed rabbits showed a significant concentration-dependent decrease in the contractile response to field stimulation in the presence of thapsigargin. Thapsigargin had no effect on the contractile responses of bladder strips isolated from obstructed rabbits to either bethanechol or KCl. In general, the data described in this study support our current hypothesis: as smooth muscle cells enlarge (hypertrophy) and the cell volume increases, there is an increased dependence on the release of intracellular calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum to mediate the contractile response to field stimulation.

Specialized olfactory receptor neurons in insects respond to species-specific sex pheromones with transient rises in inositol trisphosphate and by opening pheromone-dependent cation channels. These channels resemble cation channels which are directly or indirectly Ca(2+)-dependent. But there appear to be no internal Ca2+ stores in the outer dendrite where the olfactory transduction cascade is thought to start. Hence, it remains to be determined whether an influx of external Ca2+ precedes pheromone-dependent cation currents. Patch clamp measurements in cultured olfactory receptor neurons from Manduca sexta reveal that a transient inward current precedes pheromone-dependent cation currents. A transient inositol trisphosphate-dependent Ca2+ current, also preceding cation currents with the characteristics of pheromone-dependent cation currents, shares properties with the transient pheromone-dependent current. These results match the biochemical measurements with the electrophysiological data obtained in insect olfactory receptor neurons.

1. The effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on granule cells freshly dissociated from rat dentate gyrus (DG) were studied using the nystatin perforated patch technique. This method allowed us to study ACh-induced currents (IACh) under voltage clamp without "run-down" of the ACh response. In some experiments, we used the conventional whole-cell method for intracellular application of drugs not permeable to cell membrane. 2. At a holding potential of -40 mV, ACh induced an outward current. The amplitude of IACh increased in a sigmoidal fashion with increasing ACh concentration. The half-maximal response and the Hill coefficient determined from the relation between ACh concentration and response were 4.98 x 10(-7) M and 1.70, respectively. 3. The reversal potential of IACh was close to the K+ equilibrium potential. The IACh was accompanied by an enhancement of the K+ current. 4. Muscarine and McN-A-343 mimicked the ACh response, whereas oxotremorine induced no response. 5. Muscarinic antagonists reversibly suppressed the IACh (10(-5) M) in a concentration-dependent manner, where the values of half-inhibition concentration (IC50) were 1.03 x 10(-6) M for pirenzepine and 2.21 x 10(-5) M for AF-DX-116. 6. Intracellular perfusion with GDP-beta S suppressed the IACh greatly. The IACh persisted in the neurons pretreated with an external solution containing pertussis toxin (IAP) for 18 h. 7. In the neurons perfused with Ca(2+)-free external solution containing 2 mM ethylene glycol-O,O'-bis (beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid and 10 mM Mg2+, the first application of ACh induced the IACh with an amplitude similar to that in the standard solution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The novelty of applying 3-dimensional graphic capabilities, involving area and vector changes was used to understand variations in inositol derivatives due to the systemic effects of large body surface area (BSA) burns. This report is an attempt to broaden current perspectives on how such changes in inositol forms impact on the disposition of IP3 within skeletal muscle cells. Because it is the first of its type to evaluate systemic effects in this way, it is called the alpha study. Consideration of multiple factors (viz., 5 orders of magnitude) involved in burn trauma in this manner provides new insight into the pharmacologic changes which utilize the IP3 signal transducing system that underlie burn trauma. Such insight would prove beneficial in improving the quality of rehabilitative burn care with respect to skeletal muscle physiology.

Enzymatic phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate breakdown is not Ca(2+)-dependent in NG108-15 cells and the bradykinin-induced response consisted of at least two distinct components in the hybrid cells. The initial signal transduction from bradykinin receptors to acetylcholine secretion is composed of the inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate-dependent Ca2+ pathway despite multiple pathways in the late phase.

Amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum show adaptation towards a chemotactic cyclic AMP signal. Within a few seconds of receipt of the signal they are inhibited for a period of 1-2 min from further chemotactic responses to subsequent cyclic AMP signals of similar or smaller magnitude. The site of this adaptation mechanism in the chemotactic transduction pathway was investigated by addition of components of the transduction chain (GTP analogues, myo-inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) and Ca2+) to permeabilized cells followed by determination of the amount of cyclic GMP formed as a measure of the chemotactic response. This approach was made possible by finding that permeabilization of amoebae with saponin did not uncouple the cell surface cyclic AMP receptors from stimulation of cyclic GMP formation. It was found that InsP3 and Ca2+ were 'downstream' from the adaptation mechanism: they could trigger a cyclic GMP response in cyclic AMP-adapted amoebae but could not themselves induce adaptation. In contrast, GTP gamma S was unable to trigger a cyclic GMP response in cyclic AMP-adapted cells, although it could trigger multiple cyclic GMP responses in non-adapted cells. We deduce that the site of adaptation to cyclic AMP stimulation is at the G-protein involved in this signalling pathway. Moreover, as GTP gamma S was found to be unable to induce adaptation, we conclude that the mechanism of adaptation involves an action of the cyclic AMP receptor on the G-protein that is distinct from its commonly reported action of stimulating G-protein binding of GTP.

The release of intracellularly stored calcium (Ca2+) contributes to the rise in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration during agonist-induced activation of airway smooth muscle. We describe a novel preparation--human airway smooth muscle cells cultured in monolayers--which has enabled the investigation of the identity and the function of this intracellular Ca2+ store. Cells, enzymatically dispersed from surgically resected human bronchi, were cultured in monolayers and confirmed as smooth muscle by positive immunocytochemical staining for actin and myosin. The release of intracellularly stored Ca2+ in response to bronchoconstrictor agonists, histamine and carbachol, was demonstrated by stimulation of Ca2+ efflux from 45Ca-labelled cells. The technique of permeabilisation of the plasmalemmal membrane by saponin allowed the measurement of the Ca2+ content of the intracellular store in 45Ca-labelled cells. Uptake of Ca2+ by the store was energy-dependent and was enhanced by cyclic AMP. The effects of inhibitors of sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial function on Ca2+ uptake identified the store as sarcoplasmic reticulum. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate released stored Ca2+ in a time and dose-dependent manner, supporting its putative role as an intracellular messenger for Ca2+ release in human airway smooth muscle.

Rat parotid acinar cells were used to investigate the time course of formation and breakdown of inositol phosphates in response to receptor-active agents. In cells preincubated with [3H]inositol and in the presence of 10 mM LiCl (which blocks hydrolysis of inositol phosphate), methacholine (10(-4)M) caused a substantial increase in cellular content of [3H]inositol phosphate, [3H]inositol bisphosphate and [3H]inositol trisphosphate. Subsequent addition of atropine (10(-4) M) caused breakdown of [3H]inositol trisphosphate and [3H]inositol bisphosphate and little change in accumulated [3H]inositol phosphate. The data could be fit to a model whereby inositol trisphosphate and inositol bisphosphate are formed from phosphodiesteratic breakdown of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol phosphate respectively, and inositol phosphate is formed from hydrolysis of inositol bisphosphate rather than from phosphatidyl-inositol. Consistent with this model was the finding that [3H]inositol trisphosphate and [3H]inositol bisphosphate levels were substantially increased in 5 sec while an increase in [3H]inositol phosphate was barely detectable at 60 sec. These results indicate that in the parotid gland the phosphoinositide cycle is activated primarily by phosphodiesteratic breakdown of the polyphosphoinositides rather than phosphatidyl-inositol. Also, the results show that formation of inositol trisphosphate is probably sufficiently rapid for it to act as a second messenger signalling internal Ca2+ release in this tissue.

To investigate the effects of nucleoside triphosphates on the activation of adenylate cyclase by choleragen and on the stability and catalytic function of the choleragen-activated enzyme, we treated samples of particulate preparation from bovine brain successively in three separate incubations with extensive washing between each step. In incubation I, choleragen and NAD were pesent to activte the adenylate cyclase. In incubation II, conditions were varied to assess enzyme stability. Finally, adenylate cyclase activity was assayed with ATP or adenylyl imidodiphosphate [App-(NH)p] as the substrate. Even when assays contained an optimal concentration of GTP, nucleoside triphosphate (plus a regenerating system) was required in incubation I for maximal choleragen activation; in order of effectiveness, GTP > ITP > ATP greater than or equal to CTP = UTP. During incubation II (at 30 degrees C), activity of the choleragen-treated fractions was essentially completely stable when 100 microM GTP (plus a regenerating system) was present. ITP and ATP were less effective. Activation produced by guanylyl imidodiphosphate was more stable than that resulting from choleragen, GTP, and NAD. After activation of membranes with choleragen, NAD, and GTP, nucleoside triphosphate plus a regenerating system (but not NAD or additional choleragen) was essential for expression of maximal activity. In order of effectiveness, GTP > ITP > ATP greater than or equal to CTP = UTP. It appears that GTP, which was effective in micromolar concentrations, plays an important role not only in the activation of adenylate cyclase by choleragen but also in the stabilization and expression of the catalytic function of the activated enzyme.