Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) current, structure, and function

Store-operated Ca²⁺ entry describes the phenomenon that connects a depletion of internal Ca²⁺ stores to an activation of plasma membrane-located Ca²⁺ selective ion channels. Tremendous progress towards the underlying molecular mechanism came with the discovery of the two respective limiting components, STIM and Orai. STIM1 represents the ER-located Ca²⁺ sensor and transmits the signal of store depletion to the plasma membrane. Here it couples to and activates Orai, the highly Ca²⁺-selective pore-forming subunit of Ca²⁺ release-activated Ca²⁺ channels. In this review, we focus on the molecular steps that these two proteins undergo from store-depletion to their coupling, the activation, and regulation of Ca²⁺ currents.     

Extracellular Ca2+ and Mg2+ and cellular metabolism of phospholipids.

High extracellular concentration of Ca2+ inhibits the incorporation of 32P into the cellular phospholipids. This effect is more significant in neoplastic than in normal cells, and it is accompanied by an increase of the percentual incorporation into the lecithin fraction.     

Response of briefly glycerinated smooth muscle to Ca2+ and Mg2+

Summary Smooth muscle, treated with 50% glycerol solution at 27°C for 20 min, contracted on the application of Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺. The briefly glycerinated smooth muscle can be used as a model system of smooth muscle contraction.     

The effect of temperature on Ca2+ uptake and Ca2+-activated ATP hydrolysis by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum

Zusammenfassung Der Ca²⁺-Transport und die Ca²⁺-aktivierte ATP Hydrolyse (ATP extra Spaltung) durch Membranen des cardialen sarkoplasmatischen Retikulums zeigen die gleiche Temperaturabhängigkeit. Die Aktivierungsenergie der Ca²⁺-Aufnahme und der ATP extra Spaltung, gemessen bei Anwesenheit von Oxalat, beträgt 16.65±0.87 und 17.93±0.49 Kcal/Mol^–1.     

Effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on motility of sea urchin spermatozoa

Summary Swimming speed of sea urchin spermatozoa, measured by a light scattering technique, did not change with 0-20 mM Ca²⁺ in the medium. The speed was maximum at the normal concentration of Mg²⁺ (49 mM) in sea water.Supported by grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan, and a grant from the Ford Foundation.     

ERK activation by Ca2+ ionophores depends on Ca2+ entry in lymphocytes but not in platelets, and does not conduct membrane scrambling

Rapid Ca²⁺-dependent phospholipid (PL) reorganization (scrambling) at the plasma membrane is a mechanism common to hematopoietic cells exposing procoagulant phosphatidylserine (PS). The aim of this research was to determine whether activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway was required for PL scrambling, based on a single report analyzing both responses induced by Ca²⁺ ionophores in megakaryoblastic HEL cells. Ca²⁺ ionophore-stimulated ERK phosphorylation was induced in platelets without external Ca²⁺, whereas exogenous Ca²⁺ entry was crucial for ERK activation in Jurkat T cells. In both cells, membrane scrambling only occurred following Ca²⁺ entry and was not blocked by inhibiting ERK phosphorylation. Furthermore, ERK proteins are strongly phosphorylated in transformed B lymphoblastic cell lines, which do not expose PS in their resting state. Overall, the data demonstrated that ERK activation and membrane scrambling are independent mechanisms. A. Arachiche, I. Badirou: These authors contributed equally to this work. Received 18 June 2008; received after revision 24 September 2008; accepted 1 October 2008     

Sr2+ can become incorporated into an agonist-sensitive,cytoplasmic Ca2+ store in a cell line derived from the equine sweat gland epithelium

We have explored the properties of a Ca²⁺-dependent cell-signalling pathway that becomes active when cultured equine sweat gland cells are stimulated with ATP. The ATP-regulated, Ca²⁺-influx pathway allowed Sr²⁺ to enter the cytoplasm but permitted only a minimal influx of Ba²⁺. Experiments in which cells were repeatedly stimulated with ATP suggested that Sr²⁺, but not Ba²⁺, could become incorporated into the agonist-sensitive, cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ store. Further evidence for this was provided by experiments using ionomycin, a Ca²⁺ ionophore which has no affinity for Sr²⁺.     

Blockade of voltage-dependent and Ca2+-dependent K+ current components by internal Ba2+ in molluscan pacemaker neurons

Summary Internal Ba²⁺ blocks both the Ca-dependent component, as well as the voltage-dependent component of the K⁺ current in molluscan pacemaker neurons.     

Temperature acclimation of Mg2+Ca2+-myofibrillar ATPase from a cold-selective teleost,Salvelinus fontinalis: a compromise solution

Summary Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill) were acclimated over 15 weeks to either +4°C or +24°C. The effects of temperature on myofibrillar Mg²⁺Ca²⁺-ATPase activities were investigated. In contrast to goldfish, temperature acclimation does not alter the kinetic properties of the brook trout myofibrillar ATPase. Activation energy (G^#) is lower and substrate turnover number is higher than values previously reported for cold-adapted stenotherms. Properties of brook trout ATPase appear to be a compromise enabling function across a broad temperature range. The different strategies of adapting to seasonal temperature variations are briefly discussed.The authors are grateful to the Wellcome Trust for financial support.-Correspondence should be addressed to I.A.J.     

Temperature acclimation of Mg2+Ca2+-myofibrillar ATPase from a cold-selective teleost, Salvelinus fontinalis: a compromise solution

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill) were acclimated over 15 weeks to either +4 degrees C or +24 degrees C. The effects of temperature on myofibrillar Mg2+Ca2+-ATPase activities were investigated. In contrast to goldfish, temperature acclimation does not alter the kinetic properties of the brook trout myofibrillar ATPase. Activation energy (delta G not equal to) is lower and substrate turnover number is higher than values previously reported for cold-adapted stenotherms. Properties of brook trout ATPase appear to be a compromise enabling function across a broad temperature range. The different strategies of adapting to seasonal temperature variations are briefly discussed.     

cGMP-phosphodiesterase 6, transducin and Wnt5a/Frizzled-2-signaling control cGMP and Ca2+ homeostasis in melanoma cells

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive human neoplasms which develop from the malignant transformation of normal epithelial melanocytes and share the lineage with retinal cells. cGMP-phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6) is one of the cancer-retina antigens newly identified in melanoma cells. Normally, PDE6 hydrolyzes the photoreceptor second messenger cGMP allowing the visual signal transduction in photoreceptor cells. cGMP also play an important signaling role in stimulating melanogenesis in human melanocytes. Here, we present evidence that PDE6 is a key enzyme regulating the cGMP metabolism in melanoma cells. Decrease in intracellular cGMP leads to calcium accumulation in melanoma cells. In these cells, cGMP-phosphodiesterase 6 can be activated by another cancer-retina antigen, transducin, through Wnt5a–Frizzled-2 cascade, which leads to a lowering of cGMP and an increase in intracellular calcium mobilization. Thus, the aberrant expression of PDE6 may control cGMP metabolism and calcium homeostasis in melanoma cells.     

Relationship between action potential, contraction-relaxation pattern, and intracellular Ca2+ transient in cardiomyocytes of dogs with chronic heart failure

Abnormalities of contractile function have been identified in cardiomyocytes isolated from failed human hearts and from hearts of animals with experimentally induced heart failure (HF). The mechanism(s) responsible for these functional abnormalities are not fully understood. In the present study, we examined the relationship between action potential duration, pattern of contraction and relaxation, and associated intracellular Ca²⁺ transients in single cardiomyocytes isolated from the left ventricle (LV) of dogs (n = 7) with HF produced by multiple sequential intracoronary microembolizations. Comparisons were made with LV cardiomyocytes isolated from normal dogs. Action potentials were measured in isolated LV cardiomyocytes by perforated patch clamp, Ca²⁺ transients by fluo 3 probe fluorescence, and cardiomyocyte contraction and relaxation by edge movement detector. HF cardiomyocytes exhibited an abnormal pattern of contraction and relaxation characterized by an attenuated initial twitch (spike) followed by a sustained contracture ('dome') of 1 to 8 s in duration and subsequent delayed relaxation. This pattern was more prominent at low stimulation rates (58% at 0.2 Hz, n = 211, 21% at 0.5 Hz, n = 185). Measurements of Ca²⁺ transients in HF cardiomyocytes at 0.2 Hz manifested a similar spike and dome configuration. The dome phase of both the contraction/relaxation pattern and Ca²⁺ transients seen in HF cardiomyocytes coincided with a sustained plateau of the action potential. Shortening of the action potential duration by administration of saxitoxin (100 nM) or lidocaine (30 μM) reduced the duration of the dome phase of both the contraction/relaxation profile as well as that of the Ca²⁺ transient profile. An increase of stimulation rate up to 1 Hz caused shortening of the action potential and disappearance of the spike-dome profile in the majority of HF cardiomyocytes. In HF cardiomyocytes, the action potential and Ca²⁺ transient duration were not significantly different from those measured in normal cells. However, the contraction-relaxation cycle was significantly longer in HF cells (314 ± 67 ms, n = 21, vs. 221 ± 38 ms, n = 46, mean ± SD), indicating impaired excitation-contraction uncou pling in HF cardiomyocytes. The results show that, in cardiomyocytes isolated from dogs with HF, contractile abnormalities and abnormalities of intracellular Ca²⁺ transients at low stimulation rates are characterized by a spike-dome configuration. This abnormal pattern appears to result from prolongation of the action potential. Received 22 January 1998; received after revision 16 March 1998; accepted 27 March 1998     

Experiments on the mechanism of the inhibition of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport by La3+ and ruthenium red

Summary The effects of La³⁺ and ruthenium red on the energy-linked uptake of Ca²⁺ mediated by a synthetic neutral Ca²⁺ ionophore have been investigated in rat liver mitochondria. The results indicate that unspecific surface charge effects do not play a major role in the mechanism of inhibition of mitochondrial Ca²⁺ transport by La³⁺ and ruthenium red.Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to Prof. W. Simon, ETH Zurich, for having provided samples of the synthetic neutral Ca²⁺ ligand, and to M. Mattenberger for the valuable technical assistence. The work was supported by a grant of the Swiss Nationalfonds (grant No. 3.1720.75).