Sodium current-induced release of calcium from cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum

The role of sodium-calcium exchange at the sarcolemma in the release of calcium from cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum was investigated in voltage-clamped, isolated cardiac myocytes. In the absence of calcium entry through voltage-dependent calcium channels, membrane depolarization elicited release of calcium from ryanodine-sensitive internal stores. This process was dependent on sodium entry through tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium channels. Calcium release under these conditions was also dependent on extracellular calcium concentration, suggesting a calcium-induced trigger release mechanism that involves calcium entry into the cell by sodium-calcium exchange. This sodium current-induced calcium release mechanism may explain, in part, the positive inotropic effects of cardiac glycosides and the negative inotropic effects of a variety of antiarrhythmic drugs that interact with cardiac sodium channels. In response to a transient rise of intracellular sodium, sodium-calcium exchange may promote calcium entry into cardiac cells and trigger sarcoplasmic calcium release during physiologic action potentials.     

BAX and BAK regulation of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+: a control point for apoptosis

BAX and BAK are "multidomain" proapoptotic proteins that initiate mitochondrial dysfunction but also localize to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Mouse embryonic fibroblasts deficient for BAX and BAK (DKO cells) were found to have a reduced resting concentration of calcium in the ER ([Ca2+]er) that results in decreased uptake of Ca2+ by mitochondria after Ca2+ release from the ER. Expression of SERCA (sarcoplasmic-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ adenosine triphosphatase) corrected [Ca2+]er and mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in DKO cells, restoring apoptotic death in response to agents that release Ca2+ from intracellular stores (such as arachidonic acid, C2-ceramide, and oxidative stress). In contrast, targeting of BAX to mitochondria selectively restored apoptosis to "BH3-only" signals. A third set of stimuli, including many intrinsic signals, required both ER-released Ca2+ and the presence of mitochondrial BAX or BAK to fully restore apoptosis. Thus, BAX and BAK operate in both the ER and mitochondria as an essential gateway for selected apoptotic signals.     

The nitrate-responsive transcription factor Md NLP7 regulates callus formation by modulating auxin response

Under appropriate culture conditions, plant cells can regenerate new organs or even whole plants. De novo organ regeneration is an excellent biological system, which usually requires additional growth regulators, including auxin and cytokinin. Nitrate is an essential nutrient element for plant vegetative and reproductive development. It has been reported that nitrate is involved in auxin biosynthesis and transport throughout the growth and development of plants.In this study, we demonstrated tha...     

一种三角帆蚌肌浆网Ca2+-ATP酶基因cDNA的全长克隆与表达分析

采用RACE技术,从三角帆蚌(Hyriopsis cumingii)鳃组织中成功克隆得到一种肌浆网Ca²⁺-ATP酶(sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase,SERCA)基因的全长cDNA序列,共3 326 bp,包含201-bp 5’-UTR区域、3 060-bp编码框(ORF)和65-bp 3’-UTR。ORF共编码1 019个氨基酸,预测无信号肽。该基因氨基酸序列呈现出典型的Ca²⁺-ATP酶特征,由Cation_ATPase_N、E1-E2_ATPase、Hydrolase、Cation_ATPase_C四种类型结构域组成,其内含SERCAs的常见结构组成包括磷酸化区域、异硫氰酸荧光素位点、FSBA结合位点、受磷蛋白结合区以及毒胡萝卜素位点。分析显示,该基因序列高度保守且与海洋软体动物具有最高同源性。荧光定量PCR检测,该基因在三角帆蚌外套膜、斧足、鳃、肝胰腺、性腺等5个组织中均有表达,且在鳃、外套膜、肝胰腺组织中表达较高。不同Ca²⁺浓度处理试验的结果表明,随水体中Ca²⁺浓度逐渐升高,该基因在外套膜中的表达水平呈先下降后上升趋势,并在Ca²⁺浓度为60 mg·L^-1时达到最低值,80 mg·L^-1时达到最高值。同时在60 mg·L^-1 Ca²⁺浓度条件下,外套膜中SERCA基因的表达量随时间推移先上升,并于48 h时达到最高,而后逐渐下降。上述结果为进一步深入研究SERCA基因的功能及其调控机理奠定了基础。     

Imaging sites of receptor dephosphorylation by PTP1B on the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum

When bound by extracellular ligands, receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) on the cell surface transmit critical signals to the cell interior. Although signal termination is less well understood, protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) is implicated in the dephosphorylation and inactivation of several RTKs. However, PTP1B resides on the cytoplasmic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), so how and when it accesses RTKs has been unclear. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) methods, we monitored interactions between the epidermal- and platelet-derived growth factor receptors and PTP1B. PTP1B-catalyzed dephosphorylation required endocytosis of the receptors and occurred at specific sites on the surface of the ER. Most of the RTKs activated at the cell surface showed interaction with PTP1B after internalization, establishing that RTK activation and inactivation are spatially and temporally partitioned within cells.     

Intracellular calcium release mediated by sphingosine derivatives generated in cells

Soluble and hydrophobic lipid breakdown products have a variety of important signaling roles in cells. Here sphingoid bases derived in cells from sphingolipid breakdown are shown to have a potent and direct effect in mediating calcium release from intracellular stores. Sphingosine must be enzymically converted within the cell to a product believed to be sphingosine-1-phosphate, which thereafter effects calcium release from a pool including the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive calcium pool. The sensitivity, molecular specificity, and reversibility of the effect on calcium movements closely parallel sphingoid base-mediated inhibition of protein kinase C. Generation of sphingoid bases in cells may activate a dual signaling pathway involving regulation of calcium and protein kinase C, comparable perhaps to the phosphatidylinositol and calcium signaling pathway.     

Regulation of calcium release is gated by calcium current, not gating charge, in cardiac myocytes

In skeletal muscle, intramembrane charge movement initiates the processes that lead to the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In cardiac muscle, in contrast, the similarity of the voltage dependence of developed tension and intracellular calcium transients to that of calcium current suggests that the calcium current may gate the release of calcium. Nevertheless, a mechanism similar to that of skeletal muscle continues to be postulated for cardiac muscle. By using rapid exchange (20 to 50 milliseconds) of the extracellular solutions in rat ventricular myocytes in which the intracellular calcium transients or cell shortening were measured, it has now been shown that the influx of calcium through the calcium channel is a mandatory link in the processes that couple membrane depolarization to the release of calcium. Thus, intramembrane charge movement does not contribute to the release of calcium in heart muscle.