Ca2+ Medium (ca2+ + medium)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


p120 catenin is associated with desmogleins when desmosomes are assembled in high-Ca2+ medium but not when disassembled in low-Ca2+ medium in DJM-1 cells

THE JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
Miho KANNO
ABSTRACT We recently showed that p120 catenin (p120ctn), which is an armadillo family protein member that binds to E-cadherin (E-cad), is also localized to desmosomes by directly or indirectly binding to desmogleins (Dsg). We examined whether p120ctn is associated with Dsg1 and Dsg3, as compared with E-cad and plakoglobin (PG), in keratinocytes grown in high or low Ca2+, using a human squamous cell carcinoma cell line, DJM-1 cells. The cell lysate of DJM-1 cells grown in high- or low-Ca2+ media was immunoprecipitated with anti-Dsg1/2 and Dsg3 antibodies, and we examined whether p120ctn is associated with Dsg1 and Dsg3. Then, we observed the co-localization between Dsg3 and p120ctn in cells grown in high- or low-Ca2+ medium on double-staining immunofluorescence microscopy using anti-p120ctn and anti-Dsg3 antibodies. Immunoprecipitates with anti-Dsg1/2 and Dsg3 antibodies in cells grown in high-Ca2+ medium contained p120ctn. In contrast, in low-Ca2+ medium, p120ctn was co-immunoprecipitated with neither Dsg1 nor Dsg3, but was co-immunoprecipitated with E-cad in cells grown in both high- and low-Ca2+ media. Dsg3 was associated with PG in cells grown in both low- and high-Ca2+ media. On immunofluorescence microscopy, p120ctn and Dsg3 were independently observed in cells grown in low-Ca2+ medium; p120ctn, but not Dsg3, was observed in a linear pattern at the cell,cell boundary. However, they were co-localized at cell,cell contacts in cells grown in high-Ca2+ medium. Thus, these proteins are not co-localized in low Ca2+ medium. These results suggest that p120ctn plays an important role in Ca2+ -induced desmosome formation. [source]


Long-lasting contractile action and the inhibitory action of cupric ions on ileal longitudinal muscle

AUTONOMIC & AUTACOID PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
K. Miyazaki
Summary 1 Cupric ions (Cu2+), at concentrations above 0.03 mm, induced a progressive increase in the tonic contraction of guinea-pig ileal longitudinal muscle. Maximal contraction of 0.1 mm Cu2+ attained a level above that of the 60-mm K+ -induced tonic response, within 20 min of application. The tension induced by Cu2+ persisted for more than several hours. Tetrodotoxin (3 × 10,6 m) had no effect on the contraction induced by 0.1 mm Cu2+. 2 After incubation in a Ca2+ -free medium, the ileal response to 0.1 mm Cu2+ was lost. Nifedipine, a L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, dose-dependently inhibited contractions induced by Cu2+. 3 As the duration of the first application of 0.1 mm Cu2+ increased above 30 min, after washing with normal medium, the contractile response to a second application of 0.1 mm Cu2+ decreased gradually. After 150 min of the first application of 0.1 mm Cu2+, a second application of Cu2+ could not evoke any contraction. 4 After the application of 0.1 mm Cu2+ for 150 min, when muscles were washed with a medium containing 1 mm EDTA, the response to 0.1 mm Cu2+ returned to a greater extent in the normal Ca2+ medium. 5 In conclusion, Cu2+ (0.1 mm) induced a maximal ileal tension above that of the K-induced tonic response within 20 min. The ileal contraction to Cu2+ persisted for more than several hours and depended on extracellular Ca2+ concentrations. It is possible that a part of Cu2+, bound to a EDTA-inaccessible site, also has a tension inhibitory effect. [source]


A microfluidic bioreactor with integrated transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurement electrodes for evaluation of renal epithelial cells

BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010
Nicholas Ferrell
Abstract We have developed a bilayer microfluidic system with integrated transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurement electrodes to evaluate kidney epithelial cells under physiologically relevant fluid flow conditions. The bioreactor consists of apical and basolateral fluidic chambers connected via a transparent microporous membrane. The top chamber contains microfluidic channels to perfuse the apical surface of the cells. The bottom chamber acts as a reservoir for transport across the cell layer and provides support for the membrane. TEER electrodes were integrated into the device to monitor cell growth and evaluate cell,cell tight junction integrity. Immunofluorescence staining was performed within the microchannels for ZO-1 tight junction protein and acetylated ,-tubulin (primary cilia) using human renal epithelial cells (HREC) and MDCK cells. HREC were stained for cytoskeletal F-actin and exhibited disassembly of cytosolic F-actin stress fibers when exposed to shear stress. TEER was monitored over time under normal culture conditions and after disruption of the tight junctions using low Ca2+ medium. The transport rate of a fluorescently labeled tracer molecule (FITC-inulin) was measured before and after Ca2+ switch and a decrease in TEER corresponded with a large increase in paracellular inulin transport. This bioreactor design provides an instrumented platform with physiologically meaningful flow conditions to study various epithelial cell transport processes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107:707,716. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Docosahexaenoic acid and other fatty acids induce a decrease in pHi in Jurkat T-cells

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 7 2003
Virginie Aires
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) induced rapid (t1/2=33 s) and dose-dependent decreases in pHi in BCECF-loaded human (Jurkat) T-cells. Addition of 5-(N,N -dimethyl)-amiloride, an inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchanger, prolonged DHA-induced acidification as a function of time, indicating that the exchanger is implicated in pHi recovery. Other fatty acids like oleic acid, arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, but not palmitic acid, also induced a fall in pHi in these cells. To assess the role of calcium in the DHA-induced acidification, we conducted experiments in Ca2+ -free (0% Ca2+) and Ca2+ -containing (100% Ca2+) buffer. We observed that there was no difference in the degree of DHA-induced transient acidification in both the experimental conditions, though pHi recovery was faster in 0% Ca2+ medium than that in 100% Ca2+ medium. In the presence of BAPTA, a calcium chelator, a rapid recovery of DHA-induced acidosis was observed. Furthermore, addition of CaCl2 into 0% Ca2+ medium curtailed DHA-evoked rapid pHi recovery. In 0% Ca2+ medium, containing BAPTA, DHA did not evoke increases in [Ca2+]i, though this fatty acid still induced a rapid acidification in these cells. These observations suggest that calcium is implicated in the long-lasting DHA-induced acidosis. DHA-induced rapid acidification may be due to its deprotonation in the plasma membrane (flip-flop model), as suggested by the following observations: (1) DHA with a ,COOH group induced intracellular acidification, but this fatty acid with a ,COOCH3 group failed to do so, and (2) DHA, but not propionic acid, -induced acidification was completely reversed by addition of fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin in these cells. These results suggest that DHA induces acidosis via deprotonation and Ca2+ mobilization in human T-cells. British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 1217,1226. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705563 [source]