ER Ca2+ (er + ca2+)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Interspecies differences in hepatic Ca2+ -ATPase activity and the effect of cold preservation on porcine liver Ca2+ -ATPase function

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 2 2001
Piotr K. Janicki MD
The accumulation of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) caused by ischemia-reperfusion during liver transplantation has been implicated as a factor leading to primary graft nonfunction. Plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ -adenosinetriphosphatases (ATPases) are the primary transporters that maintain [Ca2+]i homeostasis in the liver. We hypothesized that the porcine liver is better than the rat liver as a model for the study of human liver Ca2+ -ATPase activity. We also hypothesized that cold preservation would depress Ca2+ -ATPase activity in the porcine liver. Pig and rat livers were harvested, and human liver samples were obtained from surgical resection specimens. All were preserved with University of Wisconsin solution, and porcine livers were also preserved on ice for 2 to 18 hours. Ca2+ -ATPase activity was measured after incubation with 45Ca2+ and adenosine triphosphate in the presence of specific Ca2+ -ATPase inhibitors. Porcine PM and ER Ca2+ -ATPase activities were 0.47 ± 0.03 and 1.57 ± 0.10 nmol of Ca2+/mg of protein/min, respectively. This was not significantly different from human liver, whereas rat liver was significantly greater at 2.60 ± 0.03 and 9.2 ± 0.9 nmol of Ca2+/mg of protein/min, respectively. We conclude that the Ca2+ -ATPase activity in the pig liver is equivalent to that of human liver, and thus, the pig liver is a better model than the rat liver. Cold preservation studies showed a significant decrease in porcine hepatic PM Ca2+ -ATPase activity after 4 hours of storage and near-total inhibition after 12 hours. Porcine hepatic ER Ca2+ -ATPase activity showed a 45% decrease in activity by 12 hours and a 69% decrease by 18 hours. We conclude that cold ischemia at clinically relevant times depresses PM Ca2+ -ATPase more than ER Ca2+ -ATPase activity in pig liver homogenates. [source]


Visualization of localized store-operated calcium entry in mouse astrocytes.

THE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2005
Close proximity to the endoplasmic reticulum
Unloading of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ stores activates influx of extracellular Ca2+ through ,store-operated' Ca2+ channels (SOCs) in the plasma membrane (PM) of most cells, including astrocytes. A key unresolved issue concerning SOC function is their spatial relationship to ER Ca2+ stores. Here, using high resolution imaging with the membrane-associated Ca2+ indicator, FFP-18, it is shown that store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) in primary cultured mouse cortical astrocytes occurs at plasma membrane,ER junctions. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, depletion of ER Ca2+ stores using cyclopiazonic acid, an ER Ca2+ -ATPase inhibitor, and caffeine transiently increases the sub-plasma-membrane Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]SPM) within a restricted space between the plasma membrane and adjacent ER. Restoration of extracellular Ca2+ causes localized Ca2+ influx that first increases [Ca2+]SPM in the same restricted regions and then, with a delay, in ER-free regions. Antisense knockdown of the TRPC1 gene, proposed to encode endogenous SOCs, markedly reduces SOCE measured with Fura-2. High resolution immunocytochemistry with anti-TRPC1 antibody reveals that these TRPC-encoded SOCs are confined to the PM microdomains adjacent to the underlying ,junctional' ER. Thus, Ca2+ entry through TRPC-encoded SOCs is closely linked, not only functionally, but also structurally, to the ER Ca2+ stores. [source]


Nerve growth factor blocks thapsigargin-induced apoptosis at the level of the mitochondrion viaregulation of Bim

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 6a 2008
E. Szegezdi
Abstract This study examined how the neurotrophin, nerve growth factor (NGF), protects PC12 cells against endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced apoptosis. ER stress was induced using thapsigargin (TG) that inhibits the sarcoplasmic/ER Ca2+ -ATPase pump (SERCA) and depletes ER Ca2+ stores. NGF pre-treatment inhibited translocation of Bax to the mitochondria, loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, cytochrome c release, activation of caspases (,3, ,7 and ,9) and apoptosis induction by TG. Notably, TG also caused a marked induction of Bimel mRNA and protein, and knockdown of Bim with siRNA protected cells against TG-induced apoptosis. NGF delayed the induction and increased the phosphorylation of Bimel. NGF-mediated protection was dependent on phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) signalling since all above apoptotic events, including expression and phosphorylation status of Bimel protein, could be reverted by the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. In contrast, NGF had no effect on the TG-mediated induction of the unfolded protein response (increased expression of Grp78, GADD34, splicing of XBP1 mRNA) or ER stress-associated pro-apoptotic responses (induction of C/EBP homologous protein [CHOP], induction and processing of caspase-12). These data indicate that NGF-mediated protection against ER stress-induced apoptosis occurs at the level of the mitochondria by regulating induction and activation of Bim and mitochondrial translocation of Bax. [source]