Clarisse Vandebrouck

Maintaining Low Ca2+ Level in the Endoplasmic Reticulum Restores Abnormal Endogenous F508del-CFTR Trafficking in Airway Epithelial Cells

The most common mutation in cystic fibrosis, F508del, results in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR) that is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Retention is dependent on chaperone proteins, many of which, like calnexin, require calcium for optimal activity. Here, we show that a limited and a maintained ER calcium level is sufficient to inhibit the F508del–CFTR/calnexin interaction and to restore the cAMP‐dependent CFTR chloride transport, thus showing the correction of abnormal trafficking. We used Western blot analysis, iodide efflux and calcium measurement techniques applied to the human airway epithelial cystic fibrosis cell line CF15 (F508del/F508del). The inhibition of ER calcium pump, with thapsigargin, curcumin, 2,5‐di(t‐butyl)hydroquinone or cyclopiazonic acid, maintains a threshold levels of calcium that is correlated to the recovery of endogenous F508del‐CFTR transport activity. In particular, cyclopiazonic acid restores a 2‐aminoethyoxydiphenyl borate‐sensitive F508del‐CFTR trafficking with an EC50 of 915 nm. By contrast, the 1,4,5‐trisphosphate or IP3 receptor activators, i.e., ATP and histamine, while transiently emptying the ER intracellular calcium store, did not affect the trafficking of F508del‐CFTR. Our data suggest that decreasing the ER calcium level is not sufficient to restore the defective trafficking of F508del‐CFTR, whereas decreasing and also maintaining low ER calcium level allow correction of defective biosynthetic pathway of endogenous F508del‐CFTR in human airway epithelial cells.

Evidence that CFTR is expressed in rat tracheal smooth muscle cells and contributes to bronchodilation

BackgroundThe airway functions are profoundly affected in many diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF). CF the most common lethal autosomal recessive genetic disease is caused by mutations of the CFTR gene, which normally encodes a multifunctional and integral membrane protein, the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) expressed in airway epithelial cells.MethodsTo demonstrate that CFTR is also expressed in tracheal smooth muscle cells (TSMC), we used iodide efflux assay to analyse the chloride transports in organ culture of rat TSMC, immunofluorescence study to localize CFTR proteins and isometric contraction measurement on isolated tracheal rings to observe the implication of CFTR in the bronchodilation.ResultsWe characterized three different pathways stimulated by the cAMP agonist forskolin and the isoflavone agent genistein, by the calcium ionophore A23187 and by hypo-osmotic challenge. The pharmacology of the cAMP-dependent iodide efflux was investigated in detail. We demonstrated in rat TSMC that it is remarkably similar to that of the epithelial CFTR, both for activation (using three benzo [c]quinolizinium derivatives) and for inhibition (glibenclamide, DPC and CFTRinh-172). Using rat tracheal rings, we observed that the activation of CFTR by benzoquinolizinium derivatives in TSMC leads to CFTRinh-172-sensitive bronchodilation after constriction with carbachol. An immunolocalisation study confirmed expression of CFTR in tracheal myocytes.ConclusionAltogether, these observations revealed that CFTR in the airways of rat is expressed not only in the epithelial cells but also in tracheal smooth muscle cells leading to the hypothesis that this ionic channel could contribute to bronchodilation.

A Cystic Fibrosis Respiratory Epithelial Cell Chronically Treated by Miglustat Acquires a Non–Cystic Fibrosis–Like Phenotype

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a fatal, autosomal and recessive genetic disease that is mainly due to inactivating mutations in the chloride channel CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Sodium hyperabsorption by the airways, profound lung inflammation, and dysregulation of calcium homeostasis, are presumably causally related to loss of CFTR-dependent chloride function in patients with CF. Miglustat (N-butyldeoxynojirimycin, Zavesca), an inhibitor of the alpha-1,2 glucosidase, has been proposed for clinical use in CF because of its effect as a corrector of the defective trafficking of F508del-CFTR. In the present study, we show that daily treatment for 2 months with low concentrations of miglustat on the human CF nasal epithelial cell line, JME/CF15 (F508del/F508del-CFTR), results in progressive, stable, reversible, and sustained correction of F508del-CFTR trafficking, down-regulation of sodium hyperabsorption, and regulation of the calcium homeostasis. In conclusion, we provide here the first evidence that a respiratory CF cell can acquire a non-CF-like phenotype when chronically treated with low concentrations of a pharmacological drug.

Cationic channels in normal and dystrophic human myotubes

Human skeletal muscle cells obtained from normal and Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients were cocultured with explants of rat dorsal root ganglions. Single-channel recordings were performed with the cell-attached configuration of the patch-clamp technique and negative pressure was applied via the patch-pipette in order to mechanically stimulate the membrane patch. Inward elementary current activity was recorded under control or negative pressure conditions. Its occurrence and mean open probability were higher in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Amplitude histograms reveal that these channels have a small unitary conductance of around 10 pS in 110 mM Ca2+ and could be inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by gadolinium. Results show that the membrane stress favoured calcium permeation through these channels. Taken together these data provide arguments for the involvement of such channels in calcium overload previously observed in cocultured dystrophic human (Duchenne muscular dystrophy) muscle cells.

Transient Receptor Potential Canonical Channel 6 Links Ca2+ Mishandling to Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Channel Dysfunction in Cystic Fibrosis

In cystic fibrosis (CF), abnormal control of cellular Ca(2+) homeostasis is observed. We hypothesized that transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels could be a link between the abnormal Ca(2+) concentrations in CF cells and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) dysfunction. We measured the TRPC and CFTR activities (using patch clamp and fluorescent probes) and interactions (using Western blotting and co-immunoprecipitation) in CF and non-CF human epithelial cells treated with specific and scrambled small interfering RNA (siRNA). The TRPC6-mediated Ca(2+) influx was abnormally increased in CF compared with non-CF cells. After correction of abnormal F508 deletion (del)-CFTR trafficking in CF cells, the level of TRPC6-dependent Ca(2+) influx was also normalized. In CF cells, siRNA-TRPC6 reduced this abnormal Ca(2+) influx. In non-CF cells, siRNA-TRPC6 reduced the Ca(2+) influx and activity wild-type (wt)-CFTR. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed TRPC6/CFTR and TRPC6/F508 del-CFTR interactions in CF or non-CF epithelial cells. Although siRNA-CFTR reduced the activity of wt-CFTR in non-CF cells and of F508 del-CFTR in corrected CF cells, it also enhanced TRPC6-dependent Ca(2+) influx in non-CF cells, mimicking the results obtained in CF cells. Finally, this functional and reciprocal coupling between CFTR and TRPC6 was also detected in non-CF ciliated human epithelial cells freshly isolated from lung samples. These data indicate that TRPC6 and CFTR are functionally and reciprocally coupled within a molecular complex in airway epithelial human cells. Because this functional coupling is lost in CF cells, the TRPC6-dependent Ca(2+) influx is abnormal.

Dysfunction of mitochondria Ca2+ uptake in cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells.

In the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common mutation F508del promotes the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention of misfolded CF proteins. Furthermore, in homozygous F508del-CFTR airway epithelial cells, the histamine Ca(2+) mobilization is abnormally increased. Because the uptake of Ca(2+) by mitochondria during Ca(2+) influx or Ca(2+) release from ER stores may be crucial for maintaining a normal Ca(2+) homeostasis, we compared the mitochondria morphology and distribution by transmission electron microscopy technique and the mitochondria membrane potential variation (DeltaPsi(mit)) using a fluorescent probe (TMRE) on human CF (CF-KM4) and non-CF (MM39) tracheal serous gland cell lines. Confocal imaging of Rhod-2-AM-loaded or of the mitochondrial targeted cameleon 4mtD3cpv-transfected human CF and non-CF cells, were used to examine the ability of mitochondria to sequester intracellular Ca(2+). The present study reveals that (i) the mitochondria network is fragmented in F508del-CFTR cells, (ii) the DeltaPsi(mit) of CF mitochondria is depolarized compared non-CF mitochondria, and (iii) the CF mitochondria Ca(2+) uptake is reduced compared non-CF cells. We propose that these defects in airway epithelial F508del-CFTR cells are the consequence of mitochondrial membrane depolarization leading to a deficient mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake.

Calcium currents and transients in co‐cultured contracting normal and Duchenne muscular dystrophy human myotubes

1 The goal of the present study was to investigate differences in calcium movements between normal and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) human contracting myotubes co‐cultured with explants of rat spinal cord with attached dorsal root ganglia. Membrane potential, variations of intracellular calcium concentration and T‐ and L‐type calcium currents were recorded. Further, a descriptive and quantitative study by electron microscopy of the ultrastructure of the co‐cultures was carried out. 2 The resting membrane potential was slightly less negative in DMD (‐61.4 ± 1.1 mV) than in normal myotubes (‐65.5 ± 0.9 mV). Both types of myotube displayed spontaneous action potentials (mean firing frequency, 0.42 and 0.16 Hz, respectively), which triggered spontaneous calcium transients measured with Indo‐1. 3 The time integral under the spontaneous Ca2+ transients was significantly greater in DMD myotubes (97 ± 8 nm s) than in normal myotubes (67 ± 13 nm s). 4 The L‐ and T‐type current densities estimated from patch‐clamp recordings were smaller in DMD cells (2.0 ± 0.5 and 0.90 ± 0.19 pA pF−1, respectively) than in normal cells (3.9 ± 0.7 and 1.39 ± 0.30 pA pF−1, respectively). 5 The voltage‐dependent inactivation relationships revealed a shift in the conditioning potential at which inactivation is half‐maximal (Vh,0.5) of the T‐ and L‐type currents towards less negative potentials, from ‐72.1 ± 0.7 and ‐53.7 ± 1.5 mV in normal cells to ‐61.9 ± 1.4 and ‐29.2 ± 1.4 mV in DMD cells, respectively. 6 Both descriptive and quantitative studies by electron microscopy suggested a more advanced development of DMD myotubes as compared to normal ones. This conclusion was supported by the significantly larger capacitance of the DMD myotubes (408 ± 45 pF) than of the normal myotubes (299 ± 34 pF) of the same apparent size. 7 Taken together, these results show that differences in T‐ and L‐type calcium currents between normal and DMD myotubes cannot simply explain all observed alterations in calcium homeostasis in DMD myotubes, thus suggesting that other transmembrane calcium transport mechanisms must also be altered in DMD myotubes compared with normal myotubes.

CFTR and Ca2+ Signaling in Cystic Fibrosis

Among the diverse physiological functions exerted by calcium signaling in living cells, its role in the regulation of protein biogenesis and trafficking remains incompletely understood. In cystic fibrosis (CF) disease the most common CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutation, F508del-CFTR generates a misprocessed protein that is abnormally retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) compartment, rapidly degraded by the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway and hence absent at the plasma membrane of CF epithelial cells. Recent studies have demonstrated that intracellular calcium signals consequent to activation of apical G-protein-coupled receptors by different agonists are increased in CF airway epithelia. Moreover, the regulation of various intracellular calcium storage compartments, such as ER is also abnormal in CF cells. Although the molecular mechanism at the origin of this increase remains puzzling in epithelial cells, the F508del-CFTR mutation is proposed to be the onset of abnormal Ca2+ influx linking the calcium signaling to CFTR pathobiology. This article reviews the relationships between CFTR and calcium signaling in the context of the genetic disease CF.

Abnormal spatial diffusion of Ca2+ in F508del-CFTR airway epithelial cells

BackgroundIn airway epithelial cells, calcium mobilization can be elicited by selective autocrine and/or paracrine activation of apical or basolateral membrane heterotrimeric G protein-coupled receptors linked to phospholipase C (PLC) stimulation, which generates inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) and induces Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stores.MethodsIn the present study, we monitored the cytosolic Ca2+ transients using the UV light photolysis technique to uncage caged Ca2+ or caged IP3 into the cytosol of loaded airway epithelial cells of cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF origin. We compared in these cells the types of Ca2+ receptors present in the ER, and measured their Ca2+ dependent activity before and after correction of F508del-CFTR abnormal trafficking either by low temperature or by the pharmacological corrector miglustat (N-butyldeoxynojirimycin).ResultsWe showed reduction of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) dependent-Ca2+ response following both correcting treatments compared to uncorrected cells in such a way that Ca2+ responses (CF+treatment vs wild-type cells) were normalized. This normalization of the Ca2+ rate does not affect the activity of Ca2+-dependent chloride channel in miglustat-treated CF cells. Using two inhibitors of IP3R1, we observed a decrease of the implication of IP3R1 in the Ca2+ response in CF corrected cells. We observed a similar Ca2+ mobilization between CF-KM4 cells and CFTR-cDNA transfected CF cells (CF-KM4-reverted). When we restored the F508del-CFTR trafficking in CFTR-reverted cells, the specific IP3R activity was also reduced to a similar level as in non CF cells. At the structural level, the ER morphology of CF cells was highly condensed around the nucleus while in non CF cells or corrected CF cells the ER was extended at the totality of cell.ConclusionThese results suggest reversal of the IP3R dysfunction in F508del-CFTR epithelial cells by correction of the abnormal trafficking of F508del-CFTR in cystic fibrosis cells. Moreover, using CFTR cDNA-transfected CF cells, we demonstrated that abnormal increase of IP3R Ca2+ release in CF human epithelial cells could be the consequence of F508del-CFTR retention in ER compartment.

Saturated fatty acids alter the late secretory pathway by modulating membrane properties.

Saturated fatty acids (SFA) have been reported to alter organelle integrity and function in many cell types, including muscle and pancreatic β‐cells, adipocytes, hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes. SFA accumulation results in increased amounts of ceramides/sphingolipids and saturated phospholipids (PL). In this study, using a yeast‐based model that recapitulates most of the trademarks of SFA‐induced lipotoxicity in mammalian cells, we demonstrate that these lipid species act at different levels of the secretory pathway. Ceramides mostly appear to modulate the induction of the unfolded protein response and the transcription of nutrient transporters destined to the cell surface. On the other hand, saturated PL, by altering membrane properties, directly impact vesicular budding at later steps in the secretory pathway, i.e. at the trans‐Golgi Network level. They appear to do so by increasing lipid order within intracellular membranes which, in turn, alters the recruitment of loose lipid packing‐sensing proteins, required for optimal budding, to nascent vesicles. We propose that this latter general mechanism could account for the well‐documented deleterious impacts of fatty acids on the last steps of the secretory pathway in several cell types.