David I. Yule

Calcium and mitochondria.

The literature suggests that the physiological functions for which mitochondria sequester Ca2+ are (1) to stimulate and control the rate of oxidative phosphorylation, (2) to induce the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) and perhaps apoptotic cell death, and (3) to modify the shape of cytosolic Ca2+ pulses or transients. There is strong evidence that intramitochondrial Ca2+ controls both the rate of ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation and induction of the MPT. Since the results of these processes are so divergent, the signals inducing them must not be ambiguous. Furthermore, as pointed out by Balaban [J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 34 (2002 ) 11259–11271], for any repetitive physiological process dependent on intramitochondrial free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]m), a kind of intramitochondrial homeostasis must exist so that Ca2+ influx during the pulse is matched by Ca2+ efflux during the period between pulses to avoid either Ca2+ buildup or depletion. In addition, mitochondrial Ca2+ transport modifies both spatial and temporal aspects of cytosolic Ca2+ signaling. Here, we look at the amounts of Ca2+ necessary to mediate the functions of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport and at the mechanisms of transport themselves in order to set up a hypothesis about how the mechanisms carry out their roles. The emphasis here is on isolated mitochondria and on general mitochondrial properties in order to focus on how mitochondria alone may function to fulfill their physiological roles even though the interactions of mitochondria with other organelles, particularly with endoplasmic and sarcoplasmic reticulum [Sci. STKE re1 (2004) 1–9], may also influence this story.

Cytoplasmic Ca2+ oscillations evoked by receptor stimulation, G-protein activation, internal application of inositol trisphosphate or Ca2+: simultaneous microfluorimetry and Ca2+ dependent Cl- current recording in single pancreatic acinar cells.

The effects of acetylcholine (ACh), cholecystokinin (CCK), internally applied GTP‐gamma‐S, inositol trisphosphate [Ins (1,4,5) P3] or Ca2+ on the cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]i) were assessed by simultaneous microfluorimetry (fura‐2) and measurement of the Ca2(+)‐dependent Cl‐ current (patch‐clamp whole‐cell recording) in single internally perfused mouse pancreatic acinar cells. ACh (0.1‐0.2 microM) evoked an oscillating increase in [Ca2+]i measured in the cell as a whole (microfluorimetry) which was synchronous with oscillations in the Ca2(+)‐dependent Cl‐ current reporting [Ca2+]i close to the cell membrane. In the same cells a lower ACh concentration (0.05 microM) evoked shorter repetitive Cl‐ current pulses that were not accompanied by similar spikes in the microfluorimetric recording. When cells did not respond to 0.1 microM ACh, caffeine (1 mM) added on top of the sustained ACh stimulus resulted in [Ca2+]i oscillations seen synchronously in both types of recording. CCK (10 nM) also evoked [Ca2+]i oscillations, but with much longer intervals between slightly broader Ca2+ pulses. Internal perfusion with 100 microM GTP‐gamma‐S evoked [Ca2+]i oscillations with a similar pattern. Ins (1,4,5) P3 (10 microM) evoked repetitive shortlasting spikes in [Ca2+]i that were only seen in the Cl‐ current traces, except in one small cell where these spikes were also observed synchronously in the microfluorimetric recording. Caffeine (1 mM) broadened these Ca2+ pulses. [Ca2+]i was also directly changed, bypassing the normal signalling process, by infusion of a low or high Ca2+ solution into the pipette.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Stimulus-secretion coupling in pancreatic acinar cells.

Figure 4 summarizes the steps by which Ca2+ and cyclic AMP-mediated secretagogues activate enzyme secretion in the pancreatic acinar cell. CCK and acetylcholine bind to specific plasma membrane receptors and through an as yet incompletely understood mechanism give rise to an elevation in free cytoplasmic Ca2+. A question central to this scheme is whether receptor binding leads to intracellular Ca2+ mobilization through generation of a diffusable mediator. Clues to answering this question may come from a) determining whether Ca2+ is released from the plasma membrane in addition to one or more intracellular organelles, and b) examining the role (if any) of membrane phosphatidylinositol metabolism in Ca2+ mobilization. A second class of secretagogues, represented by VIP and secretin, bind to their specific receptors and cause the accumulation of cyclic AMP. Cyclic AMP potentiates Ca2+ in activating secretion, and in some species, cyclic AMP may activate secretion independently of Ca2+. Ca2+ may act by regulating the activity of calmodulin dependent protein kinase(s) and phosphatase(s) and a phospholipid dependent kinase (protein kinase C) which has also been shown to be activated by diacylglycerol; cyclic AMP activates a distinct kinase termed protein kinase A. These kinases and phosphatases then alter the phosphorylation of specific proteins which are presumed to play structural or regulatory roles in exocytosis. Potentiation may thus result from interaction of Ca2+ and cyclic AMP at the level of a protein kinase, phosphatase or protein substrate.

Akt kinase phosphorylation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors.

A consensus RXRXX(S/T) substrate motif for Akt kinase is conserved in the C-terminal tail of all three inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R) isoforms. We have shown that IP3R can be phosphorylated by Akt kinase in vitro and in vivo. Endogenous IP3Rs in Chinese hamster ovary T-cells were phosphorylated in response to Akt activation by insulin. LnCAP cells, a prostate cancer cell line with constitutively active Akt kinase, also showed a constitutive phosphorylation of endogenous type I IP3Rs. In all cases, the IP3R phosphorylation was diminished by the addition of LY294002, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Mutation of IP3R serine 2681 in the Akt substrate motif to alanine (S2681A) or glutamate (S2681E) prevented IP3R phosphorylation in COS cells transfected with constitutively active Akt kinase. Analysis of the Ca2+ flux properties of these IP3R mutants expressed in COS cell microsomes or in DT40 triple knock-out (TKO) cells did not reveal any modification of channel function. However, staurosporine-induced caspase-3 activation in DT40 TKO cells stably expressing the S2681A mutant was markedly enhanced when compared with wild-type or S2681E IP3Rs. We conclude that IP3 receptors are in vivo substrates for Akt kinase and that phosphorylation of the IP3R may provide one mechanism to restrain the apoptotic effects of calcium.

Oscillations of cytosolic calcium in single pancreatic acinar cells stimulated by acetylcholine

The changes in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) were monitored (fura‐2) in single, isolated, mouse pancreatic acinar cells stimulated by acetylcholine (ACh). Responses to ACh at concentrations between 10−7 and 5 × 10−7 M are marked by the appearance of regular, sinusoidal, oscillations in [Ca2+]i. At 37°C the oscillations are transient, being seen only in the initial rising phase of the calcium signal. At 30°C regular oscillations can be maintained throughout the period of ACh application. This study reports that release of intracellular calcium and influx of extracellular calcium are both involved in the generation of these oscillatory calcium signals.

Ultrastructure and Cell-Cell Coupling of Cardiac Myocytes Differentiating in Embryonic Stem Cell Cultures

Differentiation cultures of embryonic stem (ES) cells can be a useful in vitro system for understanding cardiac myocyte development. However, cell morphometry, sarcomere development, and functional cell-cell junction formation have not been examined in detail to determine whether ES cell-derived cardiac myocytes exhibit structural and functional characteristics similar to cardiac myocytes within the developing heart. Therefore, we examined cellular dimensions, sarcomere formation, and cell-cell contacts in differentiating cardiac myocytes derived from mouse D3-ES cell cultures. Cells exhibited rod-shaped morphology and had single centrally located nuclei, typical of maturing cardiac myocytes. The cellular dimensions of 59 individual cardiac myocytes within contracting foci of ES cell cultures were analyzed (length = 42.2 +/- 2.1 microns, area = 197 +/- 19 microns2, and diameter = 5.5 +/- 0.3 microns) and found to be similar to myocytes in vivo. Transmission electron micrographs of ES cell-derived cardiac myocytes indicated myofibrillar architecture ranged from sparse and disorganized to densely packed, parallel arrays of myofibrils organized into mature sarcomeres. This pattern of myofibrillar assembly in maturing sarcomeres was similar to that observed during in vivo myocyte differentiation. Another hallmark of cardiac development is the formation of intercalated discs, which functionally couple adjacent cardiac myocytes. Electron micrographs indicated nascent intercalated discs were forming in foci of ES cell-derived cardiac myocytes. In addition, indirect immunostaining with anti-connexin 43 antibody (Ab), a monoclonal Ab to the gap junction component of the intercalated disc, indicated that gap junctions were present in contracting ES cell foci. Furthermore, microinjection of single cardiac myocytes with Lucifer yellow (2.5 microM) resulted in the spread of fluorescence to adjacent cells within a contracting focus, an indication of functional cell-cell coupling across these gap junctions. Together, these results indicate ES cell-derived cardiac myocytes exhibit cell morphology, sarcomere formation, and cell-cell junctions similar to those observed in cardiac myocytes developing in vivo.

Overexpression of Rab3D enhances regulated amylase secretion from pancreatic acini of transgenic mice.

Rab3D, a member of the ras-related GTP-binding protein Rab family, is localized to secretory granules of various exocrine tissues such as acinar cells of the pancreas, chief cells of the stomach, and parotid and lacrimal secretory cells. To elucidate the function of Rab3D in exocytosis, we have generated transgenic mice that over-express Rab3D specifically in pancreatic acinar cells. Hemagglutinin-tagged Rab3D was localized to zymogen granules by immunohistochemistry, and was shown to be present on zymogen granule membranes by Western blotting; both results are similar to previous studies of endogenous Rab3D. Secretion measurements in isolated acinar preparations showed that overexpression of Rab3D enhanced amylase release. Amylase secretion from intact acini of transgenic mice 5 min after 10 pM cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK) stimulation was enhanced by 160% of control. In streptolysin-O-permeabilized acini of transgenic mice, amylase secretion induced by 100 microM GTP-gamma-S was enhanced by 150%, and 10 microM Ca2+-stimulated amylase secretion was augmented by 206% of that of the control. To further elucidate Rab3D involvement in stimulus-secretion coupling, we examined the effect of CCK on the rate of GTP binding to Rab3D. Stimulation of permeabilized acini with 10 pM CCK increased the incorporation of radiolabeled GTP into HA-tagged Rab3D. These results indicate that overexpression of Rab3D enhances secretagogue-stimulated amylase secretion through both calcium and GTP pathways. We conclude that Rab3D protein on zymogen granules plays a stimulatory role in regulated amylase secretion from pancreatic acini.

Targeted phosphorylation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors selectively inhibits localized Ca2+ release and shapes oscillatory Ca2+ signals.

The current study provides biochemical and functional evidence that the targeting of protein kinase A (PKA) to sites of localized Ca2+ release confers rapid, specific phosphoregulation of Ca2+ signaling in pancreatic acinar cells. Regulatory control of Ca2+ release by PKA-dependent phosphorylation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) receptors was investigated by monitoring Ca2+ dynamics in pancreatic acinar cells evoked by the flash photolysis of caged InsP3prior to and following PKA activation. Ca2+ dynamics were imaged with high temporal resolution by digital imaging and electrophysiological methods. The whole cell patch clamp technique was used to introduce caged compounds and to record the activity of a Ca2+-activated Cl− current. Photolysis of low concentrations of caged InsP3 evoked Cl−currents that were inhibited by treatment with dibutryl-cAMP or forskolin. In contrast, PKA activators had no significant inhibitory effect on the activation of Cl− current evoked by uncaging Ca2+ or by the photolytic release of higher concentrations of InsP3. Treatment with Rp-adenosine-3′,5′-cyclic monophoshorothioate, a selective inhibitor of PKA, or with Ht31, a peptide known to disrupt the targeting of PKA, largely abolished forskolin-induced inhibition of Ca2+ release. Further evidence for the targeting of PKA to the sites of Ca2+mobilization was revealed using immunocytochemical methods demonstrating that the RIIβ subunit of PKA was localized to the apical regions of acinar cells and co-immunoprecipitated with the type III but not the type I or type II InsP3 receptors. Finally, we demonstrate that the pattern of signaling evoked by acetylcholine can be converted to one that is more “CCK-like” by raising cAMP levels. Our data provide a simple mechanism by which distinct oscillatory Ca2+ patterns can be shaped.

Acetylcholine and cholecystokinin induce different patterns of oscillating calcium signals in pancreatic acinar cells

Receptor-activated cytoplasmic calcium (Ca2+) oscillations have been investigated in single pancreatic acinar cells by microfluorimetry (Fura-2 as indicator). At submaximal concentrations of the agonists acetylcholine (ACh) and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8), both give rise to oscillatory changes in the cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). The patterns of oscillations are markedly and consistently different for each of these two agonists. The ACh induced oscillations are superimposed upon a median elevation in background [Ca2+]i. The CCK-8 induced oscillations are of longer duration with [Ca2+]i returning to prestimulus levels between the discrete spikes. The ACh induced oscillations are rapidly abolished upon removal of extracellular Ca2+ while the CCK-8 induced oscillations persist for many minutes in the absence of external Ca2+. The CCK-8, but not the ACh, induced oscillations are increased in duration by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor staurosporine and abolished by the PKC activating phorbol ester PMA. It is clear that CCK-8 and ACh do not activate receptor transduction mechanisms in an identical manner to generate oscillating [Ca2+]i signals.

Cytosolic Ca2+ and Ca2+‐activated Cl− current dynamics: insights from two functionally distinct mouse exocrine cells

The dynamics of Ca2+ release and Ca2+‐activated Cl− currents in two related, but functionally distinct exocrine cells, were studied to gain insight into how the molecular specialization of Ca2+ signalling machinery are utilized to produce different physiological endpoints: in this case, fluid or exocytotic secretion. Digital imaging and patch‐clamp methods were used to monitor the temporal and spatial properties of changes in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) and Cl− currents following the controlled photolytic release of caged‐InsP3 or caged‐Ca2+. In parotid and pancreatic acinar cells, changes in [Ca2+]c and activation of a Ca2+‐activated Cl− current occurred with close temporal coincidence. In parotid, a rapid global Ca2+ signal was invariably induced, even with low‐level photolytic release of threshold amounts of InsP3. In pancreas, threshold stimulation generated an apically delimited [Ca2+]c signal, while a stronger stimulus induced a global [Ca2+]c signal which exhibited characteristics of a propagating wave. InsP3 was more effective in parotid, where [Ca2+]c signals initiated with shorter latency and exhibited a faster time‐to‐peak than in pancreas. The increased potency of InsP3 in parotid probably results from a four‐fold higher number of InsP3 receptors as measured by radiolabelled InsP3 binding and western blot analysis. The Ca2+ sensitivity of the Cl− channels in parotid and pancreas was determined from the [Ca2+]‐current relationship measured during a dynamic ‘Ca2+ ramp’ produced by the continuous, low‐level photolysis of caged‐Ca2+. In addition to a greater number of InsP3 receptors, the Cl− current density of parotid acinar cells was more than four‐fold greater than that of pancreatic cells. Whereas activation of the current was tightly coupled to increases in Ca2+ in both cell types, local Ca2+ clearance was found to contribute substantially to the deactivation of the current in parotid. These data reveal specializations of common modules of Ca2+‐release machinery and subsequent effector activation that are specifically suited to the distinct functional roles of these two related cell types.