These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Agonist-induced cytosolic calcium oscillations originate from a specific locus in single hepatocytes.
    Author: Rooney TA, Sass EJ, Thomas AP.
    Journal: J Biol Chem; 1990 Jun 25; 265(18):10792-6. PubMed ID: 2113061.
    Abstract:
    Digital imaging fluorescence microscopy of fura-2-loaded hepatocytes in primary culture has been used to examine the changes of cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in response to receptor activation by alpha 1-adrenergic agonists and vasopressin at the subcellular level. Agonist-induced Ca2+ oscillations did not occur synchronously within the cell but originated from a specific region adjacent to the cell membrane and then propagated throughout the rest of the cell, with each oscillation within a series originating from the same locus. Furthermore, hormones acting through different receptors produced Ca2+ waves with similar rates of progress (20-25 microns.s-1) which originated from the same subcellular locus. For a given cell, the rate of progress and amplitude of the Ca2+ waves were independent of applied agonist concentration and were unaffected by depletion of extracellular Ca2+. The kinetics of Ca2+ increase at different points within the cell indicated that the Ca2+ waves were not driven by diffusion but were characteristic of a self-propagating mechanism. Significantly, when cells were treated with A1F-4 to directly activate the G-protein which couples receptor occupancy to [Ca2+]i mobilization, the origin and kinetics of the Ca2+ waves were identical to those observed with hormonal stimulation. It is proposed that the spatial organization of the intracellular Ca2+ release mechanisms may have significance in the regulation of the asymmetric metabolic functions of hepatocytes and other functionally polarized cells.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]