Ca2+-dependent contractility of isolated and demembranated macronuclei in the hypotrichous ciliate Euplotes aediculatus

The hypotrichous ciliated protozoan Euplotes aediculatus possesses a characteristic C-shaped somatic nucleus (macronucleus) within the cytoplasm, which shows dynamic shape change during the cell cycle. It is shown that isolated macronuclei possess Ca(2+)-dependent contractility. Macronuclei were isolated, stuck fast on the glass surface, and subjected to different concentrations of Ca(2+) in a Ca(2+)-EGTA buffer. The nuclei became expanded at [Ca(2+)]<10(-7)M, and they contracted on subsequent addition of higher concentrations of Ca(2+). Cycles of expansion and contraction of the nucleus could be repeated many times by alternate addition of EGTA and Ca(2+), indicating that the size of isolated nuclei can be regulated by [Ca(2+)] alone. The nuclear contraction was observed in all phases of the cell cycle, but contractility was less evident around replication bands in the S phase. In addition to the hypotrichous ciliate Euplotes, similar Ca(2+)-dependent nuclear contractility was found to exist in other cell types, including protozoans of different taxa (a heliozoon Actinophrys sol and a peniculine ciliate Paramecium bursaria), and also mammalian culture cells (HeLa cells). Our findings suggest a possibility that Ca(2+)-dependent nuclear contractility may be shared among diverse eukaryotic organisms.