Binding of calcium ions to bacteriorhodopsin.

Adding Ca2+ or other cations to deionized bacteriorhodopsin causes a blue to purple color shift, a result of deprotonation of Asp85. It has been proposed by different groups that the protonation state of Asp85 responds to the binding of Ca2+ either 1) directly at a specific site in the protein or 2) indirectly through the rise of the surface pH. We tested the idea of specific binding of Ca2+ and found that the surface pH, as determined from the ionization state of eosin covalently linked to engineered cysteine residues, rises about equally at both extracellular and cytoplasmic surfaces when only one Ca2+ is added. This precludes binding to a specific site and suggests that rather than decreasing the pKa of Asp85 by direct interaction, Ca2+ increases the surface pH by binding to anionic lipid groups. As Ca2+ is added the surface pH rises, but deprotonation of Asp85 occurs only when the surface pH approaches its pKa. The nonlinear relationship between Ca2+ binding and deprotonation of Asp85 from this effect is different in the wild-type protein and in various mutants and explains the observed complex and varied spectral titration curves.     

Streptomyces viridochromogenes spore germination initiated by calcium ions.

Initiation of germination of heat-activated Streptomyces viridochromogenes spore occurs in media containing only calcium ions and organic buffer. The calcium-induced initiation of germination was accompanied by a decrease in absorbance of the spore suspension, an increased rate of endogenous metabolism, the loss of spore carbon, and the loss of heat resistance. Calcium amounts to 0.28% of the dry weight of freshly harvested spores. The amount of calcium remained the same after incubation of spores in water after heat activation. The spore content of calcium doubled after incubation in 0.5 mM CaCl2 for 5 min at 4 degrees C and during calcium-induced germination. Nearly all of the calcim appears to be bound to sites external to the spore membrane, since the chelating agents (ethylenedinitrilo) tetraacetic acid and arsenazo III removed virtually all of the calcium ions. The calcium ions must be present during the entire initiation of germination period. Germination ceases after an (ethylenedinitrilo) tetraacetic acid wash and begins again immediately after addition of calcium ions.     

Roles of calcium ions in hyphal tip growth.

A role for Ca2+ in the tip growth process of fungal hyphae and other eukaryotic walled cells has been widely explored, following the earlier indications of their importance by Jaffe, Steer, and their colleagues. Analysis of the literature on fungi, with selected comparison with other tip-growing plant cells, shows that the growth rate and morphology of hyphae are sensitive to factors which influence intracellular Ca2+. These factors include variations in extracellular Ca2+ concentrations, Ca2+ ionophores, inhibitors of Ca2+ transport, and calmodulin- and Ca(2+)-binding dyes and buffers introduced into the cytoplasm. The effects of these agents appear to be mediated by a tip-high gradient of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ which is obligatorily present in all critically examined growing tips. Most recent observations agree that the gradient is very steep, declining rapidly within 10 to 20 microns of the tip. This gradient seems to be generated by the combined effects of an influx of Ca2+, via plasma membrane, possibly stretch-activated, channels localized in the hyphal tip, and subapical expulsion or sequestration of these ions. Expulsion probably involves a plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase, but it is not yet possible to differentiate among mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, or vacuoles as the dominant sites of sequestration. It is suggested that regulation of the Ca2+ gradient in turn modulates the properties of the actin-based component of the cytoskeleton, which then controls the extensibility, and, possibly, the synthesis of the hyphal apex. Regulatory feedback mechanisms intrinsic to this model of tip growth regulation are briefly discussed, together with suggestions for future experiments which are crucial to its further elucidation and establishment.     

Transport of calcium ions by Ehrlich ascites-tumour cells.

Ehrlich ascites-tumour cells accumulate Ca2+ when incubated aerobically with succinate, phosphate and rotenone, as revealed by isotopic and atomic-absorption measurements. Ca2+ does not stimulate oxygen consumption by carefully prepared Ehrlich cells, but des so when the cells are placed in a hypo-osmotic medium. Neither glutamate nor malate support Ca2+ uptake in 'intact' Ehrlich cells, nor does the endogenous NAD-linked respiration. Ca2+ uptake is completely dependent on mitochondrial energy-coupling mechansims. It was an unexpected finding that maximal Ca2+ uptake supported by succinate requires rotenone, which blocks oxidation of enogenous NAD-linked substrates. Phosphate functions as co-anion for entry of Ca2+. Ca2+ uptake is also supported by extra-cellular ATP; no other nucleoside 5'-di- or tri-phosphate was active. The accumulation of Ca2+ apparently takes place in the mitochondria, since oligomycin and atractyloside inhibit ATP-supported Ca2+ uptake. Glycolysis does not support Ca2+ uptake. Neither free mitochondria released from disrupted cells nor permeability-damaged cells capable of absorbing Trypan Blue were responsible for any large fraction of the total observed energy-coupled Ca2+ uptake. The observations reported also indicate that electron flow through energy-conserving site 1 promotes Ca2+ release from Ehrlich cells and that extra-cellular ATP increase permeability of the cell membrane, allowing both ATP and Ca2+ to enter the cells more readily.     

Visual transduction and calcium ions

A general scheme of visual induction and its regulation in mammalian retinal rods and the main signal proteins involved in the functioning of the visual signaling apparatus were considered. The role of calcium ions and calcium-binding proteins in the switching off of the visual signal and the transition of the photoreceptor cell from a photoexcited to a "dark" state was discussed in detail.     

Activation of lymphocytes by concanavalin A requires calcium ions.

Mouse spleen cells were exposed to a short pulse of the mitogenic lectin concanavalin A (con A). After removal of con A mitogenesis was measured by the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA. It was found: (a) the number of cells responding to con A was proportional to the time of exposure to con A; (b) exposure of cells to con A in the absence of extracellular calcium failed to initiate mitogenesis; (c) for a mitogenic effect an extracellular calcium concentration greater than 10(-5)M was required during the time that the cells were exposed to con A.     

Mn ions pass through calcium channels. A possible explanation

The divalent transition-metal cations Fe, Co, and Ni were used to test the hypothesis that Mn ions pass through calcium channels because Mn ions have a relatively low energy of hydration. The test ions were applied to the bath and comparisons were made of their effects on Ca or Mn spikes elicited from myoepithelial cells of the proventriculus of the polychaete worm Syllis spongiphila. Control experiments showed that (a) results obtained using deoxygenated solutions (required to stabilize Fe2+ ions) could be compared with those using solutions containing oxygen, and (b) the test cations did not measurably affect the electrical coupling between cells. Ca spikes were reversibly abolished by the test cations in the order of effectiveness: Fe (16.1 mM +/- 1.0, SE; n = 15) = Co (14.6 mM +/- 0.8; n = 27) less than Ni (8.3 mM +/- 0.7; n = 16). The test cations diminished Mn spikes by decreasing maximum rates of rise (Fe = Co less than Ni) and overshoot amplitudes (Fe less than Co less than Ni). The test cations also increased the current intensity required for Ca (Fe = Co less than Ni) or Mn spike initiation (Fe less than Co less than Ni). Since the energies of hydration of Fe, Co, and Ni increase stepwise from that of Mn, and the effectiveness of these ions in diminishing Ca and Mn spikes increased in the order Fe less than or equal to Co less than Ni, these data support the hypothesis that Mn ions pass through Ca channels because they shed waters of hydration relatively easily. An additional observation was that, at below-blocking concentrations, the test cations caused decreased duration of Mn spikes and increased duration of Ca spikes.     

Interaction of calcium ions and polyelectrolytes

Interaction of Ca(2+) ions with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA) was studied using a Ca(2+) ion sensitive electrode. When the PAA solution was neutralized with Ca(OH)(2), the Ca(2+) activity had a maximum around the degree of neutralization 0.5 and decreased with further increase of Ca(OH)(2), being similar to the behavior of the Ca(2+) activity in a maleic acid copolymer solution as reported previously. When the polymer concentration was as low as 0.1 mM, this peak in the Ca(2+) activity was not observed and the counterion condensation theory held. The decrease of the Ca(2+) activity in PAA solution at the degree of neutralization unity was depresseed by the presence of several millimolar KCl. The Ca(2+) activity in the PAA solution at the low degree of neutralization was increased by the presence of dilute KCl and decreased by the presence of concentrated KCl. The decrease of the Ca(2+) activity in PMA solution was observed also at the degree of neutralization unity, but its extent was small compared with that of the PAA solution and the maximum of the Ca(2+) activity was shifted to the degree of neutralization 0.75. The effects of KCl on the Ca(2+) activity in the PMA solution were almost the same as those in the PAA solution. Interpretations of the behavior of the Ca(2+) activity were discussed.     

The interaction of calcium and magnesium ions with deoxyribonucleic acid.

Conductance and equilibrium dialysis studies are reported for the aqueous systems (native calf thymus) DNA-CaCl₂ and DNA-MgCl₂ at various pH values and ionic strengths at 25 °C. Discontinuities occur in the conductance curves at mole ratios of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ to nucleate phosphorus of 0.125, 0.30, and 0.50. The dialysis results show the formation of complexes of stoichiometry 0.50 and 1.00 mol Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺/mol nucleate phosphorus (2:1 and 1:1 complexes), the latter only in neutral or alkaline solutions, in agreement with the conductance discontinuity at 0.50. The other discontinuities may be due to preferential binding in the formation of the 2:1 complex. Binding constants for the 2:1 complexes are evaluated. Absorption-temperature profiles have been determined for “native” and dialysed DNA in the presence of NaCl, CaCl₂, and MgCl₂. For dialysed DNA at 26 ° C and 260 nm the decrease of absorbance with increased salt concentration was halted for MgCl₂ and CaCl₂ at a concentration corresponding to the formation of the 2:1 complex. The absorbance of “native” DNA did not decrease. T_m and the reciprocal of the hypochromic rise ($\text{1}\text{h}$) increased linearly with log (salt concn). Values of T_m were the same at 230, 260, and 280 nm, but h was greater at 230 and 280 than at 260 nm, which may be due to the existence of alternating blocks of (A + T) and (G ? C) pairs. The entropy of transition was in the order Ca > Mg ? Na.     

Effects of calcium ions on pyruvate kinase from human erythrocytes.

Ca2+ ions have a biphasic effect on the allosteric pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) from human erythrocytes: Ca2+ is an activator at low phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) concentrations: at increased PEP concentrations Ca2+ behaves as an inhibitor. In the presence of ATP the same effect was observed and at low PEP concentrations Ca2+ ions can completely abolish the ATP inhibitory effect. At high Ca2+ concentrations there is a loss of the cooperativity towards PEP. The enzyme activated by fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) is inhibited by Ca2+ ions at all concentrations of PEP tested. Mg2+ ions are not able to counteract the activation by Ca2+ ions at low PEP concentrations. The results are interpreted on the basis of the model of Monod.     

Evidence that lanthanum ions stimulate calcium inflow to isolated hepatocytes.

LaCl3 stimulated the initial rate of 45Ca2+ exchange measured under steady-state conditions in isolated liver cells. Cu2+ greater than La3+ = Fe3+ greater than Fe2+ = Zn2+ greater Ni2+ greater than Mn2+ also stimulated 45Ca2+ exchange. Compartmental analysis of 45Ca2+-exchange curves obtained in the presence or absence of La3+, and in the presence or absence of adrenaline, showed that the predominant effect of La3+ is to stimulate the inflow of Ca2+ to the cell from the medium. No evidence for an inhibition of Ca2+ outflow from the cell was obtained. In the presence of La3+, adrenaline caused no further stimulation of Ca2+ inflow to the cell. In the absence of adrenaline, La3+ increased the uptake of Ca2+ (measured by atomic-absorption spectroscopy) by isolated hepatocytes incubated at 1 degree C. The proposal that La3+ stimulates Ca2+ inflow to the liver cell by inducing a conformational change in the Ca2+-inflow transporter of the plasma membrane is briefly discussed.     

The promotion of collagen polymerization by lanthanide and calcium ions.

Ca2+ (1-5 mM) and lanthanide (20-250 microM) ions enhance the rate of polymerization of purified calf skin collagen (1.5 mg/ml) at pH 7.0 in the presence of 30mM-Tris/HCl and 0.2 M-NaCl. Both the nucleation phase and the growth phase of polymerization are accelerated. The activation energy of the growth phase, 239.3 +/- 24.3 kJ/mol (57.2 +/- 5.8 kcal/mol), is decreased to 145.6 +/- 9.6 kJ/mol (34.8 +/- 2.3 kcal/mol) by 5 mM-Ca2+ and to 75.3 +/- 4.6 kJ/mol (18.0 +/- 1.1 kcal/mol) by 25 microM-Sm3+. In contrast, the activation energy of the nucleation phase, 191.6 +/- 23.4 kJ/mol (45.8 +/- 5.6 kcal/mol), is only slightly decreased by Ca2+ or Sm3+. Collagen fibrils formed in the presence of Sm3+ are thinner than control fibrils, and more thermoresistant.     

Alkalinization within sarcoplasmic reticulum during the uptake of calcium ions.

The pH indicator, bromothymol blue, was incorporated into sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles which bind more than 90% of the total added dye. The sequestered dye does not respond to changes in external pH upon addition of acid to the medium, since the decrease of absorbance at 616 nm is very slow. The absorbance of sequestered dye at 616 nm increases suddenly after triggering the transport of Ca²⁺ by ATP at a rate much higher than that of Ca²⁺ uptake, and declines when Ca²⁺ has been accumulated. When the uptake of Ca²⁺ is followed in the presence of oxalate, the absorbance of the indicator declines after the first phase of Ca²⁺ uptake. The results suggest that a transient alkalinization occurs rapidly inside the vesicles and reflects the formation of a transmembrane proton gradient responsible for sustaining the Ca²⁺ transport.     

Effect of calcium ions on pyruvate carboxylase from pigeon liver.

Pigeon liver pyruvate carboxylase (pyruvate: CO2 ligase (ADP forming), EC 6.4.1.1) shows allosteric properties similar to those of chicken or rat liver enzyme. Kinetic methods have been used to determine the effect of Ca2+ on this enzyme. The Ca2+ activation effect is absolutely dependent on the Mg2+ concentration; in the absence of Mg2+, pyruvate carboxylase has no catalytic activity. Furthermore, Ca2+ cannot replace Mg2+ and also shows a paradoxical effect on the liver enzyme activity. It is an activator at low pyruvate or Mg2+ concentrations; at increased pyruvate concentrations, however, it becomes an inhibitor. At low levels of ATP a pronounced activation of pigeon liver pyruvate carboxylase by Ca2+ has been demonstrated. The results of this communication demonstrate pigeon liver pyruvate carboxylase to be different from pyruvate carboxylase from other sources.