Organellar Calcium Buffers

Ca²⁺ is an important intracellular messenger affecting many diverse processes. In eukaryotic cells, Ca²⁺ storage is achieved within specific intracellular organelles, especially the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum, in which Ca²⁺ is buffered by specific proteins known as Ca²⁺ buffers. Ca²⁺ buffers are a diverse group of proteins, varying in their affinities and capacities for Ca²⁺, but they typically also carry out other functions within the cell. The wide range of organelles containing Ca²⁺ and the evidence supporting cross-talk between these organelles suggest the existence of a dynamic network of organellar Ca²⁺ signaling, mediated by a variety of organellar Ca²⁺ buffers.     

Calcium storage in nonmuscle tissues: is the retina special?

It is now well established that calreticulin is a high capacity Ca(2+)-binding protein which is a major Ca2+ storage protein of the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum membranes in a wide variety of tissues with the exception of skeletal and cardiac muscles. However, in nervous tissue, confusion exists regarding the nature of the intracellular Ca2+ stores, as the organelle responsible for Ca2+ storage has been identified as the endoplasmic reticulum by some investigators and as the specialized organelle, calciosome by others. Calreticulin, calsequestrin, and calsequestrin-like proteins have all been, on different occasions, reported to be present in calciosomes. Cerebral and cerebellar tissues, moreover, have been shown to contain somewhat different systems of Ca(2+)-buffering proteins. In the present paper we discuss evidence that the Ca2+ storage systems of the retina may prove to be more complex than those of other neuronal tissues. Biochemical and immunocytochemical evidence indicates the presence of either an isoform of calreticulin or another protein that is antigenically similar to calreticulin, but of slightly higher molecular weight, in the endoplasmic reticulum of both neurons and Müller glia from rabbit neural retina. However, as retinal neurons express Purkinje cell markers, one may expect to observe the presence of calsequestrin in these cells as well. Secondly, antibodies against the onchocercal RAL-1 antigen recognize a protein sharing 62-65% amino acid sequence identity with calreticulin. The anti-RAL-1 antibodies show specificity for the retina. Whether or not the RAL-1 antigen is an active part of the Ca2+ storage systems of the retina remains to be verified.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Inhibition of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity in cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcolemmal vesicles by monoclonal antibody 44D7

Monoclonal antibodies 44D7 and 4F2 inhibited specifically the Na+-dependent Ca2+ fluxes characteristic of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcolemmal vesicles. Preincubation of membrane vesicles with monoclonal antibody 44D7 inhibited 90% of the Na+-dependent Ca2+ uptake measured in the first 10 s of the reaction and 50% of that measured after 60 s. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent ATPase activity and ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake by sarcolemmal vesicles were not affected by monoclonal antibody 44D7 whereas the Na+-dependent release of accumulated Ca2+ was inhibited. In the presence of the 44D7 antigen isolated from human kidney, monoclonal antibody 44D7 could no longer inhibit Na+-dependent Ca2+ fluxes. The distribution of 4F2 antigenic activity in the isolated muscle membrane fractions correlated with that of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity; cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcolemmal vesicles expressed higher levels of the antigen than skeletal muscle transverse tubule membrane, while no antigen could be detected in sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. Our results suggest that monoclonal antibodies 44D7 and 4F2 interact either directly with the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger molecules or with some other protein(s) responsible for the regulation of this activity in the heart and skeletal muscle.     

Identification and localization of calreticulin in plant cells

Summary In the present study we have investigated the presence and distribution of calreticulin in plant protoplasts. Calreticulin was purified from plant homogenates using a selective ammonium sulfate precipitation procedure developed for the purification of mammalian calreticulins and shown to bind calcium in⁴⁵Ca²⁺ overlay assays. The protein was localized to plant cell endoplasmic reticulum by the indirect immunofluorescence staining of protoplasts with anti-calreticulin antibodies. No calreticulin was observed within large vacuoles. We conclude that calreticulin is present in the endoplasmic reticulum of plant cells, where, by analogy to the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum, it may play a major role in Ca²⁺ binding and storage.Abbreviations ER endoplasmic reticulum - SR sarcoplasmic reticulum - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - PBS phosphate-buffered saline     

2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid modification of the carboxyl-terminal region (C-domain) of calreticulin

The role of the primary amino groups of lysine sidechains in Ca²⁺ binding to calreticulin was evaluated by chemical modification of the amino group with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). TNBS binding to calreticulin could be described by two steps: (i) a fast reaction, with low affinity, and (ii) a slow reaction with a relatively high affinity. Inclusion of Ca²⁺ and/or Mg²⁺ decreased both the amount of TNBS bound to calreticulin and the apparent affinity constant of the slower reaction. In contrast, the properties of the faster reaction for TNBS binding were not sensitive to Ca²⁺ and/or Mg²⁺. Analysis of TNBS binding to the carboxyl-terminal (C-domain) and aminoterminal (N-domain) of calreticulin revealed that theC-domain andN-domain are responsible for the slow and fast component of the TNBS binding, respectively. In keeping with this, in the presence of Ca²⁺, TNBS binding to theC-domain was significantly reduced, whereas modification of theN-domain was unaffected. TNBS modification of calreticulin significantly decreased Ca²⁺ binding to the low affinity/high capacity Ca²⁺ binding site(s) which are localized to theC-domain but had no effect on the high affinity/low capacity Ca²⁺ binding localized to theN-domain.In theC-domain of calreticulin, which contains the low affinity/high capacity Ca²⁺ binding sites, acidic residues are interspersed at regular intervals with one or more positively charged lysine and arginine residues. Our results indicate that the aminogroups of the lysine sidechains in theC-domain of calreticulin have a role in the low affinity/high capacity Ca²⁺ binding that is characteristic of this region of the protein and which is proposed to contribute significantly to the capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ store. (Mol Cell Biochem130: 19–28, 1994)Abbreviations TNBS 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid - GST Glutathione S-Transferase - SDS-PAGE Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis - EDTA Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid - EGTA Ethylene Glycol bis(-aminoethylether)-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic Acid - MOPS 4-Morpholinepropanesulfonic Acid     

Calreticulin, and not calsequestrin, is the major calcium binding protein of smooth muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and liver endoplasmic reticulum

The distribution of calsequestrin and calreticulin in smooth muscle and non-muscle tissues was investigated. Immunoblots of endoplasmic reticulum proteins probed with anti-calreticulin and anti-calsequestrin antibodies revealed that only calreticulin is present in the rat liver endoplasmic reticulum. Membrane fractions isolated from uterine smooth muscle, which are enriched in sarcoplasmic reticulum, contain a protein band which is immunoreactive with anti-calreticulin but not with anti-calsequestrin antibodies. The presence of calreticulin in these membrane fractions was further confirmed by 45Ca2+ overlay and "Stains-All" techniques. Calreticulin was also localized to smooth muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum by the indirect immunofluorescence staining of smooth muscle cells with anti-calreticulin antibodies. Furthermore, both liver and uterine smooth muscle were found to contain high levels of mRNA encoding calreticulin, whereas no mRNA encoding calsequestrin was detected. We have employed an ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by Mono Q fast protein liquid chromatography, as a method by which calsequestrin and calreticulin can be isolated from whole tissue homogenates, and by which they can be clearly resolved from one another, even where present in the same tissue. Calreticulin was isolated from rabbit and bovine liver, rabbit brain, rabbit and porcine uterus, and bovine pancreas and was identified by its amino-terminal amino acid sequence. Calsequestrin cannot be detected in preparations from whole liver tissue, and only very small amounts of calsequestrin are detectable in ammonium sulfate extracts of uterine smooth muscle. We conclude that calreticulin, and not calsequestrin, is a major Ca2+ binding protein in liver endoplasmic reticulum and in uterine smooth muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. Calsequestrin and calreticulin may perform parallel functions in the lumen of the sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum.     

Localization of the high affinity calcium binding protein and an intrinsic glycoprotein in sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes

Several proteins in sarcoplasmic reticulum preparations move in a band with a mobility, in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels (0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0), corresponding to a molecular mass of about 55,000 daltons. Only one of these proteins is the high affinity calcium binding protein. An intrinsic glycoprotein is also present in this band, and it is this glycoprotein which is found in vesicles reconstituted after dissolution of sarcoplasmic reticulum in deoxycholate. Both of these proteins are found in rather constant ratios with the ATPase in light, intermediate, and heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Transverse tubular vesicles can be isolated from the heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles after disruption of the membrane in a French pressure cell (Lau, Y.H., Caswell, A.H., and Brunschwig, J.P. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 5565-5574). These vesicles are enriched in their content of the high affinity calcium binding and depleted of the intrinsic glycoprotein. Cycloheptaamylose . fluorescamine complex (CFC) labels the intrinsic glycoprotein heavily indicating that it is at least partially exposed on the cytoplasmic surface of sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. Since the carbohydrate component of the protein must lie in luminal spaces, it is inferred that the intrinsic glycoprotein is a transmembrane protein. The high affinity calcium binding protein is not labeled by CFC indicating that it is not exposed on the cytoplasmic surface of sarcotubular vesicles. The protein is also not affected by proteolytic digestion of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles and can be isolated intact from trypsin-digested vesicles. It is not removed from sarcoplasmic-reticulum vesicles by washing with buffers containing Chelex 100 or ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). These data show that the high affinity calcium binding protein is localized in the interior of the sarcotubular system and suggest that it might be common to both sarcoplasmic reticulum and transverse tubular membranes.     

Is embryo abortion a post‐zygotic barrier to gene flow between Littorina ecotypes?

Genetic incompatibilities contribute to reproductive isolation between many diverging populations, but it is still unclear to what extent they play a role if divergence happens with gene flow. In contact zones between the "Crab" and "Wave" ecotypes of the snail Littorina saxatilis, divergent selection forms strong barriers to gene flow, while the role of post‐zygotic barriers due to selection against hybrids remains unclear. High embryo abortion rates in this species could indicate the presence of such barriers. Post‐zygotic barriers might include genetic incompatibilities (e.g. Dobzhansky–Muller incompatibilities) but also maladaptation, both expected to be most pronounced in contact zones. In addition, embryo abortion might reflect physiological stress on females and embryos independent of any genetic stress. We examined all embryos of >500 females sampled outside and inside contact zones of three populations in Sweden. Females' clutch size ranged from 0 to 1,011 embryos (mean 130 ± 123), and abortion rates varied between 0% and 100% (mean 12%). We described female genotypes by using a hybrid index based on hundreds of SNPs differentiated between ecotypes with which we characterized female genotypes. We also calculated female SNP heterozygosity and inversion karyotype. Clutch size did not vary with female hybrid index, and abortion rates were only weakly related to hybrid index in two sites but not at all in a third site. No additional variation in abortion rate was explained by female SNP heterozygosity, but increased female inversion heterozygosity added slightly to increased abortion. Our results show only weak and probably biologically insignificant post‐zygotic barriers contributing to ecotype divergence, and the high and variable abortion rates were marginally, if at all, explained by hybrid index of females.