Measurements of mitochondrial calcium in vivo

Monitoring mitochondrial [Ca(2+)] dynamics with rhod-2, ratiometric pericam and aequorin

The dynamics of mitochondrial [Ca(2+)] ([Ca(2+)](M)) plays a key role in a variety of cellular processes. The most important methods available to monitor [Ca(2+)](M) are fluorescent dyes such as rhod-2 and specifically targeted proteins such as aequorin and pericam. However, significant discrepancies, both quantitative and qualitative, exist in the literature between the results obtained with different methods. We have made here a systematic comparison of the response of several fluorescent dyes, rhod-2 and rhod-FF, and two Ca(2+)-sensitive proteins, aequorin and pericam. Our results show that measurements obtained with aequorin and pericam are consistent in terms of dynamic Ca(2+) changes. Instead, fluorescent dyes failed to follow Ca(2+) changes adequately, especially during repetitive stimulation. In particular, measures obtained with rhod-2 or rhod-FF evidenced the previously reported Ca(2+)-dependent inhibition of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake, but data obtained with aequorin or pericam under the same conditions did not. The reason for the loss of response of fluorescent dyes is unclear. Loading with these dyes produced changes in mitochondrial morphology and membrane potential, which were small and reversible at low concentrations (1-2 microM), but produced large and prolonged damage at higher concentrations. In addition, cells loaded with low concentrations of rhod-2 suffered large changes in mitochondrial morphology after light excitation. Our results suggest that [Ca(2+)](M) data obtained with these dyes should be taken with care.

Calcium-dependent mitochondrial function and dysfunction in neurons

Calcium is an extraordinarily versatile signaling ion, encoding cellular responses to a wide variety of external stimuli. In neurons, mitochondria can accumulate enormous amounts of calcium, with the consequence that mitochondrial calcium uptake, sequestration and release play pivotal roles in orchestrating calcium-dependent responses as diverse as gene transcription and cell death. In this review, we consider the basic chemistry of calcium as a 'sticky' cation, which leads to extremely high bound/free ratios, and discuss areas of current interest or controversy. Topics addressed include methodologies for measuring local intracellular calcium, mitochondrial calcium buffering and loading capacity, mitochondrially directed spatial calcium gradients, and the role of calcium overload-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction in glutamate-evoked excitotoxic injury and neurodegeneration. Finally, we consider the relationship between delayed calcium de-regulation, the mitochondrial permeability transition and the generation of reactive oxygen species, and propose a unified view of the 'source specificity' and 'calcium overload' models of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent excitotoxicity. Non-NMDA receptor mechanisms of excitotoxicity are discussed briefly.

Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutical Targets in Huntington's Disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the gene encoding for huntingtin protein. A lot has been learned about this disease since its first description in 1872 and the identification of its causative gene and mutation in 1993. We now know that the disease is characterized by several molecular and cellular abnormalities whose precise timing and relative roles in pathogenesis have yet to be understood. HD is triggered by the mutant protein, and both gain-of-function (of the mutant protein) and loss-of-function (of the normal protein) mechanisms are involved. Here we review the data that describe the emergence of the ancient huntingtin gene and of the polyglutamine trait during the last 800 million years of evolution. We focus on the known functions of wild-type huntingtin that are fundamental for the survival and functioning of the brain neurons that predominantly degenerate in HD. We summarize data indicating how the loss of these beneficial activities reduces the ability of these neurons to survive. We also review the different mechanisms by which the mutation in huntingtin causes toxicity. This may arise both from cell-autonomous processes and dysfunction of neuronal circuitries. We then focus on novel therapeutical targets and pathways and on the attractive option to counteract HD at its primary source, i.e., by blocking the production of the mutant protein. Strategies and technologies used to screen for candidate HD biomarkers and their potential application are presented. Furthermore, we discuss the opportunities offered by intracerebral cell transplantation and the likely need for these multiple routes into therapies to converge at some point as, ideally, one would wish to stop the disease process and, at the same time, possibly replace the damaged neurons.

Mitochondria: the calcium connection

Calcium handling by mitochondria is a key feature in cell life. It is involved in energy production for cell activity, in buffering and shaping cytosolic calcium rises and also in determining cell fate by triggering or preventing apoptosis. Both mitochondria and the mechanisms involved in the control of calcium homeostasis have been extensively studied, but they still provide researchers with long-standing or even new challenges. Technical improvements in the tools employed for the investigation of calcium dynamics have been-and are still-opening new perspectives in this field, and more prominently for mitochondria. In this review we present a state-of-the-art toolkit for calcium measurements, with major emphasis on the advantages of genetically encoded indicators. These indicators can be efficiently and selectively targeted to specific cellular sub-compartments, allowing previously unavailable high-definition calcium dynamic studies. We also summarize the main features of cellular and, in more detail, mitochondrial calcium handling, especially focusing on the latest breakthroughs in the field, such as the recent direct characterization of the calcium microdomains that occur on the mitochondrial surface upon cellular stimulation. Additionally, we provide a major example of the key role played by calcium in patho-physiology by briefly describing the extensively reported-albeit highly controversial-alterations of calcium homeostasis in Alzheimer's disease, casting lights on the possible alterations in mitochondrial calcium handling in this pathology.

Genetically encoded probes for measurement of intracellular calcium

Small, fluorescent, calcium-sensing molecules have been enormously useful in mapping intracellular calcium signals in time and space, as chapters in this volume attest. Despite their widespread adoption and utility, they suffer some disadvantages. Genetically encoded calcium sensors that can be expressed inside cells by transfection or transgenesis are desirable. The last 10 years have been marked by a rapid evolution in the laboratory of genetically encoded calcium sensors both figuratively and literally, resulting in 11 distinct configurations of fluorescent proteins and their attendant calcium sensor modules. Here, the design logic and performance of this abundant collection of sensors and their in vitro and in vivo use and performance are described. Genetically encoded calcium sensors have proved valuable in the measurement of calcium concentration in cellular organelles, for the most part in single cells in vitro. Their success as quantitative calcium sensors in tissues in vitro and in vivo is qualified, but they have proved valuable in imaging the pattern of calcium signals within tissues in whole animals. Some branches of the calcium sensor evolutionary tree continue to evolve rapidly and the steady progress in optimizing sensor parameters leads to the certain hope that these drawbacks will eventually be overcome by further genetic engineering.