Homer modulates NFAT-dependent signaling during muscle differentiation

Basiliolides, a Class of Tetracyclic C19 Dilactones fromThapsia garganica, Release Ca2+from the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Regulate the Activity of the Transcription Factors Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells, Nuclear Factor-κB, and Activator Protein 1 in T Lymphocytes

Calcium concentration within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays an essential role in cell physiology. We have investigated the effects of basiliolides, a novel class of C19 dilactones isolated from Thapsia garganica, on Ca(2+) mobilization in T cells. Basiliolide A1 induced a rapid mobilization of intracellular Ca(2+) in the leukemia T-cell line Jurkat. First, a rapid calcium peak was observed and inhibited by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid-acetoxymethyl ester. This initial calcium mobilization was followed by a sustained elevation, mediated by the entry of extracellular calcium through store-operated calcium release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels and sensitive to inhibition by EGTA, and by the CRAC channel inhibitor N-{4-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]phenyl}-4-methyl-1,2,3-thiadiazole-5-carboxamide (BTP-2). Basiliolide A1 mobilized Ca(2+) from ER stores, but in contrast to thapsigargin, it did not induce apoptosis. Basiliolide A1 induced nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 dephosphorylation and activation that was inhibited by BTP-2 and cyclosporine A. In addition, we found that basiliolide A1 alone did not mediate IkappaBalpha degradation or RelA phosphorylation (ser536), but it synergized with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate to induce a complete degradation of the nuclear factor-kappaB inhibitory protein and to activate the c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase. Moreover, basiliolide A1 regulated both interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene expression at the transcriptional level. In basiliolide B, oxidation of one of the two geminal methyls to a carboxymethyl group retained most of the activity of basiliolide A1. In contrast, basiliolide C, where the 15-carbon is oxidized to an acetoxymethine, was much less active. These findings qualify these compounds as new probes to investigate intracellular calcium homeostasis.

The calcineurin pathway links hyperpolarization (Kir2.1)-induced Ca2+ signals to human myoblast differentiation and fusion

In human myoblasts triggered to differentiate, a hyperpolarization, resulting from K+ channel (Kir2.1) activation, allows the generation of an intracellular Ca2+ signal. This signal induces an increase in expression/activity of two key transcription factors of the differentiation process, myogenin and MEF2. Blocking hyperpolarization inhibits myoblast differentiation. The link between hyperpolarization-induced Ca2+ signals and the four main regulatory pathways involved in myoblast differentiation was the object of this study. Of the calcineurin, p38-MAPK, PI3K and CaMK pathways, only the calcineurin pathway was inhibited when Kir2.1-linked hyperpolarization was blocked. The CaMK pathway, although Ca2+ dependent, is unaffected by changes in membrane potential or block of Kir2.1 channels. Concerning the p38-MAPK and PI3K pathways, their activity is present already in proliferating myoblasts and they are unaffected by hyperpolarization or Kir2.1 channel block. We conclude that the Kir2.1-induced hyperpolarization triggers human myoblast differentiation via the activation of the calcineurin pathway, which, in turn, induces expression/activity of myogenin and MEF2.