Paracellular pathway in the shell epithelium ofAnodonta cygnea

Calcium transfer across the outer mantle epithelium in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas

Calcium transport is essential for bivalves to be able to build and maintain their shells. Ionized calcium (Ca2+) is taken up from the environment and eventually transported through the outer mantle epithelium (OME) to the shell growth area. However, the mechanisms behind this process are poorly understood. The objective of the present study was to characterize the Ca2+ transfer performed by the OME of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, as well as to develop an Ussing chamber technique for the functional assessment of transport activities in epithelia of marine bivalves. Kinetic studies revealed that the Ca2+ transfer across the OME consists of one saturable and one linear component, of which the saturable component fits best to Michaelis-Menten kinetics and is characterized by a Km of 6.2 mM and a Vmax of 3.3 nM min-1 The transcellular transfer of Ca2+ accounts for approximately 60% of the total Ca2+ transfer across the OME of C. gigas at environmental Ca2+ concentrations. The use of the pharmacological inhibitors: verapamil, ouabain and caloxin 1a1 revealed that voltage-gated Ca2+-channels, plasma-membrane Ca2+-ATPase and Na+/Ca2+-exchanger all participate in the transcellular Ca2+ transfer across the OME and a model for this Ca2+ transfer is presented and discussed.

Calcein labelling and electrophysiology: insights on coral tissue permeability and calcification

The mechanisms behind the transfer of molecules from the surrounding sea water to the site of coral calcification are not well understood, but are critical for understanding how coral reefs are formed. We conducted experiments with the fluorescent dye calcein, which binds to calcium and is incorporated into growing calcium carbonate crystals, to determine the permeability properties of coral cells and tissues to this molecule, and to determine how it is incorporated into the coral skeleton. We also compared rates of calcein incorporation with rates of calcification measured by the alkalinity anomaly technique. Finally, by an electrophysiological approach, we investigated the electrical resistance of coral tissues in order to better understand the role of tissues in ionic permeability. Our results show that (i) calcein passes through coral tissues by a paracellular pathway, (ii) intercellular junctions control and restrict the diffusion of molecules, (iii) intercellular junctions should have pores of a size higher than 13 Å and lower than 20 nm, and (iv) the resistance of the tissues owing to paracellular junctions has a value of 477 ± 21 Ohm cm(2). We discuss the implication of our results for the transport of calcium involved in the calcification process.

Studies on a PMCA-like protein in the outer mantle epithelium of Anodonta cygnea: insights on calcium transcellular dynamics

Early studies on the outer mantle epithelium (OME) cells of the freshwater bivalve Anodonta cygnea (Linnaeus, 1758) revealed high ionic calcium concentrations by electrophysiological methods and subsequently a high tendency to reach an intracellular toxic condition. This toxicity could be neutralized by specific mechanisms in the cytosol of OME cells of A. cygnea. The present immunocytochemistry studies of OME cells by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) clearly showed a positive reaction of an antibody directed against the human plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase 1 (PMCA-1) in the cytoplasm of OME cells. Also, western blot analysis of different fractions of OME cells with anti human PMCA-1 and C28R2 antibodies confirmed the presence of a PMCA-like protein with an unusual topographical localization and a molecular weight of only 70-80 kDa. These results lead us to speculate that this PMCA-like protein is distributed either in the plasma membrane or in the entire cytosol, where it eventually regulates intracellular calcium levels. Interestingly, the antibody reactions showed seasonal variations, being highest in OME samples prepared during summer when A. cygnea live under natural acidosis and absent in samples taken in winter conditions, which is in accordance with the seasonal variation of shell calcification rates. During winter, PMCA-1 antibody reaction was also detected in OME cells of animals kept only under experimentally induced acidosis conditions. Therefore, we assume that a functional role for this PMCA-like protein in the intracellular calcium regulation of OME cells during the mineralization of the shells of A. cygnea can be speculated.

In vivo monitoring of the potassium channel KcsA in Streptomyces lividans hyphae using immuno-electron microscopy and energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy

The previous discovery of theStreptomyces lividans kcsAgene and its overexpression followed by the functional reconstitution of the purified gene product has resulted in new strategies to explore this channel proteinin vitro. KcsA has evolved as a general model to investigate the structure/function relationship of ion channel proteins. Using specific antibodies raised against a domain of KcsA lacking membrane-spanning regions, KcsA has now been localized within numerous separated clusters between the outer face of the cytoplasm and the cell envelope in substrate hyphae of theS. lividanswild-type strain but not in a designed chromosomal disruption mutant ΔK, lacking a functionalkcsAgene. Previous findings had revealed that caesium ions led to a block of KcsA channel activity withinS. lividansprotoplasts fused to giant vesicles. As caesium can be scored by electron energy loss spectroscopy better than potassium, this technique was applied to hyphae that had been briefly exposed to caesium instead of potassium ions. Caesium was found preferentially at the cell envelope. Compared to the ΔK mutant, the relative level of caesium was ≈30 % enhanced in the wild-type. This is attributed to the presence of KcsA channels. Additional visualization by electron spectroscopic imaging supported this conclusion. The data presented are believed to represent the first demonstration ofin vivomonitoring of KcsA in its original host.

The paracellular pathway in the lepidopteran larval midgut: modulation by intracellular mediators

The features of the paracellular pathway, an important route for the transfer of ions and molecules in epithelia, are in insects still poorly investigated and it has not yet been elucidated how the septate junction (SJ) acts as a transepithelial barrier. In this study, some properties of the paracellular pathway of Bombyx mori larval midgut, isolated in Ussing chambers, were determined and the modulation of SJ permeability by intracellular events disclosed. Diffusion potentials evoked by transepithelial gradients of different salts indicated that the junction bore weak negative charges and that the paracellular pathway was selective with respect to ion charge and size. In standard conditions, the transepithelial resistance was 28.2+/-2.1 Omega cm(2), a value indicating that the midgut is a low resistance epithelium. The modulation of midgut SJ by typical enhancers of mammalian tight junction permeability known to act on the cytoskeleton was studied by measuring the shunt resistance and the lumen-to-haemolymph flux of sucrose. An increase of the intracellular level of cAMP and Ca(2+) caused a significant decrease of the shunt resistance and an increase of SJ permeability. The attenuation of Ca(2+) effect in the presence of the calcium channel blocker nifedipine indicated that the influx of external Ca(2+) into the cytoplasm was important for the opening of the SJ, as well as the release of Ca(2+) from the intracellular stores.