The role of calcium in the toxicity of the myocardium

Riluzole treatment modulates KCC2 and EAAT-2 receptor expression and Ca2+ accumulation following ventral root avulsion injury

Avulsion injury results in motoneuron death due to the increased excitotoxicity developing in the affected spinal segments. This study focused on possible short and long term molecular and receptor expression alterations which are thought to be linked to the excitotoxic events in the ventral horn with or without the anti-excitotoxic riluzole treatment. In our experimental model the left lumbar 4 and 5 (L4, 5) ventral roots of the spinal cord were avulsed. Treated animals received riluzole for 2 weeks. Riluzole is a compound that acts to block voltage-activated Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ channels. In control animals the L4, 5 ventral roots were avulsed without riluzole treatment. Expression of astrocytic EAAT-2 and that of KCC2 in motoneurons on the affected side of the L4 spinal segment were detected after the injury by confocal and dSTORM imaging, intracellular Ca²⁺ levels in motoneurons were quantified by electron microscopy. The KCC2 labeling in the lateral and ventrolateral parts of the L4 ventral horn was weaker compared with the medial part of L4 ventral horn in both groups. Riluzole treatment dramatically enhanced motoneuron survival but was not able to prevent the down-regulation of KCC2 expression in injured motoneurons. In contrast, riluzole successfully obviated the increase of intracellular calcium level and the decrease of EAAT-2 expression in astrocytes compared with untreated injured animals. We conclude that KCC2 may not be an essential component for survival of injured motoneurons and riluzole is able to modulate the intracellular level of calcium and expression of EAAT-2.

Passive Transfer of Sera from ALS Patients with Identified Mutations Evokes an Increased Synaptic Vesicle Number and Elevation of Calcium Levels in Motor Axon Terminals, Similar to Sera from Sporadic Patients

Previously, we demonstrated increased calcium levels and synaptic vesicle densities in the motor axon terminals (MATs) of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Such alterations could be conferred to mice with an intraperitoneal injection of sera from these patients or with purified immunoglobulin G. Later, we confirmed the presence of similar alterations in the superoxide dismutase 1 G93A transgenic mouse strain model of familial ALS. These consistent observations suggested that calcium plays a central role in the pathomechanism of ALS. This may be further reinforced by completing a similar analytical study of the MATs of ALS patients with identified mutations. However, due to the low yield of muscle biopsy samples containing MATs, and the low incidence of ALS patients with the identified mutations, these examinations are not technically feasible. Alternatively, a passive transfer of sera from ALS patients with known mutations was used, and the MATs of the inoculated mice were tested for alterations in their calcium homeostasis and synaptic activity. Patients with 11 different ALS-related mutations participated in the study. Intraperitoneal injection of sera from these patients on two consecutive days resulted in elevated intracellular calcium levels and increased vesicle densities in the MATs of mice, which is comparable to the effect of the passive transfer from sporadic patients. Our results support the idea that the pathomechanism underlying the identical manifestation of the disease with or without identified mutations is based on a common final pathway, in which increasing calcium levels play a central role.

Increased calcium deposits and decreased Ca2+-ATPase in right ventricular myocardium of ascitic broiler chickens

Right ventricular hypertrophy and failure is an important step in the development of ascites syndrome (AS) in broiler chickens. Cytoplasmic calcium concentration is a major regulator of cardiac contractile function and various physiological processes in cardiac muscle cells. The purpose of this study was to measure the right ventricular pressure and investigate the precise ultrastructural location of Ca(2+) and Ca(2+)-ATPase in the right ventricular myocardium of chickens with AS induced by low ambient temperature. The results showed that the right ventricular diastolic pressure of ascitic broilers was significantly higher than that of control broilers (P < 0.01), and the maximum change ratio of right intraventricular pressure (RV +/- dp/dt(max)) of ascitic broilers was significantly lower than that of the controls (P < 0.01). Extensively increased calcium deposits were observed in the right ventricular myocardium of ascitic broilers, whereas in the age-matched control broilers, calcium deposits were much less. The Ca(2+)-ATPase reactive products were obviously found on the sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial membrane of the control right ventricular myocardium, but rarely observed in the ascitic broilers. The data suggest that in ascitic broilers there is the right ventricular diastolic dysfunction, in which the overload of intracellular calcium and the decreased Ca(2+)-ATPase activity might be the important factors.

Microwave fixation and localization of calcium in synaptic vesicles

The distribution of Ca2+ ions is demonstrated in the synaptic terminals by means of a 2-step chemical precipitation of Ca2+ ions in nervous tissue. K-oxalate/K-antimonate chemical replacement with simultaneous computerized microwave irradiation is used. This precipitate in cell structures was investigated by computerized electron probe X-ray micro-analysis. The calculated values (from the theoretical, standards and sections), elemental binding ratios and elemental molecular weight ratios were compared. Each calculated value coincided with the theoretical value. This method can reliably detect Ca2+ ions at the micromolar level. Ca2+ ions were distributed in the synaptic vesicles and surrounding membranes. Further progress is expected in freeze-substitution and in the application and propagation of the EELS-Imaging system in calcium determinations.

Inhibition of the increase of intrahepatic Ca2+ by diltiazem in rats with liver ischemia

The effects of a continuous infusion of a calcium entry blocker, 1, 5-benzothiazepine derivative (diltiazem), on ischemic liver cell damage were studied using quantitative 45Ca-autoradiographic and liquid scintillation techniques. The drug was administered to male Wistar rats as a continuous infusion for 3 h, beginning 30 min before ischemia. Autoradiographic studies showed that 45Ca accumulated in the liver lobuli after 1 h of liver ischemia and 3 h of reperfusion, but the level of 45Ca accumulation was significantly lower in drug-treated rats than in untreated animals. In addition, liquid scintillation studies showed significant differences in the intrahepatic 45Ca contents. These results suggest that diltiazem may inhibit the rise of intracellular Ca2+ due to the flow of extracellular Ca2+ into the cytosol, and may protect the ischemic liver from damage.

Regulation of the action potential configuration by taurine in guinea-pig ventricular muscles

1. Effects of taurine on the action potentials in guinea-pig ventricular muscle were examined at different extracellular Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca]o). Experiments were exerted by conventional microelectrode technique at 36 degrees C. 2. At normal Tyrode solution ([Ca]o = 1.8 mM), taurine (10 and 20 mM) had little or no effect on the 50%, 75% and 90% repolarizations of action potential duration (APD). 3. When [Ca]o was 3.6-10.8 mM [Ca]o, the APD shortening was produced [Ca]o-dependently, which was potentiated by addition of taurine. 4. To the contrary, at low [Ca]o (0.9 mM), the APD was prolonged. Taurine (10 and 20 mM) potentiated to prolong the APD. 5. The amplitude of action potential was depressed by taurine. The resting potential was unaffected. The responses to taurine were almost reversible. 6. Under the calcium overload condition ([Ca]o = 10.8 mM) in which a delayed afterdepolarization and spontaneous action potentials occurred, taurine (10 mM) abolished them completely. 7. These results indicate that taurine causes a dual action on the APD dependent on [Ca]o, and simultaneously reduces the cellular Ca2+ level in calcium overloading muscles.

Ischemic liver cell damage and calcium accumulation in rats

Regions of calcium accumulation were studied by 45Ca-autoradiography and microdensitometry during liver ischemia and reperfusion in rats. In autoradiographic studies 45Ca accumulated in all zones of the liver lobuli after 1-2 h of liver ischemia and 1, 3 and 6 h of reperfusion, but did not accumulate in non-ischemic liver lobes. Significant 45Ca accumulation occurred only with reperfusion after 1 or 2 h of liver ischemia. In the presence of reperfusion, 45Ca accumulation correlated with the length of ischemia. In histopathologic studies, liver necrosis was absent in lobuli after 1-h reperfusion. Some liver necrosis was observed in the group reperfused for 3 h and widespread liver necrosis appeared after 6-h reperfusion. Regions of 45Ca accumulation coincided with sites of microscopic liver cell damage and necrosis. These results suggested that calcium accumulation might be responsible for the liver cell damage induced by ischemia with reperfusion, that the intensity of calcium accumulation in 45Ca-autoradiograms indicates the degree of ischemia damage, and that the primary event leading to hepatocellular necrosis might be calcium accumulation and subsequent liver cell death.

Ultrastructural demonstration of mitochondrial calcium overload in myocardial cells from broiler chickens with ascites and induced hypoxia

Two groups of young broiler chickens, namely, naturally occurring field cases of ascites and those with an induced hypoxia, were used in an ultrastructural study to examine the localisation and distribution of intracellular Ca2+ in cardiomyocytes. Age-matched healthy flockmates were used to control each group. Deposits of Ca2+ were located extensively in the mitochondria, sarcoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus and sometimes in the myocyte and endothelial cell nuclei of both groups of birds. The results suggest that the cells from the hearts of the ascitic broilers may have been exposed to hypoxia since a large proportion of control material showed no Ca2+ activity in either mitochondria or nuclei. The presence of a Ca2+ overload in the mitochondria of cardiomyocytes from ascitic birds reared at low altitude or sea level suggests that these broilers were suffering from the deleterious effects of chronic hypoxia due to poor or reduced oxygen use.

Treatment with conotoxin, an 'N-type' calcium channel blocker, in neuronal hypoxic-ischemic injury

Therapeutic efficacy of calcium channel blockers in stroke remains controversial, but previously used agents bind almost exclusively to L-type calcium channels. The newly-discovered N-type calcium channel is specific to neurons, and therapy involving blockade of this site has not been previously attempted. We assessed the neuroprotective effect of omega-conotoxin GVIA (CgTx), a blocker of N-type calcium channels, using both in vitro hypoxic injury to rat cortical neurons and an in vivo model of reversible spinal cord ischemia in the rabbit. In cell cultures, CgTx inhibited hypoxia-induced 45Ca accumulation and neuronal injury minimally, compared to the NMDA antagonist ketamine. In vivo, the duration of spinal cord ischemia which produced permanent paraplegia in 50% of control animals (ET50) was 24.0 +/- 2.6 min. Animals treated 2 h prior to ischemia with 0.5 nmol CgTx in the subarachnoid space had an ET50 of 26.9 +/- 1.8 min (P = 0.36). Animals treated 24 h prior to ischemia (all had persistent systemic tremor) had a ET50 of 28.9 +/- 1.8 min (P = 0.13). We conclude that pharmacologic modulation of the N-type calcium channel does not provide a significant protective effect against neuronal hypoxic-ischemic injury.

Regional calcium accumulation and kainic acid (KA)-induced limbic seizure status in rats

The sites of calcium accumulation were studied by 45Ca autoradiography during kainic acid (KA)-induced limbic seizure in rats. Two hours after KA injection into unilateral amygdala, calcium accumulated in CA3 of the hippocampus, lateral septal nucleus and thalamic reticular nucleus on KA-injected side. Those sites coincided with the sites where neuronal cell damage appeared 4 h after KA injection. These results suggested that regional calcium accumulation might be responsible for neuronal cell loss induced by seizures.

Basis for myocardial mechanical defects associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes

Hearts isolated from 12-mo non-insulin-dependent diabetic rats exhibited reduced rates of contractility and relaxation. Associated with the abnormality in contractility was a redistribution in myosin isozyme content to the least active V3 form. Defects in myocardial relaxation also occurred concomitantly with impaired handling of calcium. Total tissue calcium content rose 35% in the diabetic hearts. At the same time, the activity of the pump responsible for maintaining normal cytoplasmic calcium levels was reduced. At a free calcium concentration of 2.0 microM, the rates of sarcoplasmic reticular calcium uptake and adenosinetriphosphatase activity of the diabetic hearts were decreased approximately 30%. Diastolic ventricular stiffness increased dramatically. The net result of these abnormalities in calcium metabolism is a significant impairment in mechanical performance of the diabetic heart.

Calcium accumulation and neuronal damage in the rat hippocampus following cerebral ischemia

The present study was undertaken to correlate calcium accumulation with the development of neuronal necrosis following transient ischemia. After 10 min of forebrain ischemia in the rat--a period that leads to reproducible damage of CA1 pyramidal cells--determination of calcium concentration and evaluation of morphological signs of cell body necrosis in the dorsal hippocampus were performed at various recirculation times. Tissue calcium concentration was not different from control at the end of ischemic period and did not change after 3, 6, 12, or 24 h of recirculation. However, after 48 h, calcium content increased significantly, with a further increase being seen after 72 h. At early recovery periods, only scattered necrotic neurons were observed. After 48 h, only 2 of 12 hemispheres showed more than 25 necrotic cells per section. More conspicuous neuronal death was observed after 72 h. The results thus demonstrate that net accumulation of calcium in regio superior of the hippocampus precedes marked necrosis of CA1 pyramidal cells. The results suggest that one primary event in the delayed death of these cells is membrane dysfunction with increased calcium cycling.

Nephron segment and calcium as determinants of anoxic cell death in renal cultures

Proximal tubules of the S1, S2 and S3 segments, medullary thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop (MAL) and cortical collecting tubules (CCT) were individually microdissected from rabbit kidneys and cultured for seven days in hormonally defined media. Anoxia was induced by incubation of cultures in normal medium for 45 min at 25 degrees C in an atmosphere of nitrogen (N2), and cell death was measured by nigrosine dye uptake. Immediately after anoxia, cell death was highest in S3 and MAL segments greater than S2 greater than S1 = CCT. The combined effects of anoxia and substrate (glucose, vitamins, amino acid) omission determined after incubation of cultures in phosphate buffered saline containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ (PBS) for 45 min in N2 also showed differential killing dependent on segment of origin: MAL greater than S3 greater than S2 CCT greater than S1. The effects of in vitro "reflow" were tested by returning cells to their normal oxygenated culture media at 37 degrees C. After the 45 min of anoxia and four to six hr of reflow in normal calcium-containing media, all cells from each segment were dead. Reflow in media lacking calcium for two hr immediately after anoxia then followed by return to normal calcium-containing media was associated with the survival of a significant percentage of cells for 48 hr: S1 (35.3 +/- 2.0%), S2 (30.0 +/- 2.0%), S3 (46.2 +/- 3.0%), MAL (38.7 +/- 3.0%), CCT (28.2 +/- 2.0%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chlorpromazine-induced cardiomyopathy in rats

We studied the chronic effects of chlorpromazine (CPZ) on the myocardium of rats using light and electron microscopy. Wistar strain rats were divided into two groups and given either normal saline or CPZ intraperitoneally at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight/day for 30 consecutive days. Myocardial degeneration, atrophic muscle fiber, and myocardial fibrosis were observed by light microscopy in all CPZ-treated rats. Ultrastructural alterations of the myocardium were also found in all CPZ-treated rats. They consisted of contracted myofibers, mitochondriosis, degenerated mitochondria, dilated sarcoplasmic reticulum, and increased collagen fibers. However, no abnormal histologic or ultrastructural changes were observed in the normal saline-treated rats. We therefore conclude that a chronic administration of a sedative dose of CPZ causes myocardial damage in rats.

Effect of the calcium entry blocker, flunarizine, on ruthenium red uptake by endothelial cells following acute electrical stimulation of rabbit carotid arteries

Local transmural electrical stimulation with DC of a carotid artery by means of implanted electrodes causes subendothelial fibromuscular proliferates or atheroma (if the animal receives a cholesterol-containing diet) beneath the anode. The endothelial lining is maintained when weak current is used for stimulation. The model permits studies of permeability of the endothelium in all stages of the plaque development. Ruthenium red as a marker for the glycocalyx is transiently taken up into the cytoplasm of the endothelial cells beneath the anode immediately after a 30 or 60 min lasting stimulation period. When staining the endothelium later than two hours after the end of an acute stimulation period, the ruthenium red staining is again normal. This indicates that the increased permeability to large molecules is reversible. Injection of the calcium entry blocker Flunarizine inhibited the cytoplasmic uptake of ruthenium red, showing that an increased entry of calcium into the endothelial cells may contribute to the disturbance in the permeability of large molecules into the endothelium.

Calcium overload in selectively vulnerable neurons of the hippocampus during and after ischemia: an electron microscopy study in the rat

Light and electron microscopy has been used to study the cytopathological changes in the rat hippocampus directly after a 30-min period of forebrain ischemia and after 30 or 120 min of reperfusion. The fine structural localization of calcium has been demonstrated using the oxalate/pyroantimonate procedure. Cellular changes considered typical of ischemia (swelling of astrocytic processes, distention of mitochondria, condensation of cytoplasm, "ischemic cell change") are most prominent after 30 min of reperfusion. At this time, dense calcium pyroantimonate deposits are evident in swollen mitochondria in pyramidal and hilar neurons. After 120 min of reperfusion, substantial restitution has occurred; most mitochondria appear normal and there are few calcium deposits. However, a small number of selectively vulnerable neurons (hilar and pyramidal neurons) show dense condensation (ischemic cell change) with multiple vacuoles containing calcium deposits. The role of excessive calcium entry and mitochondrial calcium overload during the reperfusion period in determining the death of selectively vulnerable neurons is discussed.

Status epilepticus: the reversibility of calcium loading and acute neuronal pathological changes in the rat hippocampus

Light and electron microscopy (with the combined oxalate-pyroantimonate technique for the electron microscopic visualization of intracellular calcium) were used to compare the hippocampal pathology in rats killed immediately after 1.5-2 h of L-allylglycine-induced seizures with that in rats allowed 15-60 min of a seizure-free "recovery" period before perfusion fixation. Following 1.5 h of seizure activity, cellular pathology included astrocytic swelling and dark cell degeneration of pyramidal and polymorphic neurons. This was accompanied by a marked increase in the amount of calcium pyroantimonate deposits, particularly in swollen and disrupted mitochondria of CA1 and CA3 basal dendrites and in certain neuronal cell bodies in the CA1 and CA3 regions and the hilus. After a seizure-free period of between 30 and 60 min the hippocampi showed almost complete recovery except for a few remaining dark, shrunken cells. The majority of these were presumed to be interneurons. The ultrastructural changes were consistent with the observations by light microscopy. By 60 min, excess calcium deposits had disappeared except in the dark cells in which intracellular vacuoles retained deposits. We conclude that most of the pathological changes observed after 1.5 h of L-allylglycine induced status epilepticus, including the mitochondrial calcium "overload" are reversible. At 1 h after termination of status epilepticus apparently irreversible pathology (dark cell change, "ischaemic cell change") concerns predominantly the polymorphic neurons.

Localization of calcium in skeletal and cardiac muscle

The requirement of calcium (Ca2+) in the excitation-contraction coupling of both skeletal and cardiac muscle is well established. However, the exact location of the intracellular storage sites of Ca2+ is not firmly established. We report here on the ultrastructural ultrastructural distribution of Ca2+ in white and red skeletal muscle and in cardiac muscle of the rat using combined phosphate-pyroantimonate (PPA) and oxalate-pyroantimonate (OPA) procedures. The methods are based on (a) stabilization and/or trapping of Ca2+ during the primary fixation step in glutaraldehyde by potassium phosphate or oxalate; (b) subsequent wash-out of all non-trapped cations such as Na+ and Mg2+ in potassium phosphate or oxalate; (c) conversion of the complexed or trapped Ca2+ into an electron-dense calcium pyroantimonate salt in 100 micron-thick tissue sections; and (d) wash-out of the excess potassium pyroantimonate at alkaline pH. With the OPA procedure, mitochondria of all muscle types showed little precipitate. The junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum was strongly reactive in relaxed white skeletal muscle, negative in contracted white fibres and negative in red skeletal and cardiac muscle, independent of the state of relaxation-contraction. Other organelles were essentially free of deposits. With the PPA method, the precipitate was almost exclusively confined to the sarcolemma and its T-tubular invaginations in cardiac and slow skeletal muscle, and was absent in fast skeletal muscle. Apart from occasional deposits in mitochondria, all other organelles were free of muscle. Apart from occasional deposits in mitochondria, all other organelles were free of precipitate. The sarcolemma-associated deposits were clearly confined to the inner leaflet of the lipid bilayer. The amount of precipitate varied within the contraction cycle, relaxed cells possessing the highest density. Exposure of the tissue to La3+ resulted in the complete absence of sarcolemma-bound precipitate suggesting that the Ca2+ is exchangeable. Furthermore, these cytological data suggest a basic difference in Ca2+ storage between white skeletal muscle on the one hand, and red skeletal and cardiac muscle on the other.

Intracellular calcium accumulation in rat hippocampus during seizures induced by bicuculline or L-allylglycine

Using electron microscopy and the combined oxalate-pyroantimonate technique, free calcium ions were located in the hippocampus of control rats and of those that had undergone status epilepticus induced by L-allylglycine or bicuculline. The validity of this technique was established by the use of the calcium chelating agent ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether), N,N'-tetra-acetic acid and by an X-ray microanalytical technique. In control material, calcium deposits were visible in synaptic vesicles and multivesicular bodies, in parts of the Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, lysosomes, and in glial and neuronal nuclei. Following 2 h of status epilepticus, cellular pathology included astrocytic swelling, and dark cell degeneration of pyramidal neurons. This was accompanied by a marked increase in the amount of calcium pyroantimonate deposits, particularly in swollen and disrupted mitochondria of CA1 and CA3 basal dendrites, and in selected neuronal cell bodies in the CA1 and CA3-4 regions. We propose that enhanced calcium entry into neurons and consequent overloading of the capacity of mitochondria for calcium sequestration is part of the cytotoxic mechanism leading to selective neuronal loss in the hippocampus in status epilepticus.

The role of calcium in cellular dysfunction

In order to study the effects of substances with selective Ca2+ entry blocking properties which enhance the tolerance to ischemia by preventing a toxic calcium overload, attempts are made to localize calcium ultrastructurally. Under normoxic conditions, a mobile pool of Ca2+ is localized in synaptic vesicles and in mitochondria of brain cells; in mitochondria of cardiac, skeletal and vascular smooth muscle; and in the junctional SR of fast skeletal muscle. A plasmalemmabound pool of Ca2+ is present in cardiac and slow skeletal muscle. Ischemia or hypoxia induce marked shifts in calcium of both the mobile and the plasmalemma-bound pools. Cardiac and skeletal muscle mitochondria scavenge huge amounts of calcium, especially during the reperfusion period following prolonged circulatory arrest. The membrane-bound Ca2+ is lost under these conditions. In the hypoxic brain, the amount of intracellular calcium clearly parallels the degree of damage. Observations made on peripheral and brain blood vessels show that high amounts of precipitated Ca2+ cover the myofilaments upon induction of spasm. The antispasmodic effect of the selective Ca2+-entry blockers flunarizine and lidoflazine is morphologically characterized by the absence of Ca2+ over the myofilaments in muscle treated as such whereas the extracellular Ca2+ remained the same. This observation indicates that the entry of Ca2+ is blocked at the level of the plasma membrane. In the heart and brain these drugs preserve the structural integrity of the plasmalemma-surface coat complex and thereby protect the cells against the devastating consequences of cellular calcium overload.