Characterization of the submandibular gland microsomal calcium transport system

Manganese-Enhanced MRI of the Brain in Healthy Volunteers

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The manganese ion is used as an intracellular MR imaging contrast agent to study neuronal function in animal models, but it remains unclear whether manganese-enhanced MR imaging can be similarly useful in humans. Using mangafodipir (Teslascan, a chelated manganese-based contrast agent that is FDA-approved), we evaluated the dynamics of manganese enhancement of the brain and glandular structures in the rostral head and neck in healthy volunteers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We administered mangafodipir intravenously at a rate of 1 mL/minute for a total dose of 5 μmol/kg body weight. Nine healthy adult volunteers (6 men/3 women; median age, 43 years) completed baseline history and physical examination, 3T MR imaging, and blood work. MR imaging also followed mangafodipir administration at various time points from immediate to 7 days, with delayed scans at 1-3 months.

RESULTS

The choroid plexus and anterior pituitary gland enhanced within 10 minutes of infusion, with enhancement persisting up to 7 and 30 days, respectively. Exocrine (parotid, submandibular, sublingual, and lacrimal) glands also enhanced avidly as early as 1 hour postadministration, generally resolving by 1 month; 3 volunteers had residual exocrine gland enhancement, which resolved by 2 months in 1 and by 3 months in the other 2. Mangafodipir did not affect clinical parameters, laboratory values, or T1-weighted signal in the basal ganglia.

CONCLUSIONS

Manganese ions released from mangafodipir successfully enable noninvasive visualization of intra- and extracranial structures that lie outside the blood-brain barrier without adverse clinical effects, setting the stage for future neuroradiologic investigation in disease.

Manganese-enhanced MRI of salivary glands and head and neck tumors in living subjects

Manganese-enhanced MRI has previously been used for visualization of brain architecture and functional mapping of neural pathways. The present work investigated the potential of manganese-enhanced MRI for noninvasive imaging of salivary glands in living subjects. Marked shortening of T(1) was observed in salivary glands of naïve mice (n = 5) 24-48 h after systemic administration of MnCl(2) (0.4 mmol/kg, intraperitoneally). Three-dimensional MR microscopy confirmed selective contrast enhancement of salivary gland tissues post-MnCl(2) injection. Ectopic and orthotopic head and neck tumor xenografts also showed an increase in R(1) at 24 h following MnCl(2) injection (0.2 mmol/kg, intraperitoneally). However, tumor enhancement was minimal compared to salivary gland tissue. Salivary gland R(1) values were lower in mice bearing orthotopic head and neck tumors compared to naïve mice. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the usefulness of manganese-enhanced MRI in the visualization of salivary glands and head and neck tumors in vivo.

FCCP releases Ca2+ from a non-mitochondrial store in an identified Helisoma neuron

The proton ionophore FCCP was evaluated for use as a selective blocker of mitochondrial Ca2+ sequestration in identified Helisoma neurons in vitro. By use of the Ca2+ indicator fura-2, it was found that application of FCCP evoked a gradual increase in cell body [Ca2+]i that reached a level approximately 3-fold higher than baseline after 60 min. Moreover, FCCP released Ca2+ even when added after mitochondrial stores of Ca2+ had previously been emptied by an alternate method. From these and other experiments, it is concluded that FCCP, in addition to its recognized effect on mitochondrial Ca2+ sequestration, also releases Ca2+ from a non-mitochondrial store and is, therefore, unsuitable for use in an intact neuron to selectively inactivate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake.

Distribution and calcium-sequestering ability of smooth endoplasmic reticulum in olfactory axon terminals of frog brain

In the present study, the structural and functional role of smooth endoplasmic reticulum was investigated in bullfrog olfactory axon terminals. Structural evidence obtained from this study indicated that this vesiculotubular organelle becomes a more elaborate network of anastomosing tubules near the nerve terminal, located in the olfactory lobe of frog brain. Further structural evidence suggested that membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum pinch off to give rise to some electron-lucent vesicles of approximately 50 nm diameter (microvesicles). Ultrastructural cytochemistry was employed in the present study to demonstrate that olfactory axon terminal smooth endoplasmic reticulum actively sequesters Ca2+. However, a variable amount of electron-dense product (calcium oxalate) was associated with microvesicles located at a distance from the synapse, in contrast to those clustered near the synapse which usually did not contain this reaction product. Results from Ca2+-Mg2+-adenosine-5'-triphosphatase (ATPase) cytochemistry showed a similar pattern of distribution, with smooth endoplasmic reticulum being densely labeled with ATPase reaction product (lead phosphate), but aggregated microvesicles in the nerve terminal generally lacking this electron-dense product. Therefore, it is concluded that olfactory axonal smooth endoplasmic reticulum plays a role in the regulation of intraneuronal Ca2+ levels, and that the Ca2+-sequestering activity of this membranous organelle is dependent upon enzymatic hydrolysis of ATP. Conversely, the microvesicles, particularly those accumulated near the synapse, lack this Ca2+-pumping capacity. Thus, if some of the microvesicles originate from smooth endoplasmic reticulum membranes which are capable of pumping Ca2+, but these vesicles themselves lack this capacity, one can postulate that the Ca2+ pumps are either removed from the newly formed microvesicle membranes or are somehow incapacitated in situ in the membrane.

The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-stimulated ATPase of the rat parotid endoplasmic reticulum

A membrane fraction enriched in endoplasmic reticulum was prepared from rat parotid glands by using sucrose-gradient centrifugation. The fraction showed a 10-fold increase in specific activity of NADPH: cytochrome c reductase activity over that of tissue homogenates and minimal contamination with plasma membranes or mitochondria. The endoplasmic reticulum fraction possessed both Mg2+ -stimulated ATPase as well as Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase [( Ca2+ + Mg2+)-stimulated ATPase]activity. The Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase required 2-5 mM-Mg2+ for optimal activity and was stimulated by submicromolar concentrations of free Ca2+. The Km for free Ca2+ was 0.55 microM and the average Vmax. was 60 nmol/min per mg of protein. The Km for ATP was 0.11 mM. Other nucleotides, such as GTP, CTP or ADP, could not substitute for ATP in supporting the Ca2+-activated nucleotidase activity. Increasing the K+ concentration from 0 to 100 mM caused a 2-fold activation of the Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase. Trifluoperazine, W7 [N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloronaphthalene-1-sulphonamide] and vanadate inhibited the enzyme. The concentration of trifluoperazine and vanadate required for 50% inhibition of the ATPase were 52 microM and 28 microM respectively. Calmodulin, cyclic AMP, cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate had no effect on the ATPase. The properties of the Ca2+, Mg2+ -ATPase were distinct from those of the Mg2+-ATPase, but comparable with those reported for the parotid endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2+-transport system [Kanagasuntheram & Teo (1982) Biochem. J. 208, 789-794]. The results suggest that the Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase is responsible for driving the ATP-dependent Ca2+ accumulation by this membrane.

Characterization and localization of two forms of active Ca2+ transport in vesicles derived from rat submandibular glands

Energy-dependent Ca2+ uptake was characterized in vesicles derived from rat submandibular salivary glands. Ca2+ transport was stimulated by submicromolar levels of Ca2+, reached a plateau at 1-20 microM Ca2+ then again increased as the Ca2+ concentration rose to millimolar levels. Ruthenium red (2.5 microM) was used to resolve this pattern of uptake into two components: ruthenium red-insensitive Ca2+ transport occurs in the presence of the dye, is stimulated by submicromolar Ca2+ concentrations and reaches a maximum steady state at about 1 microM Ca2+. The distribution of ruthenium red-insensitive Ca2+ uptake in membrane subfractions obtained by differential centrifugation is positively (r = 0.717) and significantly (p = 0.001) correlated with the distribution of membrane-bound RNA in the same subfractions. Ca2+ uptake which is abolished by ruthenium red is greatest at millimolar Ca2+ concentrations. Its distribution is positively (r = 0.828) and significantly (p = 0.0001) correlated with the cytochrome-c oxidase activity of the membrane subfractions but is unrelated to the distribution of particulate RNA and is negatively correlated with Na+-K+ ATPase activity. We conclude that vesicles derived from the endoplasmic reticulum of rat submandibular glands actively transport Ca2+ by a ruthenium red-insensitive mechanism which is stimulated at Ca2+ concentrations typical of the cytosol. Membranes derived from mitochondria also sequester Ca2+ but by a mechanism which is inhibited by ruthenium red and which reaches its maximum steady state capacity at relatively high Ca2+ concentrations.

Calcium transport mechanisms in basolateral plasma membrane-enriched vesicles from rat parotid gland

Ca2+ transport was studied by using basolateral plasma membrane vesicles from rat parotid gland prepared by a Percoll gradient centrifugation method. In these membrane vesicles, there were two Ca2+ transport systems; Na+/Ca2+ exchange and ATP-dependent Ca2+ transport. An outwardly directed Na+ gradient increased Ca2+ uptake. Ca2+ efflux from Ca2+-preloaded vesicles was stimulated by an inwardly directed Na+ gradient. However, Na+/Ca2+ exchange did not show any 'uphill' transport of Ca2+ against its own gradient. ATP-dependent Ca2+ transport exhibited 'uphill' transport. An inwardly directed Na+ gradient also decreased Ca2+ accumulation by ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake. The inhibition of Ca2+ accumulation was proportional to the external Na+ level. Na+/Ca2+ exchange was inhibited by monensin, tetracaine and chlorpromazine, whereas ATP-dependent Ca2+ transport was inhibited by orthovanadate, tetracaine and chlorpromazine. Oligomycin had no effect on either system. These results suggest that in the parotid gland cellular free Ca2+ is extruded mainly by an ATP-dependent Ca2+ transport system, and Na+/Ca2+ exchange may modify the efficacy of that system.

ATP-dependent calcium sequestration and calcium/ATP stoichiometry in isolated microsomes from guinea pig parotid glands

ATP-dependent calcium uptake was studied in isolated guinea pig parotid gland microsomes. The apparent Km for free Ca2+ was 0.41, microM, the apparent Km for ATP X Mg2- 0.23 mM. The pH optimum was 6.8-7.0. Subfractionation of the microsomes revealed that the highest specific uptake activity resided in a rather dense fraction of the endoplasmic reticulum. The calcium uptake/ATPase stoichiometry was determined in the absence of exogenous magnesium in the submicrosomal fractions. It ranged from 1-2. It is concluded that in vivo the stoichiometry is the same as in sarcoplasmic reticulum, namely 2.