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Crapart CC, Scott ZC, Konno T, Sharma A, Parutto P, Bailey DMD, Westrate LM, Avezov E, Koslover EF. Luminal transport through intact endoplasmic reticulum limits the magnitude of localized Ca 2+ signals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2312172121. [PMID: 38502705 PMCID: PMC10990089 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312172121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) forms an interconnected network of tubules stretching throughout the cell. Understanding how ER functionality relies on its structural organization is crucial for elucidating cellular vulnerability to ER perturbations, which have been implicated in several neuronal pathologies. One of the key functions of the ER is enabling Ca[Formula: see text] signaling by storing large quantities of this ion and releasing it into the cytoplasm in a spatiotemporally controlled manner. Through a combination of physical modeling and live-cell imaging, we demonstrate that alterations in ER shape significantly impact its ability to support efficient local Ca[Formula: see text] releases, due to hindered transport of luminal content within the ER. Our model reveals that rapid Ca[Formula: see text] release necessitates mobile luminal buffer proteins with moderate binding strength, moving through a well-connected network of ER tubules. These findings provide insight into the functional advantages of normal ER architecture, emphasizing its importance as a kinetically efficient intracellular Ca[Formula: see text] delivery system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile C. Crapart
- UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
| | | | - Tasuku Konno
- UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
| | - Aman Sharma
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA92130
| | - Pierre Parutto
- UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
| | - David M. D. Bailey
- UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
| | - Laura M. Westrate
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI49546
| | - Edward Avezov
- UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 0AH, United Kingdom
| | - Elena F. Koslover
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA92130
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Veron G, Maltsev VA, Stern MD, Maltsev AV. Elementary intracellular Ca signals approximated as a transition of release channel system from a metastable state. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 2023; 134:124701. [PMID: 37744735 PMCID: PMC10517864 DOI: 10.1063/5.0151255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Cardiac muscle contraction is initiated by an elementary Ca signal (called Ca spark) which is achieved by collective action of Ca release channels in a cluster. The mechanism of this synchronization remains uncertain. We approached Ca spark activation as an emergent phenomenon of an interactive system of release channels. We constructed a weakly lumped Markov chain that applies an Ising model formalism to such release channel clusters and probable open channel configurations and demonstrated that spark activation is described as a system transition from a metastable to an absorbing state, analogous to the pressure required to overcome surface tension in bubble formation. This yielded quantitative estimates of the spark generation probability as a function of various system parameters. We performed numerical simulations to find spark probabilities as a function of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca concentration, obtaining similar values for spark activation threshold as our analytic model, as well as those reported in experimental studies. Our parametric sensitivity analyses also showed that the spark activation threshold decreased as Ca sensitivity of RyR activation and RyR cluster size increased.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Veron
- Cellular Biophysics Section, Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA
| | - Victor A. Maltsev
- Cellular Biophysics Section, Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA
| | - Michael D. Stern
- Cellular Biophysics Section, Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA
| | - Anna V. Maltsev
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E14NS, United Kingdom
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3
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Intracellular Injection of Brain Extracts from Alzheimer's Disease Patients Triggers Unregulated Ca 2+ Release from Intracellular Stores That Hinders Cellular Bioenergetics. Cells 2022; 11:cells11223630. [PMID: 36429057 PMCID: PMC9688564 DOI: 10.3390/cells11223630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Strong evidence indicates that amyloid beta (Aβ) inflicts its toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) by promoting uncontrolled elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ in neurons. We have previously shown that synthetic Aβ42 oligomers stimulate abnormal intracellular Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum stores, suggesting that a similar mechanism of Ca2+ toxicity may be common to the endogenous Aβs oligomers. Here, we use human postmortem brain extracts from AD-affected patients and test their ability to trigger Ca2+ fluxes when injected intracellularly into Xenopus oocytes. Immunological characterization of the samples revealed the elevated content of soluble Aβ oligomers only in samples from AD patients. Intracellular injection of brain extracts from control patients failed to trigger detectable changes in intracellular Ca2+. Conversely, brain extracts from AD patients triggered Ca2+ events consisting of local and global Ca2+ fluorescent transients. Pre-incubation with either the conformation-specific OC antiserum or caffeine completely suppressed the brain extract's ability to trigger cytosolic Ca2+ events. Computational modeling suggests that these Ca2+ fluxes may impair cells bioenergetic by affecting ATP and ROS production. These results support the hypothesis that Aβ oligomers contained in neurons of AD-affected brains may represent the toxic agents responsible for neuronal malfunctioning and death associated with the disruption of Ca2+ homeostasis.
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Shah SI, Ullah G. The Function of Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter at the Whole-Cell and Single Mitochondrion Levels in WT, MICU1 KO, and MICU2 KO Cells. Cells 2020; 9:E1520. [PMID: 32580385 PMCID: PMC7349584 DOI: 10.3390/cells9061520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial Ca2+ ([Ca2+]M) uptake through its Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) is central to many cell functions such as bioenergetics, spatiotemporal organization of Ca2+ signals, and apoptosis. MCU activity is regulated by several intrinsic proteins including MICU1, MICU2, and EMRE. While significant details about the role of MICU1, MICU2, and EMRE in MCU function have emerged recently, a key challenge for the future experiments is to investigate how these regulatory proteins modulate mitochondrial Ca2+ influx through MCU in intact cells under pathophysiological conditions. This is further complicated by the fact that several variables affecting MCU function change dynamically as cell functions. To overcome this void, we develop a data-driven model that closely replicates the behavior of MCU under a wide range of cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]C), [Ca2+]M, and mitochondrial membrane potential values in WT, MICU1 knockout (KO), and MICU2 KO cells at the single mitochondrion and whole-cell levels. The model is extended to investigate how MICU1 or MICU2 KO affect mitochondrial function. Moreover, we show how Ca2+ buffering proteins, the separation between mitochondrion and Ca2+-releasing stores, and the duration of opening of Ca2+-releasing channels affect mitochondrial function under different conditions. Finally, we demonstrate an easy extension of the model to single channel function of MCU.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33647, USA;
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5
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Shah SI, Demuro A, Mak DOD, Parker I, Pearson JE, Ullah G. TraceSpecks: A Software for Automated Idealization of Noisy Patch-Clamp and Imaging Data. Biophys J 2019; 115:9-21. [PMID: 29972815 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental records of single molecules or ion channels from fluorescence microscopy and patch-clamp electrophysiology often include high-frequency noise and baseline fluctuations that are not generated by the system under investigation and have to be removed. Moreover, multiple channels or conductance levels can be present at a time in the data that need to be quantified to accurately understand the behavior of the system. Manual procedures for removing these fluctuations and extracting conducting states or multiple channels are laborious, prone to subjective bias, and likely to hinder the processing of often very large data sets. We introduce a maximal likelihood formalism for separating signal from a noisy and drifting background such as fluorescence traces from imaging of elementary Ca2+ release events called puffs arising from clusters of channels, and patch-clamp recordings of ion channels. Parameters such as the number of open channels or conducting states, noise level, and background signal can all be optimized using the expectation-maximization algorithm. We implement our algorithm following the Baum-Welch approach to expectation-maximization in the portable Java language with a user-friendly graphical interface and test the algorithm on both synthetic and experimental data from the patch-clamp electrophysiology of Ca2+ channels and fluorescence microscopy of a cluster of Ca2+ channels and Ca2+ channels with multiple conductance levels. The resulting software is accurate, fast, and provides detailed information usually not available through manual analysis. Options for visual inspection of the raw and processed data with key parameters are provided, in addition to a range of statistics such as the mean open probabilities, mean open times, mean close times, dwell-time distributions for different number of channels open or conductance levels, amplitude distribution of all opening events, and number of transitions between different number of open channels or conducting levels in asci format with a single click.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Don-On Daniel Mak
- Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ian Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - John E Pearson
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
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6
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Mahajan G, Nadkarni S. Intracellular calcium stores mediate metaplasticity at hippocampal dendritic spines. J Physiol 2019; 597:3473-3502. [PMID: 31099020 PMCID: PMC6636706 DOI: 10.1113/jp277726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Key points Calcium (Ca2+) entry mediated by NMDA receptors is considered central to the induction of activity‐dependent synaptic plasticity in hippocampal area CA1; this description does not, however, take into account the potential contribution of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ stores. The ER has a heterogeneous distribution in CA1 dendritic spines, and may introduce localized functional differences in Ca2+ signalling between synapses, as suggested by experiments on metabotropic receptor‐dependent long‐term depression. A physiologically detailed computational model of Ca2+ dynamics at a CA3–CA1 excitatory synapse characterizes the contribution of spine ER via metabotropic signalling during plasticity induction protocols. ER Ca2+ release via IP3 receptors modulates NMDA receptor‐dependent plasticity in a graded manner, to selectively promote synaptic depression with relatively diminished effect on LTP induction; this may temper further strengthening at the stronger synapses which are preferentially associated with ER‐containing spines. Acquisition of spine ER may thus represent a local, biophysically plausible ‘metaplastic switch’ at potentiated CA1 synapses, contributing to the plasticity–stability balance in neural circuits.
Abstract Long‐term plasticity mediated by NMDA receptors supports input‐specific, Hebbian forms of learning at excitatory CA3–CA1 connections in the hippocampus. There exists an additional layer of stabilizing mechanisms that act globally as well as locally over multiple time scales to ensure that plasticity occurs in a constrained manner. Here, we investigated the role of calcium (Ca2+) stores associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the local regulation of plasticity at individual CA1 synapses. Our study was spurred by (1) the curious observation that ER is sparsely distributed in dendritic spines, but over‐represented in larger spines that are likely to have undergone activity‐dependent strengthening, and (2) evidence suggesting that ER motility at synapses can be rapid, and accompany activity‐regulated spine remodelling. We constructed a physiologically realistic computational model of an ER‐bearing CA1 spine, and examined how IP3‐sensitive Ca2+ stores affect spine Ca2+ dynamics during activity patterns mimicking the induction of long‐term potentiation and long‐term depression (LTD). Our results suggest that the presence of ER modulates NMDA receptor‐dependent plasticity in a graded manner that selectively enhances LTD induction. We propose that ER may locally tune Ca2+‐based plasticity, providing a braking mechanism to mitigate runaway strengthening at potentiated synapses. Our study provides a biophysically accurate description of postsynaptic Ca2+ regulation, and suggests that ER in the spine may promote the re‐use of hippocampal synapses with saturated strengths. Calcium (Ca2+) entry mediated by NMDA receptors is considered central to the induction of activity‐dependent synaptic plasticity in hippocampal area CA1; this description does not, however, take into account the potential contribution of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ stores. The ER has a heterogeneous distribution in CA1 dendritic spines, and may introduce localized functional differences in Ca2+ signalling between synapses, as suggested by experiments on metabotropic receptor‐dependent long‐term depression. A physiologically detailed computational model of Ca2+ dynamics at a CA3–CA1 excitatory synapse characterizes the contribution of spine ER via metabotropic signalling during plasticity induction protocols. ER Ca2+ release via IP3 receptors modulates NMDA receptor‐dependent plasticity in a graded manner, to selectively promote synaptic depression with relatively diminished effect on LTP induction; this may temper further strengthening at the stronger synapses which are preferentially associated with ER‐containing spines. Acquisition of spine ER may thus represent a local, biophysically plausible ‘metaplastic switch’ at potentiated CA1 synapses, contributing to the plasticity–stability balance in neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurang Mahajan
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, 411 008, India
| | - Suhita Nadkarni
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, 411 008, India
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7
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Toglia P, Demuro A, Mak DOD, Ullah G. Data-driven modeling of mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. Cell Calcium 2018; 76:23-35. [PMID: 30248575 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Revised: 09/02/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Intracellular accumulation of oligomeric forms of β amyloid (Aβ) are now believed to play a key role in the earliest phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD) as their rise correlates well with the early symptoms of the disease. Extensive evidence points to impaired neuronal Ca2+ homeostasis as a direct consequence of the intracellular Aβ oligomers. However, little is known about the downstream effects of the resulting Ca2+ rise on the many intracellular Ca2+-dependent pathways. Here we use multiscale modeling in conjunction with patch-clamp electrophysiology of single inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R) and fluorescence imaging of whole-cell Ca2+ response, induced by exogenously applied intracellular Aβ42 oligomers to show that Aβ42 inflicts cytotoxicity by impairing mitochondrial function. Driven by patch-clamp experiments, we first model the kinetics of IP3R, which is then extended to build a model for the whole-cell Ca2+ signals. The whole-cell model is then fitted to fluorescence signals to quantify the overall Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum by intracellular Aβ42 oligomers through G-protein-mediated stimulation of IP3 production. The estimated IP3 concentration as a function of intracellular Aβ42 content together with the whole-cell model allows us to show that Aβ42 oligomers impair mitochondrial function through pathological Ca2+ uptake and the resulting reduced mitochondrial inner membrane potential, leading to an overall lower ATP and increased production of reactive oxygen species and H2O2. We further show that mitochondrial function can be restored by the addition of Ca2+ buffer EGTA, in accordance with the observed abrogation of Aβ42 cytotoxicity by EGTA in our live cells experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Toglia
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Don-On Daniel Mak
- Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
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8
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Toglia P, Ullah G, Pearson JE. Analyzing optical imaging of Ca 2+ signals via TIRF microscopy: The limits on resolution due to chemical rates and depth of the channels. Cell Calcium 2017; 67:65-73. [PMID: 29029792 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2017.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
High resolution total internal reflection (TIRF) microscopy (TIRFM) together with detailed computational modeling provides a powerful approach towards the understanding of a wide range of Ca2+ signals mediated by the ubiquitous inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R) channel. Exploiting this fruitful collaboration further requires close agreement between the models and observations. However, elementary Ca2+ release events, puffs, imaged through TIRFM do not show the rapid single-channel openings and closings during and between puffs as are present in simulated puffs using data-driven single channel models. TIRFM also shows a rapid equilibration of 10ms after a channel opens or closes which is not achievable in simulation using standard Ca2+ diffusion coefficients and reaction rates between indicator dye and Ca2+. Furthermore, TIRFM imaging cannot decipher the depth of the channel with respect to the microscope, which will affect the change in fluorescence that the microscope detects, thereby affecting its sensitivity to fast single-channel activity. Using the widely used Ca2+ diffusion coefficients and reaction rates, our simulations show equilibration rates that are eight times slower than TIRFM imaging. We show that to get equilibrium rates consistent with observed values, the diffusion coefficients and reaction rates have to be significantly higher than the values reported in the literature, and predict the channel depth to be 200-250nm. Finally, we show that with the addition of noise, short events due to 1-2ms opening and closing of channels that are observed in computational models can be missed in TIRFM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Toglia
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
| | - John E Pearson
- T-6 Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
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9
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Cao P, Falcke M, Sneyd J. Mapping Interpuff Interval Distribution to the Properties of Inositol Trisphosphate Receptors. Biophys J 2017; 112:2138-2146. [PMID: 28538151 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Tightly clustered inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) control localized Ca2+ liberation from the endoplasmic reticulum to generate repetitive Ca2+ puffs. Distributions of the interpuff interval (IPI), i.e., the waiting time between successive puffs, are found to be well characterized by a probability density function involving only two parameters, λ and ξ, which represent the basal rate of puff generation and the recovery rate from refractoriness, respectively. However, how the two parameters depend on the kinetic parameters of single IP3Rs in a cluster is still unclear. In this article, using a stochastic puff model and a single-channel data-based IP3R model, we establish the dependencies of λ and ξ on two important IP3R model parameters, IP3 concentration ([IP3]) and the recovery rate from Ca2+ inhibition (rlow). By varying [IP3] and rlow in physiologically plausible ranges, we find that the ξ-λ plane is comprised of only two disjoint regions, a biologically impermissible region and a region where each parameter set (ξ, λ) can be caused by using two different combinations of [IP3] and rlow. The two combinations utilize very different mechanisms to maintain the same IPI distribution, and the mechanistic difference provides a way of identifying IP3R kinetic parameters by observing properties of the IPI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengxing Cao
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Martin Falcke
- Mathematical Cell Physiology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - James Sneyd
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
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10
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Maltsev AV, Maltsev VA, Stern MD. Clusters of calcium release channels harness the Ising phase transition to confine their elementary intracellular signals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:7525-7530. [PMID: 28674006 PMCID: PMC5530665 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1701409114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Intracellular Ca signals represent a universal mechanism of cell function. Messages carried by Ca are local, rapid, and powerful enough to be delivered over the thermal noise. A higher signal-to-noise ratio is achieved by a cooperative action of Ca release channels such as IP3 receptors or ryanodine receptors arranged in clusters (release units) containing a few to several hundred release channels. The channels synchronize their openings via Ca-induced Ca release, generating high-amplitude local Ca signals known as puffs in neurons and sparks in muscle cells. Despite the positive feedback nature of the activation, Ca signals are strictly confined in time and space by an unexplained termination mechanism. Here we show that the collective transition of release channels from an open to a closed state is identical to the phase transition associated with the reversal of magnetic field in an Ising ferromagnet. Our simple quantitative criterion closely predicts the Ca store depletion level required for spark termination for each cluster size. We further formulate exact requirements that a cluster of release channels should satisfy in any cell type for our mapping to the Ising model and the associated formula to remain valid. Thus, we describe deterministically the behavior of a system on a coarser scale (release unit) that is random on a finer scale (release channels), bridging the gap between scales. Our results provide exact mapping of a nanoscale biological signaling model to an interacting particle system in statistical physics, making the extensive mathematical apparatus available to quantitative biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna V Maltsev
- Department of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, United Kingdom
| | - Victor A Maltsev
- Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224
| | - Michael D Stern
- Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224
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11
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Rückl M, Rüdiger S. Calcium waves in a grid of clustered channels with synchronous IP 3 binding and unbinding. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2016; 39:108. [PMID: 27848113 DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2016-16108-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2016] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Calcium signals in cells occur at multiple spatial scales and variable temporal duration. However, a physical explanation for transitions between long-lasting global oscillations and localized short-term elevations (puffs) of cytoplasmic Ca2+ is still lacking. Here we introduce a phenomenological, coarse-grained model for the calcium variable, which is represented by ordinary differential equations. Due to its small number of parameters, and its simplicity, this model allows us to numerically study the interplay of multi-scale calcium concentrations with stochastic ion channel gating dynamics even in larger systems. We apply this model to a single cluster of inositol trisphosphate (IP 3) receptor channels and find further evidence for the results presented in earlier work: a single cluster may be capable of producing different calcium release types, where long-lasting events are accompanied by unbinding of IP 3 from the receptor (Rückl et al., PLoS Comput. Biol. 11, e1003965 (2015)). Finally, we show the practicability of the model in a grid of 64 clusters which is computationally intractable with previous high-resolution models. Here long-lasting events can lead to synchronized oscillations and waves, while short events stay localized. The frequency of calcium releases as well as their coherence can thereby be regulated by the amplitude of IP 3 stimulation. Finally the model allows for a new explanation of oscillating [IP 3], which is not based on metabolic production and degradation of IP 3.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Rückl
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - S Rüdiger
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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12
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Ullah G, Ullah A. Mode switching of Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor channel shapes the Spatiotemporal scales of Ca 2+ signals. J Biol Phys 2016; 42:507-524. [PMID: 27154029 PMCID: PMC5059592 DOI: 10.1007/s10867-016-9419-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) receptor (InsP3R) channel is crucial for the generation and modulation of highly specific intracellular Ca2+ signals performing numerous functions in animal cells. However, the single channel behavior during Ca2+ signals of different spatiotemporal scales is not well understood. To elucidate the correlation between the gating dynamics of single InsP3Rs and spatiotemporal Ca2+ patterns, we simulate a cluster of InsP3Rs under varying ligand concentrations and extract comprehensive gating statistics of all channels during events of different sizes and durations. Our results show that channels gating predominantly in the low activity mode with negligible occupancy of intermediate and high modes leads to single channel Ca2+ release event blips. Increasing occupancies of intermediate and high modes results in events with increasing size. When the channel has more than 50% probability of gating in the intermediate and high modes, the cluster generates very large puffs that would most likely result in global Ca2+ signals. The size, duration and frequency of Ca2+ signals all increase linearly with the total probability of channel gating in the intermediate and high modes. To our knowledge, this is the first study that quantitatively relates the modal characteristics of InsP3R to the shaping of different spatiotemporal scales of Ca2+ signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA.
| | - Aman Ullah
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA
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13
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Emergence of ion channel modal gating from independent subunit kinetics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E5288-97. [PMID: 27551100 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1604090113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Many ion channels exhibit a slow stochastic switching between distinct modes of gating activity. This feature of channel behavior has pronounced implications for the dynamics of ionic currents and the signaling pathways that they regulate. A canonical example is the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) channel, whose regulation of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration is essential for numerous cellular processes. However, the underlying biophysical mechanisms that give rise to modal gating in this and most other channels remain unknown. Although ion channels are composed of protein subunits, previous mathematical models of modal gating are coarse grained at the level of whole-channel states, limiting further dialogue between theory and experiment. Here we propose an origin for modal gating, by modeling the kinetics of ligand binding and conformational change in the IP3R at the subunit level. We find good agreement with experimental data over a wide range of ligand concentrations, accounting for equilibrium channel properties, transient responses to changing ligand conditions, and modal gating statistics. We show how this can be understood within a simple analytical framework and confirm our results with stochastic simulations. The model assumes that channel subunits are independent, demonstrating that cooperative binding or concerted conformational changes are not required for modal gating. Moreover, the model embodies a generally applicable principle: If a timescale separation exists in the kinetics of individual subunits, then modal gating can arise as an emergent property of channel behavior.
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14
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Chen Y, Qi H, Li X, Cai M, Chen X, Liu W, Shuai J. Suppressing effect of Ca^{2+} blips on puff amplitudes by inhibiting channels to prevent recovery. Phys Rev E 2016; 94:022411. [PMID: 27627339 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.94.022411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
As local signals, calcium puffs arise from the concerted opening of a few nearby inositol 1,4,5-trisphospate receptor channels to release Ca^{2+} ions from the endoplasmic reticulum. Although Ca^{2+} puffs have been well studied, little is known about the modulation of cytosolic basal Ca^{2+} concentration ([Ca^{2+}]_{Basal}) on puff dynamics. In this paper we consider a puff model to study how the statistical properties of puffs are modulated by [Ca^{2+}]_{Basal}. The puff frequency and lifetime trivially increase with the increasing [Ca^{2+}]_{Basal}, but an unexpected result is that the puff amplitude and the maximum open-channel number of the puff show decreasing relationship with the increasing [Ca^{2+}]_{Basal}. The underlying dynamics is related not only to the increasing puff frequency which gives a shorter recovery time, but also to the increasing frequency of blips with only one channel open. We indicate that Ca^{2+} blips cause the channels to be inhibited and prevent their recovery during interpuff intervals, resulting in the suppressing effect on puff amplitudes. With increasing [Ca^{2+}]_{Basal}, more blips occur to cause more channels to be inhibited, leaving fewer channels available for puff events. This study shows that the blips may play relevant functions in global Ca^{2+} waves through modulating puff dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Chen
- Department of Physics, College of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Hong Qi
- Complex Systems Research Center, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Xiang Li
- Department of Physics, College of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Meichun Cai
- Department of Physics, College of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Xingqiang Chen
- Department of Physics, College of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Wen Liu
- Department of Physics, College of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Jianwei Shuai
- Department of Physics, College of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
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15
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Mak DOD, Cheung KH, Toglia P, Foskett JK, Ullah G. Analyzing and Quantifying the Gain-of-Function Enhancement of IP3 Receptor Gating by Familial Alzheimer's Disease-Causing Mutants in Presenilins. PLoS Comput Biol 2015; 11:e1004529. [PMID: 26439382 PMCID: PMC4595473 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD)-causing mutant presenilins (PS) interact with inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R) Ca2+ release channels resulting in enhanced IP3R channel gating in an amyloid beta (Aβ) production-independent manner. This gain-of-function enhancement of IP3R activity is considered to be the main reason behind the upregulation of intracellular Ca2+ signaling in the presence of optimal and suboptimal stimuli and spontaneous Ca2+ signals observed in cells expressing mutant PS. In this paper, we employed computational modeling of single IP3R channel activity records obtained under optimal Ca2+ and multiple IP3 concentrations to gain deeper insights into the enhancement of IP3R function. We found that in addition to the high occupancy of the high-activity (H) mode and the low occupancy of the low-activity (L) mode, IP3R in FAD-causing mutant PS-expressing cells exhibits significantly longer mean life-time for the H mode and shorter life-time for the L mode, leading to shorter mean close-time and hence high open probability of the channel in comparison to IP3R in cells expressing wild-type PS. The model is then used to extrapolate the behavior of the channel to a wide range of IP3 and Ca2+ concentrations and quantify the sensitivity of IP3R to its two ligands. We show that the gain-of-function enhancement is sensitive to both IP3 and Ca2+ and that very small amount of IP3 is required to stimulate IP3R channels in the presence of FAD-causing mutant PS to the same level of activity as channels in control cells stimulated by significantly higher IP3 concentrations. We further demonstrate with simulations that the relatively longer time spent by IP3R in the H mode leads to the observed higher frequency of local Ca2+ signals, which can account for the more frequent global Ca2+ signals observed, while the enhanced activity of the channel at extremely low ligand concentrations will lead to spontaneous Ca2+ signals in cells expressing FAD-causing mutant PS. Aberrant Ca2+ signaling caused by IP3R gating dysregulation is implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Spinocerebellar ataxias, and endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced brain damage. Thus understanding IP3R dysfunction is important for the etiology of these diseases. It was previously shown that FAD-causing mutant PS interacts with the IP3R, leading to its gain-of-function enhancement in optimal Ca2+ and sub-saturating IP3 concentrations. Here, we use data-driven modeling to provide deeper insights into the upregulation of IP3R gating in a wide range of ligand concentrations and quantify the sensitivity of the channel to its ligands in the presence of mutant PS. Our simulations demonstrate that these changes can alter the statistics of local Ca2+ events and we speculate that they lead to Ca2+ signaling dysregulations at the whole cell level observed in FAD cells. These models will provide the foundation for future data-driven computational framework for local and global Ca2+ signals that will be used to judiciously isolate the primary pathways causing Ca2+ dysregulation in FAD from those that are downstream, and to study the effects of upregulation of IP3R activity on cell function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Don-On Daniel Mak
- Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - King-Ho Cheung
- Department of Physiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Patrick Toglia
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - J. Kevin Foskett
- Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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16
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Ullah G, Demuro A, Parker I, Pearson JE. Analyzing and Modeling the Kinetics of Amyloid Beta Pores Associated with Alzheimer's Disease Pathology. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137357. [PMID: 26348728 PMCID: PMC4562663 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2015] [Accepted: 08/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) form Ca2+-permeable plasma membrane pores, leading to a disruption of the otherwise well-controlled intracellular calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis. The resultant up-regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration has detrimental implications for memory formation and cell survival. The gating kinetics and Ca2+ permeability of Aβ pores are not well understood. We have used computational modeling in conjunction with the ability of optical patch-clamping for massively parallel imaging of Ca2+ flux through thousands of pores in the cell membrane of Xenopus oocytes to elucidate the kinetic properties of Aβ pores. The fluorescence time-series data from individual pores were idealized and used to develop data-driven Markov chain models for the kinetics of the Aβ pore at different stages of its evolution. Our study provides the first demonstration of developing Markov chain models for ion channel gating that are driven by optical-patch clamp data with the advantage of experiments being performed under close to physiological conditions. Towards the end, we demonstrate the up-regulation of gating of various Ca2+ release channels due to Aβ pores and show that the extent and spatial range of such up-regulation increases as Aβ pores with low open probability and Ca2+ permeability transition into those with high open probability and Ca2+ permeability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, United States of America
| | - Ian Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, United States of America
| | - John E. Pearson
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States of America
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17
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Ca2+-activation kinetics modulate successive puff/spark amplitude, duration and inter-event-interval correlations in a Langevin model of stochastic Ca2+ release. Math Biosci 2015; 264:101-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2015.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2014] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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18
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Frequency and relative prevalence of calcium blips and puffs in a model of small IP₃R clusters. Biophys J 2015; 106:2353-63. [PMID: 24896114 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2013] [Revised: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 04/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In this work, we model the local calcium release from clusters with a few inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) channels, focusing on the stochastic process in which an open channel either triggers other channels to open (as a puff) or fails to cause any channel to open (as a blip). We show that there are linear relations for the interevent interval (including blips and puffs) and the first event latency against the inverse cluster size. However, nonlinearity is found for the interpuff interval and the first puff latency against the inverse cluster size. Furthermore, the simulations indicate that the blip fraction among all release events and the blip frequency are increasing with larger basal [Ca(2+)], with blips in turn giving a growing contribution to basal [Ca(2+)]. This result suggests that blips are not just lapses to trigger puffs, but they may also possess a biological function to contribute to the initiation of calcium waves by a preceding increase of basal [Ca(2+)] in cells that have small IP3R clusters.
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19
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Rückl M, Parker I, Marchant JS, Nagaiah C, Johenning FW, Rüdiger S. Modulation of elementary calcium release mediates a transition from puffs to waves in an IP3R cluster model. PLoS Comput Biol 2015; 11:e1003965. [PMID: 25569772 PMCID: PMC4288706 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The oscillating concentration of intracellular calcium is one of the most important examples for collective dynamics in cell biology. Localized releases of calcium through clusters of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor channels constitute elementary signals called calcium puffs. Coupling by diffusing calcium leads to global releases and waves, but the exact mechanism of inter-cluster coupling and triggering of waves is unknown. To elucidate the relation of puffs and waves, we here model a cluster of IP3R channels using a gating scheme with variable non-equilibrium IP3 binding. Hybrid stochastic and deterministic simulations show that puffs are not stereotyped events of constant duration but are sensitive to stimulation strength and residual calcium. For increasing IP3 concentration, the release events become modulated at a timescale of minutes, with repetitive wave-like releases interspersed with several puffs. This modulation is consistent with experimental observations we present, including refractoriness and increase of puff frequency during the inter-wave interval. Our results suggest that waves are established by a random but time-modulated appearance of sustained release events, which have a high potential to trigger and synchronize activity throughout the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rückl
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ian Parker
- Departments of Neurobiology and Behavior, Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Jonathan S. Marchant
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Chamakuri Nagaiah
- Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Linz, Austria
| | | | - Sten Rüdiger
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
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20
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Termination of calcium puffs and coupled closings of inositol trisphosphate receptor channels. Cell Calcium 2014; 56:157-68. [PMID: 25016315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2014.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2014] [Revised: 06/06/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Calcium puffs are localized Ca(2+) signals mediated by Ca(2+) release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through clusters of inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) channels. The recruitment of IP3R channels during puffs depends on Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release, a regenerative process that must be terminated to maintain control of cell signaling and prevent Ca(2+) cytotoxicity. Here, we studied puff termination using total internal reflection microscopy to resolve the gating of individual IP3R channels during puffs in intact SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. We find that the kinetics of IP3R channel closing differ from that expected for independent, stochastic gating, in that multiple channels tend to remain open together longer than predicted from their individual open lifetimes and then close in near-synchrony. This behavior cannot readily be explained by previously proposed termination mechanisms, including Ca(2+)-inhibition of IP3Rs and local depletion of Ca(2+) in the ER lumen. Instead, we postulate that the gating of closely adjacent IP3Rs is coupled, possibly via allosteric interactions, suggesting an important mechanism to ensure robust puff termination in addition to Ca(2+)-inactivation.
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21
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Rüdiger S. Excitability in a stochastic differential equation model for calcium puffs. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2014; 89:062717. [PMID: 25019824 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.89.062717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Calcium dynamics are essential to a multitude of cellular processes. For many cell types, localized discharges of calcium through small clusters of intracellular channels are building blocks for all spatially extended calcium signals. Because of the large noise amplitude, the validity of noise-approximating model equations for this system has been questioned. Here we revisit the master equations for local calcium release, examine the multiple scales of calcium concentrations in the cluster domain, and derive adapted stochastic differential equations. We show by comparison of discrete and continuous trajectories that the Langevin equations can be made consistent with the master equations even for very small channel numbers. In its deterministic limit, the model reveals that excitability, a dynamical phenomenon observed in many natural systems, is at the core of calcium puffs. The model also predicts a bifurcation from transient to sustained release which may link local and global calcium signals in cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Rüdiger
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
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22
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Martins TV, Evans MJ, Woolfenden HC, Morris RJ. Towards the Physics of Calcium Signalling in Plants. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2013; 2:541-88. [PMID: 27137393 PMCID: PMC4844391 DOI: 10.3390/plants2040541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2013] [Revised: 09/17/2013] [Accepted: 09/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Calcium is an abundant element with a wide variety of important roles within cells. Calcium ions are inter- and intra-cellular messengers that are involved in numerous signalling pathways. Fluctuating compartment-specific calcium ion concentrations can lead to localised and even plant-wide oscillations that can regulate downstream events. Understanding the mechanisms that give rise to these complex patterns that vary both in space and time can be challenging, even in cases for which individual components have been identified. Taking a systems biology approach, mathematical and computational techniques can be employed to produce models that recapitulate experimental observations and capture our current understanding of the system. Useful models make novel predictions that can be investigated and falsified experimentally. This review brings together recent work on the modelling of calcium signalling in plants, from the scale of ion channels through to plant-wide responses to external stimuli. Some in silico results that have informed later experiments are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Vaz Martins
- Computational and Systems Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Matthew J Evans
- Computational and Systems Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Hugh C Woolfenden
- Computational and Systems Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Richard J Morris
- Computational and Systems Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
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23
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Cao P, Donovan G, Falcke M, Sneyd J. A stochastic model of calcium puffs based on single-channel data. Biophys J 2013; 105:1133-42. [PMID: 24010656 PMCID: PMC3852038 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2013.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2013] [Revised: 07/03/2013] [Accepted: 07/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Calcium puffs are local transient Ca(2+) releases from internal Ca(2+) stores such as the endoplasmic reticulum or the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Such release occurs through a cluster of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs). Based on the IP3R model (which is determined by fitting to stationary single-channel data) and nonstationary single-channel data, we construct a new IP3R model that includes time-dependent rates of mode switches. A point-source model of Ca(2+) puffs is then constructed based on the new IP3R model and is solved by a hybrid Gillespie method with adaptive timing. Model results show that a relatively slow recovery of an IP3R from Ca(2+) inhibition is necessary to reproduce most of the experimental outcomes, especially the nonexponential interpuff interval distributions. The number of receptors in a cluster could be severely underestimated when the recovery is sufficiently slow. Furthermore, we find that, as the number of IP3Rs increases, the average duration of puffs initially increases but then becomes saturated, whereas the average decay time keeps increasing linearly. This gives rise to the observed asymmetric puff shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengxing Cao
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Graham Donovan
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Martin Falcke
- Mathematical Cell Physiology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - James Sneyd
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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24
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Abstract
InsP3-mediated puffs are fundamental building blocks of cellular Ca2+ signalling, and arise through the concerted opening of clustered InsP3Rs (InsP3 receptors) co-ordinated via Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release. Although the Ca2+ dependency of InsP3Rs has been extensively studied at the single channel level, little is known as to how changes in basal cytosolic [Ca2+] would alter the dynamics of InsP3-evoked Ca2+ signals in intact cells. To explore this question, we expressed Ca2+-permeable channels (nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) in the plasma membrane of voltage-clamped Xenopus oocytes to regulate cytosolic [Ca2+] by changing the electrochemical gradient for extracellular Ca2+ entry, and imaged Ca2+ liberation evoked by photolysis of caged InsP3. Elevation of basal cytosolic [Ca2+] strongly increased the amplitude and shortened the latency of global Ca2+ waves. In oocytes loaded with EGTA to localize Ca2+ signals, the number of sites at which puffs were observed and the frequency and latency of puffs were strongly dependent on cytosolic [Ca2+], whereas puff amplitudes were only weakly affected. The results of the present study indicate that basal cytosolic [Ca2+] strongly affects the triggering of puffs, but has less of an effect on puffs once they have been initiated.
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25
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Hadley SR, Blood Q, Rubalcava M, Waskel E, Lumbard B, Le P, Longo LD, Buchholz JN, Wilson SM. Maternal high-altitude hypoxia and suppression of ryanodine receptor-mediated Ca2+ sparks in fetal sheep pulmonary arterial myocytes. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2012; 303:L799-813. [PMID: 22962012 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00009.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Ca(2+) sparks are fundamental Ca(2+) signaling events arising from ryanodine receptor (RyR) activation, events that relate to contractile and dilatory events in the pulmonary vasculature. Recent studies demonstrate that long-term hypoxia (LTH) can affect pulmonary arterial reactivity in fetal, newborn, and adult animals. Because RyRs are important to pulmonary vascular reactivity and reactivity changes with ontogeny and LTH we tested the hypothesis that RyR-generated Ca(2+) signals are more active before birth and that LTH suppresses these responses. We examined these hypotheses by performing confocal imaging of myocytes in living arteries and by performing wire myography studies. Pulmonary arteries (PA) were isolated from fetal, newborn, or adult sheep that lived at low altitude or from those that were acclimatized to 3,801 m for > 100 days. Confocal imaging demonstrated preservation of the distance between the sarcoplasmic reticulum, nucleus, and plasma membrane in PA myocytes. Maturation increased global Ca(2+) waves and Ca(2+) spark activity, with sparks becoming larger, wider, and slower. LTH preferentially depressed Ca(2+) spark activity in immature pulmonary arterial myocytes, and these sparks were smaller, wider, and slower. LTH also suppressed caffeine-elicited contraction in fetal PA but augmented contraction in the newborn and adult. The influence of both ontogeny and LTH on RyR-dependent cell excitability shed new light on the therapeutic potential of these channels for the treatment of pulmonary vascular disease in newborns as well as adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott R Hadley
- Center for Perinatal Biology, Loma Linda University, California 92350, USA
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