Determination of mitochondrial calcium content in hepatocytes by a rapid cellular fractionation technique. Vasopressin stimulates mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake

Calcium signaling: double duty for calcium at the mitochondrial uniporter

Uptake of Ca(2+) by mitochondria serves as a regulator of a number of important cellular functions, including energy metabolism, cytoplasmic Ca(2+) signals, and apoptosis. Recent findings reveal that the process of Ca(2+) uptake by the mitochondrial uniporter is itself regulated by Ca(2+) in a temporally complex manner.

The comeback of mitochondria to calcium signalling

With this overview of the role of mitochondria in the realm of calcium signalling we have tried to provide a chronological perspective, from the very early days to the present. We have briefly sketched a timeline of the research on calcium and mitochondria during the course of the century. Particular attention is paid to recent developments which have contributed to a renewed interest in calcium handling by this organelle.

A slowly ADP-ribosylated pertussis-toxin-sensitive GTP-binding regulatory protein is required for vasopressin-stimulated Ca2+ inflow in hepatocytes

The roles of heterotrimeric GTP-binding regulatory proteins (G-proteins) and inositol polyphosphates in the mechanism by which vasopressin stimulates Ca2+ inflow in hepatocytes were investigated by using single cells loaded with fura2 by microinjection. Vasopressin-stimulated Ca2+ inflow was mimicked by microinjection of guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP[S]) or guanosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate to the cells, but not adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (ATP[S]) or guanosine 5'-[beta-thio]diphosphate (GDP[S]). Extracellular Gd3+ (5 microM) inhibited both vasopressin- and GTP[S]-stimulated Ca2+ inflow. GDP[S], but not GMP, administered to hepatocytes by microinjection, completely inhibited vasopressin-stimulated Ca2+ inflow and partially inhibited vasopressin-induced release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. The microinjection of pertussis toxin had no effect either on the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores or on Ca2+ inflow induced by vasopressin, but completely inhibited changes in these processes induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Hepatocytes isolated from rats treated with pertussis toxin for 24 h exhibited no vasopressin- or GTP[S]-stimulated Ca2+ inflow, whereas the vasopressin-stimulated release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores was similar to that observed for control cells. Heparin or ATP[S] inhibited, or delayed the onset of, both vasopressin-induced release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores and vasopressin-stimulated Ca2+ inflow. Vasopressin-induced oscillations in intracellular [Ca2+] were observed in some heparin-treated cells. It is concluded that the stimulation by vasopressin of Ca2+ inflow to hepatocytes requires inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) and, by implication, the pertussis-toxin-insensitive G-protein required for the activation of phospholipase C beta [Taylor, Chae, Rhee and Exton (1991) Nature (London) 350, 516-518], and another G-protein which is slowly ADP-ribosylated by pertussis toxin and acts between InsP3 and the putative plasma-membrane Ca2+ channel. EGF-stimulated Ca2+ inflow involves at least one G-protein which is rapidly ADP-ribosylated and is most likely required for InsP3 formation.

Compartmental analysis of 45Ca2+ efflux in perfused rat liver: effects of hormonal stimulation

The kinetics of calcium movements in the isolated perfused rat liver were examined using compartmental analysis of the efflux profiles of 45Ca2+ from 45Ca(2+)-equilibrated livers under a variety of calcium concentrations and hormonal treatments. From the 45Ca2+ efflux profiles, we determined that a three compartment model was appropriate to describe the movements of calcium in the liver on the time scale of the experiments. Hormonal treatment with the alpha-adrenergic agonist, phenylephrine, or the vasoactive peptide, vasopressin, during the efflux period lowered significantly the rate of transfer of Ca2+ between the internal compartments at all of the calcium concentrations employed. Also, phenylephrine treatment leads to increased transfer of Ca2+ into the liver from the perfusate. The temporal characteristics of the phenylephrine and vasopressin sensitive Ca2+ pools were examined by pulsing livers, loaded for variable periods of time with 45Ca2+, with the two hormones during the efflux of 45Ca2+ to measure the kinetics of Ca2+ exchange in the hormone-sensitive pools. Results from these experiments indicate that the rate of unstimulated Ca2+ efflux, k2, for the phenylephrine and vasopressin sensitive Ca2+ pools, modeled as a one compartment system, are the same, 0.074 and 0.078 min-1 for phenylephrine and vasopressin respectively, corresponding to half times for turnover of the pool(s) of 9.3 and 8.9 min, respectively.

The measurement of Ca2+ inflow across the liver cell plasma membrane by using quin2 and studies of the roles of Na+ and extracellular Ca2+ in the mechanism of Ca2+ inflow

1. Rates of Ca2+ inflow across the hepatocyte plasma membrane in the presence of vasopressin were estimated by using quin2. 2. Plots of the rate of Ca2+ inflow as a function of the intracellular quin2 concentration reached a plateau at about 1.7 mM intracellular quin2. Ca2+ inflow was inhibited by 60% in the presence of 400 microM-verapamil. 3. A plot of the rate of Ca2+ inflow as a function of the concentration of extracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]o) was biphasic. The second (slower) phase showed no sign of saturation at values of [Ca2+]o up to 5 mM. It is concluded that, in the presence of vasopressin, Ca2+ flows into the liver cell by two different processes, one of which is not readily saturated by Ca2+o. 4. The effect of the replacement of extracellular NaCl by choline or tetramethylammonium chloride on cellular Ca2+ movement was found to depend on the presence or absence of intracellular quin2. 5. In cells loaded with quin2 and incubated in the presence of choline or tetramethylammonium chloride, a small decrease in the basal intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was observed, and the increase in [Ca2+]i caused by the addition of vasopressin was considerably diminished when compared with cells incubated in the presence of NaCl. In cells loaded with quin2, replacement of NaCl by choline chloride caused a decrease in Ca2+ inflow in the presence of vasopressin, as measured by using quin2 or 45Ca2+ exchange, whereas no change in Ca2+ inflow was observed in the absence of vasopressin. 6. In cells not loaded with quin2, replacement of NaCl by choline chloride did not alter Ca2+ inflow either in the presence or in the absence of vasopressin. 7. It is concluded that (i) Ca2+ inflow through the basal and receptor-activated Ca2+ inflow systems does not involve the inward movement of Ca2+ in exchange for Na+ or the induction of Ca2+ inflow by intracellular Na+, and (ii) the presence of both intracellular quin2 and extracellular choline or tetramethylammonium chloride (in place of NaCl) inhibits Ca2+ inflow through the receptor-activated Ca2+ inflow system but not through the basal Ca2+ inflow system, and inhibits the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores.

Rapid stimulation of calcium uptake into rat liver by L-tri-iodothyronine

The short-term effect of L-tri-iodothyronine (T3) on hepatic Ca2+ uptake from perfusate was compared with changes induced by T3 on cellular respiration and glucose output in isolated perfused livers from fasted and fed rats. The same parameters were also studied after the addition of glucagon or vasopressin. T3 (1 microM) induced Ca2+ uptake from the perfusate into the liver within minutes, and the time course was similar to that for stimulation of respiration and gluconeogenesis in livers from fasted rats, and for the stimulation of respiration and glucose output in livers from fed rats. The effects were dose-dependent in the range 1 microM-0.1 nM. Similar changes in the same parameters could be observed with glucagon and vasopressin, but with a completely different time course. Also, the influence of the T3 analogues L-thyroxine (L-T4), 3,5-di-iodo-L-thyronine (L-T2) and 3,3',5-tri-iodo-D-thyronine (D-T3) on hepatic energy metabolism was examined. Whereas D-T3 had practically no effect, L-T4 and L-T2 caused changes in Ca2+ uptake, O2 consumption and gluconeogenesis in livers from fasted rats similar to those with T3. It is concluded that changes in mitochondrial and cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations are involved in the stimulation of respiration and glucose metabolism observed with T3, glucagon and vasopressin.

Intracellular distribution of Ca2+-Mg2+ adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) in various tissues

The cytochemical distribution of Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase was studied ultrastructurally, using a lead capture method at pH 8.5 and compared in various tissues. In thymic, splenic and activated peripheral blood lymphocytes and in cultured HeLa cells activity was consistently localised on the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria and weakly on centrioles, but not on the plasma membrane. Intracellular activity was similarly distributed in intestinal absorptive cells where activity was particularly strong in the Golgi apparatus, and in hepatocytes where, however, activity was generally weak. Intracellular activity was lacking in renal glomerular and tubular cells and in cerebellar neurons and neuroglia. Variable activity was present on the outer surface of the plasma membrane, particularly on the brush borders of intestinal and renal tubular absorptive cells, the basolateral invaginations of distal tubules and the bile canaliculi. Mitochondrial activity, when present, was inhibited by oligomycin. The localisation at different sites may represent biochemically different ATPases including endoplasmic reticular ATPase involved in intracellular calcium regulation, oligomycin-sensitive mitochondrial ATPase, dynein-like ATPase associated with centrioles and an ectoenzyme associated with cell surface specialisations.

Evidence that guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate stimulates plasma membrane Ca2+ inflow when introduced into hepatocytes

1. Slowly hydrolysable analogues of GTP were introduced into hepatocytes by incubating the cells in the absence of Mg2+ and in the presence of ATP4-. Experiments using guanosine 5'-[gamma-[35S]thio]triphosphate (GTP[35S])indicated that about 50% of the GTP[S] loaded into the cells was subsequently hydrolysed. 2. In cells loaded with GTP[S] and incubated in the absence of added extracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+o), the rate of activation of glycogen phosphorylase observed after addition of 1.3 mM-Ca2+o was 250% greater than the rate observed in unloaded cells. Smaller effects (130%) were observed in cells loaded with either guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate or guanosine 5-[beta-thio]diphosphate (GDP[S]). Cells loaded with adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate showed no increase in glycogen phosphorylase activity on addition of Ca2+o. 3. The effect of a submaximal concentration of GTP[S] on the Ca2+-induced activation of glycogen phosphorylase was additive with that of a half-maximally effective concentration of vasopressin. GTP[S] did not increase the effect of a maximally effective concentration of the hormone. 4. Cells loaded with GTP[S] exhibited an increased initial rate of 45Ca2+ exchange measured at 1.3 mM-Ca2+o. 5. GTP[S] did not affect the amount of 45Ca2+ exchanged by cells incubated at 0.1 mM-Ca2+o or the ability of vasopressin to release 45Ca2+ from these cells. 6. It is concluded that the introduction of slowly hydrolysable analogues of GTP to the liver cell cytoplasmic space stimulates the inflow of Ca2+ across the plasma membrane through a channel similar to that activated by vasopressin.

Ca2+-dependent activation of the malate-aspartate shuttle by norepinephrine and vasopressin in perfused rat liver

The role of Ca2+ in stimulation of the malate-aspartate shuttle by norepinephrine and vasopressin was studied in perfused rat liver. Shuttle capacity was indexed by measuring the changes in both the rate of production of glucose from sorbitol and the ratio of lactate to pyruvate during the oxidation of ethanol. (T. Sugano et al. (1986) Amer. J. Physiol. 251, E385-E392). Asparagine (0.5 mM), but not alanine (0.5 mM) decreased the ethanol-induced responses. Norepinephrine and vasopressin had no effect on the ethanol-induced responses when the liver was perfused with sorbitol or glycerol. In the presence of 0.25 mM alanine, norepinephrine, vasopressin, and A23187 decreased the ethanol-induced responses that occurred with the increase of flux of Ca2+. In liver perfused with Ca2+-free medium, asparagine also decreased the ethanol-induced responses, but norepinephrine and vasopressin had no effect. Aminooxyacetate inhibited the effects of norepinephrine, A23187, and asparagine. Regardless of the presence or absence of perfusate Ca2+, the combination of glucagon and alanine had no effect on the ethanol-induced responses. Norepinephrine caused a decrease in levels of alpha-ketoglutarate, aspartate, and glutamate in hepatocytes incubated with Ca2+. The present data suggest that the redistribution of cellular Ca2+ may activate the efflux of aspartate from mitochondria in rat liver, resulting in an increase in the capacity of the malate-aspartate shuttle.

Evidence that a pertussis-toxin-sensitive substrate is involved in the stimulation by epidermal growth factor and vasopressin of plasma-membrane Ca2+ inflow in hepatocytes

1. In hepatocytes, epidermal growth factor (EFG) (a) increased the rate of 45Ca2+ exchange in cells incubated at 1.3 mM extracellular Ca2+, (b) increased the activity of glycogen phosphorylase a and the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration (measured with quin2) in a process dependent on the concentration of extracellular Ca2+, and (c) enhanced the increase in glycogen phosphorylase activity which follows the addition of Ca2+ to cells previously incubated in the absence of Ca2+. It is concluded that EGF stimulates plasma-membrane Ca2+ inflow. 2. The effects of the combination of EGF and vasopressin on the rate of 45Ca2+ exchange and on the rate of increase in glycogen phosphorylase activity were the same as those of vasopressin alone. 3. The amount of 45Ca2+ released by EGF from internal stores was about 30% of that released by vasopressin. No detectable increase in [3H]inositol mono-, bis- or tris-phosphate was observed after the addition of EGF to cells labelled with myo-[3H]inositol. 4. In hepatocytes isolated from rats treated with pertussis toxin, the effects of EGF and vasopressin on phosphorylase activity (measured at 1.3 mM-Ca2+) and on the rate of Ca2+ inflow (measured with quin2) were markedly decreased compared with those in normal cells. 5. Treatment with pertussis toxin did not impair the ability of vasopressin to release Ca2+ from internal stores, but decreased vasopressin-stimulated [3H]inositol polyphosphate formation by 50%. 6. It is concluded that the mechanism(s) by which vasopressin and EGF stimulate plasma-membrane Ca2+-inflow transporters in hepatocytes involves a GTP-binding regulatory protein sensitive to pertussis toxin, and does not require an increase in the concentration of inositol trisphosphate comparable with that which induces the release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum.

The stimulation by sodium fluoride of plasma-membrane Ca2+ inflow in isolated hepatocytes. Evidence that a GTP-binding regulatory protein is involved in the hormonal stimulation of Ca2+ inflow

1. In isolated hepatocytes NaF increased the rate of 45Ca2+ exchange, the cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) (monitored by using quin2), and the activity of glycogen phosphorylase a in a Ca2+-dependent manner. 2. In cells previously incubated in the absence of extracellular Ca2+(Ca2+o), NaF caused a pronounced enhancement in the increases in the activity of glycogen phosphorylase and in [Ca2+]i observed when Ca2+ was subsequently added. The effect of NaF on glycogen phosphorylase activity was inhibited by verapamil and deferoxamine, and was potentiated by AlCl3. 3. The actions of NaF were associated with (a) increases in [3H]inositol polyphosphates, which were slower in onset and about half the magnitude of those induced by vasopressin, in hepatocytes labelled with [3H]inositol, and (b) enhanced rates of O2 utilization and decreased concentrations of ATP. The latter effects were not potentiated by AlCl3. 4. Preincubation of hepatocytes with vasopressin in the absence of added Ca2+o for times up to 30 min did not diminish the ability of a subsequent addition of extracellular Ca2+ to activate glycogen phosphorylase. 5. 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate had little effect on 45Ca2+ exchange and did not enhance the activation by Ca2+o of phosphorylase in hepatocytes incubated in the absence of Ca2+o. 6. On the basis of the observation that AlF4- activates GTP-binding regulatory proteins [Sternweiss & Gilman (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 4888-4891], it is concluded that the present results provide evidence for the function of a GTP-binding regulatory protein in the mechanism by which hormones stimulate plasma-membrane Ca2+ inflow in the liver cell, and indicate that an increase in [Ca2+]i and the activation of protein kinase C are not part of this mechanism.

Dephosphorylation of myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and myo-inositol 1,3,4-triphosphate

We have augmented our previous studies [Storey, Shears, Kirk & Michell (1984) Nature (London) 312, 374-376] on the subcellular location and properties of Ins(1,4,5)P3 (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) phosphatases in rat liver and human erythrocytes. We also investigate Ins(1,3,4)P3 (inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate) metabolism by rat liver. Membrane-bound and cytosolic Ins(1,4,5)P3 phosphatases both attack the 5-phosphate. The membrane-bound enzyme is located on the inner face of the plasma membrane, and there is little or no activity associated with Golgi apparatus. Cytosolic Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase (Mr 77,000) was separated by gel filtration from Ins(1,4)P2 (inositol 1,4-bisphosphate) and inositol 1-phosphate phosphatases (Mr 54,000). Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase activity in hepatocytes was unaffected by treatment of the cells with insulin, vasopressin, glucagon or dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase activity in cell homogenates was unaffected by changes in [Ca2+] from 0.1 to 2 microM. After centrifugation of a liver homogenate at 100,000 g, Ins(1,3,4)P3 phosphatase activity was largely confined to the supernatant. The sum of the activities in the supernatant and the pellet exceeded that in the original homogenate. When these fractions were recombined, Ins(1,3,4)P3 phosphatase activity was restored to that observed in unfractionated homogenate. Ins(1,3,4)P3 was produced from Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 (inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate) and was metabolized to a novel InsP2 that was the 3,4-isomer. Ins(1,3,4)P3 phosphatase activity was not changed by 50 mM-Li+ or 0.07 mM-Ins(1,4)P2 alone, but when added together these agents inhibited Ins(1,3,4)P3 metabolism. In Li+-treated and vasopressin-stimulated hepatocytes, Ins(1,4)P2 may reach concentrations sufficient to inhibit Ins(1,3,4)P3 metabolism, with little effect on Ins(1,4,5)P3 hydrolysis.

The Ca2+-mobilizing actions of vasopressin and angiotensin differ from those of the alpha-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine in the perfused rat liver

A Ca2+-sensitive electrode was used to study net Ca2+-flux changes induced by the administration of phenylephrine, vasopressin and angiotensin to the perfused rat liver. The studies reveal that, although the Ca2+ responses induced by vasopressin and angiotensin are similar, they are quite different from the Ca2+ fluxes induced by phenylephrine. The administration of phenylephrine is accompanied by a stimulation of a net amount of Ca2+ efflux (140 nmol/g of liver). A re-uptake of a similar amount of Ca2+ occurs only after the hormone is removed. In contrast, the administration of vasopressin or angiotensin to livers perfused with 1.3 mM-Ca2+ induces the release of a relatively small amount of Ca2+ (approx. 40 nmol/g of liver) during the first 60 s. This is followed by a much larger amount of Ca2+ uptake (70-140 nmol/g of liver) after 1-2.5 min of hormone administration, and a slow efflux or loss of a similar amount of Ca2+ over a period of 6-8 min. At lower concentrations of perfusate Ca2+ (less than 600 microM) these hormones induce only a net efflux of the ion. These results suggest that at physiological concentrations of extracellular Ca2+ the mechanism by which alpha-adrenergic agonists mobilize cellular Ca2+ is different from that involving vasopressin and angiotensin. It seems that the hormones may have quite diverse effects on Ca2+ transport across the plasma membrane and perhaps organellar membranes in liver.

Ca2+ transport by mammalian mitochondria and its role in hormone action

Three key dehydrogenases in mammalian mitochondria have been found to be activated by Ca2+ with a half-maximal effect at approximately 1 microM. These are pyruvate dehydrogenase, NAD+-isocitrate dehydrogenase, and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. Activation of these enzymes can also be demonstrated in intact coupled mitochondria when extra mitochondrial Ca2+ is increased in the range of concentrations (0.1 to 2 microM) generally considered to occur in the cytoplasm of normal cells. It is argued that the main role of the calcium transport system in mammalian mitochondria is to relay changes in cytoplasmic Ca2+ into the mitochondrial matrix. Hormones and other extracellular messengers which stimulate ATP-requiring processes such as secretion or muscle contraction through increasing the cytoplasmic concentration of Ca2+ could in this way also increase intramitochondrial oxidative metabolism and hence promote the replenishment of ATP. Recent evidence obtained with heart and liver preparations in support of this view is reviewed.

Studies on the activation of rat liver pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase by adrenaline and glucagon. Role of increases in intramitochondrial Ca2+ concentration

The administration in vivo of either adrenaline or glucagon alone resulted in increases of about 2-fold in the amounts of active, non-phosphorylated, pyruvate dehydrogenase in the livers of fed male or female rats, whereas when administered together increases of about 4-fold were obtained. Ca2+-dependent increases in the amount of active enzyme of up to about 5-fold could be achieved in isolated rat liver mitochondria by incubating them with increasing extramitochondrial [Ca2+]; from this, two conditions of Ca loading were chosen which caused increases in active enzyme similar to those with the hormone treatments given above. The increases in enzyme activity owing to these Ca loads persisted through the 're-isolation' of mitochondria and their incubation in Na+-free KCl-based media containing EGTA. Differences from values obtained with unloaded controls could be diminished by adding Na+ ions to cause the egress of Ca2+ from the mitochondria, or enough extramitochondrial Ca2+ to saturate the enzyme in its Ca2+-dependent activation; the effects of Na+ could be blocked by diltiazem, an inhibitor of mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchange. The re-isolated, Ca-preloaded, mitochondria also exhibited enhanced activities of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase when assayed at non-saturating [2-oxoglutarate] by two different methods; effects of Na+, Ca2+ or diltiazem on the persistent activations of this enzyme were similar to those for pyruvate dehydrogenase. Na+ caused a marked depletion, which could be blocked by diltiazem, of the 45Ca content of re-isolated mitochondria which had pre-loaded with Ca, containing 45Ca, to the same degrees as above. The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase in incubated liver mitochondria prepared from rats subjected to the hormone treatments given above were found to behave in a very similar manner to those exhibited in the re-isolated, Ca-preloaded, mitochondria. It is concluded that these hormones each bring about the activations of these rat liver enzymes by causing increases in intramitochondrial [Ca2+], and that their effects, as such, are additive.

Hormone-mediated inositol lipid breakdown in hepatocytes and WRK1 cells: relationship to receptor function

All hormones and neurotransmitters which provoke their intracellular effects by increasing the cytosolic concentration of Ca2+ in their target cells also stimulate the breakdown of inositol phospholipids. Much evidence suggests that this breakdown is intimately involved in the mechanism which couples cell-surface receptor activation to intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Recent results indicate that the primary, receptor-mediated event in stimulated cells is a phosphodiesteric hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate to yield inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol. It is likely that both products of this reaction fulfill 'second messenger' roles within stimulated cells.

Evidence for adrenergic control of transcellular calcium distribution in liver

Free Ca2+ concentration and 45Ca flux were measured in the perfusate and bile of the perfused rat liver. With a perfusate Ca2+ concentration of 1 mM, the bile concentration was 0.35 mM. The ratio of 45Ca in bile to that in blood increased from 0.3 to 0.6 over 90 min of perfusion. Both verapamil and adrenaline (via alpha-adrenergic receptors) increased the 45Ca bile/perfusate ratio to 0.8. Adrenaline infusion increased the bile Ca2+ concentration to 0.8 mM. This decreased to 0.35 mM after the infusion was stopped.

Hormone-induced increase in free cytosolic calcium and glycogen phosphorylase activation in rat hepatocytes incubated in normal and low-calcium media

The action of alpha 1-adrenergic agonists (noradrenaline in the presence of propranolol), vasopressin and angiotensin on the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, was determined by using the fluorescent dye quin2 in isolated rat liver cells. In the presence of external Ca2+ (1.8 mM), 1 microM-noradrenaline induced an increase in [Ca2+]i up to about 800 nM without apparent delay, whereas 10 nM-vasopressin and 1 nM-angiotensin increased [Ca2+]i to values higher than 1500 nM with a lag period of about 6s. The successive addition of the hormones and of their specific antagonists indicated that the actions of the three Ca2+-mobilizing hormones occurred without apparent desensitization (over 6 min) and via independent receptors. The relative contributions of internal and external Ca2+ pools to the cell response were determined by studying the hormone-mediated [Ca2+]i increase and glycogen phosphorylase activation in low-Ca2+ media (22 microM). In this medium: (1) [Ca2+]i was lowered and the hormones initiated a transient instead of a sustained increase in [Ca2+]i; subsequent addition (2 min) of a second hormone promoted a lesser increase in [Ca2+]i; in contrast, the subsequent addition (2 min) of Ca2+ (1.8 mM) caused [Ca2+]i to increase to a value close to that initiated by the hormone in control conditions, the amplitude of the latter response being dependent on the concentration of Ca2+ added to the medium; (2) returning to normal Ca2+ (1.8 mM) restored the resting [Ca2+]i and allowed the hormone added 2 min later to promote a large increase in [Ca2+]i whose final amplitude was also dependent on the concentration of Ca2+ added beforehand. Similar results were found when the same protocol was applied to the glycogen phosphorylase activation. It is concluded that Ca2+ influx is required for a maximal and sustained response and to reload the hormone-sensitive stores.

Ca2+-dependent activation of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase by vasopressin in isolated hepatocytes

Vasopressin stimulated gluconeogenesis from proline in hepatocytes from starved rats; this was attributed to an activation of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.2) [Staddon & McGivan (1984) Biochem. J. 217, 477-483]. The role of Ca2+ in the activation mechanism was investigated. (1) In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, vasopressin caused a stimulation of gluconeogenesis and a decrease in cell oxoglutarate content that were markedly transient when compared with the effects in the presence of Ca2+. (2) Ca2+ added to cells stimulated for 2 min by vasopressin in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ sustained the initial effects of vasopressin. Ca2+ added 15 min after vasopressin, a time at which both the rate of gluconeogenesis and the cell oxoglutarate content were close to the control values, caused a stimulation of gluconeogenesis and a decrease in cell oxoglutarate content. (3) Under conditions of cell-Ca2+ depletion, vasopressin had no effect on gluconeogenesis or cell oxoglutarate content. (4) Ionophore A23187 stimulated gluconeogenesis and caused a decrease in cell oxoglutarate content, but the phorbol ester 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate had no effects. (5) These data suggest that the initial activation of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase by vasopressin is dependent on an intracellular Ca2+ pool and independent of extracellular Ca2+. For activation of a greater duration, a requirement for extracellular Ca2+ occurs. The activation of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase by A23187 is consistent with a mechanism involving Ca2+, but the lack of effect of 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate indicates that protein kinase C is not involved in the mechanism of activation by vasopressin.