Evoked intracellular Ca2+ elevations in HT4 neuroblastoma cells

In this study, membrane depolarization and multiple neurotransmitters (5-HT, acetylcholine, histamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, and ATP) were tested for the ability to elevate the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in mouse HT4 neuroblastoma cells. Apart from ATP, none of the treatments gave rise to a detectable Ca2+ response, no matter whether the cells were subjected to temperature-induced neuronal differentiation. Our results provide pharmacological evidence for the co-existence in HT4 cells of both P2X and P2Y receptors, the activation of which by ATP led to Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ release, respectively. The P2Y receptor was found to couple to more than one type of G protein in the signaling pathway, causing the activation of phospholipase C (PLC) and Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores. cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) attenuated ATP-evoked [Ca2+]i elevations in different ways. However, no correlation was identified between neuronal differentiation and the ATP-evoked Ca2+ responses in HT4 cells. This work indicates that HT4 cells can serve as a good model to study P2 purinoceptor-associated signaling pathways.