The role of calmodulin in cell transformation

Two cell lines transformed with temperature sensitive retroviruses were examined for: their ability to grow in low Ca2+ medium, their calmodulin levels and changes in calmodulin acceptor proteins. Both cell lines grow in low Ca2+ medium at the permissive temperature 34 degrees C while both lines did not replicate at the non-permissive temperature 39 degrees C. The NRKLA23 cells have nearly twice as much calmodulin at the permissive temperature than they do at the non-permissive temperature while the 6M2 cells have an equal amount of calmodulin at both temperatures. Both cell lines exhibit changes in the calmodulin acceptor proteins going from the permissive to the non-permissive temperature. We suspect that the changes in the calmodulin acceptor proteins may be involved in the altered Ca2+-sensitivity of growth in the cells going from the permissive to non-permissive temperature.