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Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells
Published on: July 16, 2013
Capacitative calcium entry is inhibited in vascular endothelial cells by disruption of cytoskeletal microfilaments
1Department of Physiology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA.
Abstract:
The role of an intact cytoskeleton for store-operated ('capacitative') Ca2+ influx was investigated in single cultured vascular endothelial cells. Capacitative Ca2+ entry was measured as changes of cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) induced by depletion of Ca2+ stores with thapsigargin. In cells pretreated with cytochalasin D, an agent that disrupts the microfilament network of the cytoskeleton, as confirmed with FITC-phalloidin staining, capacitative Ca2+ entry was inhibited. Cytochalasin D did not affect basal [Ca2+]i nor ATP-induced increases of [Ca2+]i, indicating that release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores through the inositol-phosphate pathway was intact. These results suggest that microfilaments are an integral part of the mechanism for capacitative Ca2+ entry. The necessity for an intact cytoskeleton favors a conformational coupling model for store-operated Ca2+ influx.
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