Abstract
In some cell types, Ca(2+) oscillations are strictly dependent on Ca(2+) influx across the plasma membrane, whereas in others, oscillations also persist in the absence of Ca(2+) influx. We observed that, in primary mesothelial cells, the plasmalemmal Ca(2+) influx played a pivotal role. However, when the Ca(2+) transport across the plasma membrane by the "lanthanum insulation method" was blocked prior to the induction of the serum-induced Ca(2+) oscillations, mitochondrial Ca(2+) transport was found to be able to substitute for the plasmalemmal Ca(2+) exchange function, thus rendering the oscillations independent of extracellular Ca(2+). However, in a physiological situation, the Ca(2+)-buffering capacity of mitochondria was found not to be essential for Ca(2+) oscillations. Moreover, brief spontaneous Ca(2+) changes were observed in the mitochondrial Ca(2+) concentration without apparent changes in the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration, indicating the presence of a mitochondrial autonomous Ca(2+) signaling mechanism. In the presence of calretinin, a Ca(2+)-buffering protein, the amplitude of cytosolic spikes during oscillations was decreased, and the amount of Ca(2+) ions taken up by mitochondria was reduced. Thus, the increased calretinin expression observed in mesothelioma cells and in certain colon cancer might be correlated to the increased resistance of these tumor cells to proapoptotic/pronecrotic signals. We identified and characterized (experimentally and by modeling) three Ca(2+) shuttling pathways in primary mesothelial cells during Ca(2+) oscillations: Ca(2+) shuttled between (i) the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, (ii) the ER and the extracellular space, and (iii) the ER and cytoplasmic Ca(2+) buffers.