Abstract
In addition to its well established function in activating Ca(2+) release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through ryanodine receptors (RyR), the second messenger cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) also accelerates the activity of SERCA pumps, which sequester Ca(2+) into the ER. Here, we demonstrate a potential physiological role for cADPR in modulating cellular Ca(2+) signals via changes in ER Ca(2+) store content, by imaging Ca(2+) liberation through inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP(3)R) in Xenopus oocytes, which lack RyR. Oocytes were injected with the non-metabolizable analog 3-deaza-cADPR, and cytosolic [Ca(2+)] was transiently elevated by applying voltage-clamp pulses to induce Ca(2+) influx through expressed plasmalemmal nicotinic channels. We observed a subsequent potentiation of global Ca(2+) signals evoked by strong photorelease of IP(3), and increased numbers of local Ca(2+) puffs evoked by weaker photorelease. These effects were not evident with cADPR alone or following cytosolic Ca(2+) elevation alone, indicating that they did not arise through direct actions of cADPR or Ca(2+) on the IP(3)R, but likely resulted from enhanced ER store filling. Moreover, the appearance of a new population of puffs with longer latencies, prolonged durations, and attenuated amplitudes suggests that luminal ER Ca(2+) may modulate IP(3)R function, in addition to simply determining the size of the available store and the electrochemical driving force for release.