|
Advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 283, Issue 22, 15300-15308, May 30, 2008
Peroxisomes as Novel Players in Cell Calcium Homeostasis* 1 1![]() ![]() 2 3
From the
Received for publication, January 24, 2008 , and in revised form, March 25, 2008.
Ca2+ concentration in peroxisomal matrix ([Ca2+]perox) has been monitored dynamically in mammalian cells expressing variants of Ca2+-sensitive aequorin specifically targeted to peroxisomes. Upon stimulation with agonists that induce Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, peroxisomes transiently take up Ca2+ reaching peak values in the lumen as high as 50–100 µM, depending on cell types. Also in resting cells, peroxisomes sustain a Ca2+ gradient, [Ca2+]perox being 20-fold higher than [Ca2+] in the cytosol ([Ca2+]cyt). The properties of Ca2+ traffic across the peroxisomal membrane are different from those reported for other subcellular organelles. The sensitivity of peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake to agents dissipating H+ and Na+ gradients unravels the existence of a complex bioenergetic framework including V-ATPase, Ca2+/H+, and Ca2+/Na+ activities whose components are yet to be identified at a molecular level. The different [Ca2+]perox of resting and stimulated cells suggest that Ca2+ could play an important role in the regulation of peroxisomal metabolism.
Peroxisomes are quasi-ubiquitous organelles of eukaryotic cells that are involved in several metabolic pathways. They play an essential role in fatty acid - and β-oxidation, in the biosynthesis of ether phospholipids and bile acids, in the catabolism of purines and polyamines and in the degradation of hydrogen peroxides, prostaglandins, glyoxylate, and L-pipecolic acid (1). Impairment of peroxisomal activities causes "peroxisomal disorders," most of which are associated with severe neurological symptoms as in the Zellweger spectrum (1–3). Structurally, peroxisomes consist of a proteinaceous milieu limited by a single lipid bilayer originally thought to be freely permeable to small solutes. In contrast, recent reports demonstrated the existence of peroxisomal membrane transporters in both yeast and mammalian cells (4–8), thus suggesting a strictly regulated activity of peroxisomal pathways acting in concert with cytosolic metabolism. In addition, the hypothesis of peroxisomes playing a direct role in intracellular signaling was supported (9), but no information until now is available on how extracellular agonists could have regulatory effects on peroxisomal biochemical pathways via their second messengers. In this context, we investigated for the first time the properties of peroxisomes in handling Ca2+, one of the most ubiquitous cellular second messengers.
In this work we provide direct evidence that peroxisomes play a role in Ca2+ homeostasis by using the targeted recombinant aequorin approach that has been previously applied to other subcellular compartments such as mitochondria (10), nucleus (11), endoplasmic reticulum (ER)4 (12), Golgi apparatus (13), and secretory vesicles (14). We generated two novel peroxisomally targeted aequorins, peroxAEQwt and peroxAEQmut, suitable for dynamic monitoring of Ca2+ in intact cells over a wide range of concentrations. We found that a large transient Ca2+ uptake occurs in peroxisomes of cells stimulated with extracellular agonists. Furthermore, in steady state conditions, Ca2+ in peroxisomal lumen is maintained at concentrations
Our work provides clear evidence that peroxisomes are involved in Ca2+ homeostasis, thus adding further complexity to the intracellular network of Ca2+ signaling. The dynamic flux of Ca2+ ions across the peroxisomal membrane presented herein has unique characteristics when compared with previously investigated subcellular compartments, suggesting the existence of yet unidentified peroxisomal membrane transporting systems as well as the potential for Ca2+ to play a role in the regulation of peroxisomal metabolism.
Construction of peroxAEQs and pHluorin cDNAs—Peroxisome-targeted wild-type and mutant aequorins (peroxAEQwt and peroxAEQmut) were generated by appending the PTS1 signal to their C termini. For the amplification of both aequorin variants, oligonucleotides 5'-CAT AAG CTT ATG TAT GAT GTT CCT GAT TAT-3' and 5'-TAA GAA TTC TTA TAA TTT GGA GGG GAC AGC TCC ACC GTA-3' were used as forward and reverse primers to insert the PTS1 sequence downstream the HindIII-EcoRI fragments encoding the HA1-tagged aequorin (15) and the HA1-tagged D119A aequorin mutant cDNAs (12). The final chimeric cDNAs were then shuttled as HindIII-EcoRI fragments into the mammalian vectors pcDNA3 (Invitrogen) (pcDNA3-peroxAEQwt and pcDNA3-peroxAEQmut; see Fig. 1A). The cDNAs encoding the cytosolic and peroxisomal variants of the ratiometric pH-sensitive pHluorin (16) were lifted from pHPR258 and pHPR282 plasmids, respectively (5), as EcoRI-SalI fragments and ligated into EcoRI-XhoI-cut pcDNA3 (pcDNA3-cyt-pHluorin and pcDNA3-peroxi-pHluorin). Escherichia coli DH5 strain was used for all plasmid amplifications and isolations. The sequences of the inserts were verified. Cell Cultures and Transfection—All cell types (passages 15 and 30) used in the present work were grown in 75-cm2 flasks in the presence of an appropriate medium (Sigma-Aldrich) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. In particular, CHO cells were cultured in Ham's F-12 nutrient mixture; HeLa, HepG2, and COS-7 cells in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium; and HEK293 cells in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/F-12 medium. Twenty-four hours before transfection, the cells were seeded onto 13-mm (for aequorin measurements), 24-mm (for immunofluorescence) or 40-mm (for pHluorin measurements) glass coverslips and allowed to attain 40–60% confluence. Transfection was carried out with 4, 8, or 12 µg of total plasmid DNA for 13-, 24-, or 40-mm coverslips, respectively, according to a standard calcium-phosphate procedure (17), and the experiments were performed 36–48 h after transfection. Immunolocalization of the Peroxisomal HA1-tagged Recombinant Aequorins—For the immunofluorescence experiments, CHO cells were co-transfected with 4 µg of pcDNA3-peroxAEQwt or pcDNA3-peroxAEQmut and 4 µg of peroxi-DsRed2 plasmid (Clontech, Mountain View, CA) containing the coding sequence of the red fluorescent DsRed protein having a type-2 PTS signal (1) for its specific expression in the peroxisomes. Thirty-six to 48 h after transfection, the cells were fixed in the presence of formaldehyde and permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100, as previously described (13), and then incubated for 1 h at 37 °C in a wet chamber with a 1:250 dilution (in phosphate-buffered saline) of the HA.11 monoclonal antibody, clone 16B12 (Covance, Princeton, NJ) raised against the HA1 epitope. Immunostaining of the cells was performed with the green fluorescent AlexaFluor 488 anti-mouse secondary antibody (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). Wide field fluorescences were acquired through a Zeiss Axiovert 200 microscope (Zeiss, Jena, Germany) equipped with a CoolSNAP HQ CCD camera (Roper Scientific, Trenton, NJ). The images were analyzed using the Metamorph software (Universal Imaging Corporation, Downington, PA) and processed with the AutoDeblur 2D deconvolution software (AutoQuant Imaging, Inc., Watervliet, NY). pH Measurements with Expressed pHluorins—The cells were seeded on 40-mm coverslips and transfected after 24 h with 12 µg of pcDNA3-cyt-pHluorin or pcDNA3-peroxi-pHluorin. Thirty-six to 48 h after transfection coverslips were mounted in a thermostatted Bioptechs FCS2 closed chamber (Bioptechs, Inc., Butler, PA). The cells were perfused with Krebs-Ringer modified buffer supplemented with Ca2+ (KRB/Ca2+: 125 mM NaCl, 5 mM KCl, 1 mM MgSO4, 1 mM Na2HPO4, 20 mM NaHCO3, 2 mM L-glutamine, 1 mM CaCl2, and 20 mM HEPES, pH 7.4), challenged, where indicated, with 100 µM ATP, and then perfused with KRB/Ca2+ solutions buffered at different pHs (pH 6.5–7.75) in the presence of 10 µM monensin and 1 µM FCCP to titrate the pH-sensitive fluorescence of both pHluorins. Fluorescence images were acquired, as previously described (5), through a Zeiss Axiovert 200 microscope equipped with a Photometrics Cascade 512B CCD camera (Roper Scientific) and analyzed using the Metafluor software (Universal Imaging Corporation, Downington, PA).
Aequorin Reconstitution and Luminescence Measurements—Recombinant aequorins were reconstituted by incubating transfected cells with 5 µM coelenterazine (for cytAEQwt (15), mitAEQmut (18), peroxAEQwt and peroxAEQmut), or 5 µM coelenterazine n (for erAEQmut (12)) in KRB/Ca2+, pH 7.4, in 5% CO2 atmosphere at 37 °C for 2–3 h. When a reduction of the intracellular Ca2+ content was necessary, aequorin reconstitutions were performed by incubating the cells for 1–2 h at 4 °C in KRB in the absence of Ca2+ and in the presence of 5 µM coelenterazine, 5 µM ionomycin, as a Ca2+ ionophore, and 0.6 mM EGTA. After this treatment, the cells were extensively washed with KRB supplemented with 2% bovine serum albumin and 1 mM EGTA (13). Where indicated, the cells were permeabilized with 20 µM digitonin for 1 min (19) and subsequently perfused with "intracellular buffer" supplemented with 0.1 mM EGTA (IB/EGTA: 140 mM KCl, 10 mM NaCl, 1 mM KH2PO4, 5.5 mM glucose, 2 mM MgSO4, 1 mM ATP, 2 mM succinate, 20 mM HEPES, pH 7.05) at 37 °C. The Ca2+-dependent luminescence of aequorin was measured by perfusing the cells with KRB/Ca2+ supplemented with 5.5 mM glucose and stimulating them with 100 µM ATP (CHO, HepG2, COS-7, and HEK293) or 100 µM histamine (HeLa cells). In permeabilized cells, [Ca2+] measurements were carried out perfusing the cells in IB without EGTA, i.e.
Subcellular Targeting and Validation of Peroxisomal Aequorins—Peroxisomal variants of the hemagglutinin (HA1)-tagged wild-type (15) and D119A mutant (12) aequorins were generated by appending the PTS1 signal (1) to their C termini (Fig. 1A). The two different aequorin chimeras, designated as peroxAEQwt and peroxAEQmut, were expressed in mammalian cells, and their peroxisomal localization was confirmed by immunocytochemical experiments. The fluorescence of immunostained cells expressing peroxAEQwt (Fig. 1B, panel i) or peroxAEQmut (not shown) extensively overlapped with that of the co-expressed recombinant peroxisomal marker peroxi-DsRed2 (Fig. 1B, panel ii), whereas no significant overlay was imaged when cells co-expressed mitochondrial or ER fluorescent recombinant proteins (21) (not shown). As previously reported (22), the addition of targeting motifs to the C terminus of aequorin could modify its stability as well as its Ca2+-dependent luminescence emission. Accordingly, the light emission from lysates of CHO cells expressing the peroxAEQs was measured upon reconstitution of the probes in the presence of various Ca2+-buffered solutions at neutral pH. The emitted luminescence of peroxisomal probes at free [Ca2+] ranging between 10-9 and 10-2 M (L) was related to the total luminescence emitted in the presence of saturating [Ca2+] (Lmax), and the calculated L/Lmax values were actually similar to the output of lysates of cells expressing the cytosolic wild-type (cytAEQwt) or the mitochondrial mutant aequorin (mitAEQmut) used in the same experimental conditions as already calibrated reference probes (11, 23) (data not shown). In addition, because Ca2+ sensitivity of aequorins depends on the pH of the surrounding medium, we determined the pH of the peroxisomal lumen using a peroxisomally targeted variant of the pH-sensitive protein pHluorin (16) (peroxi-pHluorin). When compared with a cytosolic pHluorin, the measured peroxisomal and cytosolic pH values showed minor differences that do not significantly affect aequorin Ca2+ sensitivity (CHO cells, 6.92 ± 0.15, n = 25 in peroxisomes versus 7.08 ± 0.11, n = 25 in cytosol; HeLa cells, 7.09 ± 0.25, n = 15 in peroxisomes versus 7.23 ± 0.09, n = 15 in cytosol). In view of these data, the Ca2+ response for peroxAEQs was therefore assumed to be equivalent to that of the cytosolic and mitochondrial variants.
Peroxisomes Transiently Accumulate Ca2+ upon Agonist Stimulation—Evidence for a possible role of peroxisomes in cellular Ca2+ signaling was obtained when peroxAEQmut was transiently expressed in mammalian cells, and its Ca2+-dependent luminescence was measured in the presence of agonists that elicit the IP3-mediated release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores (24). Upon cell stimulation, a rapid transient Ca2+ influx occurred in peroxisomes (Fig. 2A), parallel to the [Ca2+] increases recorded in mitochondria and cytosol (Fig. 2, B and C). The kinetics of the peroxisomal [Ca2+] changes were similar to those already described for mitochondria (23). However, as shown in Table 1 for several stimulated cell lines, the measured agonist-induced peroxisomal [Ca2+] peak values ([Ca2+]perox) varied from 50 to 100 µM, and they were significantly and reproducibly higher than those measured in mitochondria and were unaffected by ruthenium red (Fig. 2D), a well known inhibitor of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake (23). Therefore, peroxisomes transiently reach a higher [Ca2+] than mitochondria, peaking as rapidly as mitochondria although through a different molecular route.
Peroxisomal Ca2+ Uptake in Stimulated CHO Cells—To investigate the mechanism leading to the large agonist-evoked [Ca2+]perox increase, we tested the effect of reagents dissipating pH gradients across biological membranes (Fig. 3). In ATP-challenged CHO cells expressing peroxAEQmut, the clear reduction of [Ca2+]perox peaks induced by chloroquine or the mitochondrial uncoupler FCCP (untreated, 98 ± 10 µM, n = 15; chloroquine-treated, 78 ± 6 µM, n = 10; FCCP-treated, 58 ± 5 µM, n = 10; Fig. 3A) suggested that a H+ gradient may exist across the peroxisomal membrane. Therefore, because biological membrane H+ gradients can be accomplished by a H+-ATPase activity, we monitored the agonist-evoked [Ca2+]perox peaks in the presence of oligomycin or bafilomycin, as inhibitors of the F-type and V-type ATPases (25–27), respectively (Fig. 3A). Oligomycin did not influence the peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake (not shown), whereas bafilomycin produced a 30% reduction of [Ca2+]perox peaks, as compared with controls (nontreated, 101 ± 9 µM, n = 15; oligomycin-treated, 107 ± 12 µM, n = 9; bafilomycin-treated, 62 ± 8 µM, n = 15) (Fig. 3A), suggesting the presence of a peroxisomal vacuolar(V)-type ATPase activity in CHO cells. A stronger decrease of [Ca2+]perox peaks was observed in agonist-stimulated cells treated with the Na+/H+ ionophore monensin (control, 98 ± 10 µM, n = 15; monensin-treated, 26 ± 5 µM, n = 15) (Fig. 3A), and importantly, the combination of monensin with FCCP almost completely abolished the [Ca2+]perox peaks (monensin + FCCP-treated, 8 ± 3 µM, n = 15) (Fig. 3A). The rapid peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake in ATP-stimulated CHO cells could therefore be led by gradients of both H+ and Na+ ions. It should be noted that FCCP, but not monensin, reduced mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake (Fig. 3B); however, its inhibitory effect was significantly more pronounced in mitochondria than in peroxisomes ([Ca2+]mit, control, 64 ± 9 µM, n = 15; FCCP-treated 4.5 ± 3 µM, n = 15; monensin-treated, 68 ± 8 µM, n = 15). Furthermore, both reagents did not affect the agonist-challenged [Ca2+]cyt changes (not shown). The involvement of Na+ and nonspecifically of a Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in agonist-evoked peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake was confirmed by using the benzothiazepine CGP37157 (28). As shown in Fig. 3C, in the presence of CGP37157, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake was enhanced ([Ca2+]mit, untreated, 64 ± 9 µM, n = 15; CGP37157-treated, 98 ± 7 µM, n = 15), whereas it diminished in peroxisomes ([Ca2+]perox, untreated, 102 ± 6 µM, n = 10; CGP37157-treated, 70 ± 8 µM, n = 10) and remained unaltered in cytosol ([Ca2+]cyt, untreated, 2.1 ± 0.3 µM, n = 15; CGP37157-treated, 2.0 ± 0.4 µM, n = 15; not shown). The increase in mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake by CGP37157 is accounted for by its inhibitory effect on the mitochondrial Ca2+/Na+ exchanger that exports Ca2+ from the mitochondrial matrix to the cytosol (28). On the other hand, in the peroxisomal membrane a Ca2+/Na+ exchanger inhibited by CGP37157 and responsible in part for the agonist-evoked peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake might be present. Overall, the above-reported results indicate that two components, represented by the Ca2+/H+ and Ca2+/Na+ exchangers, are involved in peroxisomal agonist-evoked Ca2+ uptake. Peroxisomal pH Changes upon Addition of Ca2+-mobilizing Agonists—Given the effect of the reagents dissipating membrane H+ gradients on the agonist-induced [Ca2+]perox changes, we monitored the peroxisomal pH in ATP-stimulated CHO cells expressing the ratiometric pH-sensitive probe pHluorin. As shown in Fig. 4, upon cell stimulation peroxisomal Ca2+ influx occurs contemporary with a bland alkalinization of peroxisomal pH soon followed by a more marked and protracted transient acidification mainly associated to the subsequent Ca2+ efflux. According to these data, if the Ca2+ influx may take part along with a hardly monitorable H+ efflux, the subsequent peroxisomal acidification of the lumen suggests that Ca2+ re-extrusion occurs, directly or indirectly, in exchange with H+. Such a prolonged compensatory response of the organelle in part recalls what happens in mitochondria where transitory alkalinization of the mitochondrial matrix occurs when Ca2+-mobilizing agents are added (29).
Peroxisomal Ca2+ Content in Resting Conditions—The experiments performed using peroxAEQmut revealed a low number of total luminescence counts as compared with those recorded with cytAEQwt or mitAEQmut (Fig. 5). The possibility that peroxisomes concentrate Ca2+ in their lumen during resting conditions, consuming the peroxisomally reconstituted aequorin (13), was tested in CHO cells expressing the probe peroxAEQwt, endowed with higher Ca2+ affinity (30) and reconstituted after depleting the intracellular organelles of calcium (13) (Fig. 6). At the luminometer, when Ca2+-depleted cells were refilled with Ca2+, after a lag of
Pathways of Peroxisomal Ca2+ Accumulation in Resting Conditions—Ca2+ accumulation in peroxisomes in resting was first investigated using thapsigargin and tBuBHQ (31, 32), specific inhibitors of sarco/endoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase that actively pump Ca2+ from the cytosol to the ER lumen (33). When Ca2+ was added back to Ca2+-depleted cells that had been preincubated with both thapsigargin (Fig. 7A) or tBuBHQ (not shown), Ca2+ uptake into the ER was strongly reduced. By contrast, under the same experimental conditions, Ca2+ entry into peroxisomes was markedly increased (Fig. 7B), a likely finding because of the enhanced [Ca2+]cyt recorded in parallel (not shown) and already previously reported (13). Similar results were also obtained when digitonin-permeabilized Ca2+-depleted cells were Ca2+ refilled in the presence of orthovanadate, a wide spectrum inhibitor of P-type Ca2+-ATPase (Fig. 7C), thus excluding a role of Ca2+-ATPase in resting peroxisomal Ca2+ homeostasis. Furthermore, the addition of ATP to thapsigargin-treated cells (Fig. 7B) or IP3 to orthovanadate-treated cells (Fig. 7C) did not induce any further peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake in contrast with what was observed in nontreated cells. This result is clearly due to ER Ca2+ depletion and confirms the relationship between peroxisomes and the agonist-evoked Ca2+ release from intracellular stores.
Interestingly, when Ca2+-depleted CHO cells were incubated with bafilomycin concentrations inhibiting the V-type ATPases, but not the P-type ATPases (34), a clear decrease of peroxisomal Ca2+ refilling was observed (Fig. 7D). This finding further supports the suggestion that a putative peroxisomal V-type ATPase activity occurs in CHO cells. Consequently, we tested the effect of FCCP with the result that peroxisomal Ca2+ refilling was virtually abolished (Fig. 7E). Moreover, FCCP caused a release of Ca2+ from peroxisomes that had been reloaded with Ca2+ (Fig. 7F). Therefore, during resting a H+ gradient is not only required for peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake but also to maintain the existing Ca2+ concentration gradient between peroxisomes and cytosol.
Ca2+ Sensitivity of Peroxisomes—The two different kinetics of peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake respectively shown in resting and in agonist-stimulated CHO cells may unravel a different sensitivity of these organelles when [Ca2+]cyt changes. The response of peroxisomes to different buffered [Ca2+] was firstly studied in permeabilized CHO cells. As presented in Fig. 8 (A and B), the perfusion with 5 µM and 10 µM Ca2+ induced an increase of [Ca2+]perox according to a kinetic comparable with that monitored during Ca2+ refilling in intact cell (Fig. 6) ([Ca2+]perox, perfused with 5 µM Ca2+, 2.4 ± 0.4 µM, n = 8; perfused with 10 µM Ca2+, 28 ± 3 µM, n = 8). Instead, perfusion with higher [Ca2+], i.e.
The relatively new concept of a selective metabolic communication between cytosol and peroxisomes raises questions concerning whether and how peroxisomes are involved in cellular signaling pathways. In the present work, we focused on the possibility that peroxisomes take part in the intracellular homeostasis of Ca2+, a versatile second messenger that is able to decode a great variety of extracellular stimuli into the simultaneous control of different biochemical pathways occurring in various subcellular compartments. To the best of our knowledge, no information about the involvement of peroxisomes in Ca2+ signaling has hitherto been reported.
With the aim of investigating the Ca2+ concentration in peroxisomes, we efficiently targeted to the peroxisomal lumen recombinant aequorins. Our recordings provide the evidence that peroxisomal Ca2+ handling is substantially different from those already reported for other subcellular organelles (33). In particular, mammalian peroxisomes stably maintain Ca2+ in their lumen during resting up to concentrations
On the basis of the differences of [Ca2+] recorded between cytosol and peroxisomal lumen, the driving force required for the peroxisomal Ca2+ entry would be of
For the completion of the larger agonist-evoked peroxisomal Ca2+ increases, the main energetic contribution is most likely represented by a Na+ gradient. When the Na+/H+ ionophore monensin is applied to stimulated cells, the inhibitory effect on peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake is higher than with FCCP, and the Ca2+ peaks are almost completely abolished with the contemporary presence of both reagents. These data suggest that the total driving force for Ca2+ entry into peroxisomes derives from the sum of a H+ gradient, µH, and, to a higher extent, a Na+ gradient, µNa. The peroxisomal H+ gradient might be generated by a peroxisomal V-type H+-ATPase. In fact, the V-type H+-ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin (25) clearly inhibits peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake, both in resting and in activated cells. Although the presence of this complex in peroxisomal membrane has already been hypothesized by others (38–40), further investigation is required to validate this hypothesis. Alternatively, the observed partial inhibition of peroxisomal Ca2+ uptake by bafilomycin might be secondary to the inhibition exerted by bafilomycin on the V-ATPase of other subcellular compartments, particularly endosomes, Golgi apparatus, and vacuoles (26), because release of H+ from these compartments subsequent to bafilomycin treatment (41–43) would oppose a peroxisomal Ca2+/H+ exchange by dissipating the H+ gradient across the peroxisomal membrane.
Although the existence of As to the decay of the agonist-evoked [Ca2+]perox rise, we cannot determine whether it depends on a Ca2+ buffering phenomenon within the peroxisomal lumen or on extrusion of Ca2+ mediated by an unknown transport system. However, it seems evident that peroxisomal Ca2+ homeostasis is accomplished through specific pathways requiring membrane transporters not yet identified at a molecular level. Consequently, the recent notion of a selective peroxisomal membrane with distinctive bioenergetics appears strengthened. Indeed, the [Ca2+]perox values we have measured exclude the possibility of a peroxisomal membrane being freely permeable to ions. The large amplitude of the [Ca2+]perox increase occurring when the cells are stimulated or when peroxisomes are perfused with high [Ca2+] could suggest that peroxisomes are exposed to microdomains generated upon stimulation in proximity of ER Ca2+ channels, similar to what was reported for mitochondria. Indeed, close contacts between peroxisomes and subcellular Ca2+ stores have been documented (48), leaving open the possibility that the increase in [Ca2+]perox could be heterogeneous and a subset of closely interacting peroxisomes could significantly increase the average [Ca2+]perox peaks. Knowledge of the molecular entities responsible for the Ca2+ transport across the peroxisomal membrane would elucidate whether the amplitudes of peroxisomal Ca2+ accumulations both in resting and in activated cells could be related not only to different transporters with different affinities for Ca2+, but also whether their transport properties imply uniport mechanisms, likewise in mitochondria (33), or Ca2+ exchange with counter ions, as our data strongly suggest. To date, as for mitochondrial Ca2+ transport systems (33), scarce information is available about the molecular identity of putative peroxisomal Ca2+ transporters. A secretory pathway Ca2+/Mn2+-ATPases isoform has been reported in peroxisomes (49), but our data with orthovanadate and thapsigargin rule out a role for any Ca2+-ATPase in Ca2+ accumulation in peroxisomes. Alternatively, the function of Ca2+ transporters or ion exchangers could be directly studied in vitro with peroxisomal membranes, but the difficult isolation of these organelles from cells because of their extreme fragility and low abundance could make these studies experimentally limiting. In conclusion, we have shown that peroxisomes also take part in cellular Ca2+ homeostasis. In analyzed cells, the intervention of several different pathways is necessary for peroxisomal Ca2+ handling, thus reflecting complex bioenergetics that characterize peroxisomal membrane selectivity. Having excluded a role for peroxisomes as a subcellular Ca2+ reservoir, future studies are warranted to biochemically characterize transporters and targets of peroxisomal Ca2+ and to ascertain a regulatory role of the ion in peroxisomal function and its involvement in peroxisome-related disorders.
* This work was supported by grants from Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca, Ministero della Salute, Center of Excellence in Genomics, Apulia Region and European Community's Sixth Programme for Research Contract LSHM-CT-2004-503116, Telethon Grant GGP05284, the Italian Association for Cancer Research, local funds from the Universities of Bari and Ferrara, European Union Fondi Strutturali Obiettivo 2, the Regional Program for Industrial Research, Innovation and Technological Transfer of the Emilia Romagna Region, and the Italian Space Agency. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 These authors equally contributed to this work. 2 To whom correspondence may be addressed. Tel.: 39-532291361; Fax: 39-532247278; E-mail: r.rizzuto{at}unife.it. 3 To whom correspondence may be addressed. Tel.: 39-805443374; Fax: 39-805442770; E-mail: fpalm{at}farmbiol.uniba.it.
4 The abbreviations used are: ER, endoplasmic reticulum; PTS, peroxisomal targeting sequence; FCCP, carbonylcyanide p-(trifuoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone; tBuBHQ, ter-butylbenzohydroquinone; HA, hemagglutinin; CHO, Chinese hamster ovary; IP3, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.
5 F. M. Lasorsa and P. Pinton, personal observation.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||