title: The thiol reagent, thimerosal, evokes Ca2+ spikes in HeLa cells by sensitizing the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor.
abstract: The thiol reagent, thimerosal, has been shown to cause an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in several cell types, and to cause Ca2+ spikes in unfertilized hamster eggs. Using single cell video-imaging we have shown that thimerosal evokes repetitive Ca2+ spikes in intact Fura-2-loaded HeLa cells that were similar in shape to those stimulated by histamine. Both thimerosal- and histamine-stimulated Ca2+ spikes occurred in the absence of extracellular (Ca2+ o), suggesting that they result from mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. Whereas histamine stimulated formation of inositol phosphates, thimerosal, at concentrations that caused sustained Ca2+ spiking, inhibited basal and histamine-stimulated formation of inositol phosphates. Thimerosal-evoked Ca2+ spikes are therefore not due to the stimulated production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3). The effects of thimerosal on Ca2+ spiking were probably due to alkylation of thiol groups on intracellular proteins because the spiking was reversed by the thiol-reducing compound dithiothreitol, and the latency between addition of thimerosal and a rise in [Ca2+]i was greatly shortened in cells where the intracellular reduced glutathione concentration had been decreased by preincubation with DL-buthionine (S,R)-sulfoximine. In permeabilized cells, thimerosal caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of Ca2+ accumulation, which was entirely due to inhibition of Ca2+ uptake into stores because thimerosal did not affect unidirectional 45Ca2+ efflux from stores preloaded with 45Ca2+. Thimerosal also caused a concentration-dependent sensitization of InsP3-induced Ca2+ mobilization: half-maximal mobilization of Ca2+ stores occurred with 161 +/- 20 nM InsP3 in control cells and with 62 +/- 5 nM InsP3 after treatment with 10 microM thimerosal. We conclude that thimerosal can mimic the effects of histamine on intracellular Ca2+ spiking without stimulating the formation of InsP3 and, in light of our results with permeabilized cells, suggest that thimerosal stimulates spiking by sensitizing cells to basal InsP3 levels.
authors.affiliation: Agricultural and Food Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Signalling, Department of Zoology, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bootman
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Berridge
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015220:Calcium Channels; D016257:Fura-2; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006632:Histamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007294:Inositol / Q000378:metabolism; D015544:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D053496:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors; D007295:Inositol Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013849:Thimerosal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; C506926:ITPR1 protein, human; D053496:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors; D007295:Inositol Phosphates; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D013849:Thimerosal; D007294:Inositol; D006632:Histamine; D015544:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate; D005978:Glutathione; D002118:Calcium; D016257:Fura-2