title: Subcellular Ca2+ signals underlying waves and graded responses in HeLa cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many agonist-evoked intracellular Ca2+ signals have a complex spatio-temporal arrangement, and are observed as repetitive Ca2+ spikes and Ca2+ waves. The key to revealing how these complex signals are generated lies in understanding the functional structure of the intracellular Ca2+ pool. Previous imaging studies, using relatively large cells such as oocytes and myocytes, have identified subcellular elementary Ca2+ signals, indicating that the intracellular Ca2+ pool releases Ca2+ from functionally discrete sites. However, it is unclear whether the intracellular Ca2+ pool in smaller cells has a similar architecture, and how such subcellular signals would contribute to global spikes and waves.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We detected subcellular Ca2+ signals during the response of single Fura2-loaded HeLa cells to histamine. The spatio-temporal properties of some of these signals were similar to the elementary Ca2+ signals observed in other cells. Subcellular Ca2+ signals were particularly obvious during the 'pacemaker' Ca2+ rise that preceded the regenerative Ca2+ wave. During this pacemaker, the Ca2+ signals were observed initially in the region from which the Ca2+ wave originated, but became more widespread and frequent until a Ca2+ wave was spawned. Similar localized signals were seen during the post-wave Ca2+ increase, and during the low-amplitude Ca2+ responses evoked by threshold histamine concentrations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The intracellular Ca2+ pool in HeLa cells is composed of many functionally discrete units. Upon stimulation, these units produce localized Ca2+ signals. The sequential activation and summation of these units results in Ca2+ wave propagation and, furthermore, the differential recruitment of these units may underlie the graded amplitude of the intracellular Ca2+ signals.
authors.affiliation: Babraham Institute Laboratory of Molecular Signalling, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK. mdb@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bootman
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Berridge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006632:Histamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions
chemical_list: D006632:Histamine; D002118:Calcium