Acute exposure to inorganic lead modifies high-threshold voltage-gated calcium currents in rat PC12 cells.
Acute exposure to 1, 10 and 50 microM lead acetate solutions irreversibly decreased calcium currents in 21 of 30 nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells. In five cells, however, calcium currents irreversibly increased following lead exposure. Lead was equally effective at blocking the peak and sustained components of the calcium current. These data suggest complex interactions between neurotoxicologically relevant lead concentrations and high-threshold calcium currents in mammalian cells. They provide further support for the notion that at least one target of lead's toxic action is the voltage-gated calcium channel.
Hegg
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Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706-1102, USA.
Miletic
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D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000633:toxicity*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects*; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats
D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D007854:Lead