title: Involvement of the Ca2+-ATPase PAT1 and the contractile vacuole in calcium regulation in Dictyostelium discoideum.
abstract: In Dictyostelium discoideum, the Ca2+-ATPase, PAT1, is localized to membranes of the contractile vacuole and its expression is upregulated substantially when the cells are grown in Ca2+-rich medium. In this study, we have analyzed the cellular/molecular mechanisms regulating PAT1 expression and examined the role of PAT1 and the contractile vacuole in Ca2+ regulation. During both growth and development, Dictyostelium cells respond to low millimolar concentrations of extracellular Ca2+ and upregulate PAT1 in a few hours. This process is dependent on protein synthesis and the serine/threonine phosphatase, calcineurin. Immunofluorescence analysis indicates that the upregulated PAT1 is associated mainly with the contractile vacuole, but it is also on the plasma membrane. This latter finding suggests that the contractile vacuole fuses with the plasma membrane to eliminate excess intracellular Ca2+. In support of this idea, it was observed that conditions which impair contractile vacuolar function reduce the rate of Ca2+ secretion. It was also found that cells deficient in PAT1, due to the expression of antisense patA RNA or to the presence of calcineurin antagonists, grow normally in low Ca2+ medium but poorly or not at all in high Ca2+ medium. Together, these results suggest that PAT1 and the contractile vacuole are components of a Ca2+ sequestration and excretion pathway, which functions to help maintain Ca2+ homeostasis, especially under conditions of Ca2+ stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3J 1P3.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moniakis
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Coukell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janiec
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D000252:Calcium-Transporting ATPases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000378:metabolism; D003285:Contractile Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008954:Models, Biological; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002147:Calmodulin; D003285:Contractile Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C103266:PAT1 protein, S cerevisiae; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C075180:PatA protein, Anabaena; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases; D000252:Calcium-Transporting ATPases; D002118:Calcium