title: Cell spreading controls endoplasmic and nuclear calcium: a physical gene regulation pathway from the cell surface to the nucleus.
abstract: Cells attaching to an extracellular matrix through integrins flatten out (spread) on the matrix, eliciting cellular signals needed for survival. We show that the shape of the nucleus changes and the nuclear calcium level increases in spreading cells. Moreover, cell spreading and osmotic stretching of isolated nuclei cause release of perinuclear Ca(2+), and patch clamping of nuclei reveals stretch-activated Ca(2+) permeable channels. Gene expression assays with myocyte enhancer factor 2, which is activated by calmodulin-dependent kinase IV, indicate that the elevation in nuclear Ca(2+) is functionally significant. We propose a mechano-transduction pathway in which spreading-induced nuclear stretching releases Ca(2+) from the perinuclear space, and the resulting Ca(2+) elevation in the nucleus provokes changes in gene expression.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, The Burnham Institute, 10901 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Itano
authors.forename: Shu-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Dongxian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lipton
authors.forename: Erkki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruoslahti
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium