title: Mitochondrial Ca(2+) and apoptosis.
abstract: Mitochondria are key decoding stations of the apoptotic process. In support of this view, a large body of experimental evidence has unambiguously revealed that, in addition to the well-established function of producing most of the cellular ATP, mitochondria play a fundamental role in triggering apoptotic cell death. Various apoptotic stimuli cause the release of specific mitochondrial pro-apoptotic factors into the cytosol. The molecular mechanism of this release is still controversial, but there is no doubt that mitochondrial calcium (Ca(2+)) overload is one of the pro-apoptotic ways to induce the swelling of mitochondria, with perturbation or rupture of the outer membrane, and in turn the release of mitochondrial apoptotic factors into the cytosol. Here, we review as different proteins that participate in mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis and in turn modulate the effectiveness of Ca(2+)-dependent apoptotic stimuli. Strikingly, the final outcome at the cellular level is similar, albeit through completely different molecular mechanisms: a reduced mitochondrial Ca(2+) overload upon pro-apoptotic stimuli that dramatically blunts the apoptotic response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Section of General Pathology, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Inflammation (ICSI), Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giorgi
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baldassari
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bononi
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonora
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Marchi
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Missiroli
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patergnani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rimessi
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Suski
authors.forename: Mariusz R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wieckowski
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinton
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002118:Calcium