Using highly purified sarcolemmal vesicles isolated from dog ventricles, we examined the effects of pH on Na+-Ca2+ exchange. The initial rate of Nai+-dependent Ca2+ uptake is a sigmoid function of pH. The Ca2+ uptake is inhibited at pH 6 and stimulated at pH 9 (as compared with uptake at pH 7.4). This dependence on pH suggests that the ionization state of a histidine residue may be important in...

We investigated the mechanisms of Ca2+ extrusion from cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells while monitoring changes in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) using fura 2 fluorescence. 45Ca2+ efflux from these cells consisted of two major mechanisms; one was dependent on the extracellular sodium concentration (Na+o) and the other was independent of Na+o. Na+o-dependent efflux increased m...

BACKGROUND/AIMS According to previous observations, enhanced store-operated Ca2+-entry (SOCE) accomplished by the pore forming ion channel unit Orai1 and its regulator STIM1 contribute to therapy resistance of ovary carcinoma cells. Ca2+ signaling is further shaped by Ca2+ extrusion through K+-independent (NCX) and/or K+-dependent (NCKX) Na+/Ca2+-exchangers. The present study thus explored whet...

Membrane vesicles isolated from rabbit ventricular tissue rapidly accumulated Ca2+ when an outwardly directed Na+ gradient was formed across the vesicle membrane. Vesicles loaded internally with K+ showed only 10% of the Ca2+ uptake activity observed with Na+-loaded vesicles. Dissipation of the Na+ gradient with the monovalent cation exchange ionophores nigericin or narasin caused a rapid decli...

Mammalian Na+/Ca2+ exchangers are members of three branches of a much larger family of transport proteins [the CaCA (Ca2+/cation antiporter) superfamily] whose main role is to provide control of Ca2+ flux across the plasma membranes or intracellular compartments. Since cytosolic levels of Ca2+ are much lower than those found extracellularly or in sequestered stores, the major function of Na+/Ca...

The role of the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger of heart mitochondria in cellular functioning is not yet clear. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of stimulation and inhibition of the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger on the matrix free Ca2+ concentration in isolated heart mitochondria and to determine the consequences of these changes on the rate of NADH production via Krebs cycle turnover a...

Activity-dependent modulation of synaptic transmission is an essential mechanism underlying many brain functions. Here we report an unusual form of synaptic modulation that depends on Na+ influx and mitochondrial Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger, but not on Ca2+ influx. In Ca(2+)-free medium, tetanic stimulation of Xenopus motoneurons induced a striking potentiation of transmitter release at neuromuscular ...

The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, an ion transport protein, is expressed in the plasma membrane (PM) of virtually all animal cells. It extrudes Ca2+ in parallel with the PM ATP-driven Ca2+ pump. As a reversible transporter, it also mediates Ca2+ entry in parallel with various ion channels. The energy for net Ca2+ transport by the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger and its direction depend on the Na+, Ca2+, and K+ gradie...

The relative importance of the Na+/Ca2+exchanger in the initial and terminal phases of relaxation and the decline in the [Ca2+]itransient was investigated in adult rabbit ventricular myocytes loaded with the Ca2+ indicator fluo 3. For electrically stimulated contractions, the peak intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was 700 ± 87 nM and end-diastolic [Ca2+]iwas 239 ± 30 nM (0.25 Hz, 37°C,...