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Calcium content of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in liver frozen rapidly in vivo

Nature volume 314, pages 622–625 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

The recognition that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), rather than the mitochondria, is the main organelle regulating the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration in non-muscle cells1,2 supports the notion that an alternative physiological role of mitochondrial Ca transport3–5 is the modulation of Ca-sensitive mitochondrial enzymes through small (micromolar) fluctuations in the concentration of mitochondrial matrix Ca2+ (refs 1,5–7). The latter mechanism could operate only if the mitochondrial Ca concentration were low, as it is in muscle and retinal rods8,9, below the levels saturating the regulated enzymes5. In contrast, if the ER serves as an intracellular Ca store, its Ca content would be expected to be high. In view of the major metabolic function of the liver, the question of whether hepatic mitochondrial matrix Ca2+ regulates metabolism is particularly important, but the range of Ca concentrations reported for isolated liver mitochondria is too wide10–12 to provide a conclusive answer. Therefore, we have used electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) to measure the subcellular distribution of Ca in liver snap-frozen in vivo, and report here that the endoplasmic reticulum is a major intracellular store of Ca, while the concentration of Ca in mitochondria is low and compatible with the regulation of mitochondrial enzymes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, The School of Medicine, B42 Anatomy-Chemistry Bldg/G3, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA

    A. P. Somlyo, Meredith Bond & Avril V. Somlyo

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  1. A. P. Somlyo
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  2. Meredith Bond
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  3. Avril V. Somlyo
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Somlyo, A., Bond, M. & Somlyo, A. Calcium content of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in liver frozen rapidly in vivo. Nature 314, 622–625 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/314622a0

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