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Patterns of elevated free calcium and calmodulin activation in living cells

Nature volume 359, pages 736–738 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

THE temporal and spatial dynamics of intracellular signals and protein effectors are being defined as a result of imaging using fluorescent reagents within living cells1–5. We have described a new class of fluorescent analogues2 termed optical biosensors6, which sense chemical or molecular events through their effects on protein transducers7. One example of this new class of indicators is MeroCaM, an environmentally sensitive fluorophore which when it is attached to calmodulin reflects the activation of calmodulin by calcium in vitro2. We report here that the rise in free calcium and MeroCaM activation occur in the same period during serum stimulation of quiescent fibroblasts. MeroCaM activation also correlates with the spatial pattern of increased free calcium and the contraction of transverse fibres during wound healing1, 8–10. Finally, migrating fibroblasts in the later stages of wound-healing exhibit an increasing gradient of free calcium and MeroCaM activation from the front to the rear.

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Author notes

  1. Klaus Hahn

    Present address: Department of Neuropharmacotogy, Scripps Research Institute, 10666 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California, 92037, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Light Microscope Imaging and Biotechnology,

    Klaus Hahn, Robbin DeBiasio & D. Lansing Taylor

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, USA

    Klaus Hahn, Robbin DeBiasio & D. Lansing Taylor

Authors
  1. Klaus Hahn
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  2. Robbin DeBiasio
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  3. D. Lansing Taylor
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Hahn, K., DeBiasio, R. & Taylor, D. Patterns of elevated free calcium and calmodulin activation in living cells. Nature 359, 736–738 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/359736a0

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