Highly cooperative dependence of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase SERCA2a pump activity on cytosolic calcium in living cells

J Biol Chem. 2011 Jun 10;286(23):20591-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.204685. Epub 2011 Apr 22.

Abstract

Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum (SR/ER) Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) is an intracellular Ca(2+) pump localized on the SR/ER membrane. The role of SERCA in refilling intracellular Ca(2+) stores is pivotal for maintaining intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis, and disturbed SERCA activity causes many disease phenotypes, including heart failure, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer disease. Although SERCA activity has been described using a simple enzyme activity equation, the dynamics of SERCA activity in living cells is still unknown. To monitor SERCA activity in living cells, we constructed an enhanced CFP (ECFP)- and FlAsH-tagged SERCA2a, designated F-L577, which retains the ATP-dependent Ca(2+) pump activity. The FRET efficiency between ECFP and FlAsH of F-L577 is dependent on the conformational state of the molecule. ER luminal Ca(2+) imaging confirmed that the FRET signal changes directly reflect the Ca(2+) pump activity. Dual imaging of cytosolic Ca(2+) and the FRET signals of F-L577 in intact COS7 cells revealed that SERCA2a activity is coincident with the oscillatory cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration changes evoked by ATP stimulation. The Ca(2+) pump activity of SERCA2a in intact cells can be expressed by the Hill equation with an apparent affinity for Ca(2+) of 0.41 ± 0.0095 μm and a Hill coefficient of 5.7 ± 0.73. These results indicate that in the cellular environment the Ca(2+) dependence of ATPase activation is highly cooperative and that SERCA2a acts as a rapid switch to refill Ca(2+) stores in living cells for shaping the intracellular Ca(2+) dynamics. F-L577 will be useful for future studies on Ca(2+) signaling involving SERCA2a activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • COS Cells
  • Calcium / metabolism*
  • Calcium Signaling / physiology*
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Cytosol / metabolism*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases / genetics
  • Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases / metabolism*
  • Spodoptera

Substances

  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • enhanced green fluorescent protein
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases
  • ATP2A2 protein, human
  • Calcium