Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1984 Aug;57:281–287. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8457281

Cell calcium, cell injury and cell death.

B F Trump, I K Berezesky, T Sato, K U Laiho, P C Phelps, N DeClaris
PMCID: PMC1568285  PMID: 6437806

Abstract

The role of calcium in cell injury has been the subject of much recent investigation. The movement and redistribution of this cation from extra to intracellular compartments and the calcium shifts between intracellular compartments may well play a determinate role in the cell's reaction to injury. Therefore, data of such shifts and their correlation with morphological, biochemical and cytoskeletal studies will provide a better understanding of these processes. To study the effects of calcium regulation on acute lethal anoxic injury and the effects of inhibition of respiration with cyanide, three experimental systems were utilized: Ehrlich ascites tumor cells, isolated rabbit proximal tubule segments and suspended or cultured rat proximal tubule cells. Although our data showed no correlation between total cell calcium and cell death except in highly selected cell systems, they did indicate that calcium can be an important control variable. Therefore, massive increases in total cell calcium, as seen in Ca3(PO4)2 precipitation in mitochondria, must be a secondary event and represent the modern day equivalent of the classical dystrophic calcification seen by pathologists in the past. Although the involvement of extracellular calcium in cell death may well be significant in some cell types, redistribution of calcium within the intracellular compartments may play an even more important role.

Full text

PDF
281

Images in this article

283FIGURE 5.
on p.283
283FIGURE 6.
on p.283

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Balaban R. S., Soltoff S. P., Storey J. M., Mandel L. J. Improved renal cortical tubule suspension: spectrophotometric study of O2 delivery. Am J Physiol. 1980 Jan;238(1):F50–F59. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.1980.238.1.F50. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Casini A. F., Farber J. L. Dependence of the carbon-tetrachloride--induced death of cultured hepatocytes on the extracellular calcium concentration. Am J Pathol. 1981 Nov;105(2):138–148. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Joseph S. K., Coll K. E., Cooper R. H., Marks J. S., Williamson J. R. Mechanisms underlying calcium homeostasis in isolated hepatocytes. J Biol Chem. 1983 Jan 25;258(2):731–741. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Laiho K. U., Shelburne J. D., Trump B. F. Observations on cell volume, ultrastructure, mitochondrial conformation and vital-dye uptake in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Effects of inhibiting energy production and function of the plasma membrane. Am J Pathol. 1971 Oct;65(1):203–230. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Laiho K. U., Trump B. F. Relationship of ionic, water, and cell volume changes in cellular injury of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Lab Invest. 1974 Sep;31(3):207–215. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Laiho K. U., Trump B. F. The relationship between cell viability and changes in mitochondrial ultrastructure, cellular ATP, ion and water content following injury of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Virchows Arch B Cell Pathol. 1974;15(4):267–277. doi: 10.1007/BF02889343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Penttila A., Glaumann H., Trump B. F. Studies on the modification of the cellular response to injury. IV. Protective effect of extracellular acidosis against anoxia, thermal, and p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonic acid treatment of isolated rat liver cells. Life Sci. 1976 Jun 15;18(12):1419–1429. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(76)90359-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Penttila A., Trump B. F. Extracellular acidosis protects Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and rat renal cortex against anoxic injury. Science. 1974 Jul 19;185(4147):277–278. doi: 10.1126/science.185.4147.277. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Penttila A., Trump B. F. Studies on modification on the cellular response to injury. Lab Invest. 1975 Jun;32(6):690–695. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Penttila A., Trump B. F. Studies on the modification of the cellular response to injury. II. Electron microscopic studies on the protective effect of acidosis on anoxic injury of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Virchows Arch B Cell Pathol. 1975;18(1):1–16. doi: 10.1007/BF02889230. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Penttila A., Trump B. F. Studies on the modification of the cellular response to injury. III. Electron microscopic studies on the protective effect of acidosis on p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonic acid-(PCMBS) induced injury of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Virchows Arch B Cell Pathol. 1975;18(1):17–34. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Saladino A. J., Bentley P. J., Trump B. F. Ion movements in cell injury. Effect of amphotericin B on the ultrastructure and function of the epithelial cells of the toad bladder. Am J Pathol. 1969 Mar;54(3):421–466. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Smith M. T., Thor H., Orrenius S. Toxic injury to isolated hepatocytes is not dependent on extracellular calcium. Science. 1981 Sep 11;213(4513):1257–1259. doi: 10.1126/science.7268433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stacey N. H., Klaassen C. D. Lack of protection against chemically induced injury to isolated hepatocytes by omission of calcium from the incubation medium. J Toxicol Environ Health. 1982 Feb;9(2):267–276. doi: 10.1080/15287398209530160. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Trump B. F., Bulger R. E. Studies of cellular injury in isolated flounder tubules. 3. Light microscopic and functional changes due to cyanide. Lab Invest. 1968 Jun;18(6):721–730. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Trump B. F., Bulger R. E. Studies of cellular injury in isolated flounder tubules. IV. Electron microscopic observations of changes during the phase of altered homeostasis in tubules treated with cyanide. Lab Invest. 1968 Jun;18(6):731–739. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Trump B. F., Laiho K. U. Studies of cellular recovery from injury. I. Recovery from anoxia in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Lab Invest. 1975 Dec;33(6):706–711. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES