Am J Physiol Cell Physiol Fuel your research with LabChart
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 285: C1304-C1313, 2003. First published July 23, 2003; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00568.2002
0363-6143/03 $5.00
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
285/5/C1304    most recent
00568.2002v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nihei, O. K.
Right arrow Articles by Alves, L. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nihei, O. K.
Right arrow Articles by Alves, L. A.

EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, CELL INTERACTIONS

A novel form of cellular communication among thymic epithelial cells: intercellular calcium wave propagation

O. K. Nihei,1,2,3 A. C. Campos de Carvalho,2 D. C. Spray,3 W. Savino,1,4 and L. A. Alves1

1Laboratory on Thymus Research, Department of Immunology, Institute Oswaldo Cruz, The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro; 2Institute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 3Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of Yeshiva, Bronx, New York 10461; and 4Necker Hospital, CNRS UMR-8603, Paris, France

Submitted 6 December 2002 ; accepted in final form 27 June 2003

We here describe intercellular calcium waves as a novel form of cellular communication among thymic epithelial cells. We first characterized the mechanical induction of intercellular calcium waves in different thymic epithelial cell preparations: cortical 1-4C18 and medullary 3-10 thymic epithelial cell lines and primary cultures of thymic "nurse" cells. All thymic epithelial preparations responded with intercellular calcium wave propagation after mechanical stimulation. In general, the propagation efficacy of intercellular calcium waves in these cells was high, reaching 80-100% of the cells within a given confocal microscopic field, with a mean velocity of 6-10 µm/s and mean amplitude of 1.4- to 1.7-fold the basal calcium level. As evaluated by heptanol and suramin treatment, our results suggest the participation of both gap junctions and P2 receptors in the propagation of intercellular calcium waves in thymic nurse cells and the more prominent participation of gap junctions in thymic epithelial cell lines. Finally, in cocultures, the transmission of intercellular calcium wave was not observed between the mechanically stimulated thymic epithelial cell and adherent thymocytes, suggesting that intercellular calcium wave propagation is limited to thymic epithelial cells and does not affect the neighboring thymocytes. In conclusion, these data describe for the first time intercellular calcium waves in thymic epithelial cells and the participation of both gap junctions and P2 receptors in their propagation.

gap junctions; connexin43; P2 receptors; intercellular communication


Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: L. A. Alves, Laboratory on Thymus Research, Dept. of Immunology, Institute Oswaldo Cruz, The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos 21045-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (E-mail: Alveslaa{at}ioc.fiocruz.br).






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 2003 by the American Physiological Society.