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Increased calcium influx in the presence of ethanol in mouse pancreatic acinar cells
Author(s) -
Del CastilloVaquero Angel,
Salido Ginés M.,
González Antonio
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of experimental pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1365-2613
pISSN - 0959-9673
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2613.2009.00691.x
Subject(s) - calcium , ethanol , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , endocrinology , biology , biochemistry
Summary The effects of alcohol on Ca 2+ signalling remains poorly understood. Here we have investigated the effects of acute ethanol exposure on Ca 2+ influx in mouse pancreatic acinar cells. Cells were loaded with fura‐2 and the changes in fluorescence were monitored by spectrofluorimetry and imaging analysis. Stimulation of cells with 20 pM cholecystokinin evoked an oscillatory pattern in [Ca 2+ ] c , both in the presence and in the absence of extracellular Ca 2+ . Stimulation of cells with cholecystokinin in the presence of 50 mM ethanol led to a transformation of physiological oscillations into a single transient increase in [Ca 2+ ] c . This effect was observed when Ca 2+ was present in the extracellular medium, and did not appear in its absence. Addition of 1 mM CaCl 2 to the extracellular medium, following release of Ca 2+ from intracellular stores by stimulation of cells with 1 nM cholecystokinin or 1 μM thapsigargin in the absence of extracellular Ca 2+ , was followed by an increase in [Ca 2+ ] c . Ca 2+ influx was increased in the presence of 50 mM ethanol. The anti‐oxidant cinnamtannin B‐1 (10 μM) or inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase by 4‐MP (1 mM), significantly reduced Ca 2+ influx evoked by cholecystokinin in the presence of ethanol. In summary, intoxicating concentrations of ethanol may lead to over stimulation of pancreatic acinar cells by cholecystokinin. This might be partially explained by the generation of reactive oxygen species and an increased Ca 2+ entry in the presence of ethanol. Potentially ethanol might lead to Ca 2+ overload, which is a common pathological precursor that is implicated in pancreatitis.