Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (54 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2021)
Elevations in cytosolic calcium (Ca2+) drive a wide array of immune cell functions, including cytokine production, gene expression, and cell motility. Live-cell imaging of cells loaded with ratiometric chemical Ca2+ indicators remains the gold standard for visualization and quantification of intracellular Ca2+ signals; ratiometric imaging can be accomplished with dyes such as Fura-2, the combination of Fluo-4 and Fura-Red, or, alternatively, by expressing genetically-encoded Ca2+ indicators (GECI) such as GCaMPs. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for Ca2+ imaging of T cells in vitro using genetically encoded or chemical indicators that can also be applied to a wide variety of cell types. The protocol addresses the challenge of facilitating T cell attachment on various substrates prepared on glass-bottom dishes to enable T cell imaging on an inverted microscope. The protocol also emphasizes cell preparation steps that ensure optimal cell viability - an essential requirement for recording dynamic changes in cytosolic Ca2+ levels - and that ensure reproducibility between multiple samples. Finally, we describe a simple algorithm to analyze single-cell Ca2+ signals over time using Fiji (ImageJ) software.
    Cover page: Calcium Imaging in T Lymphocytes: a Protocol for Use with Genetically Encoded or Chemical Ca2+ Indicators.
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Irvine Previously Published Works (1998)
    We used whole-cell recording to characterize ion permeation, rectification, and block of monovalent current through calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels in Jurkat T lymphocytes. Under physiological conditions, CRAC channels exhibit a high degree of selectivity for Ca2+, but can be induced to carry a slowly declining Na+ current when external divalent ions are reduced to micromolar levels. Using a series of organic cations as probes of varying size, we measured reversal potentials and calculated permeability ratios relative to Na+, PX/PNa, in order to estimate the diameter of the conducting pore. Ammonium (NH4+) exhibited the highest relative permeability (PNH4/PNa = 1.37). The largest permeant ion, tetramethylammonium with a diameter of 0.55 nm, had PTMA/PNa of 0.09. N-methyl-D-glucamine (0.50 x 0.64 x 1.20 nm) was not measurably permeant. In addition to carrying monovalent current, NH4+ reduced the slow decline of monovalent current ("inactivation") upon lowering [Ca2+]o. This kinetic effect of extracellular NH4+ can be accounted for by an increase in intracellular pH (pHi), since raising intracellular pH above 8 reduced the extent of inactivation. In addition, decreasing pHi reduced monovalent and divalent current amplitudes through CRAC channels with a pKa of 6.8. In several channel types, Mg2+ has been shown to produce rectification by a voltage-dependent block mechanism. Mg2+ removal from the pipette solution permitted large outward monovalent currents to flow through CRAC channels while also increasing the channel's relative Cs+ conductance and eliminating the inactivation of monovalent current. Boltzmann fits indicate that intracellular Mg2+ contributes to inward rectification by blocking in a voltage-dependent manner, with a z delta product of 1.88. Ca2+ block from the outside was also found to be voltage dependent with z delta of 1.62. These experiments indicate that the CRAC channel, like voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, achieves selectivity for Ca2+ by selective binding in a large pore with current-voltage characteristics shaped by internal Mg2+.
      Cover page: Monovalent Permeability, Rectification, and Ionic Block of Store-operated Calcium Channels in Jurkat T Lymphocytes
      • Thesis
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2017)

      Calcium is a ubiquitous cellular messenger that is essential in regulating a wide variety of functions in living organisms. Our understanding of Ca2+ signaling was first made possible by the use of synthetic small-molecule Ca2+ indicators to visualize Ca2+ dynamics within live cells. The subsequent development of genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators opened up new possibilities for in vivo monitoring of Ca2+ signaling, but until recently, the performance of these genetic indicators has always fallen behind those of small-molecule indicators. With the goal of developing new and improved options for Ca2+ imaging studies, we have created a transgenic reporter mouse expressing a novel ratiometric genetically encoded Ca+ indicator, and applied it to the study of T lymphocyte motility and activation.

      First, I describe the development of a novel ratiometric genetically encoded Ca2+ indicator, named “Salsa6f”, and demonstrate its use to monitor either cytosolic or near-membrane local Ca2+ signaling. Two-photon imaging is utilized to ensure functionality of Salsa6f in future in vivo studies. Salsa6f and a dominant-negative Orai1 mutant are then used to investigate the mechanism of Orai1-regulated stop-and-go T cell motility. Microfabricated channels are used in an in vitro assay that replicates the confined environmental conditions experienced by T cells in vivo in densely packed lymph nodes. I then describe the development of a transgenic mouse to express Salsa6f in a tissue-specific manner for in vivo studies of Ca2+ signaling in the immune and nervous systems. Lastly, I present two-photon imaging of cellular dynamics within mouse intact lymph node to study unperturbed, endogenous Tregs interacting with conventional T cells and dendritic cells. We demonstrate the crucial involvement of CTLA-4 in determining cellular dynamics among Tregs, conventional T cells, and dendritic cells in vivo. I also lay the groundwork for future in vivo studies utilizing transgenic reporter mice expressing genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators to study the Treg-mediated suppression of Ca2+ signaling in activating conventional T cells.

        Cover page: Visualizing Calcium Dynamics in the Regulation of T Lymphocyte Motility and Activation
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2014)
        After endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) store depletion, Orai channels in the plasma membrane (PM) are activated directly by ER-resident stromal interacting molecule (STIM) proteins to form the Ca(2+)-selective Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channel. Of the three human Orai channel homologues, only Orai3 can be activated by high concentrations (>50 µM) of 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (2-APB). 2-APB activation of Orai3 occurs without STIM1-Orai3 interaction or store depletion, and results in a cationic, nonselective current characterized by biphasic inward and outward rectification. Here we use cysteine scanning mutagenesis, thiol-reactive reagents, and patch-clamp analysis to define the residues that assist in formation of the 2-APB-activated Orai3 pore. Mutating transmembrane (TM) 1 residues Q83, V77, and L70 to cysteine results in potentiated block by cadmium ions (Cd(2+)). TM1 mutants E81C, G73A, G73C, and R66C form channels that are not sensitive to 2-APB activation. We also find that Orai3 mutant V77C is sensitive to block by 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA), but not 2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSET). Block induced by reaction with MTSEA is state dependent, as it occurs only when Orai3-V77C channels are opened by either 2-APB or by cotransfection with STIM1 and concurrent passive store depletion. We also analyzed TM3 residue E165. Mutation E165A in Orai3 results in diminished 2-APB-activated currents. However, it has little effect on store-operated current density. Furthermore, mutation E165C results in Cd(2+)-induced block that is state dependent: Cd(2+) only blocks 2-APB-activated, not store-operated, mutant channels. Our data suggest that the dilated pore of 2-APB-activated Orai3 is lined by TM1 residues, but also allows for TM3 E165 to approach the central axis of the channel that forms the conducting pathway, or pore.
          Cover page: State-dependent block of Orai3 TM1 and TM3 cysteine mutants: Insights into 2-APB activation
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2013)
          After endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) store depletion, Orai channels in the plasma membrane (PM) are activated directly by ER-resident STIM proteins to form the Ca(2+)-selective Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channel. However, in the absence of Ca(2+) store depletion and STIM interaction, the mammalian homologue Orai3 can be activated by 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (2-APB), resulting in a nonselective cation conductance characterized by biphasic inward and outward rectification. Here, we use site-directed mutagenesis and patch-clamp analysis to better understand the mechanism by which 2-APB activates Orai3. We find that point mutation of glycine 158 in the third transmembrane (TM) segment to cysteine, but not alanine, slows the kinetics of 2-APB activation and prevents complete channel closure upon 2-APB washout. The "slow" phenotype exhibited by Orai3 mutant G158C reveals distinct open states, characterized by variable reversal potentials. The slow phenotype can be reversed by application of the reducing reagent bis(2-mercaptoethylsulfone) (BMS), but in a state-dependent manner, only during 2-APB activation. Moreover, the double mutant C101G/G158C, in which an endogenous TM2 cysteine is changed to glycine, does not exhibit altered kinetics of 2-APB activation. We suggest that a disulfide bridge, formed between the introduced cysteine at TM3 position 158 and the endogenous cysteine at TM2 position 101, hinders transitions between Orai3 open and closed states. Our data provide functional confirmation of the proximity of these two residues and suggest a location within the Orai3 protein that is sensitive to the actions of 2-APB.
            Cover page: Orai3 TM3 point mutation G158C alters kinetics of 2-APB–induced gating by disulfide bridge formation with TM2 C101
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2010)
            The immunological synapse (IS) as a concept has evolved from a static view of the junction between T cells and their antigen-presenting cell partners. The entire process of IS formation and extinction is now known to entail a dynamic reorganization of membrane domains and proteins within and adjacent to those domains. The entire process is also intricately tied to the motility machinery—both as that machinery directs “scanning” prior to T-cell receptor engagement and as it is appropriated during the ongoing developments at the IS. While the synapse often remains dynamic in order to encourage surveillance of new antigen-presenting surfaces, cytoskeletal forces also regulate the development of signals, likely including the assembly of ion channels. In both neuronal and immunological synapses, localized Ca2+ signals and accumulation or depletion of ions in microdomains accompany the concentration of signaling molecules in the synapse. Such spatiotemporal signaling in the synapse greatly accelerates kinetics and provides essential checkpoints to validate effective cell–cell communication.
              Cover page: The Immunological Synapse: a Dynamic Platform for Local Signaling
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Irvine Previously Published Works (1997)
              Extracellular ATP (ATPo) elicits a robust change in the concentration of intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in fura-2-loaded mouse thymocytes. Most thymocytes (60%) exposed to ATPo exhibited a biphasic rise in [Ca2+]i; [Ca2+]i rose slowly at first to a mean value of 260 nM after 163 s and then increased rapidly to a peak level of 735 nM. In many cells, a declining plateau, which lasted for more than 10 min, followed the crest in [Ca2+]i. Experiments performed in the absence of extracellular [Ca2+]o abolished the rise in thymocyte [Ca2+]i, indicating that Ca2+ influx, rather than the release of stored Ca2+, is stimulated by ATPo. ATPo- mediated Ca2+ influx was potentiated as the [Mg2+]o was reduced, confirming that ATP4- is the active agonist form. In the absence of Mg2+o, 3'-O-(4-benzoyl)benzoyl-ATP (BzATP) proved to be the most effective agonist of those tested. The rank order of potency for adenine nucleotides was BzATP4->ATP4->MgATP2->ADP3-, suggesting purinoreceptors of the P2X7/P2Z class mediate the ATPo response. Phenotyping experiments illustrate that both immature (CD4-CD8-, CD4+CD8+) and mature (CD4+CD8-, CD4-CD8+) thymocyte populations respond to ATP. Further separation of the double-positive population by size revealed that the ATPo-mediated [Ca2+]i response was much more pronounced in large (actively dividing) than in small (terminally differentiated) CD4+CD8+ thymocytes. We conclude that thymocytes vary in sensitivity to ATPo depending upon the degree of maturation and suggest that ATPo may be involved in processes that control cellular differentiation within the thymus.
                Cover page: Dynamics of ATP-induced Calcium Signaling in Single Mouse Thymocytes
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2016)
                Orai1 comprises the pore-forming subunit of the Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channel. When bound and activated by stromal interacting molecule 1 (STIM1), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident calcium sensor, Orai1 channels possess high selectivity for calcium but extremely small conductance that has precluded direct recording of single-channel currents. We have developed an approach to visualize Orai1 activity by fusing Orai1 to fluorescent, genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs). The GECI-Orai1 probes reveal local Ca(2+) influx at STIM1-Orai1 puncta. By whole cell recording, these fusions are fully functional as CRAC channels. When GECI-Orai1 and the CRAC-activating domain (CAD) of STIM1 were coexpressed at low levels and imaged using a total internal reflectance fluorescence microscope, cells exhibited sporadic fluorescence transients the size of diffraction-limited spots and the brightness of a few activated GECI proteins. Transients typically rose rapidly and fell into two classes according to duration: briefer "flickers" lasting only a few hundred milliseconds, and longer "pulses" lasting one to several seconds. The size, intensity, trace shape, frequency, distribution, physiological characteristics, and association with CAD binding together demonstrate that GECI-Orai1 fluorescence transients correspond to single-channel Orai1 responses. Single Orai1 channels gated by CAD, and small Orai1 puncta gated by STIM1, exhibit repetitive fluctuations in single-channel output. CAD binding supports a role in open state maintenance and reveals a second phase of CAD/STIM1 binding after channel opening. These first recordings of single-channel Orai1 currents reveal unexpected dynamics, and when paired with CAD association, support multiple single-channel states.
                  Cover page: Genetically targeted single-channel optical recording reveals multiple Orai1 gating states and oscillations in calcium influx.
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UC Irvine Previously Published Works (1999)
                  Contact with antigen-presenting cells (APCs) initiates an activation cascade within T lymphocytes, including a rise in cytosolic calcium, lymphokine production, and cell division. Although T cell-APC physical contact is required for an immune response, little is known about the patterns of cellular interactions and their relation to activation. Calcium imaging combined with an optical trap enabled the T cell contact requirements and polarity to be investigated at the single-cell level. APCs or anti-CD3 mAb-coated beads were trapped with a laser and placed at different locations along the T cell, which has a polarized appearance defined by the shape and direction of crawling. T cells were 3-fold more sensitive to APC contact made at the leading edge of the T cell than with contact made at the tail. Anti-CD3 mAb-coated 6-micrometer beads induced calcium signaling with approximately 10-fold higher frequency and approximately 4-fold shorter latency on contact with the leading edge of the T cell than on contact with the trailing edge. Alterations in antibody density (2 to 500 per micrometer(2)) and bead size (1 to 6 micrometer in diameter) were used to determine the spatial requirements and the minimal number of receptors which must be engaged to transmit a positive signal. T cell response percentage, latency, and calcium-signaling pattern (transient vs. sustained or oscillatory) depended on antibody density on the bead. The presence of approximately 170 anti-CD3 mAb within the contact area elicited a detectable T cell calcium response. We propose here that engagement of no more than 340 T cell receptors (approximately 1% of the total on the cell) is sufficient to initiate Ca(2+) signaling. The minimal contact area was approximately 3 micrometer(2).
                    Cover page: Mapping the sensitivity of T cells with an optical trap: Polarity and minimal number of receptors for Ca2+ signaling
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2004)
                    Using whole-cell recording in Drosophila S2 cells, we characterized a Ca(2+)-selective current that is activated by depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores. Passive store depletion with a Ca(2+)-free pipette solution containing 12 mM BAPTA activated an inwardly rectifying Ca2+ current with a reversal potential >60 mV. Inward currents developed with a delay and reached a maximum of 20-50 pA at -110 mV. This current doubled in amplitude upon increasing external Ca2+ from 2 to 20 mM and was not affected by substitution of choline for Na+. A pipette solution containing approximately 300 nM free Ca2+ and 10 mM EGTA prevented spontaneous activation, but Ca2+ current activated promptly upon application of ionomycin or thapsigargin, or during dialysis with IP3. Isotonic substitution of 20 mM Ca2+ by test divalent cations revealed a selectivity sequence of Ba2+ > Sr2+ > Ca2+ >> Mg2+. Ba2+ and Sr2+ currents inactivated within seconds of exposure to zero-Ca2+ solution at a holding potential of 10 mV. Inactivation of Ba2+ and Sr2+ currents showed recovery during strong hyperpolarizing pulses. Noise analysis provided an estimate of unitary conductance values in 20 mM Ca2+ and Ba2+ of 36 and 420 fS, respectively. Upon removal of all external divalent ions, a transient monovalent current exhibited strong selectivity for Na+ over Cs+. The Ca2+ current was completely and reversibly blocked by Gd3+, with an IC50 value of approximately 50 nM, and was also blocked by 20 microM SKF 96365 and by 20 microM 2-APB. At concentrations between 5 and 14 microM, application of 2-APB increased the magnitude of Ca2+ currents. We conclude that S2 cells express store-operated Ca2+ channels with many of the same biophysical characteristics as CRAC channels in mammalian cells.
                      Cover page: A Store-operated Calcium Channel in Drosophila S2 Cells
                      Top