The sarcoplasmic reticulum: a comparative study.

F Franciolini

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(85)90035-0

Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 2858304

The sarcoplasmic reticulum: a comparative study.

F Franciolini

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The diversity of cellular membrane structures associated with regulation of intracellular calcium level is described in several different groups of organisms and cells. All the instances reported refer to cellular processes related to movement, in which calcium ion acts as trigger and/or modulator. In addition, a simplified five-stage picture of the underlying view of evolution of these structures is presented. In short: the choice made by nature in using calcium as intracellular messenger was very early in the history of life; all cellular structures devoted to intracellular calcium regulation, from the simplest form of amoeba to the highly sophisticated apparatus of mammalian skeletal muscle, can be linked together in the chain of evolution. Because the evidence is still sparse, any conclusion more positive would be speculative and of little value. Hopefully, in the coming years, with a better understanding of membrane architecture as a whole and its protein components (i.e. calcium channels, calcium-binding proteins), we will be able to test the first segments of this evolutionary hypothesis.

Explore related subjects

Amoeba Animals Biological Evolution Biological Transport, Active Calcium Contractile Proteins Intracellular Membranes Movement Muscle Contraction Muscle, Smooth Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

F Franciolini. 1985. The sarcoplasmic reticulum: a comparative study.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0300-9629(85)90035-0

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed1992

The phylogenetic status of Sarcobium lyticum, an obligate intracellular bacterial parasite of small amoebae.

A 16S rRNA gene of the obligate intracellular bacterial parasite Sarcobium lyticum was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction in combination with site-specific primers. The amplified DNA was cloned, sequenced and compared with other bacterial 16S rRNA sequences. The analysis revealed that S. lyticum belongs to the gamma subclass of the Proteobacteria and shows the closest relationship to an intracellular Legionella species recovered by amoebal enrichment from the sputum of a patient with pneumonia. S. lyticum could be detected in situ with a fluorescent oligonucleotide probe by whole cell hybridization.

Amoeba↗

PubMed1992

Legionella pneumophila mip gene potentiates intracellular infection of protozoa and human macrophages.

Legionella pneumophila is an intracellular parasite of freshwater protozoa and human macrophages. Recent studies determined that the macrophage infectivity potentiator (Mip) surface protein, a prokaryotic homolog of the FK506-binding proteins, is required for optimal infection of macrophages. To determine whether Mip is also involved in L. pneumophila infection of protozoa, we examined the ability of a strain lacking Mip to parasitize Hartmannella amoebae and Tetrahymena ciliates. After 3 days of incubation, approximately 1000-fold fewer bacteria were recovered from protozoan cocultures infected with the Mip- strain than from those cocultures infected with an isogenic Mip+ strain. The mip mutant was, however, not impaired in its ability to bind to amoebae cell surfaces, indicating that Mip is involved in bacterial resistance to intracellular killing and/or intracellular multiplication. These data suggest that L. pneumophila employs similar genes and mechanisms to infect human cells and protozoa. Furthermore, they support the hypothesis that the ability of L. pneumophila to parasitize macrophages and hence to cause human disease is a consequence of its prior adaptation to intracellular growth within protozoa.

Amoeba↗

PubMed1992

Construction of a thermotaxis chamber providing spatial or temporal thermal gradients monitored by an infrared video camera system.

A thermotaxis chamber was constructed to quantitatively study thermotaxis in eukaryotic amoeboid cells. The apparatus provided either spatial or temporal temperature gradients in an observation chamber set in an inverted microscope. With an infrared video camera system, spatial thermal gradients were monitored directly and the temperature at the actual location of the cells could be estimated accurately. This enabled a precise determination of the strength of thermal stimuli. With this apparatus, we were able to simultaneously measure temperature and observe cellular behavior directly. This feature permits quantitative studies on stimulus-response relationships. The utility of the apparatus was demonstrated by thermotaxis assay under a spatial thermal gradient in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Since this apparatus can also provide temporal thermal gradients, it may have several applications in studies of temperature-dependent phenomena in cell biology.

Amoeba↗