Cerella Claudia, Mearelli Cristina, De Nicola Milena, D'Alessio Maria, Magrini Andrea, Bergamaschi Antonio, Ghibelli Lina
Dipartimento di Biologia, Universita' di Roma Tor Vergata, via Ricerca Scientifica, 1, 00133 Roma (I), Italy.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Mar;1099:490-3. doi: 10.1196/annals.1387.021.
Many studies suggest that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ pool rather than cytosolic Ca2+ may play a crucial role in triggering apoptosis. In this study, we performed an image analysis of cells loaded with the fluorescent dye chlortetracycline (CTC) to in situ analyze Ca2+ changes within the ER in apoptosing promonocytic U937 cells. The results, validated through the use of thapsigargin (THG) as ER Ca2+ depletor, confirm the findings that apoptotic cells have a Ca2+-depleted ER, in contrast with treated but still viable cells.
