The effects of thimerosal on calcium uptake and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced calcium release in cerebellar microsomes.

Thimerosal inhibits calcium uptake in skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and rat cerebellar microsomes by inhibiting the Ca(2+)-ATPase. In the presence of 5 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), Ca2+ uptake and ATPase activity were not inhibited by thimerosal, indicating that thimerosal modifies cysteine residues of the Ca(2+)-ATPase. Low thimerosal concentrations (2 microM) sensitize the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-sensitive Ca2+ channel, making it open at lower InsP3 concentrations. Higher concentrations of thimerosal, however, cause inhibition of InsP3-induced Ca2+ release. Both sensitization and inhibition of the InsP3 receptor by thimerosal can be prevented by DTT. The binding and metabolism of InsP3 by cerebellar microsomes is not affected by thimerosal. The amount of InsP3-induced Ca2+ release is co-operatively linked to the InsP3 concentration with a Hill coefficient of 2.0 +/- 0.3. This is decreased to 1.0 +/- 0.2 at inhibitory concentrations of thimerosal. Under our experimental conditions, we observed no dependence of quantal Ca2+ release on intraluminal Ca2+ concentration.