Metal selectivity of exocytosis in alpha-toxin-permeabilized bovine chromaffin cells.

Metal selectivity of exocytosis was analyzed by comparing the effects of polyvalent metal cations Ca2+, Ba2+, Sr2+, Pb2+, La3+, Cd2+, Co2+, Tb3+, Mn2+, and Zn2+ on the release of norepinephrine (NE) from staphylococcal alpha-toxin-permeabilized bovine chromaffin cells. Pb2+, La3+, Cd2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+ activated NE secretion accompanied by the release of intragranular dopamine beta-hydroxylase but not cytosolic lactate dehydrogenase, indicating the activation of the mechanism of exocytosis. The release triggered by saturating concentrations of Pb2+, La3+, Cd2+, and Sr2+ was nonadditive with Ca2+, indicating a common site of action. In contrast, the Ba2(+)-evoked NE release was additive with Ca2+ and the Ca2+ agonists Pb2+, La3+, Cd2+, and Sr2+, suggesting that Ba2+ activates secretion at a site distinct from the Ca2+ receptor. In distinction to the NE release evoked by Pb2+, La3+, Cd2+, and Ba2+, the Sr(2+)-evoked NE release was associated with a significant elevation of Ca2+ concentration in the medium and abolished by Ca2+ chelation. This indicates that the secretagogue effect of Sr2+ was indirect and secondary to the displacement of bound Ca2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ inhibited the NE release evoked by Ca2+, Sr2+, Pb2+, La3+, and Cd2+ but had no effect on the Ba(2+)-dependent secretion. Tb3+ and Zn2+ were without effect on exocytosis.