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Special features of mitochondrial Ca2+ signalling in adrenal glomerulosa cells

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Abstract

Aldosterone, secreted by adrenal glomerulosa cells, allows the adaptation of the vertebrate organism to a wide range of physiological and pathological stimuli including acute haemodynamic challenges and long-term changes in dietary sodium and potassium intake. Most of the extracellular signals are mediated by cytosolic Ca2+ signal deriving from Ca2+ release, store-operated and/or voltage-gated Ca2+ influx. Mitochondria in glomerulosa cells play a fundamental role in generating and modulating the final biological response. These organelles not only house several enzymes of aldosterone biosynthesis but also—in a Ca2+-dependent manner—provide NADPH for the function of these enzymes. Moreover, mitochondria, constituting a high portion of cytoplasmic volume and displaying a uniquely low-threshold Ca2+ sequestering ability, shape and thus modulate the decoding of the complex cytosolic Ca2+ response. The unusual features of mitochondrial Ca2+ signalling that permit such an integrative function in adrenal glomerulosa cells are hereby described.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA TS-049851, TS-040865 and NK-72661) and the Council for Medical Research (ETT 0007/2006 and 008–09).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    András Spät & Gergö Szanda

  2. Laboratory of Neurobiochemistry, Molecular Physiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    András Spät & Gergö Szanda

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  1. András Spät
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  2. Gergö Szanda
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Correspondence to András Spät.

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This article is published as part of the Special Issue on Cell-specific roles of mitochondrial Ca2+ handling

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Spät, A., Szanda, G. Special features of mitochondrial Ca2+ signalling in adrenal glomerulosa cells. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 464, 43–50 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-012-1086-y

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