AUTHOR=Wakida Nicole M. , Gomez-Godinez Veronica , Li Huayan , Nguyen Jessica , Kim Edward K. , Dynes Joseph L. , Othy Shivashankar , Lau Alice L. , Ding Peng , Shi Linda , Carmona Christopher , Thompson Leslie M. , Cahalan Michael D. , Berns Michael W. TITLE=Calcium Dynamics in Astrocytes During Cell Injury JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology VOLUME=8 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00912 DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2020.00912 ISSN=2296-4185 ABSTRACT=

The changes in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]) following laser-induced cell injury in nearby cells were studied in primary mouse astrocytes selectively expressing the Ca2+ sensitive GFAP-Cre Salsa6f fluorescent tandem protein, in an Ast1 astrocyte cell line, and in primary mouse astrocytes loaded with Fluo4. Astrocytes in these three systems exhibit distinct changes in [Ca2+] following induced death of nearby cells. Changes in [Ca2+] appear to result from release of Ca2+ from intracellular organelles, as opposed to influx from the external medium. Salsa6f expressing astrocytes displayed dynamic Ca2+ changes throughout the phagocytic response, including lamellae protrusion, cytosolic signaling during vesicle formation, vesicle maturation, and vesicle tract formation. Our results demonstrate local changes in [Ca2+] are involved in the process of phagocytosis in astrocytes responding to cell corpses and/or debris.