Amplitude-encoded calcium oscillations in fish cells Original Research Article

The reaction of intracellular Ca2+ to different agonist stimuli in primary hepatocytes from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as well as the permanent fish cell line RTL-W1 was investigated systematically. In addition to “classical” agonists such as phenylephrine and ATP, model environmental toxicants like 4-nitrophenol and 3,4-dichloroaniline were used to elucidate possible interactions between toxic effects and Ca2+ signaling. We report Ca2+ oscillations in response to several stimuli in RTL-W1 cells and to a lesser extent in primary hepatocytes. Moreover, these Ca2+ oscillations are amplitude-encoded in contrast to their mammalian counterpart. Bioinformatics and computational analysis were employed to identify key players of Ca2+ signaling in fish and to determine likely causes for the experimentally observed differences between the Ca2+ dynamics in fish cells compared to those in mammalian liver cells.