E ec s o Cellula In e ac ions on Calcium Dynamics in
P olac in-Sec e ing Cells*
ELIZABETH J. ABRAHAM, CARLOS VILLALOBOS, AND L. STEPHEN FRAWLEY
Labo a o y o Molecula Dynamics, Depa men o Cell Biology and Ana omy, Medical Uni e si y o
Sou h Ca olina, Cha les on, Sou h Ca olina 29425
ABSTRACT
Signals de i ed om o he pi ui a y cells can ha e a d ama ic
e ec on PRL gene exp ession and sec e ion by mammo opes. How-
e e , he in acellula mechanisms by which hese e ec s a e man-
i es ed on he a ge cell emain unexplo ed. Inasmuch as calcium is
a key modula o o bo h gene exp ession and ho mone expo in
mammo opes, we e alua ed he e ec s o cell o cell con ac s.
speci ic cellula in e ac ions on calcium dynamics wi hin hese cells.
This was accomplished by digi al-imaging luo escence mic oscopy o
u a-2 in pi ui a y cells ha we e isola ed in cul u e (singles) o
adjoining one o he cell (double s). A e calcium imaging, we hen
subjec ed cells o immunocy ochemis y o PRL. Double s we e u -
he ca ego ized in o mammo opes a ached o ano he mammo ope
(M-M) o o a nonmammo ope (M-nonM). We hen calcula ed and
compa ed Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alues as well as Oscilla ion Indices (which
e lec he oscilla o y beha io o cells) in singles and double s and
ound ha hey we e no di e en (P.0.05). Howe e , he pheno ype
o he adjoining cell had a p o ound in luence on bo h o hese calcium
pa ame e s, such ha he p esence o one mammo ope could con-
sis en ly dec ease (P,0.05) he Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alue (39.17 63.83 s.
56.24 65.56 in M-nonM) and Oscilla ion Index (10.19 61.76 s.
21.21 63.73 in M-nonM) o i s neighbo ing coun e pa . A mo e
de ailed analysis o oscilla o y pa e ns in hese cells e ealed ha
nonoscilla o s we e mo e abundan in M-M (23%) han in M-nonM
(12%) double s. Taken oge he , ou esul s indica e ha PRL-
sec e ing cells con ey a signal ha dampens he oscilla o y beha io
o neighbo ing mammo opes. Thus, i appea s ha i is he pheno-
ype a he han he physical p esence o a neighbo ha con ols
in e cellula egula ion o calcium dynamics among mammo opes.
(Endoc inology 139: 2988–2993, 1998)
THERE IS NOW o e whelming expe imen al e idence o
suppo he exis ence and impo ance o in e cellula
communica ion among cells o he an e io pi ui a y gland,
and he PRL-sec e ing mammo ope has been a model o
choice o s udies o his phenomenon. E idence in suppo
o his iew de i es om s udies demons a ing ha sec e-
ion o a ho mone, such as PRL, is in luenced by he addi ion
o elimina ion o o he sec e o y cell ypes o he pi ui a y
(see Re s. 1–3 o e iews). Mo eo e , cell densi y-dependen
modula ion o ho mone sec e ion wi hin pi ui a y cul u es
also sugges s he exis ence o cell-cell in e ac ions (4, 5). In-
deed, mammo opes exis in a h ee-dimensional con igu a-
ion o a issue. He e, hey a e in in ima e con ac wi h o he
cells om which hey ecei e a a ie y o signals ha ha e
he po en ial o egula e bo h gene exp ession and ho mone
elease. Ye , despi e he weal h o in o ma ion a o ing in-
e cellula con ol o mammo ope unc ion, su p isingly li -
le is known abou how hese e ec s a e ansduced wi hin
he a ge cell. One pa icula ly s ong candida e o unc ion
as an in e media y in his p ocess is calcium. Clea ly, calcium
plays a pi o al ole in cell o cell adhesion o many cell ypes,
including hose o he pi ui a y, and cell-cell o cell-ma ix
adhesions ha e been shown o d ama ically in luence he
exp ession o a numbe o ho monal genes (6–9). Like mos
pi ui a y cells, mammo opes exhibi spon aneous oscilla-
ions o in acellula ee calcium ([Ca
21
]
i
) ha a e d i en by
elec ical ac i i y (10–12) and a e posi i ely co ela ed wi h
basal ho mone elease (13, 14). In addi ion, pha macological
manipula ion o [Ca
21
]
i
wi h agonis s o an agonis s e okes
p edic able changes o PRL elease and messenge RNA ac-
cumula ion (15, 16). Thus, calcium is a pi o al egula o o he
PRL biosyn he ic pa hway om he poin o gene ansc ip-
ion o ha o ho mone expo , bu he e ec s o cell o cell
signaling on [Ca
21
]
i
dynamics emain unexplo ed.
In a ecen s udy on in e cellula communica ion and gene
exp ession, we a emp ed o pa i ion he e ec s upon a
mammo ope o ha ing a neighbo (cell o cell con ac ) as
opposed o he na u e (pheno ype) o ha neighbo , and
ound ha he la e conside a ion was a mo e impo an
o PRL gene exp ession han he o me (17). Ou s a egy
o ha in es iga ion was o make “ eal- ime” measu emen s
o PRL gene exp ession in li ing, p ima y pi ui a y cells and
o ollow his wi h immunocy ochemis y ( o pos ac o iden-
i ica ion o he pheno ype o a gi en cell o i s neighbo ). The
pa adigm o he p esen s udy was concep ually iden ical o
his, wi h he only majo depa u e being ha digi al-imag-
ing luo escence mic oscopy o a calcium-sensi i e dye was
subs i u ed o analysis o gene exp ession. In his manne ,
we could a emp o de e mine whe he he in e nal calcium
dynamics o a mammo ope we e also modula ed by he
p esence and/o sec e o y na u e o a neighbo .
Ma e ials and Me hods
Animals and cell cul u e
An e io pi ui a y glands om p imipa ous lac a ing a s (days 5–12
pos pa um) we e collec ed a e decapi a ion and enzyma ically dis-
pe sed in o single cells as desc ibed p e iously (18). Cells we e allowed
Recei ed Decembe 22, 1997.
Add ess all co espondence and eques s o ep in s o: D . L.
S ephen F awley, Labo a o y o Molecula Dynamics, Depa men o
Cell Biology and Ana omy, Medical Uni e si y o Sou h Ca olina,
Cha les on, Sou h Ca olina 29425. E-mail: [email p o ec ed].
* This s udy was suppo ed by unds om NIH G an DK-38215 and
a USDA-Compe i i e Resea ch G an (95-37206-2438).
0013-7227/98/$03.00/0 Vol. 139, No. 6
Endoc inology P in ed in U.S.A.
Copy igh © 1998 by The Endoc ine Socie y
2988
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o a ach on o poly-lysine coa ed, g idded, glass co e slips a a densi y
o 250,000 cells/90
m
l de ined medium [equal olumes o phenol- ee
M-199 wi h Nu ien mix F-12 (Li e Technologies, G and Island, NY),
supplemen ed wi h 0.1% BSA, insulin- ans e in-selenium P emix, and
an ibio ics] and hen placed in o 35-mm plas ic Pe i dishes. A e a 1-h
a achmen pe iod, de ined medium con aining 5% FBS was added, and
he cells we e cul u ed a 37 C in 95% ai : 5% CO
2
o 2 days un il hey
we e used o [Ca
21
]
i
imaging o gap-junc ion coupling expe imen s.
Digi al-imaging luo escence mic oscopy o u a-2
Loading o cells. On day 2 o cul u e, cells we e washed and loaded wi h
2
m
mo he calcium-sensi i e dye u a-2/AM (Molecula P obes,
Eugene, OR) in phenol- ee DMEM (Li e Technologies) supplemen ed
wi h 5 mmd-glucose, 2 mml-glu amine, 1 mmsodium py u a e, 5 mm
sodium bica bona e, 10 mmHEPES, and 34 mmsodium chlo ide (pH
7.4). A e 1.5 h, cells we e washed 3 imes wi h he same medium and
placed on he hea ed s age (a 37 C) o an in e ed mic oscope equipped
wi h a 403objec i e. Cells we e al e na ely epi-illumina ed wi h a
UV-ligh a 340 and 380 nm exci a ion wa eleng h. Ligh emi ed abo e
520 nm was eco ded o 20 min and analyzed using an A o luo Ra io
Vision Sys em (A o Ins umen s, Rock ille, MD). Fo e e y aw image,
a o al o 4 ideo ames (2 ames pe wa eleng h) we e acqui ed. Then,
a a io o he mean luo escence in ensi y a 340/380 was calcula ed wi h
an o e all ime esolu ion o 4 sec. Calib a ion o luo escence a ios [R]
was pe o med acco ding o he o mula desc ibed by G ynkiewicz e al.
(19). Fu a-2 s anda ds we e used o cons uc a calib a ion cu e. This
cu e was hen used o con e a ios [R] in o [Ca
21
]
i
(20, 21).
Analysis o [Ca
21
]
i
.In he cu en s udy, we calcula ed wo unc ional pa-
ame e s o Ca
21
dynamics: he Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alue and he Oscilla ion
Index. As desc ibed elsewhe e, hese pa ame e s e lec dis inc ly di e en
ways o e alua ing he same da a se (22, 23). The Mean [Ca
21
]
i
was
ob ained by in eg a ing alues collec ed a 4-sec in e als and di iding
hem by ime o measu emen . The Oscilla ion Index, on he o he hand,
deno es he ela i e change in [Ca
21
]
i
du ing he collec ion pe iod. We
achie ed his by calcula ing he di e ence in [Ca
21
]
i
alues be ween con-
secu i e in e als o measu emen o e he du a ion o sampling. Thus, i
is possible ha a gi en cell could ha e a high Oscilla ion Index (because o
high equency oscilla ions) e en hough i s Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alue is low, o
ice- e sa.
Immunocy ochemis y. A e [Ca
21
]
i
imaging, cells we e washed and ixed
wi h B-5 bu e ed o malin o 45 min. They we e hen subjec ed o
immunocy ochemical de ec ion o PRL as con olled and desc ibed
p e iously (18). PRL-posi i e cells we e e ealed a e exposu e o dia-
minobenzidine (Sigma, S . Louis, MO) solu ion o 6 min, and he same
ield p e iously used o [Ca
21
]
i
imaging was eiden i ied by i s posi ion
on he co e slip, which was pho oeng a ed wi h a numbe ed/le e ed
g id pa e n.
Gap-junc ions
The possible exis ence o unc ional gap-junc ions be ween an e io
pi ui a y cells was de e mined by comic oinjec ing Luci e yellow (4%)
and dex an- hodamine (0.1%) in o one o a pai o adjoining cells.
Mic oinjec ion was achie ed h ough inely pulled, glass capilla ies in
se ies wi h an Eppendo semiau oma ed mic oinjec ion sys em (17).
Ten minu es pos injec ion, co e slips we e assembled in o Sykes-Moo e
chambe s ha we e illed wi h se um- ee DMEM. This assembly was
hen ans e ed o he s age o an Axiopho mic oscope equipped wi h
a UV ligh sou ce and app op ia e exci a ion-emission il e s o luo-
escen isualiza ion o Luci e yellow and hodamine. As a posi i e
con ol, we also coinjec ed con luen cul u es o GT1–1 neu ons (a clonal
GnRH cell line) wi h he same a io o luo escen dyes used o pi ui a y
cells. P e ious epo s by o he in es iga o s con i med he p esence o
unc ional gap-junc ions in he majo i y o hese neu ons (24).
S a is ical analysis
Compa isons be ween any wo ea men g oups we e made wi h a
wo- ailed, S uden ’s es and esul s we e exp essed as mean 1sem.
Da a epo ed in Table 1 we e analyzed using a wo-way ANOVA
ollowed by a mul iple compa isons es (Fishe ’s leas signi ican di -
e ence). Di e ences we e conside ed signi ican a P,0.05.
Resul s
Ou ini ial aim was o e alua e he e ec o cell o cell
con ac on [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions in mammo opes. To his end,
FIG. 1. Expe imen al p o ocol employed in his s udy. A, An e io pi-
ui a y cells (one double shown) we e subjec ed o [Ca
21
]
i
measu e-
men s by digi al-imaging luo escence mic oscopy o u a-2. The pe im-
e e o each box dema ca es he a ea in which all luo escence
measu emen s we e eco ded in ha cell. No e ha each box co esponds
o indi idual cell and does no o e lap wi h he adjacen one. Rela i e
[Ca
21
]
i
is indica ed in panel A by he wa me colo s on he ascending
pseudocolo scale o he igh . B, A e [Ca
21
]
i
measu emen s, he same
cells we e ixed and subjec ed o immunocy ochemis y o PRL. In his
pa icula ins ance, he double shown is comp ised o wo mammo-
opes. C, [Ca
21
]
i
ansien s o he same cells a e illus a ed. No e ha
he spon aneous oscilla ions we e asynch onous.
PARACRINE COMMUNICATION AND CALCIUM DYNAMICS IN MAMMOTROPES 2989
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we combined digi al-imaging luo escence mic oscopy o
u a-2 wi h immunocy ochemis y o PRL (Fig. 1, A and B).
Iden i ied mammo opes ha we e cul u ed in isola ion (sin-
gles) o in physical con ac wi h jus one o he cell (double s)
we e hen compa ed in e ms o he a o emen ioned [Ca
21
]
i
pa ame e s. As shown in Fig. 2, Oscilla ion Index alues o
single mammo opes and hose in he double con igu a ion
we e i ually iden ical (P.0.05). Likewise, he Mean
[Ca
21
]
i
alues o singles and double s we e also indis in-
guishable (P.0.05). These esul s demons a e ha cell o
cell con ac pe se does no in luence Ca
21
dynamics in mam-
mo opes cul u ed unde basal condi ions.
A e de e mining ha he me e p esence o ano he cell
had no measu able e ec on [Ca
21
]
i
in mammo opes, we nex
assessed whe he he na u e (pheno ype) o he neighbo migh
ha e an in luence. Acco dingly, we pe o med [Ca
21
]
i
imaging
on only hose cells in he double con igu a ion and ollowed
his wi h immunocy ochemical de ec ion o PRL as be o e.
Iden i ied mammo opes in he double con igu a ion we e
subsequen ly ca ego ized on he basis o whe he hey we e
a ached o ano he mammo ope (M-M) o o a nonmammo-
ope (M-nonM; in hese cells [Ca
21
]
i
alues o mammo opes
and no hose o nonmammo opes we e analyzed). In e es -
ingly, we ound ha bo h Oscilla ion Index and he Mean
[Ca
21
]
i
alues we e signi ican ly lowe (P,0.05) o he M-M
double s when compa ed wi h hei M-nonM coun e pa s (Fig.
3). Inasmuch as “a e aged” esponses do no e lec he oscil-
la o y beha io o indi idual mammo opes in he M-M o
M-nonM ca ego ies, we plo ed he Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alue o each
mammo ope agains i s co esponding Oscilla ion Index
alue. As shown in Fig. 4, double s in he M-nonM con igu a-
FIG. 2. Cell- o-cell con ac has no e ec on spon aneous [Ca
21
]
i
os-
cilla ions. Ba s (mean 1SEM) in panels A and B ep esen Oscilla ion
Index and Mean [Ca
21
]
i
o mammo opes ha we e isola ed om
o he cells (singles; n 5160 cells) o in con ac wi h one o he cell
(double s; n 5141 cells). Cells ob ained om nine di e en dispe -
sions we e used. No e ha he [Ca
21
]
i
alue in he aces shown in
Figs. 1C and 5 a e highe han hose depic ed in Figs. 2 and 3 because
he ace ep esen s [Ca
21
]
i
alues eco ded a 4-sec in e als,
whe eas Mean [Ca
21
]
i
ep esen s he sum o all eco ded alues di-
ided by o al ime (i.e. nM/sec).
FIG. 3. Spon aneous [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions a e in luenced by he phe-
no ype o a neighbo ing cell. Ba s (mean 1SEM) in panels A and B
ep esen Oscilla ion Indices and Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alues, espec i ely,
o mammo opes in con ac wi h ano he mammo ope (M-M; n 552
cells) o a nonmammo ope (M-nonM; n 589 cells). Cells ob ained
om nine di e en dispe sions we e used. *, P,0.05 s. M-nonM.
2990 PARACRINE COMMUNICATION AND CALCIUM DYNAMICS IN MAMMOTROPES Endo •1998
Vol 139 •No 6
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ion and singles displayed a disc e e subpopula ion wi h a
ela i ely high Oscilla ion Index and Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alue. A
co esponding g oup o highly ac i e mammo opes was i -
ually absen o double s in he M-M ca ego y. Thus, he in-
hibi o y e ec o one mammo ope upon ano he appea s o be
mani es ed p e e en ially upon hose cells ha a e mos ac i e
in e ms o Ca
21
dynamics.
Ha ing es ablished ha he a e age oscilla o y ac i i y o
M-M cells is lowe han o M-nonM cells, we hen se ou o
de e mine he basis o hese di e ences. This was accom-
plished by analyzing he pa e n o spon aneous [Ca
21
]
i
os-
cilla ions in M-M and M-nonM double s. P e ious s udies
conduc ed in ou labo a o y success ully cha ac e ized spon-
aneous [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions o mammo opes in o he ol-
lowing majo pa e ns: (A) nonoscilla ing o “silen ”; (B) high
equency, low ampli ude oscilla ions; and (C) high e-
quency, high ampli ude oscilla ions (20). In he p esen
s udy, we ound ha al hough M-M and M-nonM cells dis-
played simila ypes o oscilla o y p o iles (Fig. 5), he el-
a i e p opo ions exhibi ing pa e ns A and C as well as he
co esponding Oscilla ion Indices and Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alues
o he la e p o ile we e s ikingly di e en (Table 1). Spe-
ci ically, nonoscilla o s we e 2- old mo e abundan o M-M
(23%) han o M-nonM (12%) cells. Mo e impo an ly, he
Oscilla ion Index and Mean [Ca
21
]
i
o “C” ype oscilla o s
we e 2- old highe in M-nonM han in M-M cells. Thus, he
highe equency and ampli ude o spon aneous [Ca
21
]
i
os-
cilla ions seen in hose mammo opes associa ed wi h non-
mammo opes appea o con ibu e, a leas in pa , o he
inc eased oscilla o y ac i i y obse ed in his subse o PRL
sec e o s. Con e sely, dec eased oscilla o y ac i i y in neigh-
bo ing mammo opes may in pa be due o an inc ease in he
p opo ion o nonoscilla o s in his con igu a ion.
Al hough ou esul s showed clea ly ha Ca
21
dynamics
o mammo opes we e in luenced by he neighbo ing cell,
hey did no p o ide any insigh s as o whe he he com-
munica ion was pa ac ine o jux ac ine. In an a emp o
dis inguish be ween hese possibili ies, we coinjec ed Luci e
yellow and dex an- hodamine in o cells main ained as dou-
ble s. The o me luo escen dye passes eadily h ough
gap-junc ions, whe eas he cell memb ane is impe meable o
he la e . Thus, he hodamine complex se ed bo h as a
means o iden i ying he injec ed cell and as a con ol o
memb ane in eg i y. O 137 double s s udied in his manne ,
only h ee exhibi ed unc ional gap-junc ions, whe eas he
emainde showed no dye- ans e be ween adjoining cells.
Inasmuch as 60–65% o he cells in ou pi ui a y cul u es
we e PRL-sec e o s, hese da a demons a e clea ly ha jux-
ac ine signaling media ed by gap-junc ion coupling canno
accoun o he in e ac ions we obse ed be ween mammo-
opes and hei neighbo s. In con as , gap-junc ion cou-
pling was obse ed in he majo i y o GT1–1 neu ons coin-
jec ed wi h he same mix o dyes. A inal poin wo hy o
men ion is ha we ound no e idence o sugges ha adjacen
cells we e elec ically coupled. As illus a ed by he ep e-
sen a i e example in Fig. 1C, cells in he M-M con igu a ion
(o M-nonM, o ha ma e ) we e jus as likely o exhibi
dissimila as simila pa e ns o [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions.
Discussion
Ou esul s p o ide compelling e idence ha cell o cell
communica ion has a d ama ic in luence on [Ca
21
]
i
dynam-
ics wi hin li ing mammo opes. To be mo e speci ic, we
ound ha he physical p esence o a neighbo ing cell pe se
had no in luence on he Ca
21
ac i i y o a gi en mammo ope
bu ha he sec e o y na u e o he neighbo was o pa a-
moun impo ance. Indeed, when one mammo ope was in
close physical apposi ion wi h ano he , he e was a s iking
FIG. 4. Sca e plo s o mammo opes main ained as singles,
M-nonM, and M-M double s a e depic ed he e. No e ha subpopu-
la ions o mammo opes ha exhibi high Oscilla ion Indices and
Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alues a e es ic ed o single mammo opes and hose
in he M-nonM con igu a ion. The aw da a om expe imen s shown
in Figs. 2 and 3 we e used o his plo .
PARACRINE COMMUNICATION AND CALCIUM DYNAMICS IN MAMMOTROPES 2991
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educ ion o he Oscilla ion Index (51.9%), and, o a lesse
ex en , an a enua ion o he Mean [Ca
21
]
i
alue (30.3%).
Inasmuch as he o me pa ame e is a mo e di ec and e-
liable indica o o equency/ampli ude changes han he
la e , i seems easonable o p opose ha mos o his in-
hibi o y e ec was a ibu able o a diminu ion o oscilla o y
ac i i y as opposed o modula ion o he a e age amoun o
Ca
21
p esen . Mo eo e , analysis o spon aneous [Ca
21
]
i
os-
cilla ions indica e ha inhibi ion o such ac i i y in M-M cells
is no a ibu able o he p esence o absence o disc e e
oscilla o y pheno ypes exhibi ed by M-nonM double s. In-
s ead, i is due o a di e en dis ibu ion o mammo opes
exhibi ing each pa e n. To be mo e speci ic, he e was a
much highe p opo ion o nonoscilla o y cells in he M-M
g oup han in he M-nonM ca ego y, and his inc emen was
achie ed la gely a he expense o he high equency, high
ampli ude oscilla o s. I appea s, hen, ha PRL-sec e ing
cells con ey a signal ha dampens he oscilla o y beha io o
neighbo ing mammo opes. O cou se, an al e na i e in e -
p e a ion ha dese es conside a ion is ha nonmammo-
opes emi a signal ha s imula es [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions in
adjoining mammo opes. I his we e he case, one would
expec o see a p eponde ance o cells wi h bo h high Os-
cilla ion Indices and [Ca
21
]
i
alues when mammo opes
we e a ached o nonmammo opes. In eali y, his was no
he case a all: he sca e plo s o M-nonM double s and
singles (Fig. 4) we e ex emely simila . Thus, al hough we
canno comple ely exclude he possibili y o a s imula o y
FIG. 5. Pa e ns o spon aneous [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions in M-M and M-nonM double s. All iden i ied mammo opes we e subg ouped based on hei
oscilla o y pa e ns in o (A) nonoscilla ing, (B) high equency, low ampli ude oscilla ions, and (C) high equency, high ampli ude oscilla ions.
Rep esen a i e aces o each p o ile a e depic ed o M-M and M-nonM cells. No e ha he e we e no di e ences be ween A and B ype
oscilla o s, bu ha he ampli ude o “C” ype oscilla o s ended o be highe in M-nonM han in M-M cells.
2992 PARACRINE COMMUNICATION AND CALCIUM DYNAMICS IN MAMMOTROPES Endo •1998
Vol 139 •No 6
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signaling mechanism o explain his phenomenon, ou da a
a e mo e consonan wi h an inhibi o y one.
Resul s concep ually simila o hese we e ob ained in ou
p e ious s udy in which we ound ha M-M double s dis-
played a g ea ly educed le el o PRL gene exp ession com-
pa ed wi h hei M-nonM coun e pa s (17). The s iking sim-
ila i ies o hese esponses aise he possibili y ha inhibi o y
in e ac ions be ween mammo opes on PRL gene exp ession
a e media ed by changes o [Ca
21
]
i
oscilla ions. In suppo o
his possibili y a e obse a ions ha pha macologic diminu ion
o [Ca
21
]
i
leads o a dec ease o PRL gene exp ession, whe eas
an inc ease o [Ca
21
]
i
has an opposi e e ec (25–27).
How migh such signals be ansmi ed om one mammo-
ope o ano he ? One can en ision a leas h ee possible mech-
anisms. The i s o hese, gap-junc ions, is ende ed implau-
sible by ou di ec obse a ion ha his o m o communica ion
was exceedingly a e unde he p esen expe imen al condi-
ions. A second possibili y is elec ical coupling o adjacen cells.
This scena io also seems highly unlikely because elec ically
coupled cells ypically display synch onized oscilla ions, and
we did no ind any e idence o his in he p esen s udy, e en
in M-M double s. A inal possibili y en i ely consis en wi h ou
esul s is pa ac ine communica ion. Indeed, he e is a weal h o
in o ma ion suppo i e o pa ac ine ac ions on mammo opes
(1–3, 28), and ou e o s a e cu en ly ocused on isola ing and
iden i ying his pu a i e signal.
Al hough he physiologic ele ance o inhibi o y in e ac-
ions among mammo opes emain o be unequi ocally es-
ablished, hey may se e o hold PRL gene exp ession and
sec e ion in check un il he mammo ope is p esen ed wi h
a challenge om o he egula o y (hypophysio opic) sig-
nals. This may be pa icula ly ele an in a eas whe e he e
is a concen a ion o mammo opes such as nea he poles o
he an e io pi ui a y (29).
Acknowledgmen s
The au ho s hank D . R. I. Weine o p o iding he GT1–1 cells and
D . L. Nun˜ez o sha ing he cul u es wi h us. We would also like o
hank W. J. Faugh o assis ance wi h mic oinjec ion s udies and J.
Nicholson o access o he A o luo Vision sys em. We also hank D s.
S. T. Willa d, M. D. Ams u z, and L. Nun˜ez and Ms. A. Go e o expe
c i ique o he manusc ip .
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TABLE 1. Pa ame e s o calcium dynamics in M-M and M-nonM
double s
AB C
M-M
% 23 50 19.2
Oscilla ion Index 1.97 60.22 6.52 60.79 29.93 65.26
a
Mean [Ca
21
]
i
21.75 64.27 34.19 64.04 67.63 611.2
c
M-nonM
% 12.3 52 25.8
Oscilla ion Index 2.14 60.09 5.62 60.34 65.18 69.76
b
Mean [Ca
21
]
i
13.6 62.31 34.81 63.23 119.29 612.5
d
The p opo ions and alues o cells exhibi ing each o h ee majo
oscilla o y pa e ns a e p esen ed: A, nonoscilla o y; B, high equency,
low-ampli ude oscilla ions; C, high equency, high ampli ude oscilla-
ions. A mino i y o mammo opes (8–10%) changed om one pa e n o
ano he du ing he collec ion pe iod and he e o e we e no classi ied
in o any speci ic pa e n. They we e, howe e , included in he o al cell
numbe o he pu pose o calcula ing pe cen ages. Values wi h di e en
le e s a e signi ican ly (P,0.05) di e en om each o he .
PARACRINE COMMUNICATION AND CALCIUM DYNAMICS IN MAMMOTROPES 2993
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