CALHM1 and its polymorphism P86L differentially control Ca²⁺homeostasis, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, and cell vulnerability upon exposure to amyloid β.

The mutated form of the Ca²⁺channel CALHM1 (Ca²⁺homeostasis modulator 1), P86L-CALHM1, has been correlated with early onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). P86L-CALHM1 increases production of amyloid beta (Aβ) upon extracellular Ca²⁺removal and its subsequent addback. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the overexpression of CALHM1 and P86L-CALHM, upon Aβ treatment, on the following: (i) the intracellular Ca²⁺signal pathway; (ii) cell survival proteins ERK1/2 and Ca²⁺/cAMP response element binding (CREB); and (iii) cell vulnerability after treatment with Aβ. Using aequorins to measure the effect of nuclear Ca²⁺concentrations ([Ca²⁺]n ) and cytosolic Ca²⁺concentrations ([Ca²⁺]c ) on Ca²⁺entry conditions, we observed that baseline [Ca²⁺]n was higher in CALHM1 and P86L-CALHM1 cells than in control cells. Moreover, exposure to Aβ affected [Ca²⁺]c levels in HeLa cells overexpressing CALHM1 and P86L-CALHM1 compared with control cells. Treatment with Aβ elicited a significant decrease in the cell survival proteins p-ERK and p-CREB, an increase in the activity of caspases 3 and 7, and more frequent cell death by inducing early apoptosis in P86L-CALHM1-overexpressing cells than in CALHM1 or control cells. These results suggest that in the presence of Aβ, P86L-CALHM1 shifts the balance between neurodegeneration and neuronal survival toward the stimulation of pro-cytotoxic pathways, thus potentially contributing to its deleterious effects in AD.

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