Integrating cytosolic calcium signals into mitochondrial metabolic responses

Stimulation of hepatocytes with vasopressin evokes increases in cytosolic free Ca 2+ ([Ca 2+ ] c ) that are relayed into the mitochondria, where the resulting mitochondrial Ca 2+ ([Ca 2+ ] m ) increase regulates intramitochondrial Ca 2+ ‐sensitive targets. To understand how mitochondria integrate the [Ca 2+ ] c signals into a final metabolic response, we stimulated hepatocytes with high vasopressin doses that generate a sustained increase in [Ca 2+ ] c . This elicited a synchronous, single spike of [Ca 2+ ] m and consequent NAD(P)H formation, which could be related to changes in the activity state of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) measured in parallel. The vasopressin‐induced [Ca 2+ ] m spike evoked a transient increase in NAD(P)H that persisted longer than the [Ca 2+ ] m increase. In contrast, PDH activity increased biphasically, with an initial rapid phase accompanying the rise in [Ca 2+ ] m , followed by a sustained secondary activation phase associated with a decline in cellular ATP. The decline of NAD(P)H in the face of elevated PDH activity occurred as a result of respiratory chain activation, which was also manifest in a calcium‐dependent increase in the membrane potential and pH gradient components of the proton motive force (PMF). This is the first direct demonstration that Ca 2+ ‐mobilizing hormones increase the PMF in intact cells. Thus, Ca 2+ plays an important role in signal transduction from cytosol to mitochondria, with a single [Ca 2+ ] m spike evoking a complex series of changes to activate mitochondrial oxidative metabolism.