BACKGROUND Ionized magnesium levels are elevated in fetal blood compared with maternal blood, suggesting that the placenta may possess an active transport mechanism for magnesium. In the present study, we sought to determine the existence of an active transport mechanism for magnesium in the placenta using cultured trophoblast cells. METHODS Using choriocarcinoma cells as a model system, we a...

This study investigated the effects of extracellular magnesium concentration ([Mg2+]e; 0.3-3 mM) on intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and prostacyclin (PGI2) production in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and vascular smooth muscle cells from rats (VSMC) under basal and agonist-stimulated conditions. We used histamine as agonist which increases [Ca2+]i an...

We have studied the role of Mg2+ in the inactivation of inwardly rectifying K+ channels in vascular endothelial cells. Inactivation was largely eliminated in Mg(2+)-free external solutions and the extent of inactivation was increased by raising Mg2+o. The dose-response relation for the reduction of channel open probability showed that Mg2+o binds to a site (KD = approximately 25 microM at -160 ...

The binding of cations to ATP-G-actin has been assessed by measuring the kinetics of the increase in fluorescence of N-acetyl-N'-(5-sulfo-1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine-labeled actin. Ca2+ and Mg2+ compete for a single high-affinity site on ATP-G-actin with KD values of 1.5-15 nM for Ca2+ and 0.1-1 microM for Mg2+, i.e. with affinities 3-4 orders of magnitude higher than previously reported (Fried...

Although RNA interactions with K+ and Mg2+ have been studied extensively, much less is known about the third most abundant cation in bacterial cells, putrescine2+, and how RNA folding might be influenced by the three ions in combination. In a new approach, we have observed the competition between Mg2+ and putrescine2+ (in a background of K+) with native, partially unfolded and highly extended c...

The modulation by internal free [Mg2+] of spontaneous calcium release events (Ca2+ "sparks") from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was studied in depolarized notched frog skeletal muscle fibers using a laser scanning confocal microscope in line-scan mode (x vs. t). Over the range of [Mg2+] from 0.13 to 1.86 mM, decreasing the [Mg2+] induced an increase in the frequency of calcium release events ...

Antibodies directed against the purified calmodulin-binding (Ca2++ Mg2+)-ATPase [(Ca2+ + Mg2+)dependent ATPase] from pig erythrocytes and from smooth muscle of pig stomach (antral part) were raised in rabbits. Both the IgGs against the erythrocyte (Ca2++ Mg2+)-ATPase and against the smooth-muscle (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase inhibited the activity of the purified calmodulin-binding (Ca2++ Mg2+)-ATPase ...

Although Mg2+ reduces infarct size in whole heart models of ischaemia/reperfusion, the cardioprotective effect of Mg2+ at the cellular level is still a controversial issue. Therefore, we tested whether Mg2+ protects cardiomyocytes against ischaemia. To accomplish this aim we used an experimental model of ischaemia that utilises single beating adult cardiomyocytes in which oxygen tension is tigh...

Rabbit heart has a single, non-specific, fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (HP1) which is dependent on Mg2+, apart from the requirement for MgATP2-. Two long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase activities (LP1 and LP2) can be resolved by hydroxyapatite chromatography of liver preparations; the Mg2+ requirement for these enzymes is undefined. These experiments were done to define the Mg2+ requirements of th...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Hypomagnesemia has been reported up to 40% in asthma patients, and a relationship between hypomagnesemia and asthma severity has been previously characterized. However, the mechanism for hypomagnesemia in asthma patients is not clear. Transient receptor potential melastatin 6 (TRPM6) is a newly identified channel that is involved in active epithelial magnesium transpor...