Intracellular calcium measurements of single human skin cells after stimulation with corticotropin-releasing factor and urocortin using confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Using confocal laser scanning microscopy we investigated the Ca(2+) distribution in single corticotropin releasing factor- and urocortin-stimulated human skin cells. The models tested included melanoma cells, neonatal melanocytes and keratinocytes, and immortalized HaCaT keratinocytes. The changes in intracellular Ca(2+) signal intensities observed after stimulation of different cell types with corticotropin releasing factor and urocortin showed that: (1) the increase of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration was caused by a Ca(2+) influx (inhibition by EGTA); (2) this Ca(2+) influx took place through voltage-activated Ca(2+) ion channels (inhibition by d-cis-diltiazem, verapamil) and (3) cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels were not involved in this process (no effect of Mg(2+)). The effects were also observed at very low peptide concentrations (10(-13) M) with no apparent linear correlation between peptide dosage and increase of fluorescence intensity, which implied co-expression of different corticotropin releasing factor receptor forms in the same cell. Immortalized (HaCaT) keratinocytes exhibited the strongest differential increases of a Ca(2+) fluorescence after peptide-stimulation. Corticotropin releasing factor induced Ca(2+) flux into the cytoplasm, while urocortin Ca(2+) flux into the nucleus with a remarkable oscillatory effect. The latter indicated the presence of an intracellular urocortin-induced signal transduction pathway that is unique to keratinocytes.