Maturation in liver mitochondria of Ruthenium Red-sensitive calcium-ion-transport activity and the influence of glucagon administration in vivo and in utero.

The maturation of Ca(2+) transport in mitochondria isolated from rat liver was examined, from 5 days before birth. The mitochondria used were isolated from liver homogenates by centrifugation at 22000g-min. Ca(2+) transport by mitochondria isolated from foetal liver is energy-dependent and Ruthenium Red-sensitive. The transmembrane pH gradient in these mitochondria is higher by about 7mV and the membrane potential lower by about 20mV than in adult mitochondria. The inclusion of 2mm-P(i) in the incubation medium enhances the protonmotive force by approx. 30mV. The rate of Ca(2+) influx in foetal mitochondria measured in buffered KCl plus succinate is low until about 2-3h after birth, when it increases to about 60% of adult values; approx. 24h later it has reached near-adult values. Higher rates of Ca(2+) influx are observed in the presence of 2mm-P(i); 3-5 days before birth the rates are about one-third of adult values and decline slightly as birth approaches. By 2-3h post partum they have reached adult values. The inclusion of 12.5mum-MgATP with the P(i) stimulates further the initial rate of Ca(2+) influx in foetal mitochondria. The rates observed are constant over the prenatal period examined and are 50-60% of those observed in adult mitochondria. Mitochondria isolated from foetal livers 4-5 days before birth retain the accumulated Ca(2+) for about 50min in the presence of 2mm-P(i). In the period 2 days before birth to birth, this ability is largely lost, but by 2-3h after birth Ca(2+) retention is similar to that of adult mitochondria. The presence of 12.5mum-MgATP progressively enhances the Ca(2+) retention time as development proceeds until 2-3h after birth, when it becomes less sensitive to added MgATP. Glucagon administration to older foetuses in utero enhances both the rate of mitochondrial Ca(2+) influx assayed in the presence of 2mm-P(i) and the time for which mitochondria retain accumulated Ca(2+) in the presence of 12.5mum-MgATP and 2mm-P(i). Its administration to neonatal animals leads to an increase in mitochondrial Ca(2+) retention similar to that seen in adult mitochondria. The data provide evidence that the Ruthenium Red-sensitive Ca(2+) transporter is potentially as active in foetal mitochondria 5 days before birth as it is in adult mitochondria. They also show that foetal mitochondria have an ability to retain accumulated Ca(2+) reminiscent of mitochondria from tumour cells and from hormone-challenged rat liver.