Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry (2021) 26:641–658 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00775-021-01883-7 ORIGINAL PAPER Kinetic mechanisms by which nickel alters the calcium (Ca 2+ ) transport in intact rat liver Karina Sayuri Utsunomiya 1  · Lucas Jonatas da Silva 1  · Juliana Iwamoto 1  · Rodrigo Polimeni Constantin 1  · Eduardo Hideo Gilglioni 1  · Jorgete Constantin 1  · Adelar Bracht 1  · Ronald Petrus Johannes Oude Elferink 2  · Emy Luiza Ishii‑Iwamoto 1 Received: 13 May 2021 / Accepted: 14 July 2021 / Published online: 24 July 2021 © Society for Biological Inorganic Chemistry (SBIC) 2021 Abstract In the present work, the multiple-indicator dilution (MID) technique was used to investigate the kinetic mechanisms by which nickel (Ni 2+ ) afects the calcium (Ca 2+ ) transport in intact rat liver. 45 Ca 2+ and extra- and intracellular space indicators were injected in livers perfused with 1 mM Ni 2+ , and the outfow profles were analyzed by a mathematical model. For comparative purposes, the efects of norepinephrine were measured. The infuence of Ni 2+ on the cytosolic Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ] c ) in human hepatoma Huh7 cells and on liver glycogen catabolism, a biological response sensitive to cellular Ca 2+ , was also evaluated. The estimated transfer coefcients of 45 Ca 2+ transport indicated two mechanisms by which Ni 2+ increases the [Ca 2+ ] c in liver under steady-state conditions: (1) an increase in the net efux of Ca 2+ from intracellular Ca 2+ stores due to a stimulus of Ca 2+ efux to the cytosolic space along with a diminution of Ca 2+ re-entry into the cellular Ca 2+ stores; (2) a decrease in Ca 2+ efux from the cytosolic space to vascular space, minimizing Ca 2+ loss. Glycogen catabolism activated by Ni 2+ was transient contrasting with the sustained activation induced by norepinephrine. Ni 2+ caused a partial reduction in the norepinephrine-induced stimulation in the [Ca 2+ ] c in Huh7 cells. Our data revealed that the kinetic parameters of Ca 2+ transport modifed by Ni 2+ in intact liver are similar to those modifed by norepinephrine in its frst minutes of action, but the membrane receptors or Ca 2+ transporters afected by Ni 2+ seem to be distinct from those known to be modulated by norepinephrine. Graphic abstract Hepatocyte k 3 k 4 Organelles [Ca 2+ ] i1 [Ca 2+ ] i2 k 1 k 2 Glycocalyx Plasma membrane Cytosol Hemodynamic effects t 0 β Glycogenolysis V i Oxygen uptake [Ca 2+ ] e1 [Ca 2+ ] e2 λ 1 =∞ λ 2 =∞ Disse space Sinusoid [Ca 2+ ] i1 Norepinephrine action interference Flow Ni 2+ NiCl 2 NiCl 2 Keywords Liver hemodynamic · Toxicity · Enzyme kinetics · Heavy metal · Ca 2+ -sensing receptor * Emy Luiza Ishii-Iwamoto eliiwamoto@uem.br Extended author information available on the last page of the article