Thromb Haemost 2004; 91(02): 325-333
DOI: 10.1160/TH03-07-0425
Platelets and Blood Cells
Schattauer GmbH

Plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) translocates to filopodia during platelet activation

William L. Dean
1   Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
,
Sidney W. Whiteheart
2   Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
› Author Affiliations

Financial support: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (HL56652-06)(S.W.W.) and from the Ohio Valley Affiliate of the American Heart Association (0355350B)(W.L.D.).
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Publication History

Received 01 July 2003

Accepted after revision 18 September 2003

Publication Date:
01 December 2017 (online)

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Summary

The plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) plays an essential role in maintaining low cytosolic Ca2+ in platelets. Recently we demonstrated that PMCA is recruited to the cytoskeleton by interacting with PDZ domains. In the present study we determined the subcellular localization of PMCA using immunofluorescence microscopy. In resting platelets PMCA was distributed over the entire plasma membrane. Upon activation with thrombin, PMCA was found in filopodia adjacent to the actin cytoskeleton. PMCA translocation to filopodia was prevented by a peptide containing the last 10 residues of PMCA4b, the predominate isoform of PMCA in platelets, which contains a known PDZ domain-binding motif and was previously shown to block association of PMCA with the cytoskeleton. Incorporation of the PMCA C-terminal peptide did not affect the rate or extent of platelet aggregation, but significantly enhanced the rate of clot retraction. These results show that PMCA association with the cytoskeleton during platelet activation results in translocation of this Ca2+-pump to filopodia and that this association may affect later stages of platelet activation. The consequence of PMCA translocation to filopodia is likely a reduction in the local concentration of free Ca2+ in these structures resulting in regulation of the rate of clot retraction.