Intracellular free calcium levels are reduced in mitotic Pt K2 epithelial cells.

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Abstract
A fluorescene ratio method was used to study the intracellular free Ca levels in individual quin-2-loaded mitotic cells under the microscope. Intracellular free Ca concentrations in Pt K2 epithelial cells drop by .apprxeq. 50% as they pass through mitosis. Ca levels in interphase cells were 53 .+-. 7 nM. During prophase, free cytoplamic Ca begins to decrease, reaching 28 .+-. 3 nM in prometaphase. Ca levels remain low until the nuclear envelope is re-formed in late telophase, when they increase again to interphase levels. This decrease in overall free calcium in mitosis suggests that the mitotic cell has mechanisms for the general sequestration, and perhaps local release, of Ca ions.