Prostate cancer cells stimulated by calcium-mediated activation of protein kinase C undergo a refractory period before re-releasing calcium-bearing microvesicles.

MVs are released in response to several stress agents, in an attempt to prevent continued cellular damage. After an initial stimulus of prostate cancer cells with sublytic C5b-9 and activation of MV release through PKC, cells take at least 20 min to fully recover their ability to microvesiculate. This release of MVs through activation of sublytic C5b-9 was inhibited by the PKC inhibitor bisindoylmaleimide I but not the Rho kinase inhibitor, Y27632. After stimulus there is a rise of 79 nMs−1 over 11 s, reaching a peak [Ca2+]i of 920 nM. The concentration of cytosolic calcium then falls steadily at 2.4 nMs−1 over 109 s reaching baseline levels (50–100 nM) within 10–15 min. In PC3 cells the rate of release of MVs from stimulated cells also reaches a minimum within 10–15 min. Using fura-2 AM-loaded cells, upon stimulation, cells were found to release MVs with a concentration of intravesicular calcium estimated at ∼430 nM.