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D R Laver

Publications and source records attributed to D R Laver.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Regulation of ryanodine receptors from skeletal and cardiac muscle during rest and excitation.

1. In muscle, intracellular calcium concentration, hence skeletal muscle force and cardiac output, is regulated by uptake and release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). The ryanodine receptor (RyR) forms the calcium release channel in the SR. 2. Calcium release through RyRs is modulated by a wide variety of endogenous molecules, including small diffusible ligands such as ATP, Ca2+ and Mg2+. The regulation of RyR channels by ATP, Ca2+ and Mg2+ is a complex interplay of several regulatory mechanisms, which are still being unravelled. Consequently, it is not clearly known how RyRs are regulated in resting muscle and during contraction. 3. The present paper reviews factors controlling the activity of RyRs in skeletal and cardiac muscle with an emphasis on mechanistic insights derived from single channel recording methods. 4. In addition, the nature of dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) control of RyRs in skeletal muscle derived from experiments with peptide fragments of the DHPR II-III loop is reviewed. 5. Finally, recent experiments on coupled RyRs in lipid bilayers and their potential for resolving the elusive mechanisms controlling calcium release during cardiac contraction are discussed.

Muscle, Skeletal↗

Calsequestrin and the calcium release channel of skeletal and cardiac muscle.

Calsequestrin is by far the most abundant Ca(2+)-binding protein in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal and cardiac muscle. It allows the Ca2+ required for contraction to be stored at total concentrations of up to 20mM, while the free Ca2+ concentration remains at approximately 1mM. This storage capacity confers upon muscle the ability to contract frequently with minimal run-down in tension. Calsequestrin is highly acidic, containing up to 50 Ca(2+)-binding sites, which are formed simply by clustering of two or more acidic residues. The Kd for Ca2+ binding is between 1 and 100 microM, depending on the isoform, species and the presence of other cations. Calsequestrin monomers have a molecular mass of approximately 40 kDa and contain approximately 400 residues. The monomer contains three domains each with a compact alpha-helical/beta-sheet thioredoxin fold which is stable in the presence of Ca2+. The protein polymerises when Ca2+ concentrations approach 1mM. The polymer is anchored at one end to ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+ release channels either via the intrinsic membrane proteins triadin and junctin or by binding directly to the RyR. It is becoming clear that calsequestrin has several functions in the lumen of the SR in addition to its well-recognised role as a Ca2+ buffer. Firstly, it is a luminal regulator of RyR activity. When triadin and junctin are present, calsequestrin maximally inhibits the Ca2+ release channel when the free Ca2+ concentration in the SR lumen is 1mM. The inhibition is relieved when the Ca2+ concentration alters, either because of small changes in the conformation of calsequestrin or its dissociation from the junctional face membrane. These changes in calsequestrin's association with the RyR amplify the direct effects of luminal Ca2+ concentration on RyR activity. In addition, calsequestrin activates purified RyRs lacking triadin and junctin. Further roles for calsequestrin are indicated by the kinase activity of the protein, its thioredoxin-like structure and its influence over store operated Ca2+ entry. Clearly, calsequestrin plays a major role in calcium homeostasis that extends well beyond its ability to buffer Ca2+ ions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Suppression of calcium sparks in rat ventricular myocytes and direct inhibition of sheep cardiac RyR channels by EPA, DHA and oleic acid.

The anti-arrhythmic effects of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be related to their ability to alter calcium handling in cardiac myocytes. We investigated the effect of eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on calcium sparks in rat cardiac myocytes and the effects of these PUFAs and the monounsaturated oleic acid on cardiac calcium release channels (RyRs). Visualization of subcellular calcium concentrations in single rat ventricular myocytes showed that intensity of calcium sparks was reduced in the presence of EPA and DHA (15 micro M). It was also found that calcium sparks decayed more quickly in the presence of EPA but not DHA. Sarcoplasmic vesicles containing RyRs were prepared from sheep hearts and RyR activity was determined by either [(3)H]ryanodine binding or by single-channel recording. Bilayers were formed from phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine dissolved in either n-decane or n-tetradecane. EPA inhibited [(3)H]ryanodine binding to RyRs in SR vesicles with K(I) = 40 micro M. Poly- and mono-unsaturated free fatty acids inhibited RyR activity in lipid bilayers. EPA (cytosolic or luminal) inhibited RyRs with K(I) =32 micro M and Hill coefficient, n(1) = 3.8. Inhibition was independent of the n-alkane solvent and whether RyRs were activated by ATP or Ca(2+). DHA and oleic acid also inhibited RyRs, suggesting that free fatty acids generally inhibit RyRs at micromolar concentrations.

Animals↗

Regulation of the calcium release channel from rabbit skeletal muscle by the nucleotides ATP, AMP, IMP and adenosine.

1. Nucleotide activation of skeletal muscle ryanodine receptors (RyRs) was studied in planar lipid bilayers in order to understand RyR regulation in vivo under normal and fatigued conditions. With 'resting' calcium (100 nM cytoplasmic and 1 mM luminal), RyRs had an open probability (P(o)) of approximately 0.01 in the absence of nucleotides and magnesium. ATP reversibly activated RyRs with P(o) at saturation (P(max)) approximately 0.33 and K(a) (concentration for half-maximal activation) approximately 0.36 mM and with a Hill coefficient (n(H)) of approximately 1.8 in RyRs when P(max) < 0.5 and approximately 4 when P(max) > 0.5. 2. AMP was a much weaker agonist (P(max) approximately 0.09) and adenosine was weaker still (P(max) approximately 0.01-0.02), whereas inosine monophosphate (IMP), the normal metabolic end product of ATP hydrolysis, produced no activation at all. 3. Adenosine acted as a competitive antagonist that reversibly inhibited ATP- and AMP-activated RyRs with n(H) approximately 1 and K(i) approximately 0.06 mM at [ATP] < 0.5 mM, increasing 4-fold for each 2-fold increase in [ATP] above 0.5 mM. This is explained by the binding of a single adenosine preventing the cooperative binding of two ATP or AMP molecules, with dissociation constants of 0.4, 0.45 and 0.06 mM for ATP, AMP and adenosine, respectively. Importantly, IMP (< or = 8 mM) had no inhibitory effect whatsoever on ATP-activated RyRs. 4. Mean open (tau(o)) and closed (tau(c)) dwell-times were more closely related to P(o) than to the nucleotide species or individual RyRs. At P(o) < 0.2, RyR regulation occurred via changes in tau(c), whereas at higher P(o) this also occurred via changes in tau(o). The detailed properties of activation and competitive inhibition indicated complex channel behaviour that could be explained in terms of a model involving interactions between different subunits of the RyR homotetramer. 5. The results also show how deleterious adenosine accumulation is to the function of RyRs in skeletal muscle and, by comparison with voltage sensor-controlled Ca(2+) release, indicate that voltage sensor activation requires ATP binding to the RyR to be effective.

Adenosine↗

Phosphate ion channels in sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit skeletal muscle.

1. Phosphate ions (P(i)) enter intracellular Ca2+ stores and precipitate Ca2+. Since transport pathways for P(i) across the membrane of intracellular calcium stores have not been identified and anion channels could provide such a pathway, we have examined the P(i) conductance of single anion channels from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of rabbit skeletal muscle using the lipid bilayer technique. 2. Two anion channels in skeletal muscle SR, the small conductance (SCl) and big conductance (BCl) chloride channels, were both found to have a P(i) conductance of 10 pS in 50 mM P(i). The SCl channel is a divalent anion channel which can pass HPO4(2-) as well as SO4(2-) (60 pS in 100 mM free SO4(2-)). The BCl channel is primarily a monovalent anion channel. The SCl and BCl channels are permeable to a number of small monovalent anions, showing minor selectivity between Cl-, I- and Br- (Cl- > I- > Br-) and relative impermeability to cations and large polyatomic anions (Cs+, Na+, choline+, Tris+, Hepes- and CH3O3S-). 3. The P(i) conductance of SCl and BCl channels suggests that both channel types could sustain the observed P(i) fluxes across the SR membrane. Comparison of the blocking effects of the phosphonocarboxylic acids, ATP and DIDS, on the anion channels with their effects on P(i) transport suggests that the SCl channel is the more likely candidate for the SR P(i) transport mechanism. 4. The SCl channel, with previously unknown function, provides a regulated pathway for P(i) across the SR membrane which would promote P(i) entry and thereby changes in the rapidly releasable Ca2+ store during onset and recovery from muscle fatigue. Anion channels may provide a pathway for P(i) movement into and out of Ca2+ stores in general.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗

Effects of cytoplasmic and luminal pH on Ca(2+) release channels from rabbit skeletal muscle.

Ryanodine receptor (RyR)-Ca(2+) release channels from rabbit skeletal muscle were incorporated into lipid bilayers. The effects of cytoplasmic and luminal pH were studied separately over the pH range 5-8, using half-unit intervals. RyR activity (at constant luminal pH of 7.5) was inhibited at acidic cytoplasmic pH, with a half-inhibitory pH (pH(I)) approximately 6.5, irrespective of bilayer potential and of whether the RyRs were activated by cytoplasmic Ca(2+) (50 microM), ATP (2 or 5 mM), or both. Inhibition occurred within approximately 1 s and could be fully reversed within approximately 1 s after brief inhibition or within approximately 30-60 s after longer exposure to acidic cytosolic pH. There was no evidence of any hysteresis in the cytoplasmic pH effect. Ryanodine-modified channels were less sensitive to pH inhibition, with pH(I) at approximately 5.5, but the inhibition was similarly reversible. Steady-state open and closed dwell times of RyRs during cytoplasmic pH inhibition suggest a mechanism where the binding of one proton inhibits the channel and the binding of two to three additional protons promotes further inhibited states. RyR activity was unaffected by luminal pH in the pH range 7.5 to 6.0. At lower luminal pH (5-5.5) most RyRs were completely inhibited, and raising the pH again produced partial to full recovery in only approximately 50% of cases, with the extent of recovery not detectably different between pH 7.5 and pH 9. The results indicate that isolated skeletal muscle RyRs are not inhibited as strongly by low cytoplasmic and luminal pH, as suggested by previous single-channel studies.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Activation and inhibition of skeletal RyR channels by a part of the skeletal DHPR II-III loop: effects of DHPR Ser687 and FKBP12.

Peptides, corresponding to sequences in the N-terminal region of the skeletal muscle dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) II-III loop, have been tested on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release and ryanodine receptor (RyR) activity. The peptides were: A1, Thr671-Leu690; A2, Thr671-Leu690 with Ser687 Ala substitution; NB, Gly689-Lys708 and A1S, scrambled A1 sequence. The relative rates of peptide-induced Ca2+ release from normal (FKBP12+) SR were A2 > A1 > A1S > NB. Removal of FKBP12 reduced the rate of A1-induced Ca2+ release by approximately 30%. A1 and A2 (but not NB or A1S), in the cytoplasmic (cis) solution, either activated or inhibited single FKBP12+ RyRs. Maximum activation was seen at -40 mV, with 10 microM A1 or 50 nM A2. The greatest A1-induced increase in mean current (sixfold) was seen with 100 nM cis Ca2+. Inhibition by A1 was greatest at +40 mV (or when permeant ions flowed from cytoplasm to SR lumen) with 100 microM cis Ca2+, where channel activity was almost fully inhibited. A1 did not activate FKBP12-stripped RyRs, although peptide-induced inhibition remained. The results show that peptide A activation of RyRs does not require DHPR Ser687, but required FKBP12 binding to RyRs. Peptide A must interact with different sites to activate or inhibit RyRs, because current direction-, voltage-, cis [Ca2+]-, and FKBP12-dependence of activation and inhibition differ.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

ATP inhibition and rectification of a Ca2+-activated anion channel in sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle.

We describe ATP-dependent inhibition of the 75-105-pS (in 250 mM Cl-) anion channel (SCl) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of rabbit skeletal muscle. In addition to activation by Ca2+ and voltage, inhibition by ATP provides a further mechanism for regulating SCl channel activity in vivo. Inhibition by the nonhydrolyzable ATP analog 5'-adenylylimidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP) ruled out a phosphorylation mechanism. Cytoplasmic ATP (approximately 1 mM) inhibited only when Cl- flowed from cytoplasm to lumen, regardless of membrane voltage. Flux in the opposite direction was not inhibited by 9 mM ATP. Thus ATP causes true, current rectification in SCl channels. Inhibition by cytoplasmic ATP was also voltage dependent, having a K(I) of 0.4-1 mM at -40 mV (Hill coefficient approximately 2), which increased at more negative potentials. Luminal ATP inhibited with a K(I) of approximately 2 mM at +40 mV, and showed no block at negative voltages. Hidden Markov model analysis revealed that ATP inhibition 1) reduced mean open times without altering the maximum channel amplitude, 2) was mediated by a novel, single, voltage-independent closed state (approximately 1 ms), and 3) was much less potent on lower conductance substates than the higher conductance states. Therefore, the SCl channel is unlikely to pass Cl- from cytoplasm to SR lumen in vivo, and balance electrogenic Ca2+ uptake as previously suggested. Possible roles for the SCl channel in the transport of other anions are discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Inactivation of Ca2+ release channels (ryanodine receptors RyR1 and RyR2) with rapid steps in [Ca2+] and voltage.

The transient responses of sheep cardiac and rabbit skeletal ryanodine receptors (RyRs) to step changes in membrane potential and cytosolic [Ca2+] were measured. Both cardiac and skeletal RyRs have two voltage-dependent inactivation processes (tau approximately 1-3 s at +40 mV) that operate at opposite voltage extremes. Approximately one-half to two-thirds of RyRs inactivated when the bilayer voltage was stepped either way between positive and negative values. Inactivation was not detected (within 30 s) in RyRs with Po less than 0.2. Inactivation rates increased with intraburst open probability (Po) and in proportion to the probability of a long-lived, RyR open state (P(OL)) RyR inactivation depended on P(OL) and not on the particular activator (Ca2+ (microM), ATP, caffeine, and ryanodine), inhibitor (mM Ca2+ and Mg2+), or gating mode. The activity of one-half to two-thirds of RyRs declined (i.e., the RyRs inactivated) after [Ca2+] steps from subactivating (0.1 microM) to activating (1-100 microM) levels. This was due to the same inactivation mechanism responsible for inactivation after voltage steps. Both forms of inactivation had the same kinetics and similar dependencies on Po and voltage. Moreover, RyRs that failed to inactivate after voltage steps also did not inactivate after [Ca2+] steps. The inactivating response to [Ca2+] steps (0.1-1 microM) was not RyRs "adapting" to steady [Ca2+] after the step, because a subsequent step from 1 to 100 microM failed to reactivate RyRs.

Animals↗

Magnesium inhibition of ryanodine-receptor calcium channels: evidence for two independent mechanisms.

The gating of ryanodine receptor calcium release channels (RyRs) depends on myoplasmic Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations. RyRs from skeletal and cardiac muscle are activated by microm Ca2+ and inhibited by mm Ca2+ and Mg2+. 45Ca2+ release from skeletal SR vesicles suggests two mechanisms for Mg2+-inhibition (Meissner, Darling & Eveleth, 1986, Biochemistry 25:236-244). The present study investigates the nature of these mechanisms using measurements of single-channel activity from cardiac- and skeletal RyRs incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. Our measurements of Mg2+- and Ca2+-dependent gating kinetics confirm that there are two mechanisms for Mg2+ inhibition (Type I and II inhibition) in skeletal and cardiac RyRs. The mechanisms operate concurrently, are independent and are associated with different parts of the channel protein. Mg2+ reduces Po by competing with Ca2+ for the activation site (Type-I) or binding to more than one, and probably two low affinity inhibition sites which do not discriminate between Ca2+ and Mg2+ (Type-II). The relative contributions of the two inhibition mechanisms to the total Mg2+ effect depend on cytoplasmic [Ca2+] in such a way that Mg2+ inhibition has the properties of Types-I and II inhibition at low and high [Ca2+] respectively. Both mechanisms are equally important when [Ca2+] = 10 microm in cardiac RyRs or 1 microm in skeletal RyRs. We show that Type-I inhibition is not the sole mechanism responsible for Mg2+ inhibition, as is often assumed, and we discuss the physiological implications of this finding.

Animals↗

The actions of calmodulin antagonists W-7 and TFP and of calcium on the gating kinetics of the calcium-activated large conductance potassium channel of the chara protoplasmic drop: a substate-sensitive analysis.

The effects of the calmodulin antagonists W-7 and trifluoperazine have been measured on the Ca2+-activated potassium channel in the membrane surrounding protoplasmic drops expressed from internodal cells of charophyte plants. The large-conductance (170 pS), voltage- and Ca2+-dependent gating, and prominent conductance substrate of this channel shows a strong kinetic resemblance to those of the Maxi-K channel from animal cells. This is the first study of the action of calmodulin antagonists which measures their effects on the most populated substates as well as the closed and main open states of Maxi-K channels. The substate analysis provides new evidence for different modes of action of- and different bindings sites for these calmodulin antagonists. Neither antagonist produces the simple closure of the channel reported previously as its effect on the Maxi-K channel, though both do induce flicker-block, reducing the mean current to near zero at high concentrations following an inverted Michaelis-Menten curve. W-7 reduces residence time in the fully open state, thus raising, in the same proportions, the probabilities of finding the channel in the closed state or a pre-existing substate. Its binding to the channel is voltage- and calcium-dependent. In contrast, trifluoperazine reduces residence in the open state and promotes an apparently new substate which overlaps the closed state at -50 mV but is distinguishable from it at voltages more negative than -100 mV. This substate may represent times that trifluoperazine is bound to the channel. Both antagonists have effects clearly distinguishable from that of withdrawing calcium from the channel, which does not affect open state residence time but increases closed state residence time. Thus neither antagonist reverses the activating effect of Ca2-. This is good kinetic evidence against the view that the channel is activated by Ca2+-calmodulin and that the effect of a calmodulin antagonist is to reverse this process by making Ca2--calmodulin less available.

Calcium↗

Reduced inhibitory effect of Mg2+ on ryanodine receptor-Ca2+ release channels in malignant hyperthermia.

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal, inherited skeletal muscle disorder in humans and pigs that is caused by abnormal regulation of Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). MH in pigs is associated with a single mutation (Arg615Cys) in the SR ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+ release channel. The way in which this mutation leads to excessive Ca2+ release is not known and is examined here. Single RyR channels from normal and MH-susceptible (MHS) pigs were examined in artificial lipid bilayers. High cytoplasmic (cis) concentrations of either Ca2+ or Mg2+ (>100 microM) inhibited channel opening less in MHS RyRs than in normal RyRs. This difference was more prominent at lower ionic strength (100 mM versus 250 mM). In 100 mM cis Cs+, half-maximum inhibition of activity occurred at approximately 100 microM Mg2+ in normal RyRs and at approximately 300 microM Mg2+ in MHS RyRs, with an average Hill coefficient of approximately 2 in both cases. The level of Mg2+ inhibition was not appreciably different in the presence of either 1 or 50 microM activating Ca2+, showing that it was not substantially influenced by competition between Mg2+ and Ca2+ for the Ca2+ activation site. Even though the absolute inhibitory levels varied widely between channels and conditions, the inhibitory effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ were virtually identical for the same conditions in any given channel, indicating that the two cations act at the same low-affinity inhibitory site. It seems likely that at the cytoplasmic [Mg2+] in vivo (approximately 1 mM), this Ca2+/Mg2+-inhibitory site will be close to fully saturated with Mg2+ in normal RyRs, but less fully saturated in MHS RyRs. Therefore MHS RyRs should be more sensitive to any activating stimulus, which would readily account for the development of an MH episode.

Animals↗

Surface potentials measure ion concentrations near lipid bilayers during rapid solution changes.

We describe a puffing method for changing solutions near one surface of lipid bilayers that allows simultaneous measurement of channel activity and extent of solution change at the bilayer surface. Ion adsorption to the lipid headgroups and screening of the bilayer surface charge by mobile ions provided a convenient probe for the ionic composition of the solution at the bilayer surface. Rapid ionic changes induced a shift in bilayer surface potential that generated a capacitive transient current under voltage-clamp conditions. This depended on the ion species and bilayer composition and was accurately described by the Stern-Gouy-Chapman theory. The time course of solute concentrations during solution changes could also be modeled by an exponential exchange of bath and puffing solutions with time constants ranging from 20 to 110 ms depending on the flow pressure. During changes in [Cs+] and [Ca2+] (applied separately or together) both the mixing model and capacitive currents predicted [Cs+] and [Ca2+] transients consistent with those determined experimentally from: 1) the known Cs(+)-dependent conductance of open ryanodine receptor channels and 2) the Ca(2+)-dependent gating of ryanodine receptor Ca2+ channels from cardiac and skeletal muscle.

Animals↗

Response of ryanodine receptor channels to Ca2+ steps produced by rapid solution exchange.

We used a flow method for Ca2+ activation of sheep cardiac and rabbit skeletal ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels in lipid bilayers, which activated RyRs in < 20 ms and maintained a steady [Ca2+] for 5 s. [Ca2+] was rapidly altered by flowing Ca(2+)-buffered solutions containing 100 or 200 microM Ca2+ from a perfusion tube inserted in the cis, myoplasmic chamber above the bilayer. During steps from 0.1 to 100 microM, [Ca2+] reached 0.3 microM (activation threshold) and 10 microM (maximum Po) in times consistent with predictions of a solution exchange model. Immediately following rapid RyR activation, Po was 0.67 (cardiac) and 0.45 (skeletal) at a holding voltage of +40 mV (cis/trans). Po then declined (at constant [Ca2+]) in 70% of channels (n = 25) with time constants ranging from .5 to 15 s. The mechanism for Po decline, whether it be adaptation or inactivation, was not determined in this study. cis, 2 mM Mg2+ reduced the initial Po for skeletal RyRs to 0.21 and marginally slowed the declining phase. During very rapid falls in [Ca2+] from mM (inhibited) to sub-microM (sub-activating) levels, skeletal RyR did not open. We conclude the RyR gates responsible for Ca(2+)-dependent activation and inhibition of skeletal RyRs can gate independently.

Animals↗

Characteristics of two types of chloride channel in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from rabbit skeletal muscle.

A comparison is made of two types of chloride-selective channel in skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles incorporated into lipid bilayers. The I/V relationships of both channels, in 250/50 mM Cl- (cis/trans), were linear between -20 and +60 mV (cis potential,) reversed near Ecl and had slope conductances of approximately 250 pS for the big chloride (BCl) channel and approximately 70 pS for the novel, small chloride (SCl) channel. The protein composition of vesicles indicated that both channels originated from longitudinal SR and terminal cisternae. BCl and SCl channels responded differently to cis SO4(2-) (30-70 mM), 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene 2,2'-disulfonic acid (8-80 microM) and to bilayer potential. The BCl channel open probability was high at all potentials, whereas SCl channels exhibited time-dependent activation and inactivation at negative potentials and deactivation at positive potentials. The duration and frequency of SCl channel openings were minimal at positive potentials and maximal at -40 mV, and were stationary during periods of activity. A substate analysis was performed using the Hidden Markov Model (S. H. Chung, J. B. Moore, L. Xia, L. S. Premkumar, and P. W. Gage, 1990, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B., 329:265-285) and the algorithm EVPROC (evaluated here). SCl channels exhibited transitions between 5 and 7 conductance levels. BCl channels had 7-13 predominant levels plus many more short-lived substates. SCl channels have not been described in previous reports of Cl- channels in skeletal muscle SR.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗

Ion channels in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of striated muscle.

This review provides a summary of current concepts about the structure and single-channel properties of ryanodine receptor calcium release channels and counter ion channels that facilitate Ca2+ release and reuptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Some recent results, obtained with single ryanodine receptor ion channels incorporated into lipid bilayers from terminal cisternae vesicles of rabbit skeletal muscle and sheep ventricular myocardium, are described. The ryanodine receptor is the major Ca2+ release channel in skeletal and cardiac muscle and has been studied in far greater detail than other sarcoplasmic reticulum ion channel proteins. Several ryanodine receptor genes have been cloned and sequenced, and isoforms of the protein have been detected in muscle and in endoplasmic reticulum of brain and many other tissues from mammals, lower vertebrates, nematodes and drosophila. The proteins from all species are tetramers of a peptide with a molecular mass of approximately equal to 560 kDa, containing approximately equal to 5000 amino acids, with a similar maximum single-channel conductance of 500-800 row S for monovalent cations at 250mM. Results presented here include: Ca2+ activation and adaptation of activity in skeletal ryanodine receptors with rapid changes in [Ca2+] controlled by perfusion; activation by FK506 and regulation of cooperative gating of skeletal ryanodine receptor channel activity by FK506-binding proteins; activation and block of cardiac ryanodine receptors by addition of reactive disulphides and by bilayer voltage. Effects of phosphorylation, calmodulin, triadin, calsequestrin and interactions with the alpha 1 subunit of the dihydropyridine receptor on ryanodine receptor activity are summarized. Potassium and chloride channels in skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum, are described.

Animals↗