Role of amino-terminal half of the S4-S5 linker in type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1) channel gating.

The type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1) is a Ca(2+) release channel found in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle and plays a pivotal role in excitation-contraction coupling. The RyR1 channel is activated by a conformational change of the dihydropyridine receptor upon depolarization of the transverse tubule, or by Ca(2+) itself, i.e. Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release (CICR). The molecular events transmitting such signals to the ion gate of the channel are unknown. The S4-S5 linker, a cytosolic loop connecting the S4 and S5 transmembrane segments in six-transmembrane type channels, forms an α-helical structure and mediates signal transmission in a wide variety of channels. To address the role of the S4-S5 linker in RyR1 channel gating, we performed alanine substitution scan of N-terminal half of the putative S4-S5 linker (Thr(4825)-Ser(4829)) that exhibits high helix probability. The mutant RyR1 was expressed in HEK cells, and CICR activity was investigated by caffeine-induced Ca(2+) release, single-channel current recordings, and [(3)H]ryanodine binding. Four mutants (T4825A, I4826A, S4828A, and S4829A) had reduced CICR activity without changing Ca(2+) sensitivity, whereas the L4827A mutant formed a constitutive active channel. T4825I, a disease-associated mutation for malignant hyperthermia, exhibited enhanced CICR activity. An α-helical wheel representation of the N-terminal S4-S5 linker provides a rational explanation to the observed activities of the mutants. These results suggest that N-terminal half of the S4-S5 linker may form an α-helical structure and play an important role in RyR1 channel gating.

Cellular redox state protects acetaldehyde-induced alteration in cardiomyocyte function by modifying Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Recent studies indicate that low concentrations of acetaldehyde may function as the primary factor in alcoholic cardiomyopathy by disrupting Ca(2+) handling or disturbing cardiac excitation-contraction coupling. By producing reactive oxygen species, acetaldehyde shifts the intracellular redox potential from a reduced state to an oxidized state. We examined whether the redox state modulates acetaldehyde-induced Ca(2+) handling by measuring Ca(2+) transient using a confocal imaging system and single ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2) channel activity using the planar lipid bilayer method. Ca(2+) transient was recorded in isolated rat ventricular myocytes with incorporated fluo 3. Intracellular reduced glutathione level was estimated using the monochlorobimane fluorometric method. Acetaldehyde at 1 and 10 microM increased Ca(2+) transient amplitude and its relative area in intact myocytes, but acetaldehyde at 100 microM decreased Ca(2+) transient area significantly. Acetaldehyde showed a minor effect on Ca(2+) transient in myocytes in which intracellular reduced glutathione content had been decreased against challenge of diethylmaleate to a level comparable to that induced by exposure to approximately 50 microM acetaldehyde. Channel activity of the RyR2 with slightly reduced cytoplasmic redox potential from near resting state (-213 mV) or without redox fixation was augmented by all concentrations of acetaldehyde (1-100 microM) used here. However, acetaldehyde failed to activate the RyR2 channel, when the cytoplasmic redox potential was kept with a reduced (-230 mV) or markedly oxidized (-180 mV) state. This result was similar to effects of acetaldehyde on Ca(2+) transient in diethylmaleate-treated myocytes, probably being in oxidized redox potential. The present results suggest that acetaldehyde acts as an RyR2 activator to disturb cardiac muscle function, and redox potential protects the heart from acetaldehyde-induced alterations in myocytes.

Postulated role of interdomain interaction between regions 1 and 2 within type 1 ryanodine receptor in the pathogenesis of porcine malignant hyperthermia.

We have demonstrated recently that CICR (Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release) activity of RyR1 (ryanodine receptor 1) is held to a low level in mammalian skeletal muscle ('suppression' of the channel) and that this is largely caused by the interdomain interaction within RyR1 [Murayama, Oba, Kobayashi, Ikemoto and Ogawa (2005) Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol. 288, C1222-C1230]. To test the hypothesis that aberration of this suppression mechanism is involved in the development of channel dysfunctions in MH (malignant hyperthermia), we investigated properties of the RyR1 channels from normal and MHS (MH-susceptible) pig skeletal muscles with an Arg615-->Cys mutation using [3H]ryanodine binding, single-channel recordings and SR (sarcoplasmic reticulum) Ca2+ release. The RyR1 channels from MHS muscle (RyR1MHS) showed enhanced CICR activity compared with those from the normal muscle (RyR1N), although there was little or no difference in the sensitivity to several ligands tested (Ca2+, Mg2+ and adenine nucleotide), nor in the FKBP12 (FK506-binding protein 12) regulation. DP4, a domain peptide matching the Leu2442-Pro2477 region of RyR1 which was reported to activate the Ca2+ channel by weakening the interdomain interaction, activated the RyR1N channel in a concentration-dependent manner, and the highest activity of the affected channel reached a level comparable with that of the RyR1MHS channel with no added peptide. The addition of DP4 to the RyR1MHS channel produced virtually no further effect on the channel activity. These results suggest that stimulation of the RyR1MHS channel caused by affected inter-domain interaction between regions 1 and 2 is an underlying mechanism for dysfunction of Ca2+ homoeostasis seen in the MH phenotype.

Differential contribution of clinical amounts of acetaldehyde to skeletal and cardiac muscle dysfunction in alcoholic myopathy.

Acute intoxication due to alcohol consumption has been known to elicit reversible skeletal and cardiac muscle dysfunction, or "alcoholic myopathy and cardiomyopathy". Sometimes, irreversible muscle damage can be induced after heavy alcohol drinking. Many researchers have proposed that acetaldehyde, the major oxidised product of alcohol, may be a primary factor underlying alcohol-induced muscle dysfunction. Because acetaldehyde is rapidly metabolised to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) mainly in the liver, blood concentration of acetaldehyde is maintained at a low level even after heavy alcohol intoxication. In alcoholics, blood acetaldehyde level is relatively high, probably due to hepatic inhibition of ALDH activity. Several mM of acetaldehyde have been used for studies of cardiac muscle contraction, the intracellular calcium transient, and the L-type calcium channel. In skeletal muscle, the calcium release channel/ryanodine receptor activity has been reported to be inhibited by exposure to 1 mM acetaldehyde. However, these observations were made using potentially lethal concentrations of acetaldehyde, so the hypothesis that acetaldehyde plays a crucial role on alcoholic myopathy is questionable. In this review, we will summarise the effect of alcohol and its major oxidised product, acetaldehyde, on skeletal and heart muscles and propose a toxic contribution of clinical concentrations of acetaldehyde to alcoholic myopathy. In addition, this review will include briefly the effect of acetaldehyde on diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Postulated role of interdomain interactions within the type 1 ryanodine receptor in the low gain of Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release activity of mammalian skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Ryanodine receptor (RyR) type 1 (RyR1) exhibits a markedly lower gain of Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release (CICR) activity than RyR type 3 (RyR3) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of mammalian skeletal muscle (selective stabilization of the RyR1 channel), and this reduction in the gain is largely eliminated using 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonic acid (CHAPS). We have investigated whether the hypothesized interdomain interactions within RyR1 are involved in the selective stabilization of the channel using [(3)H]ryanodine binding, single-channel recordings, and Ca(2+) release from the SR vesicles. Like CHAPS, domain peptide 4 (DP4, a synthetic peptide corresponding to the Leu(2442)-Pro(2477) region of RyR1), which seems to destabilize the interdomain interactions, markedly stimulated RyR1 but not RyR3. Their activating effects were saturable and nonadditive. Dantrolene, a potent inhibitor of RyR1 used to treat malignant hyperthermia, reversed the effects of DP4 or CHAPS in an identical manner. These findings indicate that RyR1 is activated by DP4 and CHAPS through a common mechanism that is probably mediated by the interdomain interactions. DP4 greatly increased [(3)H]ryanodine binding to RyR1 with only minor alterations in the sensitivity to endogenous CICR modulators (Ca(2+), Mg(2+), and adenine nucleotide). However, DP4 sensitized RyR1 four- to six-fold to caffeine in the caffeine-induced Ca(2+) release. Thus the gain of CICR activity critically determines the magnitude and threshold of Ca(2+) release by drugs such as caffeine. These findings suggest that the low CICR gain of RyR1 is important in normal Ca(2+) handling in skeletal muscle and that perturbation of this state may result in muscle diseases such as malignant hyperthermia.

Gold sodium thiomalate improves membrane potential impaired by high-frequency stimulation.

Effects of gold sodium thiomalate (GSTM) on membrane potential and tetanus tension were examined to elucidate whether the gold compound improves mechanical and electrical muscle dysfunction produced by continuous repeated stimulation of frog skeletal muscles. Continuous stimulation (50 Hz for 2 min, 0.05 ms pulse duration) to the sartorius muscle depolarized the membrane, decreased action potential amplitude, and prolonged action potential duration. GSTM (0.1 mM), unlike thiomalic acid (0.1 mM), markedly decreased impairment of these electrical parameters produced during the stimulation period. In the presence of 500 units/mL of catalase, fatigue stimulation still lengthened by 1.5-fold the half-duration of the action potential after a 5-min rest. The prolongation was, however, smaller than that in controls (no catalase). Application of both catalase and GSTM led to no further changes in action potential compared with the application of catalase alone. GSTM did not affect resting tension of single toe muscle fibers though it suppressed the maximum tension after continuous stimulation. These findings suggest that GSTM can inhibit excitable dysfunction of skeletal muscles subjected to continuous stimulation and that such protective effects of GSTM may be partially mediated by H2O2.

Acetaldehyde alters Ca2+-release channel gating and muscle contraction in a dose-dependent manner.

We studied whether acetaldehyde, which is produced by alcohol consumption, impacts ryanodine receptor (RyR) activity and muscle force. Exposure to approximately 50-200 microM acetaldehyde enhanced channel activity of frog RyR and rabbit RyR1 incorporated into lipid bilayers. An increase in acetaldehyde to 1 mM modified channel activity in a time-dependent manner, with a brief activation and then inhibition. Application of 200 microM acetaldehyde to frog fibers increased twitch tension. The maximum rate of rise of tetanus tension was accelerated to 1.5 and 1.74 times the control rate on exposure of fibers to 50 and 200 microM acetaldehyde, respectively. Fluorescence monitoring with fluo 3 demonstrated that 200-400 microM acetaldehyde induced Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in frog muscles. Acetaldehyde at 1 mM inhibited twitch tension by approximately 12%, with an increased relaxation time after a small, transient twitch potentiation. These results suggest that moderate concentrations of acetaldehyde can elicit Ca(2+) release from the SR by increasing the open probability of the RyR channel, resulting in increased tension. However, the effects of acetaldehyde at clinical doses (1-30 microM) are unlikely to mediate alcohol-induced acute muscle dysfunction.

H2O2 activates ryanodine receptor but has little effect on recovery of releasable Ca2+ content after fatigue.

We studied whether hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) at

Redox states of type 1 ryanodine receptor alter Ca(2+) release channel response to modulators.

The type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1) from rabbit skeletal muscle displayed two distinct degrees of response to cytoplasmic Ca(2+) [high- and low-open probability (P(o)) channels]. Here, we examined the effects of adenine nucleotides and caffeine on these channels and their modulations by sulfhydryl reagents. High-P(o) channels showed biphasic Ca(2+) dependence and were activated by adenine nucleotides and caffeine. Unexpectedly, low-P(o) channels did not respond to either modulator. The addition of a reducing reagent, dithiothreitol, to the cis side converted the high-P(o) channel to a state similar to that of the low-P(o) channel. Treatment with p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (pCMPS) transformed low-P(o) channels to a high-P(o) channel-like state with stimulation by beta,gamma-methylene-ATP and caffeine. In experiments under redox control using glutathione buffers, shift of the cis potential toward the oxidative state activated the low-P(o) channel, similar to that of the high-P(o) or the pCMPS-treated channel, whereas reductive changes inactivated the high-P(o) channel. Changes in trans redox potential, in contrast, did not affect channel activity of either channel. In all experiments, channels with higher P(o) were stimulated to a great extent by modulators, but ones with lower P(o) were unresponsive. These results suggest that redox states of critical sulfhydryls located on the cytoplasmic side of the RyR1 may alter both gating properties of the channel and responsiveness to channel modulators.