Excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle of a mouse lacking the dihydropyridine receptor subunit gamma1.

1. In skeletal muscle, dihydropyridine (DHP) receptors control both Ca(2+) entry (L-type current) and internal Ca(2+) release in a voltage-dependent manner. Here we investigated the question of whether elimination of the skeletal muscle-specific DHP receptor subunit gamma1 affects excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling. We studied intracellular Ca(2+) release and force production in muscle preparations of a mouse deficient in the gamma1 subunit (gamma-/-). 2. The rate of internal Ca(2+) release at large depolarization (+20 mV) was determined in voltage-clamped primary-cultured myotubes derived from satellite cells of adult mice by analysing fura-2 fluorescence signals and estimating the concentration of free and bound Ca(2+). On average, gamma-/- cells showed an increase in release of about one-third of the control value and no alterations in the time course. 3. Voltage of half-maximal activation (V(1/2)) and voltage sensitivity (k) were not significantly different in gamma-/- myotubes, either for internal Ca(2+) release activation or for the simultaneously measured L-type Ca(2+) conductance. The same was true for maximal Ca(2+) inward current and conductance. 4. Contractions evoked by electrical stimuli were recorded in isolated extensor digitorum longus (EDL; fast, glycolytic) and soleus (slow, oxidative) muscles under normal conditions and during fatigue induced by repetitive tetanic stimulation. Neither time course nor amplitudes of twitches and tetani nor force-frequency relations showed significant alterations in the gamma1-deficient muscles. 5. In conclusion, the overall results show that the gamma1 subunit is not essential for voltage-controlled Ca(2+) release and force production.

Lack of an endothelial store-operated Ca2+ current impairs agonist-dependent vasorelaxation in TRP4-/- mice.

Agonist-induced Ca2+ entry into cells by both store-operated channels and channels activated independently of Ca2+-store depletion has been described in various cell types. The molecular structures of these channels are unknown as is, in most cases, their impact on various cellular functions. Here we describe a store-operated Ca2+ current in vascular endothelium and show that endothelial cells of mice deficient in TRP4 (also known as CCE1) lack this current. As a consequence, agonist-induced Ca2+ entry and vasorelaxation is reduced markedly, showing that TRP4 is an indispensable component of store-operated channels in native endothelial cells and that these channels directly provide an Ca2+-entry pathway essentially contributing to the regulation of blood vessel tone.

Absence of the gamma subunit of the skeletal muscle dihydropyridine receptor increases L-type Ca2+ currents and alters channel inactivation properties.

In skeletal muscle the oligomeric alpha(1S), alpha(2)/delta-1 or alpha(2)/delta-2, beta1, and gamma1 L-type Ca(2+) channel or dihydropyridine receptor functions as a voltage sensor for excitation contraction coupling and is responsible for the L-type Ca(2+) current. The gamma1 subunit, which is tightly associated with this Ca(2+) channel, is a membrane-spanning protein exclusively expressed in skeletal muscle. Previously, heterologous expression studies revealed that gamma1 might modulate Ca(2+) currents expressed by the pore subunit found in heart, alpha(1C), shifting steady state inactivation, and increasing current amplitude. To determine the role of gamma1 assembled with the skeletal subunit composition in vivo, we used gene targeting to establish a mouse model, in which gamma1 expression is eliminated. Comparing litter-matched mice with control mice, we found that, in contrast to heterologous expression studies, the loss of gamma1 significantly increased the amplitude of peak dihydropyridine-sensitive I(Ca) in isolated myotubes. Whereas the activation kinetics of the current remained unchanged, inactivation of the current was slowed in gamma1-deficient myotubes and, correspondingly, steady state inactivation of I(Ca) was shifted to more positive membrane potentials. These results indicate that gamma1 decreases the amount of Ca(2+) entry during stimulation of skeletal muscle.

Store-operated cation channels in the heart and cells of the cardiovascular system.

In many nonexcitable cells, activation of phospholipase C (PLC)-linked receptors results in a release of Ca(2+) from intracellular stores followed by a transmembrane Ca(2+) entry. This Ca(2+) entry underlies the sustained phase of [Ca(2+)](i) increase, is important for various cellular functions including gene expression, secretion and cell proliferation, and is supported by agonist-activated Ca(2+)-permeable ion channels. Ca(2+)-permeable channels which are activated by store depletion and which are therefore referred to as store- operated channels or SOCs form a major pathway for agonist-induced Ca(2+) influx. So far, the molecular structures of these channels have not been identified. Potential candidates are encoded by members of the TRP family, a class of ion channels initially discovered in Drosophila and involved in the PLC-dependent transduction of visual stimuli. Here, we review recent evidence that agonist-induced Ca(2+) influx and especially SOCs are present in different cell types of the heart and of the cardiovascular system and compare these findings with the possible functions and tissue-specific expression of mammalian TRP proteins.

Mutations of calcium channel beta subunit genes in mice.

Ca2+ influx through high voltage activated Ca2+ channels initiates a number of physiological processes including e.g. excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac myocytes and excitation-transcription coupling in neurones. The Ca2+ channels involved are complexes of a pore-forming alpha1 subunit, a transmembrane delta subunit disulfide-linked to an extracellular alpha2 subunit, a intracellular beta subunit and, at least in some tissues, a gamma subunit. Experimental analysis of beta subunit function comprises functional coexpression of its cDNA together with the cDNAs of the other subunits. This experimental approach can be supplemented by investigating functional alterations that result from the genetic elimination of Ca2+ channel beta genes in mice. Here we summarize the phenotype of mice deficient in the beta1 subunit, the beta3 subunit or the beta4 subunit, respectively.

The structure of the murine calcium channel gamma-subunit gene and protein.

The gamma-subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels is a membrane protein that is associated with the skeletal muscle type of voltage gated calcium channels. Using a subunit-specific polyclonal antibody, the gamma-protein was detected in mouse skeletal muscle but not in brain, where at least five additional types of voltage-gated calcium channels are expressed. Murine genomic clones containing the full coding sequence of the gamma-subunit were isolated, the exons were mapped and sequenced. The murine gamma-subunit is encoded by a single copy gene containing 4 translated exons which are distributed over approximately 14 kilobases of DNA. The intron placement within the mouse gene correlates with the previously revealed organization of the human gamma-subunit gene, although the primary structures of the gamma-subunits are only moderately conserved between the murine, human, rat and rabbit proteins (75% identity).

Investigation of species differences in isobutene (2-methylpropene) metabolism between mice and rats.

Metabolism of isobutene (2-methylpropene) in rats (Sprague Dawley) and mice (B6C3F1) follows kinetics according to Michaelis-Menten. The maximal metabolic elimination rates are 340 mumol/kg/h for rats and 560 mumol/kg/h for mice. The atmospheric concentration at which Vmax/2 is reached is 1200 ppm for rats and 1800 ppm for mice. At steady state, below atmospheric concentrations of about 500 ppm the rate of metabolism of isobutene is direct proportional to its concentration. 1,1-Dimethyloxirane is formed as a primary reactive intermediate during metabolism of isobutene in rats and can be detected in the exhaled air of the animals. Under conditions of saturation of isobutene metabolism the concentration of 1,1-dimethyloxirane in the atmosphere of a closed exposure system is only about 1/15 of that observed for ethene oxide and about 1/100 of that observed for 1,2-epoxy-3-butene as intermediates in the metabolism of ethene or 1,3-butadiene.