22 Influx of calcium through voltage gated calcium channels (VGCCs) is essential for striatal 23 function and plasticity. VGCCs expressed in striatal neurons have varying kinetics, voltage 24 dependences and densities resulting in heterogeneous subcellular calcium dynamics. One 25 factor that determines the calcium dynamics in striatal medium spiny neurons is inactivation of 26 VGCCs. Aside fro...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression and function of T-type calcium channels in the interstitial cells of Cajal in rat bladders. METHODS Bladders were harvested from Sprague-Dawley rats. The expression of T-type calcium channels subtypes (α1G, α1H, and α1I) in interstitial cells of Cajal were identified by double-labeled immunofluorescence analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chai...

The outcome of patients with myocardial infarction has improved dramatically over the last few decades. Evidence-based therapy comprises rapid recanalization with full restitution of flow by acute percutaneous coronary intervention, local and systemic antithrombotic treatment, the use of statins, b-adrenoceptor blockers, angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitors, and aldosterone receptor antagoni...

Calcium channels play dual roles in cell signaling by promoting membrane depolarization and allowing entry of calcium ions. Patch-clamp recordings of calcium and calcium-dependent currents from the soma of Xenopus spinal neurons indicate key functional differences from those of presynaptic terminals. Both terminals and somas exhibit prominent high-voltage-activated (HVA) calcium current, but on...

The possibility that R-type calcium channels contribute to fast glutamatergic transmission in the hippocampus has been assessed using low concentrations of NiCl(2) and the peptide toxin SNX 482, a selective antagonist of the pore-forming alpha(1E) subunit of R-type calcium channel. EPSPs or EPSCs were recorded in the whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique mainly from CA3 hippocam...

The regulation of transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction is tightly regulated by the influx of calcium in the presynaptic nerve terminal. Interestingly, the probability that release sites at the neuromuscular junction will liberate transmitter during each action potential is very low. The reasons for this low probability of release are not well understood. To test the hypothesis that...

objective(s): the structure- activity relationship of a series of 36 molecules, showing l-type calcium channel blocking was studied using a qsar (quantitative structure–activity relationship) method. materials and methods: structures were optimized by the semi-empirical am1 quantum-chemical method which was also used to find structure-calcium channel blocking activity trends. several types of d...

Voltage-gated calcium channels play a central role in regulating the electrical and biochemical properties of neurons and muscle cells. One of the ways in which calcium channels regulate long-lasting neuronal properties is by activating signaling pathways that control gene expression, but the mechanisms that link calcium channels to the nucleus are not well understood. We report that a C-termin...

In CA1 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, calcium-dependent spikes occur in vivo during specific behavioral states and may be enhanced during epileptiform activity. However, the mechanisms that control calcium spike initiation and repolarization are poorly understood. Using dendritic and somatic patch-pipette recordings, we show that calcium spikes are initiated in the apical dendrites of CA...

Secretion of neurotransmitters is initiated by voltage-gated calcium influx through presynaptic, voltagegated N-type calcium channels. These channels interact with the SNARE proteins, which are core components of the exocytosis process, via the synaptic protein interaction (synprint) site in the intracellular loop connecting domains II and III of their a1B subunit. Interruption of this interact...