Heart muscle is characterized by a regular array of proteins and structures that form a repeating functional unit identified as the sarcomere. This regular structure enables tight coupling between electrical activity and Ca(2+) signaling. In heart failure, multiple cellular defects develop, including reduced contractility, altered Ca(2+) signaling, and arrhythmias; however, the underlying cause...

Ryanodine receptors (RyRs), intracellular calcium release channels required for cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction, are macromolecular complexes that include kinases and phosphatases. Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation plays a key role in regulating the function of many ion channels, including RyRs. However, the mechanism by which kinases and phosphatases are targeted to ion channels is not...

The proposal of adaptation in individual ryanodine receptor (RyR)/Ca 2 1 release channels (Györke and Fill, 1993) has been an exciting concept that has stimulated widespread consideration of the properties and mechanisms involved in the activation and termination of Ca 2 1 release in muscle and other cells. Here, we consider what adaptation of individual RyRs is defined to mean and examine the ...

A light hepatic microsomal preparation was fractionated by sucrose-density centrifugation into one rough, one intermediate and two smooth fractions. The four fractions were characterized with respect to parameters relevant to Ca2+ sequestration. Ca2(+)-ATPase activity was similar in the rough, intermediate and smooth I fractions, but lower in the smooth II fraction. Ca2+ accumulation was the hi...

Ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been shown to alter microsomal Ca2+ transport by selective interaction with ryanodine receptors (RyRs) of muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and brain endoplasmic reticulum. The mechanism underlying the actions of PCBs on Ca2+ transport is further elucidated with skeletal SR enriched in Ry1R. Disruption of the association between immunophi...

Sperm-induced activation of mammalian eggs is associated with a transient increase in Ca2+ concentrations thought to be derived from inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive and -insensitive intracellular stores. Whereas the importance of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca2+ stores has been evaluated, the identity and role of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-insensitive stores are poorly under...

BACKGROUND Calcium calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) can be more active in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which in turn causes phosphorylation of ryanodine receptors, resulting in inactivation and the instability of intracellular calcium homeostasis. The present study aimed to determine the effect of CaMKII-ryanodine receptor pathway signaling in rabbits with left ventr...

Previous studies of arterial smooth muscle have shown that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and cyclic ADP-ribose mobilize Ca from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In contrast, little is known about Ca mobilization by nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate, a pyridine nucleotide derived from -NADP . We show here that intracellular dialysis of nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (N...