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Original Article

^a Department of Physiology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary, H-4012
^b Laboratoire de Physiologie des Elémentes Excitables, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ERS CNRS 2019, F69622, Villeurbanne, France
^c Cell Physiology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary, H-4012
Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Debrecen, Hungary, H-4012.36-52-432-289

csl{at}phys.dote.hu

The effects of the muscle relaxant dantrolene on steps of excitation-contraction coupling were studied on fast twitch muscles of rodents. To identify the site of action of the drug, single fibers for voltage-clamp measurements, heavy SR vesicles for calcium efflux studies and solubilized SR calcium release channels/RYRs for lipid bilayer studies were isolated. Using the double Vaseline-gap or the silicone-clamp technique, dantrolene was found to suppress the depolarization-induced elevation in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca²+]_i) by inhibiting the release of calcium from the SR. The suppression of [Ca²+]_i was dose-dependent, with no effect at or below 1 µM and a 53 ± 8% (mean ± SEM, n = 9, cut fibers) attenuation at 0 mV with 25 µM of extracellularly applied dantrolene. The drug was not found to be more effective if injected than if applied extracellularly. Calculating the SR calcium release revealed an equal suppression of the steady (53 ± 8%) and of the early peak component (46 ± 6%). The drug did not interfere with the activation of the voltage sensor in as much as the voltage dependence of both intramembrane charge movements and the L-type calcium currents (I_Ca) were left, essentially, unaltered. However, the inactivation of I_Ca was slowed fourfold, and the conductance was reduced from 200 ± 16 to 143 ± 8 SF^–1 (n = 10). Dantrolene was found to inhibit thymol-stimulated calcium efflux from heavy SR vesicles by 44 ± 10% (n = 3) at 12 µM. On the other hand, dantrolene failed to affect the isolated RYR incorporated into lipid bilayers. The channel displayed a constant open probability for as long as 30–50 min after the application of the drug. These data locate the binding site for dantrolene to be on the SR membrane, but be distinct from the purified RYR itself.

Key Words: calcium current • intramembrane charge • calcium release • ryanodine receptor • single channel

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