Studies of fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum from human skeletal muscle

Transmembrane calcium movement in 20,25-diazacholesterol myotonia

An abnormality in myoplasmic Ca2+ regulation has frequently been proposed in 20,25-diazacholesterol (20,25-D) myotonia. We report here the results of several studies of transmembrane Ca2+ movement in this animal model. (i) Physiologic Ca2+ release by intact sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was examined in chemically skinned single muscle fibers preloaded in EGTA-buffered Ca2+ solutions (pCa2+7.0 to 6.4). Isometric tension development and Ca2+ release thresholds in response to Cl- or caffeine showed no differences between control and 20,25-D fibers at any pCa2+. (ii) The kinetics of energy-dependent Ca2+ accumulation in purified SR vesicles were followed spectrophotometrically using Ca2+-sensitive dyes. The apparent rate for ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake and Ca2+ sequestering capacity were unchanged in SR from 20,25-D animals vs. controls. (iii) Surface membrane Ca2+ATPase activity was measured in red blood cell ghosts and sarcolemma. Enzyme Vmax was decreased by 25 to 50% in both membranes in the 20,25-D-treated animals with a compensatory increase in the number of Ca2+ATPase molecules. In general, the SR handling of Ca2+ appears normal in 20,25-D myotonia, although the activity of Ca2+ATPase in membranes with high sterol content may be altered in response to changes in the lipid environment in this model.

Calcium accumulation by the sarcoplasmic reticulum in two populations of chemically skinned human muscle fibers. Effects of calcium and cyclic AMP

In previous efforts to characterize sarcoplasmic reticulum function in human muscles, it has not been possible to distinguish the relative contributions of fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibers. In this study, we have used light scattering and 45Ca to monitor Ca accumulation by the sarcoplasmic reticulum of isolated, chemically skinned human muscle fibers in the presence and absence of oxalate. Oxalate (5 mM) increased the capacity for Ca accumulation by a factor of 35 and made it possible to assess both rate of Ca uptake and relative sarcoplasmic reticulum volume in individual fibers. At a fixed ionized Ca concentration, the rate and maximal capacity (an index of sarcoplasmic reticulum volume) both varied over a wide range, but fibers fell into two distinct groups (fast and slow). Between the two groups, there was a 2- to 2.5-fold difference in oxalate-supported Ca uptake rates, but no difference in average sarcoplasmic reticulum volumes. Intrinsic differences in sarcoplasmic reticulum function (Vmax, K0.5, and n) were sought to account for the distinction between fast and slow groups. In both groups, rate of Ca accumulation increased sigmoidally as [Ca++] was increased from 0.1 to 1 microM. Apparent affinities for Ca++ (K0.5) were similar in the two groups, but slow fibers had a lower Vmax and larger n values. Slow fibers also differed from fast fibers in responding with enhanced Ca uptake upon addition of cyclic AMP (10(-6) M, alone or with protein kinase). Acceleration by cyclic AMP was adequate to account for adrenaline-induced increases in relaxation rates previously observed in human muscles containing mixtures in fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibers.