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Characterization of the receptor for the 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca sup 2+ channel modulators in skeletal muscle

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5545480

The 1,4-dihydropyridine receptor was purified in high yield from isolated rabbit skeletal muscle triads. The purified receptor contains four integral subunits: {alpha}{sub 1} (170 kDa), {alpha}{sub 2} (175/150 kDa), {beta} (52 kDa) and {gamma} (32 kDa) in a 1:1:1:1 stoichiometry. The {alpha}{sub 2} subunit is a glycoprotein that binds wheat germ agglutinin and its electrophoretic mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels is increased upon reduction whereas the {alpha}{sub 1} subunit does not exhibit these properties but is recognized by specific monoclonal antibodies. These monoclonal antibodies to the {alpha}{sub 1} subunit, as well as a specific monoclonal antibody to the {beta} subunit, are capable of immunoprecipitating dihydropyridine binding activity from digitonin-solubilized skeletal muscle triads as well as co-immunoprecipitating the {alpha}{sub 1} and {beta} subunits. The {alpha}{sub 1} and {beta} subunits are highly labile to mild trypsin digestion in isolated triads but the dihydropyridine binding activity of the receptor does not depend on an intact {alpha}{sub 1} (dihydropyridine binding) subunit. The {alpha}{sub 2} and {gamma} subunits are resistant to trypsin digestion and the proteolytic fragments of the {alpha} subunit remain associated with the {alpha}{sub 2} subunit even after solubilization of the receptor with digitonin. A binding site for the dihydropyridines is proposed based on the identification of a 28 kDa peptide that is both photoaffinity labeled with ({sup 3}H)azidopine and contains the epitope of a specific monoclonal antibody. Polyclonal antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the deduced carboxyl-terminus of the {alpha}{sub 1} subunit of the receptor did not react with the purified dihydropyridine receptor and skeletal muscle membranes from various sources.

Research Organization:
Iowa Univ., Iowa City, IA (United States)
OSTI ID:
5545480
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English