Histochemical Study of Calcium on T-tubule Membranes and in the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, in Frog Twitch Muscle Fibres at Rest and During Activity

Overview

Journal Histochemistry

Specialty Biochemistry

Date 1987 Jan 1

PMID 3494715

Authors

B Uhrik

D ZACHAROVA

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The trigger calcium hypothesis of signal transmission between T-tubules and terminal cisternae (TC) of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in twitch muscle fibres implies the presence of calcium along T-tubule membranes at rest and its release upon excitation. To test this hypothesis, calcium was immobilised using a fixing and precipitating solution of glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer at pH 8.0 and the calcium was substituted for by lead. Simultaneous tension recordings revealed the occurrence of contractions or a burst of twitches upon perfusion with the fixative. Procaine or tetrodotoxin (TTX) was used to inhibit this activity. In fibres without fixative-induced activity, precipitates were observed along T-tubules and in adjoining parts of TC. In activated fibres, tubular and TC precipitates were absent. These results are consistent with the trigger calcium hypothesis. In fibres activated by depolarisation, calcium returned to TC after passing successively through different parts of the SR.

References

FRANK G . The current view of the source of trigger calcium in excitation-contraction coupling in vertebrate skeletal muscle. Biochem Pharmacol. 1980; 29(18):2399-406. DOI: 10.1016/0006-2952(80)90341-x. View

Bianchi C . Pharmacological actions on excitation-contraction coupling in striated muscle. Fed Proc. 1968; 27(1):126-31. View

Borgers M, Thone F, Verheyen A, Ter Keurs H . Localization of calcium in skeletal and cardiac muscle. Histochem J. 1984; 16(3):295-309. DOI: 10.1007/BF01003613. View

Franzini-Armstrong C . Studies of the triad. II. Penetration of tracers into the junctional gap. J Cell Biol. 1971; 49(1):196-203. PMC: 2108209. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.49.1.196. View

Mathias R, Levis R, Eisenberg R . Electrical models of excitation-contraction coupling and charge movement in skeletal muscle. J Gen Physiol. 1980; 76(1):1-31. PMC: 2228590. DOI: 10.1085/jgp.76.1.1. View

SHANES A, Freygang W, Grundfest H, AMATNIEK E . Anesthetic and calcium action in the voltage-clamped squid giant axon. J Gen Physiol. 1959; 42(4):793-802. PMC: 2195003. DOI: 10.1085/jgp.42.4.793. View

Adrian R, Chandler W, HODGKIN A . Voltage clamp experiments in striated muscle fibres. J Physiol. 1970; 208(3):607-44. PMC: 1348789. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.1970.sp009139. View

Northover A . The release of membrane-associated calcium from rabbit neutrophils by fixatives. Implications for the use of antimonate staining to localize calcium. Histochem J. 1985; 17(4):443-52. DOI: 10.1007/BF01003204. View

Ornberg R, Reese T . A freeze-substitution method for localizing divalent cations: examples from secretory systems. Fed Proc. 1980; 39(10):2802-8. View

10.

Uhrik B, ZACHAROVA D . Three-dimensional arrangement of sarcoplasmic reticulum in crayfish as seen by high voltage electron microscope. Cell Tissue Res. 1979; 202(2):343-6. DOI: 10.1007/BF00232248. View

11.

FRANK G . Antagonism by phosphate buffer of the twitch loss in isolated muscle fibers produced by calcium-free solutions. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1978; 56(3):523-6. DOI: 10.1139/y78-081. View

12.

Stern M, Kort A, BHATNAGAR G, Lakatta E . Scattered-light intensity fluctuations in diastolic rat cardiac muscle caused by spontaneous Ca++-dependent cellular mechanical oscillations. J Gen Physiol. 1983; 82(1):119-53. PMC: 2228690. DOI: 10.1085/jgp.82.1.119. View

13.

Winegrad S . Intracellular calcium movements of frog skeletal muscle during recovery from tetanus. J Gen Physiol. 1968; 51(1):65-83. PMC: 2201154. DOI: 10.1085/jgp.51.1.65. View

14.

Reynolds E . The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J Cell Biol. 1963; 17:208-12. PMC: 2106263. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.17.1.208. View

15.

Sorenson M, Reuben J, EASTWOOD A, Orentlicher M, KATZ G . Functional heterogeneity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum within sarcomeres of skinned muscle fibers. J Membr Biol. 1980; 53(1):1-17. DOI: 10.1007/BF01871168. View

16.

Boskey A, Posner A . Optimal conditions for Ca-acidic phospholipid-PO4 formation. Calcif Tissue Int. 1982; 34 Suppl 2:S1-7. View

17.

Schneider M, Chandler W . Voltage dependent charge movement of skeletal muscle: a possible step in excitation-contraction coupling. Nature. 1973; 242(5395):244-6. DOI: 10.1038/242244a0. View

18.

Betz W, Sakmann B . Effects of proteolytic enzymes on function and structure of frog neuromuscular junctions. J Physiol. 1973; 230(3):673-88. PMC: 1350622. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.1973.sp010211. View

19.

Elder H, Gray C, Jardine A, Chapman J, Biddlecombe W . Optimum conditions for cryoquenching of small tissue blocks in liquid coolants. J Microsc. 1982; 126(Pt 1):45-61. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1982.tb00356.x. View

20.

Somlyo A, Shuman H, McClellan G, Somlyo A . Calcium release and ionic changes in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of tetanized muscle: an electron-probe study. J Cell Biol. 1981; 90(3):577-94. PMC: 2111900. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.90.3.577. View