title: Distribution and functional significance of the P-type, voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in the mammalian central nervous system.
abstract: In addition to the three types of voltage-dependent calcium channels presently recognized in the CNS, the L-, the T- and the N-types, a fourth distinct type known as the P-type channel has recently been described. This channel, initially recognized in Purkinje cells (and thus the name), is not blocked by dihydropyridines or by omega-conotoxin (GVIA), but is blocked by native funnel-web spider venom and by a polyamine (FTX) extracted from such venom. In addition, a synthetic polyamine (sFTX) has been produced that also specifically blocks P-channels in brain slices and at the neuromuscular junction, and blocks presynaptic Ca2+ currents in other vertebrate and invertebrate forms, as well as channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes following CNS mRNA injections. Using sFTX to form an affinity gel, a protein was isolated and reconstituted into lipid bilayers where it manifests single-channel properties that are electrophysiologically and pharmacologically similar to those of the native P-channels. Rabbits immunized with the isolated protein produced a polyclonal antibody that gave a positive western blot with the purified P-channel protein and generated a reaction product at specific sites in the CNS that agree with the physiological distribution of P-channel activity.
authors.affiliation: New York University Medical Center, Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, NY 10016.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Llinás
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugimori
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Hillman
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cherksey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels