title: Serum fractions from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients depress voltage-activated Ca2+ currents of rat cerebellar granule cells in culture.
abstract: Whole-cell patch clamp recording from rat cerebellar granule cells in culture was used to study the effect of immune protein fractions extracted from the serum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients on voltage-activated Ca2+ currents. The inward currents, carried by Ba2+, were induced by depolarizing step commands positive to -50 mV and showed typical voltage-dependent inactivation. Application of immunoprotein fractions obtained from the serum of ALS patients produced a strong depression of the inward current amplitude without changing its threshold potential at which the maximum was attained, or its time course. These data support the hypothesis that the serum of ALS patients contains an immunoprotein capable of interacting with high threshold Ca2+ channels of central neurones.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics Sector, International School for Advanced Studies (S.I.S.S.A.), Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Zhainazarov
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Annunziata
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Toneatto
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cherubini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nistri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D007074:Immunoglobulin G