title: Bovine serum albumin potentiates caffeine- or ATP-induced tension in human skinned skeletal muscle fibers.
abstract: Human skinned muscle fibers were used to investigate the effects of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the tension/pCa relationship and on the functional properties of the Ca(2+)-release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In both fast- and slow-type fibers, identified by their tension response to pSr 5.0, BSA (0.7-15 microM) had no effect on the Ca2+ affinity of the contractile proteins and elicited no tension per se in Ca(2+)-loaded fibers. In contrast, BSA (> 1.0 microM) potentiated the caffeine-induced tension in Ca(2+)-loaded fibers, this effect being more intense in slow-type fibers. Thus, BSA reduced the threshold caffeine concentration required for eliciting detectable tension, and increased the amplitude, the rate of rise and the area under the curve of caffeine-induced tension. BSA also potentiated the tension elicited in Ca(2+)-loaded fibers by low-Mg2+ solutions containing 1.0 mM free ATP. These results suggest that BSA modulates the response of the human skeletal muscle SR Ca(2+)-release channel to activators such as caffeine and ATP.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ponte
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suarez-Kurtz
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects*; D009129:Muscle Tonus / Q000187:drug effects*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D002110:Caffeine; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate