Differential expression of three classes of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels during maturation of the rat cerebellum in vitro.
Voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels provide a mode of Ca(2+) influx that is essential for intracellular signaling in many cells. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to assess the relative amounts of mRNAs encoding three classes of Ca(2+) channels (alpha1A, alpha1B and alpha1E) during development, in cultures established from prenatal rat cerebellar cortex. Ca(2+) channel transcript levels were standardized to a constitutive marker (cyclophilin). For all three classes of Ca(2+) channels, transcript levels were highest at early stages (4-10 days in vitro) and declined with age. This developmental pattern was differentially regulated by a depolarizing agent, tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA, 1 mM). Chronic depolarization yielded a significant elevation in transcript levels for alpha1B (N-type) and alpha1E (R-type) Ca(2+) channels during neuronal maturation (10-21 days in vitro), but dramatically suppressed transcript levels for the alpha1A (P-type) Ca(2+) channel at all stages of development. The effects of TEA on alpha1A, alpha1B and alpha1E transcript levels were mimicked by increasing external K(+) (from 5 to 10 mM). The regulatory effects of depolarization on transcript levels were dependent on extracellular Ca(2+) for alpha1E but not for alpha1A. For alpha1B, transcript levels depended on extracellular Ca(2+) only for increased K(+) as the depolarizing stimulus, but not for TEA. These results suggest that levels of Ca(2+) channel transcripts in rat cerebellum are developmentally regulated in vitro and can be influenced differentially by transmembrane signaling via chronic depolarization and Ca(2+) entry. Dynamic regulation of Ca(2+) channel expression may be relevant to the different functional roles of Ca(2+) channels and their regional localization within neurons.
Department of Physiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ 85724-5051, USA.
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Falk
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Muller
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Yool
D000818:Animals; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013698:Templates, Genetic; D019789:Tetraethylammonium / Q000494:pharmacology; D015854:Up-Regulation
D015220:Calcium Channels; D019789:Tetraethylammonium