title: Voltage- and calcium-dependent inactivation in high voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels.
abstract: Calcium influx into cardiac myocytes via voltage-gated Ca channels is a key step in initiating the contractile response. During prolonged depolarizations, toxic Ca(2+) overload is prevented by channel inactivation occurring through two different processes identified by their primary trigger: voltage or intracellular Ca(2+). In physiological situations, cardiac L-type (Ca(V)1.2) Ca(2+) channels inactivate primarily via Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation (CDI), while neuronal P/Q (Ca(V)2.1) Ca(2+) channels use preferentially voltage-dependent inactivation (VDI). In certain situations however, these two types of channels have been shown to be able to inactivate by both processes. From a structural view point, the rearrangement occurring during CDI and VDI is not precisely known, but functional studies have underlined the role played by at least 2 channel sequences: a C-terminal binding site for the Ca(2+) sensor calmodulin, essential for CDI, and the loop connecting domains I and II, essential for VDI. The conserved regulation of VDI and CDI by the auxiliary channel beta subunit strongly suggests that these two mechanisms may use a set of common protein-protein interactions that are influenced by the auxiliary subunit. We will review our current knowledge of these interactions. New data are presented on L-P/Q (Ca(V)1.2/Ca(V)2.1) channel chimera that confirm the role of the I-II loop in VDI and CDI, and reveal some of the essential steps in Ca(2+) channel inactivation.
authors.affiliation: CNRS CRBM FRE 2593, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cens
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rousset
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Leyris
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fesquet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Charnet
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type; D002118:Calcium