Organization of the adluminal and retractor cells in the coelomic lining from the tube foot of a phanerozonian starfish, Luidia foliolata

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 911-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Cavey ◽  
Richard L. Wood

The coelomic lining in the tube feet of the phanerozonian starfish Luidia foliolata is a complex pseudostratified myoepithelium consisting largely of flagellated adluminal cells and myofilament-bearing retractor cells. The adluminal cells, joined by zonular intermediate and septate junctions, line the water–vascular canal. Basal processes of the adluminal cells penetrate the underlying layers of retractor cells to terminate as bulbous pedicels at the myoepithelial basal lamina. The longitudinally oriented retractor cells, linked by macular and fascial intermediate junctions, also direct processes obliquely to the basal lamina for anchorage. In keeping with its myoepithelial classification, the coelomic lining of the tube foot is devoid of connective tissue. The organization of the coelomic lining in this primitive species has not substantively improved our understanding of the events of excitation–contraction coupling. Both the coelomic lining and the podial connective tissue lack nerves, and there is no ultrastructural evidence of communicating (gap) junctions between the retractor cells. The sarcoplasmic reticulum of a retractor cell is a plexiform network of agranular cisternae lodged between the contractile apparatus and the sarcolemma. Peripheral couplings between the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the sarcolemma can be identified in ultrathin sections by the presence of electron-dense plaques in the sarcoplasmic gaps between the apposed membranes. In freeze-fracture replicas, the placement of these structural couplings is correlated with aggregations of large intramembranous particles over regions of cisternal confluence. Conceptual problems in understanding excitation–contraction coupling in a modern starfish are compounded in this primitive representative by the presence of many more layers of retractor cells and by a burrowing life-style which requires the tube feet to respond in a rapid, highly coordinated manner.

Physiology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 281-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Hamilton ◽  
Irina Serysheva ◽  
Gale M. Strasburg

Excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac and skeletal muscle involves the transverse-tubule voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel and the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channel. Both of these ion channels bind and are modulated by calmodulin in both its Ca2+-bound and Ca2+-free forms. Calmodulin is, therefore, potentially an important regulator of excitation-contraction coupling. Its precise role, however, has not yet been defined.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1207-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarete M. Trachez ◽  
R. Takashi Sudo ◽  
G. Suarez-Kurtz

Denervation potentiated the cooling-induced contractures and the halothane-cooling contractures of isolated extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles of the mouse. These effects were more striking in extensor digitorum longus than in soleus muscles. Significant increases in the peak amplitudes of the halothane-cooling contractures of both muscles and of the cooling contractures of soleus muscle were observed within 2 and 7 days of denervation. The potentiation of the contractures persisted for 90 days, the period of this study. Denervation (>2 days) endowed extensor digitorum longus with the ability to generate cooling contractures in the absence of halothane. The rate of tension development of cooling-induced contractures in the absence or presence of halothane was significantly greater in denervated (2–90 days) than in innervated muscles. Denervation also reduced the effectiveness of procaine in inhibiting the halothane-cooling contractures. It is proposed that the potentiation of cooling-induced contractures in denervated muscles results primarily from an increase in the rate of efflux and in the quantity of Ca2+ released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, upon cooling and (or) when challenged with halothane.Key words: denervation, excitation–contraction coupling, halothane, cooling-induced contractures, skeletal muscle.


2005 ◽  
Vol 385 (3) ◽  
pp. 803-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela F. DULHUNTY ◽  
Yamuna KARUNASEKARA ◽  
Suzanne M. CURTIS ◽  
Peta J. HARVEY ◽  
Philip G. BOARD ◽  
...  

A physical association between the II–III loop of the DHPR (dihydropryidine receptor) and the RyR (ryanodine receptor) is essential for excitation–contraction coupling in skeletal, but not cardiac, muscle. However, peptides corresponding to a part of the II–III loop interact with the cardiac RyR2 suggesting the possibility of a physical coupling between the proteins. Whether the full II–III loop and its functionally important ‘C’ region (cardiac DHPR residues 855–891 or skeletal 724–760) interact with cardiac RyR2 is not known and is examined in the present study. Both the cardiac DHPR II–III loop (CDCL) and cardiac peptide (Cc) activated RyR2 channels at concentrations >10 nM. The skeletal DHPR II–III loop (SDCL) activated channels at ≤100 nM and weakly inhibited at ≥1 μM. In contrast, skeletal peptide (Cs) inhibited channels at all concentrations when added alone, or was ineffective if added in the presence of Cc. Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release from cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum was enhanced by CDCL, SDCL and the C peptides. The results indicate that the interaction between the II–III loop and RyR2 depends critically on the ‘A’ region (skeletal DHPR residues 671–690 or cardiac 793–812) and also involves the C region. Structure analysis indicated that (i) both Cs and Cc are random coil at room temperature, but, at 5 °C, have partial helical regions in their N-terminal and central parts, and (ii) secondary-structure profiles for CDCL and SDCL are similar. The data provide novel evidence that the DHPR II–III loop and its C region interact with cardiac RyR2, and that the ability to interact is not isoform-specific.


1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 1532-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriaki Kanaya ◽  
Daniel R. Zakhary ◽  
Paul A. Murray ◽  
Derek S. Damron

Background Our objective was to elucidate the direct effects of fentanyl and morphine on cardiac excitation-contraction coupling using individual, field-stimulated rat ventricular myocytes. Methods Freshly isolated myocytes were loaded with fura-2 and field stimulated (0.3 Hz) at 28 degrees C. Amplitude and timing of intracellular Ca2+ concentration (at a 340:380 ratio) and myocyte shortening (video edge detection) were monitored simultaneously in individual cells. Real time Ca2+ uptake into isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles was measured using fura-2 free acid in the extravesicular compartment. Results The authors studied 120 cells from 30 rat hearts. Fentanyl (30-1,000 nM) caused dose-dependent decreases in peak intracellular Ca2+ concentration and shortening, whereas morphine (3-100 microM) decreased shortening without a concomitant decrease in the Ca2+ transient. Fentanyl prolonged the time to peak and to 50% recovery for shortening and the Ca2+ transient, whereas morphine only prolonged the timing parameters for shortening. Morphine (100 microM), but not fentanyl (1 microM), decreased the amount of Ca2+ released from intracellular stores in response to caffeine in intact cells, and it inhibited the rate of Ca2+ uptake in isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Fentanyl and morphine both caused a downward shift in the dose-response curve to extracellular Ca2+ for shortening, with no concomitant effect on the Ca2+ transient. Conclusions Fentanyl and morphine directly depress cardiac excitation-contraction coupling at the cellular level. Fentanyl depresses myocardial contractility by decreasing the availability of intracellular Ca2+ and myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. In contrast, morphine depresses myocardial contractility primarily by decreasing myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity.


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