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Studies on the heterogeneity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles.

Isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from rabbit white muscle were separated into a light (15--20% of total microsomes) and a heavy (80--85%) fraction by density gradient centifugation. The ultrastructure, chemical composition, enzymic activities and localization of membrane components in the vesicles of both fractions were investigated. From the following results it was concluded that both fractions are derived from the membranes of the sarcoplasmic reticulum system of the muscle: (i) The protein pattern of both fractions is essentially the same, except for different ratios of acidic, Ca2+-binding proteins. (ii) The 105000 dalton protein of the light fraction cross-reacts immunologically with the Ca2+-dependent ATPase of the heavy fraction. (iii) Ca2+-dependent ATPase, although of different specific activity, is found in both fractions. After rendering the vesicles leaky, specific activities in both fractions reach the same value. The light fraction was found to consist of "inside-out" vesicles by the following criteria: (i) No Ca2+ accumulation can be measured and the Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity is low and variable. (ii) The rate of trypsin digestion is lower and, compared to the heavy microsomes, a different ratio of degradation products is obtained. (iii) The sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane has a highly asymmetrical lipid distribution. This distribution of aminophospholipids is opposite to that in vesicles of heavy fraction. The light sarcoplasmic reticulum fraction has a higher phospholipid to protein ratio than the heavy one. This is consistent with the possibility that the two fractions derive from different parts of the sarcoplasmic reticulum system.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Adaptation of biological membranes to temperature. The lack of homeoviscous adaptation in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Temperature adaptation of biological membranes was examined by comparing the fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum preparation of goldfish acclimated to different temperatures. Membrane fluidity was estimated using the fluorescence polarization technique. There was considerable variation between preparations, but no consistent differences in fluidity were observed between 5- and 25 degrees C-acclimated goldfish, fish species adapted over an evolutionary period to arctic or desert temperatures, and rat. The fatty acid composition of the sarcoplamic reticulum preparations of differently acclimated goldfish showed differences in the proportion of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids while the proportion of saturated fatty acids remained relatively constant. However, the fatty acid composition of sarcoplasmic reticulum phosphoglycerides became more unsaturated in the order rat, desert pupfish, arctic sculpin, which correlates with their respective environmental or body temperature. It is concluded that differences in membrane components other than fatty acids are important in determining membrane dynamic structure. The inability to demonstrate homeoviscous adaptation in sarcoplasmic reticulum is supported by other evidence suggesting that functions of the sarcoplasmic reticulum that are measured in vitro are not affected by such modifications of their phosphoglyceride fatty acid composition as occur during thermal acclimation.

Adaptation, Biological↗

Inside-outside distribution and diffusion of phosphatidylcholine in rat sarcoplasmic reticulum as determined by 13C NMR and phosphatidylcholine exchange protein.

1. The transverse distribution of phosphatidylcholine in rat sarcoplasmic reticulum was investigated employing 13C NMR in conjunction with the shift reagent DyCl3. 2. Sarcoplasmic reticulum phosphatidylcholine was enriched with 13C by feeding rats a diet containing [N-Me3-13C]choline. Up to 32% of the sarcoplasmic reticulum phosphatidyl-[N-Me3-12C]choline was replaced by phosphatidyl-[N-Me3-13C]choline. 3. Titration of 13C-enriched sarcoplasmic reticulum with Dy3+ indicates that 40% of the phosphatidyl-[N-Me3-13C]choline is exposed to the external medium, whereas 60% is shielded from interaction with Dy3+. 4. Incubation of 32P-labelled sarcoplasmic reticulum with excess mitochondria and phosphatidylcholine exchange protein results in a fast transport of approx. 80% of [32P]phosphatydylcholine to the mitochondria indicating that part of the phosphatidylcholine pool is involved in a rapid transbilayer movement.

Animals↗

Interaction of chemical probes with sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes.

The labelling of the sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes by the chemical probes, trinitrobenzenesulfonate (TNBS) and fluorodinitrobenzene (FDNB) has been investigated. The incorporation of TNBS, but not of FDNB, depends on the binding of Ca2+ or Mg2+ to the membranes. The labelling of lipids and of the various reticulum proteins by TNBS is increased by those agents, but the effect is not uniform for all membrane proteins. The Ca2+ -ATPase contributes only 2.2% for the total labelling of the sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins, whereas the proteins of molecular weight 90 000 and 30 000 contribute about 34 and 56%, respectively. However, the Ca2+-ATPase isolated from the membrane reacts with an amount of TNBS 5-fold higher than that which reacts with the enzyme in situ. Both probes, TNBS and FDNB, inhibit the Ca2+-ATPase activity and the Ca2+ uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum, whereas the Mg2+-ATPase remains unaffected. The results indicate that FDNB is maximally incorporated into the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane, whereas only some of the membrane amino groups are accessible to TNBS in the absence of Ca2+, Mg2+ or ATP which, when present, make additional amino groups available to TNBS. The highest degree of TNBS incorporation takes place into proteins, other than the ATPase, but sufficient reaction occurs with the enzyme to inhibit its activity.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Effects of adenosine diphosphate on Ca2+ fluxes and Ca2+ accumulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Ca2+ transport by sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles was examined by incubating sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles (0.15 mg/ml) at 37 degrees C in, either normal medium that contained 0.15 M sucrose, 0.1 M KCl, 60 microM CaCl2, 2.5 mM ATP and 30 mM Tes at pH 6.8, or a modified medium for elimination of ADP formed from ATP hydrolysis by including, in addition, 3.6 mM phosphocreatine and 33 U/ml of creatine phosphokinase. In normal medium, Ca2+ uptake of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles reached a plateau of about 100 nmol/mg. In modified medium, after this phase of Ca2+ uptake, a second phase of Ca2+ accumulation was initiated and reached a plateau of about 300 nmol/mg. The second phase of Ca2+ accumulation was accompanied by phosphate uptake and could be inhibited by ADP. Since, under these experimental conditions, there was no significant difference of the rates of ATP hydrolysis in normal medium and modified medium, extra Ca2+ uptake in modified medium but not in normal medium could not be explained by different phosphate accumulation in the two media. Unidirectional Ca2+ influx of sarcoplasmic reticulum near steady state of Ca2+ uptake was measured by pulse labeling with 45Ca2+. The Ca2+ efflux rate was then determined by subtracting the net uptake from the influx rate. At the first plateau of Ca2+ uptake in normal medium, Ca2+ influx was balanced by Ca2+ efflux with an exchange rate of 240 nmol/mg per min. This exchange rate was maintained relatively constant at the plateau phase. In modified medium, the Ca2+ exchange rate at the first plateau of Ca2+ uptake was about half of that in normal medium. When the second phase of Ca2+ uptake was initiated, both the influx and efflux rates started to increase and reached a similar exchange rate as observed in normal medium. Also, during the second phase of Ca2+ uptake, the difference between the influx and efflux rates continued to increase until the second plateau phase was approached. In conditions where the formation of ADP and inorganic phosphate was minimized by using a low concentration of sarcoplasmic (7.5 micrograms/ml) and/or using acetyl phosphate instead of ATP, the second phase of Ca2+ uptake was also observed. These data suggest that the Ca2+ load attained by sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles during active transport is modulated by ADP accumulated from ATP hydrolysis. ADP probably exerts its effect by facilitating Ca2+ efflux, which subsequently stimulates Ca2+ exchange.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

The determination of the separate Ca2+ pump protein and phospholipid profile structures within reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes via X-ray and neutron diffraction.

We have previously compared the electron density profiles for several highly-functional reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes with that for the isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane (Herbette, L., Scarpa, A., Blasie, J.K., Wang, C.T., Saito, A. and Fleischer, S. (1981) Biophys. J. 36, 47-72). In this paper, we compare the separate calcium pump protein profile within these reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes, as derived by X-ray and neutron diffraction methods, with that within isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. In addition, the time-average perturbation of the lipid bilayer by the incorporated calcium pump protein within these reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes has been determined in some detail.

Animals↗

Subcellular fractionation of pig stomach smooth muscle. A study of the distribution of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity in plasmalemma and endoplasmic reticulum.

Isolated membrane vesicles from pig stomach smooth muscle (antral part) were subfractionated by a density gradient procedure modified in order to obtain an efficient extraction of extrinsic proteins. By using this method in combination with digitonin-treatment, an endoplasmic reticulum fraction contaminated with maximally 10 to 20% of plasma membranes was isolated, together with a plasma membrane fraction containing at most 30% endoplasmic reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane fractions differed in protein composition, reaction to digitonin, binding of wheat germ agglutinin, activities of marker enzymes and in the characteristics of the Ca2+ uptake. The Ca2+ uptake by the endoplasmic reticulum was much more stimulated by oxalate than the uptake by plasma membranes. Both fractions showed a (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity, but the largest amount of this enzyme was present in the plasma membranes. The study of the phosphorylated intermediates of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed two phosphoproteins one of 130 kDa and one of 100 kDa (Wuytack, F., Raeymaekers, L., De Schutter, G. and Casteels, R. (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 693, 45-52). The 130 kDa enzyme was predominant in the fraction enriched in plasma membrane whereas the distribution of the 100 kDa polypeptide correlated with the endoplasmic reticulum markers. The 130 kDa ATPase was the main 125I-calmodulin binding protein detected on nitrocellulose blots of proteins separated by gel electrophoresis. The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity of the plasma membranes was higher than the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity, suggesting that the Ca2+ extrusion from these cells depends much more on the activity of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase than on Na+-Ca2+ exchange.

Animals↗

Effects of halothane, caffeine, dantrolene and tetracaine on the calcium permeability of skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum of malignant hyperthermic pigs.

Preparing skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum from both normal and malignant hyperthermia susceptible pigs, the effects of various drugs on the passive calcium permeability of these sarcoplasmic reticulum preparations were studied. It was found that, in the absence of halothane, the permeability of heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum prepared from malignant hyperthermia susceptible pigs was much higher than that of normal pigs. It was observed that halothane, at concentrations above 10 microM (well below anesthetic concentrations, which are on the order of 1 mM), increased the permeability of sarcoplasmic reticulum. The Hill coefficient of the effect of halothane ranged from 1.96 to 2.25, suggesting that some kind of cooperativity was involved in this reaction. The effects of caffeine were similar to those of halothane. Inhibitors, such as tetracaine and ruthenium red inhibited both the calcium permeability and the halothane-induced increment. The Hill coefficient of the effect of tetracaine was 1.75. The mode of inhibition suggests that tetracaine directly binds with the calcium channel to inhibit the calcium efflux. On the contrary, dantrolene did not affect the calcium permeability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. However, it inhibited the halothane-induced and caffeine-induced increments of the permeability. The Hill coefficient of inhibition by dantrolene ranged from 2.3 to 3.9, suggesting that several molecules of dantrolene may interact cooperatively with one calcium release channel to inhibit the effect of halothane. These results suggest that dantrolene has a unique inhibitory action, which may be related to its efficacy in ameliorating the syndrome of malignant hyperthermia.

Animals↗

Evidence for the presence of the stearyl-CoA desaturase system in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit slow muscle.

We have shown that the isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum from rabbit slow muscle contains cytochrome b5 which can be reduced via a flavoprotein, with FAD as the prosthetic group. In the presence of NADH and oxygen, these sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes can convert stearyl-CoA to oleyl-CoA, similarly to liver endoplasmic reticulum membranes. However, the stearyl-CoA desaturase system is virtually lacking in fast muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. The data suggest that these differences between fast and slow twitch muscle may be related to the characteristic fatty acid composition of phospholipids and the function of the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Animals↗

The capacity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum for phospholipid synthesis: a developmental study.

The activities of three enzymes involved in phospholipid synthesis, sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.15), cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase (EC 2.7.7.15), and cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2), were assayed in adult skeletal muscle. The acyltransferase and cholinephosphotransferase were concentrated in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, where their specific activities were 80 and 33%, respectively, of the specific activity in liver microsomes. Cytidylyltransferase activity was distributed throughout the cell with most of the activity in the cytosol. Its activity in muscle was only 10% of liver activity. Functional sarcoplasmic reticulum was isolated by density gradient centrifugation after calcium loading in the presence of phosphate. The specific activities of these enzymes wee undiminished in the calcium-loaded fraction, suggesting that these enzymes are intrinsic components of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In developing muscle (2 and 6 days postnatal) acyltransferase and cholinephosphotransferase activities were also present in a calcium-loaded microsomal subfraction at the same level as in the adult. Cytidylyltransferase activity, on the other hand, was 8-fold higher in developing muscle. In addition, developing muscle had a 3-fold increase in the proportion of cytidylyltransferase associated with the microsomal fraction. These data suggest that sarcoplasmic reticulum has the capacity for phospholipid synthesis in mature and developing muscle, and that the rate of phosphatidylcholine synthesis may be regulated by the levels of cytidylyltransferase and by translocation of this enzyme between the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the cytosol.

Animals↗

Phosphorylation of low molecular weight proteins in purified preparations of rat heart sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum.

A rat heart sarcolemmal preparation could be obtained in which both 5'-nucleotidase and adenylate cyclase were enriched approx. 9-fold by subjecting a homogenate to a discontinuous sucrose gradient, without the use of a high salt extraction. After incubation of this fraction with Mg[gamma-32P]ATP, the majority of 32P incorporated was present in 24 000- and 9000-dalton protein components. Only when a heart cytosol fraction or a purified cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase was added, was enhancement of 32P-incorporaton found by addition of cyclic AMP. The 9000- and 24 000-dalton proteins appeared to be interconvertible. The degree of conversion could be affected by changing the temperature during solubilizaion of the membranes in SDS prior to electrophoresis. This suggested that the 24 000-dalton protein does not correspond to phospholamban, first identified by others in canine heart sarcoplasmic reticulum. Moreover, it could be excluded that the 24 000-dalton protein was derived from contaminating myofibrillar troponin I. When the sarcolemmal fraction was preincubated with Ca2+, Mg2+, ATP and oxalate, contaminating sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles, loaded with calcium oxalate, settled to a greater density in the sucrose gradient. Membrane constituents other than those with enzymatic activity were monitored to confirm the separation between sarcolemmal and sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes: Coomassie blue staining material, sialic acid, cholesterol and phospholipid. The 24 000- and 9000-dalton proteins were equally distributed among the sarolemmal and sarcoplasmic reticulum fractions present in the sucrose gradient. However, the rate of 32P-incorporation in the presence of heart cytosol fraction was much slowr in the sarcoplasmic reticulum than in the sarcolemmal fraction.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Isolated bovine myocardial sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles contain tightly bound calcium-dependent protease inhibitor.

Bovine myocardial sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicle preparations contained calcium-dependent protease inhibitor protein. No inhibitor was detected in mitochondrial membranes. The membrane-bound inhibitor co-purified with the marker enzymes for sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum, Na+,K+-ATPase and Ca2+,K+-ATPase respectively, on isopycnic ultracentrifugation through linear sucrose density gradients. Sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles contained about 1 mg of inhibitor per g of membrane protein. However, about one-half of the inhibitor in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles was not tightly associated with the membrane. The membrane-bound inhibitor may function to modulate calcium-dependent proteolytic cleavage of sarcolemmal or sarcoplasmic reticulum-associated proteins.

Animals↗

Three-dimensional organization of the endoplasmic reticulum in supraoptic neurons of the rat. A structural functional correlation.

Double impregnation staining of tissue was used to study on thick sections the three-dimensional configuration of the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum in neurosecretory neurons of the supraoptic nucleus in control and water-deprived rats. According to the spatial organization of the endoplasmic reticulum, two types of neurons are described in this report: Type I neurons which predominated in control rats (70%) exhibited characteristically large lamellar structures connected to loosely anastomosed tubules. In type II neurons, which prevailed in water-deprived rats (85%) the endoplasmic reticulum had the appearance of a highly-developed network of interconnected tubules, with no lamellar structures. Double impregnation staining combined with high resolution radioautography after [3H]leucine administration showed that the tubular configuration of the endoplasmic reticulum was the main active site of protein synthesis by contrast with the lamellar components, whose activity seemed poor. In terms of protein synthesis, the three-dimensional configuration of the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum of the supraoptic neurons appeared therefore to be closely connected with their functional state.

Animals↗

Sequential expression during postnatal development of specific markers of junctional and free sarcoplasmic reticulum in chicken pectoralis muscle.

Skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum comprises two distinct membrane domains, i.e., the Ca(2+)-pump membrane, corresponding mainly to longitudinal tubules, and the junctional membrane of the terminal cisternae containing the ryanodine receptor/Ca(2+)-release channel. Additional minor proteins previously shown in rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle to fractionate selectively to each membrane domain comprise 160- and 53-kDa glycoproteins and 170-kDa low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-binding protein, respectively (Damiani and Margreth, 1991, Biochem. J. 277, 825-832). We report evidence in chicken pectoralis, a predominantly fast muscle, on two closely immunologically related glycoproteins, a minor component of 130-kDa and a major 53-kDa protein. In contrast to the seemingly highly conserved structure of this protein, our results show marked differences in mobilities for chicken 125I-LDL that were detected as a 130- to 116-kDa protein doublet after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, although being otherwise indistinguishable from rabbit 170-kDa protein in LDL-binding characteristics, as well as for preferential association to junctional terminal cisternae. Chicken Ca(2+)-ATPase, although being extensively homologous to rabbit Ca(2+)-ATPase, is shown to be less active and to differ slightly in electrophoretic properties. We have investigated the time course of expression of the specific protein components of longitudinal and of junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum in chick pectoralis muscle from late embryonic development up to 2 months after hatching. Coincident with the posthatching increase in membrane density of high-affinity [3H]ryanodine-binding sites in muscle, both calsequestrin and the species-specific LDL-binding protein(s) are detected in increasing amounts, using ligand blot techniques. In contrast, the appearance and steady accumulation in muscle of Ca(2+)-ATPase, like the time-correlated increase of sarcoplasmic reticulum glycoproteins, are relatively delayed, the most striking changes occurring from 1 week after hatching onward. The sequential expression in chick developing muscle of proteins selectively associated with the junctional terminal cisternae and with longitudinal sarcoplasmic reticulum, respectively, argues for a similar morphogenetic program in avian and mammalian species and, to account for that, for the existence of common epigenetic differentiating influences on the expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum protein genes.

Animals↗

Sarcoplasmic reticulum function in newborn ferret cremaster skeletal muscles.

A study of the properties of the sarcoplasmic reticulum was performed with newborn ferret cremaster muscles at two different development stages: at 8 and 21 days. The effects of extracellular Ca2+, caffeine and cyclopiazonic acid, a specific sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor, were examined on intact cremaster skeletal muscles. The uptake and release of Ca2+ were explored on saponin-skinned fibres with or without cyclopiazonic acid and some results obtained were compared with those obtained with adult cremaster muscle. The results have shown that skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum of newborn animals possesses the ability to accumulate and release Ca2+. Furthermore, application of cyclopiazonic acid modified the twitch, the caffeine responses and decreased the amount of Ca2+ taken up by the sarcoplasmic reticulum in saponin-skinned fibres. In contrast to adult skeletal muscle, in newborn cremaster muscles, the Ca2+ dependence of the twitch suggests that the Ca2+ influx at the sarcolemma level was mainly involved in the activation of the contraction. Furthermore, the results obtained in the presence of cyclopiazonic acid were in favour, as in adult muscle, of a participation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the relaxation process.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Effects of monoclonal antibody against phospholamban on calcium pump ATPase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum.

A monoclonal antibody against phospholamban has been reported to increase Ca2+ uptake by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum. We compared the effect of this antibody on Ca2+ pump ATPase activity of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles to the effect of cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of phospholamban. The antibody markedly stimulated the Ca(2+)-dependent ATPase activity in parallel to the increase in Ca2+ uptake by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum. When the Ca(2+)-dependent profile of the ATPase activity was compared, the KCa was shifted from 1.24 to 0.62 microM by the antibody, whereas cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of phospholamban shifted the KCa to 0.84 microM. When cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles were treated with both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and the antibody, the stimulation was the same as that with the antibody alone. Thus, the Ca2+ pump ATPase seems to be fully activated by the antibody. The stoichiometry between Ca2+ uptake and ATPase rate was around 1 and no significant change was observed by the treatment with the antibody. Therefore, the stimulation of Ca2+ uptake of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum by the antibody occurred by the stimulation of Ca2+ pump ATPase, not by other mechanisms such as channel activity of phospholamban. These results indicate that the binding of the antibody to phospholamban produces essentially the same mode of action on Ca2+ pump ATPase as that of phospholamban phosphorylation. The antibody and phospholamban phosphorylation appear to release the inhibitory action of phospholamban on Ca2+ pump ATPase, resulting in the stimulation of Ca2+ pump.

Animals↗

Evidence for malonyl-CoA-sensitive carnitine acyl-CoA transferase activity in sarcoplasmic reticulum of canine heart.

The formation of palmitoylcarnitine is catalyzed by carnitine palmitoyl-transferase (CPT-I) and this catalysis is the first committed step in beta-oxidation. The malonyl-CoA-inhibited isoform appears to be distinct from latent (CPT-II) activity, which is localized to the matrix side of the mitochondrial inner membrane. Sarcoplasmic reticulum from canine cardiac muscle was fractionated on a discontinuous sucrose density gradient into three major bands, all of which contained Ca(2+)-ATPase activity. Only the fraction that banded at a concentration of 38% surcrose was slightly contaminated by mitochondria. Peroxisomal uricase was low or absent in fractionated SR. All sarcoplasmic reticulum fractions contained malonyl-CoA-sensitive medium- (COT) and long-chain (CPT) carnitine acyltransferase activities. CPT activity decreased in sarcoplasmic reticulum when Triton X-100 was present. Carnitine acyltransferase activities were inactivated by preincubating the sarcoplasmic reticulum with the sulfhydryl reagent, 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). In contrast, mitochondrial CPT-II activity was stable in the presence of DTNB and activated by Triton X-100. Western blots of mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum fractions showed that the mitochondrial fractions reacted with antibody to mitochondrial CPT-II but not with SR protein when both were added at comparable specific activities. The data suggest that cardiac SR contains a unique malonyl-CoA-sensitive isoform of CPT, and that synthesis of acylcarnitine may occur in the microenvironment of Ca2+ transport, where the extent of production of acylcarnitine is controlled by cardiac acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity.

Animals↗

Alterations in sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake, relaxation parameters and their responses to beta-adrenergic agonists in the developing rabbit heart.

Developmental changes in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum function, which may reflect alterations in the myocardial rate of relaxation and its responses to beta-adrenergic stimulation, were assessed using fetal, 4-day-old, 21-day-old and adult rabbit hearts. The fetal hearts exhibited the slowest rate of relaxation (-dP/dt) and the lowest Vmax and EC50 of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-pump for Ca2+ compared to the other age groups. These parameters were similar among the 4-day-old, 21-day-old and adult hearts. The low physiological and biochemical parameters in the fetal hearts reflected reduced levels of expression of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-pump and its inhibitor, phospholamban, assessed by quantitative immunoblotting. Isoproterenol perfusion of fetal hearts had no significant effect on their relaxation parameters or on the EC50 of the Ca(2+)-pump for Ca2+, consistent with the low relative levels of phospholamban expressed in these hearts. However, perfusion of the 4-day-old, 21-day-old and adult hearts with isoproterenol resulted in significant increases in the rates of relaxation of each group. The increases in relaxation parameters were associated with decreases in the EC50 of the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-pump for Ca2+, suggesting a phosphorylation-mediated relief of the phospholamban inhibitory effects. These findings indicate that developmental regulation of the levels of the activity of the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-pump may reflect alterations in cardiac relaxation parameters and their modulation by beta-adrenergic agonists.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗