Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Isolation of Human Myoblasts, Assessment of Myogenic Differentiation, and Store-operated Calcium Entry Measurement
Published on: July 26, 2017
Hypotonic medium increases calcium permeant channels activity in human normal and dystrophic myotubes
Clarisse Vandebrouck1, Gérard Duport, Guy Raymond
1Laboratoire de Biomembranes et Signalisation Cellulaire, UMR CNRS/Université de Poitiers 6558, 86022 Poitiers Cedex, France. clarisse.vandebrouck@fymu.ucl.ac.be
Abstract:
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by the absence of dystrophin and an elevated intracellular calcium level. Single-channel recordings were performed with the cell-attached configuration of the patch-clamp technique. The present study shows, on human co-cultured normal and dystrophic muscle cells, the evidence for an increased activity of calcium permeant cationic mechano-sensitive channels under hypotonic medium stimulation. This activity was particularly enhanced in DMD cells. The hypotonic medium induced drastic changes in the single-channel activity characteristics, which are: a large increase of the calcium over potassium permeability ratio; and a great enhancement of the quantity of current crossing through these channels. These channels could contribute to a significant calcium entry, which could participate in the abnormal calcium homeostasis observed in DMD muscle.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cross-bridge Cycle
Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Skeleton and Calcium Homeostasis
Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it depolarizes the membrane and opens voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium ions enter the cell, further depolarizing the presynaptic membrane. This depolarization causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open.
Smooth Muscle Contraction
The onset of contraction is triggered by an increase in calcium ions within the sarcoplasm, similar to the process in striated muscle. However, smooth muscles have a relatively smaller reservoir of the sarcoplasmic...
Antihypertensive Drugs: Action of Calcium Channel Blockers

