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Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Dissection of Local Ca2+ Signals in Cultured Cells by Membrane-targeted Ca2+ Indicators
Published on: March 22, 2019
Voltage-gated mobility of the Ca2+ channel cytoplasmic tails and its regulatory role
Evgeny Kobrinsky1, Elena Schwartz, Darrell R Abernethy
1National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.
Abstract:
Transient increase in intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration generated by the voltage-gated Ca(v)1.2 channels acts as an important intracellular signal. By using fluorescence resonance energy transfer combined with patch clamp in living cells, we present evidence for voltage-gated mobility of the cytoplasmic tails of the Ca(v)1.2 channel and for its regulatory role in intracellular signaling. Anchoring of the C-terminal tail to the plasma membrane caused an inhibition of its state-dependent mobility, channel inactivation, and CREB-dependent transcription. Release of the tail restored these functions suggesting a direct role for voltage-gated mobility of the C-terminal tail in Ca(2+) signaling.
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