Rodent osteoblastic cells express voltage-sensitive calcium channels lacking a gamma subunit

Voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCC) open in response to external stimuli, including calcitropic hormones, that alter plasma membrane calcium (Ca2+) permeability. Ca2+ that enters the cell through these channels serves a second messenger function, eliciting cellular responses that include secretion and changes in gene expression. In osteoblasts, VSCCs serve as key regulators of Ca2+ permeability and are a major class of calcitropic hormone-sensitive Ca2+ channels present in the plasma membrane. The members of the VSCC family exist as a complex of polypeptide subunits that are comprised of a pore-forming alpha1 subunit, an intracellular beta subunit, a dimer of disulfide-linked alpha2 and delta subunits, and in some tissues, a gamma subunit. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that the major functional alpha1 subunit present in osteoblasts is the alpha1C (CaV1.2). To determine the complement of auxiliary subunits present in rodent osteoblastic cells, we employed RT-PCR using a battery of subunit specific primers and appropriate tissue controls. Immunohistochemistry also was performed, using available subunit specific antibodies, to measure protein expression and localization. Cell types examined included MC3T3-E1 at various stages of differentiation, ROS 17/2.8 osteosarcoma, and primary cultures of rat calvarial osteoblasts. The results indicate that all cells expressed multiple beta subunit classes and alpha2delta dimers, but no gamma subunits, regardless of differentiation state. We propose a structure for the functional osteoblast VSCC that consists of alpha1, beta, alpha2delta subunits and is devoid of a gamma subunit.