Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Fluorescence-based Measurement of Store-operated Calcium Entry in Live Cells: from Cultured Cancer Cell to Skeletal Muscle Fiber
Published on: February 13, 2012
Modulation by monovalent anions of calcium and caffeine induced calcium release from heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum
1Max-Planck-Institut für Medizinische Forschung, Abteilung Physiologie, Heidelberg, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Abstract:
Both calcium and caffeine induced calcium release from actively loaded heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles were studied to analyze the dependence of both activities on the composition of the release medium with respect to monovalent anions. Calcium is unable to induce net calcium release while caffeine remains effective as releasing agent when the experimental media contain neither chloride nor nitrate ions. Caffeine induced calcium release is not suppressed by chelating residual medium calcium (approximately 0.5-1 microM) with 2 mM EGTA added 15 s prior to 10 mM caffeine. Calcium release from vesicles loaded in media containing 0.2 M gluconate as monovalent anion is induced when the medium is supplemented with chloride or nitrate. The release amplitude increases linearly when K-gluconate is replaced by KCl. At constant ionic strength the release amplitude becomes maximal at a chloride concentration of 0.2 M. The chloride effect completely disappears when 2 mM EGTA are added simultaneously. When chloride is replaced by nitrate, as releasing agent, maximal release is achieved already by addition of 0.1 M K-nitrate. The releasing effect of nitrate can only partially be suppressed by EGTA. The different effectiveness of gluconate, chloride and nitrate as calcium release supporting ions corresponds to their activating effect on the binding of ryanodine to the calcium release channel in the vesicular membranes.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Secretory Vesicles
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...
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...
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
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...

