A calcium-induced calcium release mechanism mediated by calsequestrin

Calcium (Ca(2+))-induced Ca(2+) release (CICR) is widely accepted as the principal mechanism linking electrical excitation and mechanical contraction in cardiac cells. The CICR mechanism has been understood mainly based on binding of cytosolic Ca(2+) with ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and inducing Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). However, recent experiments suggest that SR lumenal Ca(2+) may also participate in regulating RyR gating through calsequestrin (CSQ), the SR lumenal Ca(2+) buffer. We investigate how SR Ca(2+) release via RyR is regulated by Ca(2+) and calsequestrin (CSQ). First, a mathematical model of RyR kinetics is derived based on experimental evidence. We assume that the RyR has three binding sites, two cytosolic sites for Ca(2+) activation and inactivation, and one SR lumenal site for CSQ binding. The open probability (P(o)) of the RyR is found by simulation under controlled cytosolic and SR lumenal Ca(2+). Both peak and steady-state P(o) effectively increase as SR lumenal Ca(2+) increases. Second, we incorporate the RyR model into a CICR model that has both a diadic space and the junctional SR (jSR). At low jSR Ca(2+) loads, CSQs are more likely to bind with the RyR and act to inhibit jSR Ca(2+) release, while at high SR loads CSQs are more likely to detach from the RyR, thereby increasing jSR Ca(2+) release. Furthermore, this CICR model produces a nonlinear relationship between fractional jSR Ca(2+) release and jSR load. These findings agree with experimental observations in lipid bilayers and cardiac myocytes.