Switching of the dominant calcium sequestering protein during skeletal muscle differentiation

A major Ca(2+)-storing protein in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of non-muscle cells is calreticulin (CR), which is considered to be functionally homologous to calsequestrin. Calsequestrin is a Ca(2+)-binding protein in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of striated muscle, which stores Ca2+ during muscle relaxation. In order to investigate the expression and distribution of calsequestrin and calreticulin during skeletal muscle differentiation, cultured chick embryonic skeletal muscles were observed by immunofluorescence using anti-calsequestrin, anti-calreticulin, anti-desmin, and anti-sarcomeric myosin antibodies and rhodamine-phalloidin. Within 6 hours in culture, myoblasts started to express desmin. Desmin-positive cells demonstrated the reticular staining of calreticulin, as did desmin-negative cells. Around fusion, calsequestrin and sarcomeric myosin started to appear in desmin-positive cells. The expression of calsequestrin slightly preceded that of sarcomeric myosin. As the myotubes matured, the fluorescent dots of calsequestrin increased and spread to the cell periphery along the myofibrils, while the reticular pattern of calreticulin gradually disappeared. Double labeling showed that calsequestrin colocalized with calreticulin. In mature myotubes, anti-calsequestrin staining demonstrated many dots along myofibrils, whereas calreticulin was barely seen except at the perinuclear region. These results suggest that the expression of calsequestrin and calreticulin are switched during skeletal muscle differentiation.