A close association of RyRs with highly dense clusters of Ca2+-activated Cl- channels underlies the activation of STICs by Ca2+ sparks in mouse airway smooth muscle

J Gen Physiol. 2008 Jul;132(1):145-60. doi: 10.1085/jgp.200709933.

Abstract

Ca(2+) sparks are highly localized, transient releases of Ca(2+) from sarcoplasmic reticulum through ryanodine receptors (RyRs). In smooth muscle, Ca(2+) sparks trigger spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) by opening nearby clusters of large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels, and also gate Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) (Cl((Ca))) channels to induce spontaneous transient inward currents (STICs). While the molecular mechanisms underlying the activation of STOCs by Ca(2+) sparks is well understood, little information is available on how Ca(2+) sparks activate STICs. In the present study, we investigated the spatial organization of RyRs and Cl((Ca)) channels in spark sites in airway myocytes from mouse. Ca(2+) sparks and STICs were simultaneously recorded, respectively, with high-speed, widefield digital microscopy and whole-cell patch-clamp. An image-based approach was applied to measure the Ca(2+) current underlying a Ca(2+) spark (I(Ca(spark))), with an appropriate correction for endogenous fixed Ca(2+) buffer, which was characterized by flash photolysis of NPEGTA. We found that I(Ca(spark)) rises to a peak in 9 ms and decays with a single exponential with a time constant of 12 ms, suggesting that Ca(2+) sparks result from the nonsimultaneous opening and closure of multiple RyRs. The onset of the STIC lags the onset of the I(Ca(spark)) by less than 3 ms, and its rising phase matches the duration of the I(Ca(spark)). We further determined that Cl((Ca)) channels on average are exposed to a [Ca(2+)] of 2.4 microM or greater during Ca(2+) sparks. The area of the plasma membrane reaching this level is <600 nm in radius, as revealed by the spatiotemporal profile of [Ca(2+)] produced by a reaction-diffusion simulation with measured I(Ca(spark)). Finally we estimated that the number of Cl((Ca)) channels localized in Ca(2+) spark sites could account for all the Cl((Ca)) channels in the entire cell. Taken together these results lead us to propose a model in which RyRs and Cl((Ca)) channels in Ca(2+) spark sites localize near to each other, and, moreover, Cl((Ca)) channels concentrate in an area with a radius of approximately 600 nm, where their density reaches as high as 300 channels/microm(2). This model reveals that Cl((Ca)) channels are tightly controlled by Ca(2+) sparks via local Ca(2+) signaling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aniline Compounds / chemistry
  • Animals
  • Calcium / analysis
  • Calcium / metabolism
  • Calcium Signaling / physiology*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Chloride Channels / physiology*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Egtazic Acid / analogs & derivatives
  • Egtazic Acid / chemistry
  • Electrophysiology
  • Kinetics
  • Male
  • Membrane Potentials / physiology
  • Mice
  • Models, Biological
  • Muscle, Smooth / cytology
  • Muscle, Smooth / physiology
  • Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / physiology*
  • Photolysis
  • Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel / physiology*
  • Trachea / cytology
  • Xanthenes / chemistry

Substances

  • Aniline Compounds
  • Chloride Channels
  • Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel
  • Xanthenes
  • 2-nitrophenyl-EGTA
  • Fluo-3
  • Egtazic Acid
  • Calcium