Store-operated Ca 2+ entry (SOCE) occurs in diverse cell types in response to depletion of Ca 2+ within the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum and functions both to refill these stores and to shape cytoplasmic Ca 2+ transients. Here we report that in addition to conventional SOCE, skeletal myotubes display a physiological mechanism that we term excitation-coupled Ca 2+ entry (ECCE). ECCE is rapidly initiated by membrane depolarization. Like excitation-contraction coupling, ECCE is absent in both dyspedic myotubes that lack the skeletal muscle-type ryanodine receptor 1 and dysgenic myotubes that lack the dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR), and is independent of the DHPR l -type Ca 2+ current. Unlike classic SOCE, ECCE does not depend on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ release. Indeed, ECCE produces a large Ca 2+ entry in response to physiological stimuli that do not produce substantial store depletion and depends on interactions among three different Ca 2+ channels: the DHPR, ryanodine receptor 1, and a Ca 2+ entry channel with properties corresponding to those of store-operated Ca 2+ channels. ECCE may provide a fundamental means to rapidly maintain Ca 2+ stores and control important aspects of Ca 2+ signaling in both muscle and nonmuscle cells.

Of the three known ryanodine receptor (RyR) isoforms expressed in muscle, RyR1 and RyR2 have well-defined roles in contraction. However, studies on mammalian RyR3 have been difficult because of low expression levels relative to RyR1 or RyR2. Using the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) helper-free amplicon system, we expressed either RyR1 or RyR3 in 1B5 RyR-deficient myotubes. Western blot analysis revealed that RyR1- or RyR3-transduced cells expressed the appropriate RyR isoform of the correct molecular mass. Although RyR1 channels exhibited the expected unitary conductance for Cs(+) in bilayer lipid membranes, 74 of 88 RyR3 channels exhibited pronounced subconductance behavior. Western blot analysis with an FKBP12/12.6-selective antibody reveals that differences in gating behavior exhibited by RyR1 and RyR3 may be, in part, the result of lower affinity of RyR3 for FKBP12. In calcium imaging studies, RyR1 restored skeletal-type excitation-contraction coupling, whereas RyR3 did not. Although RyR3-expressing myotubes were more sensitive to caffeine than those expressing RyR1, they were much less sensitive to 4-chloro-m-cresol (CMC). In RyR1-expressing cells, regenerative calcium oscillations were observed in response to caffeine and CMC but were never seen in RyR3-expressing 1B5 cells. In [(3)H]ryanodine binding studies, only RyR1 exhibited sensitivity to CMC, but both RyR isoforms responded to caffeine. These functional differences between RyR1 and RyR3 expressed in a mammalian muscle context may reflect differences in association with accessory proteins, especially FKBP12, as well as structural differences in modulator binding sites.

Ryanodine receptors (RyRs) form calcium release channels located in the membranes of the sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum. RyRs play a major role in excitation-contraction coupling and other Ca2+-dependent signaling events, and consist of several globular domains that together form a large assembly. Here we describe the crystal structures of the SPRY1 and tandem-repeat domains at 1.2 – 1.5Å resolution, which reveal several structural elements not detected in recent cryo-EM reconstructions of RyRs. The cryo-EM studies disagree on the position of SPRY domains, which had been proposed based on homology modeling. Computational docking of the crystal structures, combined with FRET studies, show that the SPRY1 domain is located next to FK506-Binding Protein (FKBP). Molecular dynamics flexible fitting and mutagenesis experiments suggest a hydrophobic cluster within SPRY1 that is crucial for FKBP binding. A RyR1 disease mutation, N760D, appears to directly impact FKBP binding through interfering with SPRY1 folding.