Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
To probe the molecular mechanism responsible for the relaxant effect of catecholamines in heart muscle, we studied the effect of a monoclonal antibody (2D12) against phospholamban in intact whole cell clamped guinea pig ventricular myocytes, in which intracellular Ca2+ transient and Ca2+ current were simultaneously measured. The antibody stimulated Ca2+ uptake in guinea pig ventricular sarcoplasmic reticular vesicles, shifting the apparent dissociation constant for activation by Ca2+ from 200 to 60 nM. The stimulatory effect of the antibody could be mimicked by the catalytic subunit of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-dependent kinase and could be blocked by phospholamban peptide 2-25. Dialysis of ventricular myocytes with the antibody enhanced the rate of uptake of Ca2+ and significantly suppressed the ability of isoproterenol to enhance the rate of uptake and release of Ca2+ by depolarizing pulses. These data suggest that not only is phosphorylation of phospholamban crucial in sequestration of Ca2+ by the sarcoplasmic reticulum, but that this process may account for the catecholamine-enhanced rate of Ca2+ uptake release in heart muscle.
Sham et al. (Tue,) studied this question.