Key result
The rat brain calcium channel alpha 1 subunit (rbE-II) transiently activated at negative membrane potentials, required strong hyperpolarization to deinactivate, and was highly sensitive to nickel block.
The cloning and characterization of the rbE-II calcium channel subunit reveals it functions as a low voltage-activated calcium channel that may modulate neuronal firing patterns.
Provides foundational mechanistic insight into calcium channel kinetics without immediate clinical application; leaves open whether.
Oscillatory firing patterns are an intrinsic property of some neurons and have an important function in information processing. In some cells, low voltage-activated calcium channels have been proposed to underlie a depolarizing potential that regulates bursting. The sequence of a rat brain calcium channel alpha 1 subunit (rbE-II) was deduced. Although it is structurally related to high voltage-activated calcium channels, the rbE-II channel transiently activated at negative membrane potentials, required a strong hyperpolarization to deinactivate, and was highly sensitive to block by nickel. In situ hybridization showed that rbE-II messenger RNA is expressed in regions throughout the central nervous system. The electrophysiological properties of the rbE-II current are consistent with a type of low voltage-activated calcium channel that requires membrane hyperpolarization for maximal activity, which suggests that rbE-II may be involved in the modulation of firing patterns.
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Soong et al. (1993) studied this question. rbE-II calcium channel alpha 1 subunit was evaluated on Electrophysiological properties and expression of rbE-II. The rat brain calcium channel alpha 1 subunit (rbE-II) transiently activated at negative membrane potentials, required strong hyperpolarization to deinactivate, and was highly sensitive to nickel block.
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