The individual N- and C-lobes of calmodulin tether to the Cav1.2 channel and rescue the channel activity from run-down in ventricular myocytes of guinea-pig heart

Abstract

The present study examined the binding of the individual N- and C-lobes of calmodulin (CaM) to Cav1.2 at different Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]) from ≈ free to 2mM, and found that they may bind to Cav1.2 Ca(2+)-dependently. In particular, using the patch-clamp technique, we confirmed that the N- or C-lobes can rescue the basal activity of Cav1.2 from run-down, demonstrating the functional relevance of the individual lobes. The data imply that at resting [Ca(2+)], CaM may tether to the channel with its single lobe, leading to multiple CaM molecule binding to increase the grade of Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of Cav1.2.

Keywords: C-lobe; Ca(2+); Calmodulin; Cav1.2; N-lobe; Patch clamp.