Aspects of the mechanism of action of local anesthetics on the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle

Ca sparks do not explain all ryanodine receptor-mediated SR Ca leak in mouse ventricular myocytes

Diastolic Ca leak from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of ventricular myocytes reduces the SR Ca content, stabilizing the activity of the SR Ca release channel ryanodine receptor for the next beat. SR Ca leak has been visualized globally using whole-cell fluorescence, or locally using confocal microscopy, but never both ways. When using confocal microscopy, leak is imaged as "Ca sparks," which are fluorescent objects generated by the local reaction-diffusion of released Ca and cytosolic indicator. Here, we used confocal microscopy and simultaneously measured the global ryanodine-receptor-mediated leak rate (J(leak)) and Ca sparks in intact mouse ventricular myocytes. We found that spark frequency and J(leak) are correlated, as expected if both are manifestations of a common phenomenon. However, we also found that sparks explain approximately half of J(leak). Our strategy unmasks the presence of a subresolution (i.e., nonspark) release of potential physiological relevance.

Inhibition of the Na,K-ATPase of canine renal medulla by several local anesthetics

The ATPase activity of Na,K-ATPase-enriched membranes from canine renal medulla was determined in the absence of local anesthetic and in the presence of procaine, chloroprocaine, bupivacaine, mepivacaine, lidocaine, and two quaternary derivatives of lidocaine (QX-222 and QX-314) at 37( composite function)C. Chloroprocaine (IC(50)= 13 mM) had slightly greater potency than procaine (IC(50)= 17.7 mM). Bupivacaine (IC(50)= 6.7 mM) was more potent than its congener mepivacaine (IC(50)> 10 mM, the solubility limit). QX-222 (IC(50)> 600 mM) and QX-314 (IC(50)= 132 mM) had less potency than lidocaine (IC(50)= 30.4 mM). This study supports the interpretation that the uncharged forms of local anesthetics are much more potent inhibitors of Na,K-ATPase activity than the cationic forms.

Effects of tetracaine on sarcoplasmic calcium release in mammalian skeletal muscle fibres

1. Single muscle fibres were dissociated enzymatically from the extensor digitorum communis muscle of rats. The fibres were mounted into a double Vaseline gap experimental chamber and the events in excitation-contraction coupling were studied under voltage clamp conditions in the presence and absence of the local anaesthetic tetracaine. 2. Changes in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) were monitored using the calcium sensitive dyes antipyrylazo III and fura-2 and the rate of calcium release (Rrel) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was calculated. Tetracaine decreased the maximal attained [Ca2+]i and suppressed, in a dose-dependent manner, both the early peak and the steady level of Rrel in the voltage range examined. 3. The concentration dependence of the effects on the two kinetic components of Rrel were almost identical with a half-effective concentration (K50) of 70 and 71 microM and a Hill coefficient (nH) of 2.7 and 2.3 for the peak and the steady level, respectively. Furthermore, the drug did not alter the peak to steady level ratio up to a concentration (50 microM) that caused a 35 +/- 5 % reduction in calcium release. Higher concentrations did suppress the ratio but the degree of suppression was voltage independent. 4. Tetracaine (50 microM) neither influenced the total available intramembrane charge nor altered its membrane potential dependence. It shifted the transfer function, the normalized SR permeability versus normalized charge to the right, indicating that similar charge transfer caused a smaller increase in SR permeability. 5. To explore the site of action of tetracaine further the ryanodine receptor (RyR) calcium release channel of the SR was purified and reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers. The reconstituted channel had a conductance of 511 +/- 14 pS (n = 8) in symmetric 250 mM KCl that was not affected by tetracaine. Tetracaine decreased the open probability of the channel in a concentration-dependent manner with K50 = 68 microM and nH = 1.5. 6. These experiments show that tetracaine suppresses SR calcium release in enzymatic isolated mammalian skeletal muscle fibres. This effect is due, presumably, to the decreased open probability of the RyR in the presence of the drug. Since both the inactivating peak and the steady level of Rrel were equally affected by tetracaine, our observations suggest that there is a tight coupling between these kinetic components of SR calcium release in mammalian skeletal muscle.

The structure, function, and cellular regulation of ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ release channels

The fundamental biological process of Ca2+ signaling is known to be important in most eukaryotic cells, and inositol 1,2,5-trisphosphate and ryanodine receptors, intracellular Ca2+ release channels encoded by two distantly related gene families, are central to this phenomenon. Ryanodine receptors in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal and cardiac muscle have a predominant role in excitation-contraction coupling, but the channels are also present in the endoplasmic reticulum of noncontractile tissues including the central nervous system and the immune system. In all, three highly homologous ryanodine receptor isoforms have been identified, all very large proteins which assemble as (homo)tetramers of approximately 2 MDa. They contain large cytoplasmically disposed regulatory domains and are always associated with other structural or regulatory proteins, including calmodulin and immunophilins, which can have marked effects on channel function. The type 1 isoform in skeletal muscle is electromechanically coupled to surface membrane voltage sensors, whereas the remaining isoforms appear to be activated solely by endogenous cytoplasmic second messengers or other ligands, including Ca2+ itself ("Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release"). This review concentrates on ryanodine receptor structure-function relationships as probed by a variety of methods and on the molecular mechanisms of channel modulation at the cellular level (including evidence for the regulation of gene expression and transcription). It also touches on the relevance of ryanodine receptors to complex cellular functions and disease.

Interaction of alkanols and local anesthetics with spin-labeled Ca(2+)-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles

Alkanols and tertiary amine derivative local anesthetics modify the activity of Ca(2+)-ATPase. In order to investigate the primary binding sites, associated to the functional changes, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase was labeled with maleimide derivative spin labels which bind covalently to SH groups of cysteine residues and allow to probe the regions of the protein close to those residues. The EPR measurements showed motional constraints induced by drug-treatment which indicate changes in the enzyme dynamics and structure. n-Alkanols are shown to affect some of the protein-bound labels by restricting their motion. There is, however, no correlation between the functional effects and the observed motional restriction, in the sense that concentrations of the different alcohols leading to the same functional effects do not induce the same degree of restriction. Dibucaine and tetracaine at functional relevant concentrations also restrict the movement of protein bound labels. But, in this case, correlation between spectral changes and functional effects is observed.

Charge- and pH-dependent binding sites for dibucaine in ionic micelles: a fluorescence study

Binding of micromolar concentrations of the local anesthetic dibucaine to micelles of cationic, zwitterionic and anionic detergents was studied using the fluorescence emission of dibucaine. Difference in quantum yields for charged and neutral dibucaine allowed to obtain shifts of pKa values due to binding. Estimates for the electrostatic potential affecting the tertiary amine of dibucaine were obtained from the pKa shifts. Change of fluorescence emission upon binding allowed to obtain the binding constants of both charged and neutral dibucaine to the micelles. The binding constant for the neutral form is essentially independent of micelle charge and of specific differences in detergent structure. Consistency between the ratio of neutral to cationic dibucaine binding constants and the measured pKa shift was tested. For LPC micelles complete agreement was found. For CTAC, however, the ratio of binding constants does not explain the pKa shift. The discrepancy between the results is used to estimate the errors involved upon neglecting non-coulombic electrostatic interactions of drugs to charged membrane surfaces. Fluorescence quenching with sodium iodide and nitroxide stearic acid derivatives allowed a depth profiling of the drug in the micelles.

Depth profiling of dibucaine in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles by fluorescence quenching

The location of molecules of the local anesthetic dibucaine in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles (SRV) was determined using the quenching of its intrinsic fluorescence by iodide and by nitroxide-labeled stearic acids (SASL) with the nitroxide group at different positions of the fatty acyl chain. The molar ratios of dibucaine to Ca(2+)-ATPase in the samples were less than 1. The acid-base titration of membrane bound dibucaine revealed a pK of 9.1, showing a negligible shift upon binding. The quenching data were obtained at pH 6.8 and are therefore related to protonated dibucaine. Quenching by iodide showed SRV-bound dibucaine to be more protected from collisions with iodide anion than dibucaine in buffer or even in neutral micelles. This shows the influence of negatively charged lipids in keeping iodide away from the ionic diffuse layer of the membrane surface where the dibucaine tertiary amine might be located. Analysis of the SASL quenching data indicates that dibucaine molecules are at a shallow position in the membrane bilayer. Their average depth was found to be at most that of the fourth carbon atom of the fatty acyl chain. The results do not exclude a preferential site for dibucaine in Ca(2+)-ATPase, but if there is such site it must be located at the protein/lipid interface.

The interaction of local anesthetics with the ryanodine receptor of the sarcoplasmic reticulum

The effects of various local anesthetics (LAs) on the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor were tested. The LAs were divided into three categories according to their effects on the binding of ryanodine to the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. Ryanodine binding was assayed in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl and 10 microM CaCl2. Tetracaine and dibucaine inhibit the binding with half-maximal inhibition (CI50) of 0.12 and 0.25 mM, respectively, while inhibition by benzocaine and procaine occurs with CI50 of about 10-fold higher. Lidocaine, its analogue QX-314, and prilocaine, on the other hand, stimulate the binding up to fourfold with half-maximal stimulation occurring with about 2 mM of the drugs. Lidocaine increases both the receptor affinity for ryanodine by about fivefold and the rate of ryanodine association with its binding site by about 10-fold. Tetracaine interacts with the ryanodine receptor in a non-competitive fashion with respect to ryanodine but it competes with lidocaine for its binding site, suggesting the existence of a single site for the inhibitory and stimulatory LA. The LAs also interact with the purified ryanodine receptor and produce effects similar to those with the membrane-bound receptor. Tetracaine and dibucaine inhibit binding of the photoreactive ATP analogue; [alpha-32P]benzoyl-benzoyl ATP (BzATP) to the ATP regulatory site of the ryanodine receptor, and high concentrations of ATP decrease the degree of ryanodine binding inhibition by tetracaine, indicating the relationship between the receptor conformations stabilized by ATP and LAs. Based on a structure-activity relationship, a model for the LA site of interaction in the ryanodine receptor is suggested.

Modulation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase by pentobarbital

The dependence of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles upon the concentration of pentobarbital shows a biphasic pattern. Concentrations of pentobarbital ranging from 2 to 8 mM produce a slight stimulation, approximately 20-30%, of the ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles made leaky to Ca2+, whereas pentobarbital concentrations above 10 mM strongly inhibit the activity. The purified ATPase shows a higher sensitivity to pentobarbital, namely 3-4-fold shift towards lower values of the K0.5 value of inhibition by this drug. These effects of pentobarbital are observed over a wide range of ATP concentrations. In addition, this drug shifts the Ca2+ dependence of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity towards higher values of free Ca2+ concentrations and increases several-fold the passive permeability to Ca2+ of the sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. At the concentrations of pentobarbital that inhibit this enzyme in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane, pentobarbital does not significantly alter the order parameter of these membranes as monitored with diphenylhexatriene, whereas the temperature of denaturation of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase is decreased by 4-5 C degrees, thus, indicating that the conformation of the ATPase is altered. The effects of pentobarbital on the intensity of the fluorescence of fluorescein-labeled (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase in sarcoplasmic reticulum also support the hypothesis of a conformational change in the enzyme induced by millimolar concentrations of this drug. It is concluded that the inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticulum ATPase by pentobarbital is a consequence of its binding to hydrophobic binding sites in this enzyme.

Quinacrine inhibits the calcium-induced calcium release in heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles

Quinacrine is a fluorescence probe useful for studying the effect of local anesthetics. The interaction of quinacrine and sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes measured by fluorescence spectroscopy indicates the presence of a saturable binding site. Typical local anesthetics are able to displace quinacrine bound to heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes. The effectiveness of that displacement decreases in the order dibucaine greater than tetracaine greater than benzocaine greater than lidocaine greater than procaine greater than procainamide, indicating that the size and hydrophobicity of quinacrine are major determinants in the binding process. The use of radioactive tracer and a rapid filtration technique reveals that quinacrine interacts, at lower concentrations, with sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes by blocking the Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release. Higher quinacrine concentrations also affect the Ca2+-pump activity.

Effects of tetracaine and procaine on skinned muscle fibres depend on free calcium

The local anaesthetics, tetracaine and procaine have previously been found to block, induce or potentiate Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal muscle depending on the preparation, experimental conditions and design. We now show that low concentrations of tetracaine and procaine block SR Ca2+ release whereas high concentrations induce release from the SR of amphibian and mammalian skinned fibres. Both actions depend on pCa, such that a shift in pCa can alter their effect from blocking to releasing Ca2+. In skinned fibres with Ca2+-loaded SR, tetracaine (1 mM) produced a tonic contraction with a time to half-peak of 15-20 s and a magnitude reaching 80% of maximum force. Ca2+ release by tetracaine or procaine occurred at pCa less than or equal to 6.5 and was not blocked by Ruthenium Red (RR) (25 mM). This action of tetracaine was attributed to SR Ca2+ release rather than to a displacement of bound Ca2+ because fibres lacking a functional SR due to pre-treatment with quercetin (100 mM), A 23187 (100 micrograms ml-1) or Triton X-100 (1%) did not contract after additions of tetracaine. Lower concentrations of tetracaine (0.5 mM) and procaine (less than or equal to 10 mM) blocked contractions due to caffeine (at pCa greater than or equal to 6.73), sulphydryl oxidizing agents, or Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release (CICR). The inhibition of CICR as a function of pCa was difficult to measure quantitatively since lowering pCa to elicit CICR twitches was sufficient to initiate tetracaine-induced tonic contractions. Experiments with isolated SR vesicles showed that 1 mM tetracaine inhibited CICR, over a wide range of pCa but 3-5 mM tetracaine induced rapid Ca2+ release. The opposite effects of tetracaine and procaine depend mostly on their concentration in SR vesicles and/or pCa in skinned fibres. Blockade of release seems to occur via the CICR pathway, and induction of release through an increase in SR membrane permeability.

Drug-induced calcium release from heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle

Calcium release from isolated heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit skeletal muscle by several calmodulin antagonistic drugs was measured spectrophotometrically with arsenazo III and compared with the properties of the caffeine-induced calcium release. Trifluoperazine and W7 (about 500 microM) released all actively accumulated calcium (half-maximum release at 129 microM and 98 microM, respectively) in the presence 0.5 mM MgCl2 and 1 mg/ml sarcoplasmic reticulum protein; calmidazolium (100 microM) and compound 48/80 (70 micrograms/ml) released maximally 30-40% calcium, whilst bepridil (100 microM) and felodipin (50 microM) with calmodulin antagonistic strength similar to trifluoperazine (determined by inhibition of the calcium, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum) did not cause a detectable calcium release, indicating that this drug-induced calcium release is not due to the calmodulin antagonistic properties of the tested drugs. Calcium release of trifluoperazine, W7 and compound 48/80 and that of caffeine was inhibited by similar concentrations of magnesium (half-inhibition 1.4-4.2 mM compared with 0.97 mM for caffeine) and ruthenium red (half-inhibition for trifluoperazine, W7 and compound 48/80 was 0.22 microM, 0.08 microM and 0.63 micrograms/ml, respectively, compared with 0.13 microM for caffeine), suggesting that this drug-induced calcium release occurs via the calcium-gated calcium channel of sarcoplasmic reticulum stimulated by caffeine or channels with similar properties.

Effects of local anesthetics on the passive permeability of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles to Ca2+ and Mg2+

Sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles are used here as model membrane system to question the hypothesis of enhancement of permeability of cations by anesthetics, particularly that of Ca2+ and of Mg2+. The effects of dibucaine (up to 800 microM), tetracaine (up to 2 mM), lidocaine (up to 10 mM) and procaine (up to 10 mM) on the permeability of these membranes to Ca2+ and Mg2+ have been measured. We have used an experimental approach based on the light scattering method (Kometani, T. and Kasai, M. (1978) J. Membrane Biol. 41, 295-308). It has been found that all the local anesthetics cited above markedly increase the permeability of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles to Mg2+ and, in the concentration range tested herein, only dibucaine and tetracaine increase the permeability to Ca2+. The kinetic analysis of the time dependence of the light-scattering data after the osmotic shock shows that, in the absence of local anesthetics, the Mg2+ influx can be described as proceeding through a unique type of channel. However, Ca2+ influx appears to involve two channel of different kinetic properties. Because the relative fraction of both types of Ca2+ channel is similar to the average ratio between light and heavy vesicles in unfractionated sarcoplasmic reticulum, we suggest that each type of channel can be preferentially located in one of these fractions. The determined rate constants for Ca2+ permeability through both types of channel are 0.77 +/- 0.08 min-1 (fast channels) and 0.025 +/- 0.005 min-1 (slow channels) and that for Mg2+ is 0.08 +/- 0.02 min-1. These results agree with data obtained by other groups using different experimental approaches. Dibucaine and tetracaine significantly alter the rate of Mg2+ and Ca2+ influx through the slow channels. In addition, these two local anesthetics also produce the effect that the Mg2+ influx cannot be described with only one exponential process, thus suggesting a differential effect on vesicles of different density. The increase of Ca2+ and Mg2+ permeability by dibucaine and by tetracaine is found at concentrations of these drugs that do not produce a noticeable inhibition of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles.

Local anesthetics inhibit the Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase activity of rat brain synaptosomes

Many biochemical effects of local anesthetics are expressed in Ca2+-dependent processes [Volpi M., Sha'afi R.I., Epstein P.M., Andrenyak P.M., and Feinstein M.B. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78, 795-799]. In this communication we report that local anesthetics (dibucaine, tetracaine, lidocaine, and procaine and the analogue quinacrine) inhibit the Ca2+-dependent and the Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity of rat brain synaptosomes and of membrane vesicles derived from them by osmotic shock. This inhibition is induced by concentrations of these drugs close to their pharmacological doses, and a good correlation between K0.5 of inhibition and their relative anesthetic potency is found. The Ca2+-dependent ATPase is more selectively inhibited at lower drug concentrations. The physiological relevance of these findings is discussed briefly.

Inhibition of synaptosomal enzymes by local anesthetics

The effects of tertiary amine local anesthetics (procaine, lidocaine, tetracaine and dibucaine) and chlorpromazine were investigated for three enzyme activities associated with rat brain synaptosomal membranes, i.e., (Na+ + K+)-ATPase (ouabain-sensitive), Mg2+-ATPase (ouabain-insensitive) and acetylcholinesterase. Approximately the same concentrations of each agent gave 50% inhibition of both ATPases, for example 7.9 and 10 mM tetracaine for Mg2+-ATPase and (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, respectively; these concentrations are 10-fold higher than required for inhibition of mitochondrial F1-ATPase. The relative inhibitory potency of the several agents was proportional to their octanol/water partition coefficients. Acetylcholinesterase was inhibited by all agents tested, but the ester anesthetics (procaine and tetracaine) were considerably more potent than the others after correction for partition coefficient differences. For tetracaine, 0.18 mM gave 50% inhibition and showed competitive inhibition on a Lineweaver-Burk plot, but for dibucaine a mixed type of inhibition was observed, and 0.63 mM was required for 50% inhibition. Tetracaine evidently binds at the active site, and dibucaine at the peripheral or modulator site, on this enzyme.

Tension and ATPase rate in steady-state contractions of rabbit soleus fiber segments

Steady-state isometric tension and ATPase were studied in hyperpermeable segments of single muscle fibers from rabbit soleus muscle at 22 degrees C. The ATPase activity was due to actomyosin. The ratio of fiber ATPase to tension was used as an index of steady-state cross-bridge kinetics. Increasing the calcium ion concentration from pCa 8 to pCa 5 activated both tension and ATPase. The maximal tension was 1.35 +/- 0.07 kg/cm2. The maximal ATPase was 1.05 +/- 0.13 mumol X g-1. s-1 at pCa 5.2. ATPase activity increased with tension, such that the ratio of ATPase to tension remained constant at all calcium concentrations. In the absence of calcium, increasing the concentration of MgATP from 1 to 7 X 10(-7) M increased tension from zero to a maximum of 0.46 +/- 0.03 kg/cm2. Increasing MgATP concentration further to 1 X 10(-6) M inhibited tension. In the phase of rising tension, ATPase increased proportionally to tension, to 0.11 +/- 0.01 mumol X g-1 X s-1 at maximum tension. However, the ratio of ATPase to tension on the rising phase had a value only one-third of that seen with calcium-activated tension. Thus, low substrate concentrations, but not low calcium ion concentrations, influence cross-bridge kinetics under steady-state isometric conditions, possibly by an increase in the tension-time product during a cross-bridge cycle.

ATP-ADP exchange reaction by fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum from bullfrog skeletal muscle

The ATP-ADP exchange reaction and its related partial reactions of fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum from bullfrog skeletal muscle (frog FSR) were investigated and compared with those of rabbit FSR in order to understand the characteristics of calcium-activated ATPase (Ca2+-ATPase) of frog FSR. MgATP and magnesium-free ADP are substrates for the forward and backward reaction of the ATPase activity, respectively, which is consistent with the conclusion obtained with rabbit FSR. The ATP-ADP exchange rate of frog FSR increased sharply with an increase in Ca2+ concentration up to 3 microM, and then decreased as Ca2+ concentration increased from 3 microM to 100 microM, where the level of EP continued to increase. The exchange rate of frog FSR had a value similar to the overall ATPase activity at steady state. These results contrast with observations using rabbit FSR. The exchange rate of rabbit FSR, which is 10-30 times as high as the overall ATPase activity, reached a plateau at 1 microM Ca2+, and the decrease in the exchange rate with the increase in Ca2+ concentration was not observed until the concentration was greater than 30 microM, where the plateau of the ATPase activity was maintained. These results were discussed in reference to a possible ordered reaction sequence of ATP followed by calcium in the Ca2+-ATPase reaction. It is suggested that k-5/k-6 for rabbit FSR at steady state should be larger than that for frog FSR by a factor of about 10 in the following reaction sequence. (Formula see text).

Local anesthetics, mepacrine, and propranolol are antagonists of calmodulin

Local anesthetics such as dibucaine, QX572, tetracaine, and phenacaine, as well as other drugs with local anesthetic-like properties (e.g., mepacrine, propranolol, and SKF 525A) inhibit the specific calmodulin-dependent stimulation of erythrocyte Ca2+-ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (3',5'-cyclic-nucleotide 5'-nucleotidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.17) from brain and heart. Basal activities of these enzymes in the absence of calmodulin are relatively unaffected by concentrations of local anesthetics that strongly inhibit the specific stimulation by calmodulin. Increasing calmodulin, but not Ca2+, overcomes the inhibitory action of the local anesthetics on brain phosphodiesterase. However, excess calmodulin does not fully restore activity of erythrocyte CA2+-stimulated ATPase. Although the mechanism(s) by which the local anesthetics act is unclear, they inhibit binding of 125I-labeled calmodulin to the erythrocyte membrane. Antagonism of calmodulin provides a molecular mechanism that may explain the inhibition of many Ca2+-dependent cellular processes by local anesthetics--e.g., Ca2+ transport, exocytosis, excitation-contraction coupling, non-muscle-cell motility, and aggregation.

The reversal of the calcium pump of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum

The reversal of the calcium pump of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) prepared from dogs was investigated. Phosphorylation of the calcium transport ATPase by orthophosphate and ATP synthesis from ADP and orthophosphate by SR passively preloaded with calcium are demonstrated. The ADP-dependent calcium efflux from SR loaded with calcium in the presence of acetylphosphate is stoichiometrically coupled to ATP synthesis from ADP and orthophosphate.