Ca2 -dependent proteolysis of junctophilin-1 and junctophilin-2 in skeletal and cardiac muscle

Abstract

Excessive increases in intracellular [Ca2+] in skeletal muscle fibres cause failure of excitation-contraction coupling by disrupting communication between the dihydropyridine receptors in the transverse tubular system and the Ca2+ release channels (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), but the exact mechanism is unknown. Previous work suggested a possible role of Ca2+-dependent proteolysis in this uncoupling process but found no proteolysis of the dihydropyridine receptors, RyRs or triadin. Junctophilin-1 (JP1; ∼90 kDa) stabilizes close apposition of the transverse tubular system and SR membranes in adult skeletal muscle; its C-terminal end is embedded in the SR and its N-terminal associ..