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Proceedings of the Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society Symposium: New Frontiers in Muscle Research
The power of single channel recording and analysis: its application to ryanodine receptors in lipid bilayers
Author(s) -
Laver DR
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1681.2001.03503.x
Subject(s) - ryanodine receptor , pipette , ion channel , biophysics , lipid bilayer , intracellular , patch clamp , chemistry , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , membrane , biology , electrophysiology , receptor , biochemistry
SUMMARY 1. Since the inception of the patch‐clamp technique, single‐channel recording has made an enormous impact on our understanding of ion channel function and its role in membrane transport and cell physiology. 2. However, the impact of single‐channel recording methods on our understanding of intracellular Ca 2+ regulation by internal stores is not as broadly recognized. There are several possible reasons for this. 3. First, ion channels in the membranes of intracellular organelles are not directly accessible to patch pipettes, requiring other methods that are not as widely known as the patch‐clamp techniques. 4. Second, bulk assays for channel activity have proved successful in advancing our knowledge of Ca 2+ handling by intracellular stores. These assays include Ca 2+ imaging, ryanodine binding assays and measurements of muscle tension and Ca 2+ release and uptake by vesicles that have been isolated from internal stores. 5. The present review describes methods used for single‐ channel recording and analysis, as applied to the calcium release channels in striated muscle, and details some of the unique contributions that single‐channel recording and analysis have made to our current understanding of the release of Ca 2+ from the internal stores of muscle. 6. With this in mind, the review focuses on three aspects of channel function and shows how single‐channel investigations have led to an improved understanding of physiological processes in muscle. 7. Finally, the review describes some of the latest improvements in membrane technology that will underpin future advances in single‐channel recording.