Action potential refractory period in ureter smooth muscle is set by Ca sparks and BK channels

T. Burdyga () and Susan Wray
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T. Burdyga: The University of Liverpool
Susan Wray: The University of Liverpool

Nature, 2005, vol. 436, issue 7050, 559-562

Abstract: And the rest... All of our actions involve changes in electrical signals in nerves and muscles. If excitable tissues reacted to everything thrown at them, we would suffer hyperactivity and muscle spasms. The system is prevented from ‘blowing a fuse’ by a refractory period that follows stimulation. Until now, the mechanism of this feedback inhibition in smooth muscle was unknown. A combination of imaging and electrical recording now shows that a cell organelle — the sarcoplasmic reticulum — is the key. On excitation it takes up calcium then targets its release to channels at the cell surface, which open and prevent further excitation. The muscle rests until the channels close, when it can again respond to stimulation. This insight into the control of excitability may provide a focus for therapies directed at pathologies of smooth muscle.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03834

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