Abstract
Voltage-dependent facilitation of L-type Ca2+ channels is an important regulatory mechanism by which excitable cells modulate Ca2+ entry during a train of action potentials. Expression of the alpha1 and beta subunits of the alpha1C Ca2+ channel is necessary and sufficient to reproduce this kind of facilitation in Xenopus oocytes. Here we show that, by expressing the alpha1C together with different beta subunits in oocytes, the beta1, beta3 and beta4, but not the beta2 subunits are permissive for Ca2+ channel facilitation. The poor facilitation observed in rat ventricular cells, together with the presence of the beta2 subunit mRNA, suggest that beta2 may be the beta subunit associated with functional cardiac L-type Ca2+ channels.
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