Title
Chronic ethanol exposure induces an N-type calcium channel splice variant with altered channel kinetics
GSBS Program
Neuroscience
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Neurobiology
Date
1-27-2005
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Animals; Base Sequence; Calcium Channels, N-Type; DNA Primers; Ethanol; Exons; PC12 Cells; *RNA Splicing; RNA, Messenger; Rats; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Xenopus
Disciplines
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Abstract
Chronic ethanol exposure increases the density of N-type calcium channels in brain. We report that ethanol increases levels of mRNA for a splice variant of the N channel specific subunit alpha1 2.2 that lacks exon 31a. Whole cell recordings demonstrated an increase in N-type current with a faster activation rate and a shift in activation to more negative potentials after chronic alcohol exposure, consistent with increased abundance of channels containing this variant. These results identify a novel mechanism whereby chronic ethanol exposure can increase neuronal excitability by altering levels of channel splice variants.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: FEBS Lett. 2005 Jan 31;579(3):671-6. Link to article on publisher's site