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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cell and Developmental Biology

University of Denver

2010

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Neuronal Calcium Regulation And Cellular Stress In A Malignant Hyperthermia Disease Model, Jason Santiago Jan 2010

Neuronal Calcium Regulation And Cellular Stress In A Malignant Hyperthermia Disease Model, Jason Santiago

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Calcium ions (Ca2+) are essential signaling molecules and must be carefully regulated to preserve specificity in function. One indispensible Ca2+ signaling protein is the ryanodine receptor (RyR) calcium release channel. RyR1 is essential for muscle contraction, and RyR1mutations can lead to severe muscle disorders such as malignant hyperthermia (MH). Recently, a mouse model of human MH (Y522S-RyR1) has been developed. In skeletal muscle, Y522S-RyR1 exhibits an increased sensitivity to activation resulting in Ca2+ leak, mitochondrial disorganization, and cellular stress. Although RyR1 expression is limited in the brain, the cerebellum may be particularly vulnerable to this disease because RyR1 is highly …