Isolation and characterization of purified sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes from isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes.

We have demonstrated for the first time the isolation of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membranes from adult rat ventricular myocytes obtained from a single rat heart. The myocyte SR preparation exhibits similar Ca(2+)-transport and Ca2+/K(+)-ATPase activity as well as a similar protein profile to SR membranes isolated from intact rat heart tissue. This SR preparation exhibited a Ca2+/K(+)-ATPase activity of 371 +/- 55 nmol/min/mg protein (mean +/- S.E.M.; n = 5) and an oxalate-stimulated Ca(2+)-uptake activity of 103 +/- 4 nmol/min/mg protein (mean +/- S.E.M.; n = 6). Pretreatment of the SR vesicles with 5 microM ruthenium red increased the oxalate-stimulated Ca(2+)-uptake to 204 +/- 12 nmol/min/mg protein demonstrating the presence of junctional SR membranes. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows that the isolated SR membranes contained protein bands at 430 (Ca(2+)-release channel), 100 (Ca2+/K(+)-ATPase), 55 (calsequestrin and/or calreticulin) and 53 kDa (glycoprotein). Western blots of myocyte SR membranes stained with ruthenium red detected 2 major Ca(2+)-binding protein bands in this preparation at 53-55 kDa (calsequestrin and/or calreticulin) and 97-100 kDa (Ca2+/K(+)-ATPase). The presence of phospholamban, a regulatory protein of the Ca2+/K(+)-ATPase of cardiac SR, was confirmed in the myocyte SR membranes by western blots probed with a monoclonal antibody to phospholamban. Isoproterenol stimulation of intact [32P]orthophosphate equilibriated myocytes was associated with an increase in the phosphorylation of 3 distinct proteins (27, 31 and 152 kDa) in myocyte homogenates. The 27 kDa phosphorylated protein was identified in purified SR membranes as phospholamban my migration on electrophoretic gels and by immunoblotting. The ability to prepare SR membranes from intact isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes makes this system a potentially useful model for the study of SR regulation by protein phosphorylation.