Ca-induced Ca release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of isolated myofibrillar bundles of barnacle muscle fibres.

Isometric tension and aequorin light were recorded from isolated myofibrillar bundles (diameter 0.2 mm) of barnacle muscle fibres to examine Ca release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Transfer of a bundle from a pCa 6.7 solution to a pCa 5.8 solution, both buffered with 0.1 mM EGTA, resulted in a phasic increase in myofibrillar free Ca2+ which was superimposed on a slow rise to a steady level and a fast rise in tension. The peak of the free Ca2+ response was higher than the free Ca2+ in the bulk solution. Treatment of the bundle with the detergent Brij to destroy the SR membranes abolished the phasic rise in Ca2+ and considerably reduced the amplitude of contraction. A second challenge of a bundle to the pCa 5.8 solution without prior reloading of the SR Ca store gave a much reduced phasic component. When a pCa 5.8 solution with 1.0 mM EGTA buffering was used, the phasic rise in myofibrillar free Ca2+ could not be detected and the rise in tension was four times slower than with 0.1 mM EGTA. The results are consistent with the operation of a Ca-induced Ca release mechanism in the SR membrane of this crustacean muscle.