Localization of the gene encoding the α2/δ-subunits of the L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel to chromosome 7q and analysis of the segregation of flanking markers in malignant hyperthermia susceptible families

Malignant hyperthermia susceptibility (MHS) is an autosomal dominant disorder of skeletal muscle which manifests as a potentially fatal hypermetabolic crisis triggered by commonly used anaesthetic agents. The demonstration of genetic heterogeneity in MHS prompted the investigation of the roles played by calcium regulatory proteins other than the ryanodine receptor (RYR1), which is known to be linked to MHS in fewer than half of the European MHS families studied to date. Previously, we have excluded the genes encoding the skeletal muscle L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel α 1 -, β 1 - and γ-subunits as candidates for MHS