Complex interactions between skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor and dihydropyridine receptor proteins

Evidence for functional interactions between the Ca2+ release channel in the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (the ryanodine receptor) and the L-type Ca2+ channel in the sarcolemma (the dihydropyridine receptor), leading to excitation-contraction coupling, is reviewed and experimental systems used to identify candidate sites of interaction are outlined.Key words: sarcoplasmic reticulum, excitation-contraction coupling.