No evidence for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate–dependent Ca2+ release in isolated fibers of adult mouse skeletal muscle

The presence and role of functional inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors (IP3Rs) in adult skeletal muscle are controversial. The current consensus is that, in adult striated muscle, the relative amount of IP3Rs is too low and the kinetics of Ca2+ release from IP3R is too slow compared with ryanodine receptors to contribute to the Ca2+ transient during excitation–contraction coupling. However, it has been suggested that IP3-dependent Ca2+ release may be involved in signaling cascades leading to regulation of muscle gene expression. We have reinvestigated IP3-dependent Ca2+ release in isolated flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscle fibers from adult mice. Although Ca2+ transients were readily induced in cultured C2C12 muscle cells by (a) UTP stimulation, (b) direct injection of IP3, or (c) photolysis of membrane-permeant caged IP3, no statistically significant change in calcium signal was detected in adult FDB fibers. We conclude that the IP3–IP3R system does not appear to affect global calcium levels in adult mouse skeletal muscle.