The Pore Region of the Skeletal Muscle Ryanodine Receptor Is a Primary Locus for Excitation-Contraction Uncoupling in Central Core Disease

Human central core disease (CCD) is caused by mutations/deletions in the gene that encodes the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RyR1). Previous studies have shown that CCD mutations in the NH2-terminal region of RyR1 lead to the formation of leaky SR Ca2+ release channels when expressed in myotubes derived from RyR1-knockout (dyspedic) mice, whereas a COOH-terminal mutant (I4897T) results in channels that are not leaky to Ca2+ but lack depolarization-induced Ca2+ release (termed excitation-contraction [EC] uncoupling). We show here that store depletion resulting from NH2-terminal (Y523S) and COOH-terminal (Y4795C) leaky CCD mutant release channels is eliminated after incorporation of the I4897T mutation into the channel (Y523S/I4897T and Y4795C/I4897T). In spite of normal SR Ca2+ content, myotubes expressing the double mutants lacked voltage-gated Ca2+ release and thus exhibited an EC uncoupling phenotype similar to that of I4897T-expressing myotubes. We also show that dyspedic myotubes expressing each of seven recently identified CCD mutations located in exon 102 of the RyR1 gene (G4890R, R4892W, I4897T, G4898E, G4898R, A4905V, R4913G) behave as EC-uncoupled release channels. Interestingly, voltage-gated Ca2+ release was nearly abolished (reduced ∼90%) while caffeine-induced Ca2+ release was only marginally reduced in R4892W-expressing myotubes, indicating that this mutation preferentially disrupts voltage-sensor activation of release. These data demonstrate that CCD mutations in exon 102 disrupt release channel permeation to Ca2+ during EC coupling and that this region represents a primary molecular locus for EC uncoupling in CCD

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection as Presenting Feature of Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

A spontaneous coronary artery dissection as the sole presenting feature of vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is an uncommon finding. We present a 33-year-old woman with sudden onset chest pain caused by a spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Genetic testing revealed vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as the underlying cause. Specifically, we show the value of genetic testing, which in some patients may be the only way of establishing a diagnosis

Muscle Chloride Channel Dysfunction in Two Mouse Models of Myotonic Dystrophy

Muscle degeneration and myotonia are clinical hallmarks of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), a multisystemic disorder caused by a CTG repeat expansion in the 3′ untranslated region of the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene. Transgenic mice engineered to express mRNA with expanded (CUG)250 repeats (HSALR mice) exhibit prominent myotonia and altered splicing of muscle chloride channel gene (Clcn1) transcripts. We used whole-cell patch clamp recordings and nonstationary noise analysis to compare and biophysically characterize the magnitude, kinetics, voltage dependence, and single channel properties of the skeletal muscle chloride channel (ClC-1) in individual flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscle fibers isolated from 1–3-wk-old wild-type and HSALR mice. The results indicate that peak ClC-1 current density at −140 mV is reduced >70% (−48.5 ± 3.6 and −14.0 ± 1.6 pA/pF, respectively) and the kinetics of channel deactivation increased in FDB fibers obtained from 18–20- d-old HSALR mice. Nonstationary noise analysis revealed that the reduction in ClC-1 current density in HSALR FDB fibers results from a large reduction in ClC-1 channel density (170 ± 21 and 58 ± 11 channels/pF in control and HSALR fibers, respectively) and a modest decrease in maximal channel open probability(0.91 ± 0.01 and 0.75 ± 0.03, respectively). Qualitatively similar results were observed for ClC-1 channel activity in knockout mice for muscleblind-like 1 (Mbnl1ΔE3/ΔE3), a second murine model of DM1 that exhibits prominent myotonia and altered Clcn1 splicing (Kanadia et al., 2003). These results support a molecular mechanism for myotonia in DM1 in which a reduction in both the number of functional sarcolemmal ClC-1 and maximal channel open probability, as well as an acceleration in the kinetics of channel deactivation, results from CUG repeat–containing mRNA molecules sequestering Mbnl1 proteins required for proper CLCN1 pre-mRNA splicing and chloride channel function

Strehl ratio and optimum focus of high-numerical-aperture beams

We analytically calculate the focus setting for a beam with a high numerical aperture (NA) that optimizes its Strehl ratio in the case of small aberrations up to the ’just’ diffraction-limited value (Strehl ratio ≥0.80). The optimum focus setting deviates from the one that follows from a minimization of the wavefront aberration with the aid of the Zernike aberration coefficients. This deviation stems largely from the fact that the common quadratic approximation of the focus term becomes inadequate in the high-NA case. Fundamental high-NA amplitude nonuniformity in the exit pupil of an optical system in the case of a linearly polarized incident beam also nfluences the optimum focus setting. Results for spherical aberration and astigmatism are presented for an NA-value of 0.95

High-NA aberration retrieval with the extended Nijboer-Zernike vector diffraction theory - Erratum

In the paper ”High-NA aberration retrieval with the Extended Nijboer-Zernike vector diffraction theory” by S. van Haver, J.J.M. Braat, P. Dirksen and A.J.E.M. Janssen, published in J. Europ. Opt. Soc. Rap. Public. 1, 06004 (2006), some regrettable notation errors are present in Eq.(10), page 06004-3. In this Erratum, the correct expression is given