Involvement of dihydropyridine receptors in excitation–contraction coupling in skeletal muscle

The transduction of action potential to muscle contraction (E-C coupling) is an example of fast communication between plasma membrane events and the release of calcium from an internal store, which in muscle is the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). One theory is that the release channels of the SR are controlled by voltage-sensing molecules or complexes, located in the transverse tubular (T)-membrane, which produce, as membrane voltage varies,...