Evidence for a modulatory effect of cyclosporin A (CsA) on calcium signaling and cell survival in dystrophin-deficient cells is presented. Our previous works strongly supported the hypothesis of an overactivation of Ca 2ϩ release via inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors (IP3R) in dystrophindeficient cells, both during membrane depolarization and at rest, through spontaneous Ca 2ϩ release events. Forced expression of minidystrophin in these cells contributed, during stimulation and in resting condition, to the recovery of a controlled calcium homeostasis. In the present work, we demonstrate that CsA exposure displayed a dualmodulator effect on calcium signaling in dystrophin-deficient cells. Short-time incubation induced a decrease of IP3-dependent calcium release, leading to patterns of release similar to those observed in myotubes expressing mini-dystrophin, whereas long-time incubation reduced the expression of the type I of IP3 receptors (IP3R-1) RNA levels. Moreover, both IP3R-1 knockdown and blockade through 2-aminoethoxydiphenyle borate or CsA induced improved survival of dystrophin-deficient myotubes, demonstrating the cell death dependence on the IP3-dependent calcium signaling as well as the protective effect of CsA. Inhibition of the IP3 pathway could be a very interesting approach for reducing the natural cell death of dystrophindeficient cells in development. calcium regulation; cyclosporin A; muscular dystrophy DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY (DMD) is a severe X-linked recessive, progressive muscle-wasting disease affecting 1/3,500 male births. A milder form of the disease, Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), has a later onset and a much longer survival. Both disorders are caused by mutations in the DMD gene that encodes a 427-kDa cytoskeletal protein dystrophin expressed at the inner surface of the sarcolemma of muscle fibers (26). The vast majority of DMD mutations results in the absence of dystrophin in all muscle fibers, apart from the sporadic "revertant" fibers (49), whereas the presence of a low level of a 229-kDa truncated protein mini-dystrophin is seen in BMD patients (20).Perturbations in intracellular calcium homeostasis are thought to come with DMD. Indications suggesting such calcium alterations were discovered early before dystrophin protein was identified (16), and it was then proposed that the absence of dystrophin leads to increased levels of intracellular calcium (11), contributing to muscle degeneration through activation of calcium-dependent proteases. Further data progressively reinforced such a hypothesis. Elevated subsarcolemmal calcium levels were found in mdx muscle cells using direct measurements (6) and as well as the exploration of calciumactivated K ϩ -channels activities (32). It has been also hypothesized that calcium entry due to increased microdisruptions in dystrophic muscle cells results in an alteration of calcium leak channels. First, a local exocytotic response induced by calcium influx from a membrane wound could increase the amount of calcium leak channels (...