In the current work, we demonstrate that both cysteines needed for the oxidation-induced intersubunit crosslink are protected from alkylation with N-ethylmaleimide by bound calmodulin. We also show, using N-terminal amino acid sequencing together with analysis of the distribution of [ 3 H]NEM labeling with each sequencing cycle, that cysteine 3635 of RYR1 is rapidly labeled by NEM and that this labeling is blocked by bound calmodulin. We propose that cysteine 3635 is located at an intersubunit contact site that is close to or within a calmodulin binding site. These findings suggest that calmodulin and oxidation modulate RYR1 activity by regulating intersubunit interactions in a mutually exclusive manner and that these interactions involve cysteine 3635.Reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide (NO) 1 are produced by skeletal muscle even at rest, but their levels are dramatically increased by muscle activity (1-5). Both reactive oxygen species and NO alter muscle function (6), possibly by altering excitation-contraction coupling (7). One of the proteins involved in excitation-contraction coupling, the skeletal muscle Ca 2ϩ -release channel, is modulated by both oxidants (8 -10) and NO (6,11). This regulation appears to be controlled, at least in part, by the binding of calmodulin (CaM) to RYR1 (12, 13). Ca 2ϩ -free CaM is a partial agonist of RYR1, whereas Ca 2ϩ -CaM is an inhibitor (14). In addition to these direct functional effects, CaM bound to RYR1 protects the channel from oxidation-induced intersubunit cross-linking (12), and conversely, oxidation can block CaM binding to RYR1. In contrast to the effects of oxidation, alkylation of RYR1 with NEM rapidly destroys the ability of RYR1 to bind 35 S-Ca 2ϩ -free CaM (apoCaM) but does not alter its ability to bind 35 S-Ca 2ϩ -CaM. Alkylation also prevents oxidation-induced intersubunit crosslinking. Our studies suggest that there is only one CaM site per subunit of RYR1 at either high or low Ca 2ϩ (13). Some indication of the location of the CaM binding site has been obtained from examination of sites on RYR1 protected from tryptic cleavage by CaM (13). Treatment of RYR1 with trypsin rapidly destroys its ability to bind CaM, but CaM bound to RYR1 can protect its binding site from tryptic digestion. The sites protected by Ca 2ϩ -CaM or apoCaM are at amino acids 3630 and 3637, suggesting that either the binding sites for CaM in both the Ca 2ϩ -free and Ca 2ϩ -bound forms are physically close to this region of RYR1 or that the binding of both forms of CaM produces a conformational change that buries this region of RYR1. The latter possibility seems unlikely because the functional effects of apoCaM are opposite those of Ca 2ϩ -CaM. The sequence between these two sites is AVVACFR, suggesting that cysteine 3635 may be one of the cysteines that, in the absence of CaM, can form the intersubunit disulfide bond. This intersubunit contact site is likely to represent an important site for regulating RYR1 activity. In the current study, we demonstrate that cysteine 3635 is one...