The ryanodine receptor (RyR) calcium release channel functions as a redox sensor that is sensitive to channel modulators. The FK506-binding protein (FKBP) is an important regulator of channel activity, and disruption of the RyR2-FKBP12.6 association has been implicated in cardiac disease. In the present study, we investigated whether the RyR-FKBP association is redoxregulated. Using co-immunoprecipitation assays of solubilized native RyR2 from cardiac muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum ( and diamide differentially affected the RyR2-FKBP12.6 interaction, decreasing binding to ϳ75 and ϳ50% of control, respectively. In addition, the effect of H 2 O 2 was negligible when the channel was in its closed state or when applied after FKBP binding had occurred, whereas diamide was always effective. A cysteine-null mutant FKBP12.6 retained redox-sensitive interaction with RyR2, suggesting that the effect of the redox reagents is exclusively via sites on the ryanodine receptor. K201 (or JTV519), a drug that has been proposed to prevent FKBP12.6 dissociation from the RyR2 channel complex, did not restore normal FKBP binding under oxidizing conditions. Our results indicate that the redox state of the RyR is intimately connected with FKBP binding affinity.
Ryanodine receptors (RyRs)2 are tetrameric intracellular Ca 2ϩ channels that mediate the release of Ca 2ϩ from the sarco/ endoplasmic reticulum in muscle and nonmuscle cells (1). Three genes coding for mammalian RyRs have been identified: RyR1 in skeletal muscle, RyR2 in heart and brain, and RyR3 in a number of tissues. The deduced primary structure of all RyRs suggests a hydrophobic C terminus forming the channel pore, with the remaining ϳ80% being cytoplasmic. RyR channel activity is regulated by Ca 2ϩ , Mg 2ϩ , ATP, phosphorylation and redox status, and a number of accessory proteins.The immunophilin, FK506-binding protein (FKBP), a receptor protein for the immunosuppressants, FK506 and rapamycin, is an essential component of the RyR-Ca 2ϩ release channel complex in both skeletal and cardiac muscle (2, 3). RyR1 binds to both FKBP12 and FKBP12.6 with similar affinities (4), whereas RyR2 associates specifically with the FKBP12.6 isoform (3, 5). The stoichiometry of the association is four molecules of FKBP per RyR tetrameric channel (i.e. one FKBP molecule for each RyR protomer) (3, 6). Mapping studies have failed to identify a unique FKBP-binding site, with evidence presented for three distinct RyR regions (N-terminal, central, and C-terminal domains) (7-12), suggesting that FKBP interaction may be stabilized by multiple physical contacts and/or may be conformation-sensitive. The functional effects of FKBP association with RyR have been suggested to include stabilization of the full conductance state (7,13,14), channel closure (5, 6, 15), and coupled gating between neighboring channels (16,17). These effects are highlighted in abnormal or disease states, where defective regulation of the RyR-FKBP association has been implicated in cardiomyopathy (18), cardiac hypertrophy (19), h...