The biochemistry and molecular biology of the dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channel.

Calcium channels are known to exist in muscle, neuronal and secretory cells. The 1,4-dihydropyridines are potent blockers of L-type Ca channels, and have been used as specific probes in the study of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca channels. The receptor for the 1,4-dihydropyridines has been purified from skeletal muscle in order to characterize the biochemistry and molecular biology of the dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca channel. This review summarizes recent findings on the subunit composition of the dihydropyridinesensitive Ca channel, and discusses the structure and possible function of the individual subunits.