ArticleThe Journal of experimental biology2005
The C. elegans T-type calcium channel CCA-1 boosts neuromuscular transmission.
Article in The Journal of experimental biology, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Unlocking neuronal health: leveraging C. elegans for drug repurposing studies.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Review
- Axon termination of the SAB motor neurons inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- An unusual potassium conductance protectsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Biophysical modeling and experimental analysis of the dynamics of C. elegans body-wall muscle cells.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Silencing of the T-type voltage-gated calcium channel αMolecular biology reports · 2024Article
- Deciphering the underlying mechanisms of the pharyngeal pumping motions inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Electric shock causes a fleeing-like persistent behavioral response in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.Genetics · 2023Article
- Article
- Cannabinoids activate the insulin pathway to modulate mobilization of cholesterol in C. elegans.PLoS genetics · 2022Article
- Differential regulation of degradation and immune pathways underlies adaptation of the ectosymbiotic nematode Laxus oneistus to oxic-anoxic interfaces.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Thalamic T-Type Calcium Channels as Targets for Hypnotics and General Anesthetics.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Co-Silencing of the Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel β Subunit and High-Voltage Activated αInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Mechanisms controlling the trafficking, localization, and abundance of presynaptic CaFrontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Review
- Optogenetic Perturbation of Individual C. elegans Pharyngeal Neurons While Monitoring Feeding Behavior.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2022Article
- Chemosensory signal transduction in Caenorhabditis elegans.Genetics · 2021Review
- Sexually Dimorphic Neurotransmitter Release at the Neuromuscular Junction in AdultFrontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2021Article
- Investigating autism associated genes in C. elegans reveals candidates with a role in social behaviour.PloS one · 2021Article
- Conserved biophysical features of the CaThe Journal of biological chemistry · 2020Article
- A rare CACNA1H variant associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis causes complete loss of CaMolecular brain · 2020Article
- Rhodopsin-based voltage imaging tools for use in muscles and neurons ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Low threshold-activated or T-type calcium channels are postulated to mediate a variety of bursting and rhythmic electrical firing events. However, T-type channels' exact physiological contributions have been difficult to assess because of their incompletely defined pharmacology and the difficulty in isolating T-type currents from more robust high threshold calcium currents. A current in C. elegans pharyngeal muscle displays the kinetic features of a T-type calcium channel and is absent in animals homozygous for mutations at the cca-1 locus (see accompanying paper). cca-1 is expressed in pharyngeal muscle and encodes a protein (CCA-1) with strong homology to the alpha1 subunits of vertebrate T-type channels. We show that CCA-1 plays a critical role at the pharyngeal neuromuscular junction, permitting the efficient initiation of action potentials in response to stimulation by the MC motor neuron. Loss of cca-1 function decreases the chance that excitatory input from MC will successfully trigger an action potential, and reduces the ability of an animal to take in food. Intracellular voltage recordings demonstrate that when wild-type cca-1 is absent, the depolarizing phase of the pharyngeal action potential tends to plateau or stall near -30 mV, the voltage at which the CCA-1 channel is likely to be activated. We conclude that the CCA-1 T-type calcium channel boosts the excitatory effect of synaptic input, allowing for reliable and rapid depolarization and contraction of the pharyngeal muscle. We also show that the pharyngeal muscle employs alternative strategies for initiating action potentials in certain cases of compromised MC motor neuron function.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.