Purification and reconstitution of the calcium release channel from skeletal muscle.

The calcium release channel from rabbit muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) has been purified and reconstituted as a functional unit in lipid bilayers. Electron microscopy reveals the four-leaf clover structure previously described for the 'feet' that span the transverse tubule (T)-SR junction. Ca2+ release from the SR induced by T-system depolarization during excitation-contraction coupling in muscle may thus be effected through a direct association of the T-system with SR Ca2+-release channels.