Calcium-induced calcium release of CICR across the cell causes the significant increase in cytosolic Ca that is important in activating muscle contraction. Calcium-induced calcium release Calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) describes a biological process whereby calcium is able to activate calcium release from intracellular Ca stores (e.g., endoplasmic reticulum or sarcoplasmic reticulum). Although CICR was first proposed for skeletal muscle in the 1970s, it is now known that CICR is unlikely to be its primary mechanism for activating SR calcium release. Instead, CICR is thought to be crucial for excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle and it is now obvious that CICR is a widely
N-type calcium channel having a role in the transmission of nociceptive information in the body. A new drug, Ziconotide, is being tested to alter N-type channels in order to treat these conditions of chronic pain. One of the newest medicines is an analgesic drug that works through targeting N-type calcium channels specifically in order to lessen the transmission of pain. Peptide ɷɷ-conotoxins are what bind to the N-type calcium channels in order to block ion permeation, which then blocks the influx of calcium and the transmission of the nociceptive responses. Neurons located in the posterior horn of the spinal cord experience ɷɷ-conotoxins that,