Prolonged exercise reduces Ca²⁺ release in rat skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum

Prolonged exercise decreased the rate of Ca⁺ release in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles isolated from rat muscle by 20-30% when release was initiated by 5, 10, and 20 μM AgNO₃. [³H]Ryanodine binding was also depressed by 20% in SR vesicles isolated from the exercised animals. In contrast, the maximum amount of Ca²⁺ released by Ag⁺ remained unaffected by exercise. The passive permeability of SR vesicles and the rate of Ca²⁺ release in the presence of ruthenium red, a known inhibitor of the Ca²⁺ release mechanism, was not affected by prolonged exercise. These results suggest that exercise depressed Ca²⁺ release from SR by directly modifying the Ca²⁺ release channel.