Faculty

Curriculum Vitae

BA Cambridge University, UK 1962
PhD University of Wales 1965
Postdoctoral: Department of Botany, Kings College London 1966
Johnson Research Foundation, University of Pennsylvania 1966-1969
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Miami 1970
Professor since 81

Research Interests

Our studies are aimed at the mechanism of excitation-contraction coupling in muscle in which excitation from the surface membrane of muscle is transmitted to the intracellular calcium storage compartment, the sarcoplasmicreticulum. Surface membrane depolarization carries the message of activation from nerve terminal to the interior of the fiber via the transverse tubules. The transverse tubule which lies adjacent to the sarcoplasmic reticulums activates the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release its calcium into the cytoplasm to interact and activate the contractile proteins. Our interests are in the mechanism of transmission between the transverse tubule and the sarcoplasmic reticulum. We have investigated the properties of three proteins which form the complex which attaches the transverse tubule to the sarcoplasmic reticulum and are responsible for transmission of the message. The dihydropyridine receptor resides in the transverse tubule and senses the depolarization of this membrane. The ryanodine receptor is the calcium release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum which opens after the transverse tubule depolarizes. The third protein, triadin, which is present in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, appears to attach to the other two proteins and hold the two membranes together. We are investigating how these proteins attach to each other and how they may be responsible for transmitting the activation message.

Selected Recent Publications

Caswell, AH and Brandt, NR. Membrane topography of cardiac triadin. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 2002, 398: 61-72.

Brandt, NR, G Franklin, J-P Brunschwig and AH Caswell. The Role of Mitsugumin 29 in Transverse Tubules of Rabbit Skeletal Muscle. Arch.Biochem.Biophys. 2001, 385: 406-409.

Brandt NR, Caswell AH. Localization of mitsugumin 29 to transverse tubules in rabbit skeletal muscle. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1999, 371: 348-50.

Caswell AH, Motoike HK, Fan H, Brandt NR. Location of ryanodine receptor binding site on skeletal muscle triadin. Biochemistry. 1999, 38:90-7.

Zhao S, Brandt NR, Caswell AH, Lee EY. Binding of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase-1 to the ryanodine-sensitive calcium release channel protein. Biochemistry. 1998;37:18102-9.

Fan H, NR Brandt, M Peng, A Schwartz and AH Caswell. (1995) Binding sites of monoclonal antibodies and dihydropyridine receptor alpha1 subunit cytoplasmic II-III loop on skeletal muscle triadin fusion peptides. Biochemistry 34: 14893-14901.

Fan H, NR Brandt, and AH Caswell. (1995) Disulfide bonds, N-glycolysation and transmembrane topology of skeletal muscle triadin. Biochemistry 34:14902-14908.

Brandt, N.R., Caswell, A.H., Brunschwig, J-P., Kang, Antoniu and Ikemoto (1992). Effects of anti-triadin antibody on Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum. FEBS 299:57