RINm5F cells following different treatments were lysed in a lysis buffer (pH 7.5) consisting of 50 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM EDTA, 10% glycerol, 1% triton X-100, 1 mM PMSF and a protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). The lysate was centrifuged at 800×g for 10 min at 4° C. to remove cell debris and nuclei. The protein concentration of the resulting samples was determined with Bio-Rad protein assay reagent (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.). The samples were then denatured by heating at 96° C. for 3 min in SDS sample buffer and underwent sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblot analysis. Briefly, 50, 90 or 180 μg proteins were separated in discontinuous gels consisting of a 4% acrylamide stacking gel (pH 6.8) and an 8% acrylamide separating gel (pH 8.8). The separated proteins were then electroblotted to hydrophobic polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Hybond-P; GE Healthcare, Uppsala. Sweden). The blots were blocked by incubation for 1 h with 5% non-fat milk powder in a washing buffer, containing 50 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, 150 mM NaCl and 0.05% Tween 20 (pH 7.5). They were then incubated overnight at 4° C. with affinity-purified rabbit polyclonal antibodies to β1 integrin (1:500; Millipore, Billerica, Mass.), CaV1.2 (1:200) and CaV1.3 (1:200), respectively, and for 1 h at room temperature with mouse monoclonal antibody to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH, 1:4000; Applied Biosystems/Ambion, Austin, Tex.), respectively. After rinsing with the washing buffer, the blots were incubated with the secondary antibodies (either horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG or horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG; 1:50,000; Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.) at room temperature for 45 min. The immunoreactive bands were visualized with the ECL plus Western blotting detection system (GE Healthcare, Uppsala, Sweden).
