Probing Ca2+ release mechanisms using sea urchin egg homogenates.

Sea urchin eggs have been extensively used to study Ca2+ release through intracellular Ca2+-permeable channels. Their amenability to homogenization yields a robust, cell-free preparation that was central to establishing the Ca2+ mobilizing actions of cyclic ADP-ribose and NAADP. Egg homogenates have continued to provide insight into the basic properties and pharmacology of intracellular Ca2+ release channels. In this chapter, we describe methods for the preparation of egg homogenates and monitoring Ca2+ release using fluorimetry and radiotracer flux.