Altered electrical response to caffeine exposure in hypertrophied rat myocardium

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 1471-1479 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Thollon ◽  
P. Kreher

We investigated the electrophysiological effects of cardiac hypertrophy induced by different experimental models. Comparison of the action potentials of hypertrophied and control rat hearts reveals a pronounced prolongation of the action potential for all types of hypertrophy. This prolongation affects the entire repolarization phase of the action potential 8 days after severe aortic constriction, after 8 days of isoproterenol treatment (5 mg/kg per day), and 3 months after an aortocaval fistula. The electrical changes associated with myocardial hypertrophy induced by pressure overload (aortic constriction) were compared with those resulting from volume overload (aortocaval fistula). Our results show that action potential alterations depend on the nature, duration, and severity of the work load. Thus, pressure overload is more potent to induce these modifications. In the hearts subjected to pressure overload, action potential alterations appear more rapidly and are more marked for the same degree of hypertrophy than those of the volume-hypertrophied myocardium. Furthermore, such data also demonstrate that the early alteration of the action potential during the development of compensatory hypertrophy is a prolongation of the later phase of repolarization (phase 3), without prolongation of the other repolarization phases (1 and 2). This change appears 3 days after aortic constriction, 1 month after coronary artery ligation (in the healthy part of the left ventricle), and 1 month after an aortocaval fistula. In the rat heart, the ionic currents underlying this later phase of repolarization are known to be dependent on the increase of intracellular free calcium during activity. Since this elevation of myoplasmic calcium results from calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, we compared the effects of caffeine (a substance known to act on the sarcoplasmic reticulum) on the electrical events of hypertrophied and control hearts. Caffeine has a different qualitative effect in hypertrophied and control hearts. The results suggest that hypertrophy should be due to increased calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum related to increased phosphoinositide hydrolysis and therefore that the prolongation of the action potential duration (phase 3) may be the result of an increase of the Na–Ca exchange current or of a specific suppression of the outward K+ current.Key words: aortic stenosis, isoproterenol treatment, coronary artery ligation, aortocaval fistula, action potential, caffeine.

2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (1) ◽  
pp. H277-H284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuya Kiji ◽  
Yoshiko Dohi ◽  
Shin Takasawa ◽  
Hiroshi Okamoto ◽  
Akitaka Nonomura ◽  
...  

Recently, the regenerating gene ( Reg) has been documented to play an important role in various regenerating tissues, but it is unknown whether the Reg gene could be activated in the heart. The aim of this study was to reveal the transcriptional activation of Reg in the heart in response to heart stress. We first found REG-1 protein expression in human hearts obtained from autopsied patients who died of myocardial infarction. REG protein was immunohistochemically stained in a fine granular pattern in the cytoplasm of cardiomyocytes. To demonstrate the activation profiles of Reg gene expression in the heart, we quantified the levels of Reg-1 mRNA in rat hearts after coronary artery ligation using real-time RT-PCR. Transient Reg-1 mRNA activation, peaking at 12 h after coronary ligation, was observed mainly in the atria, which was sevenfold higher compared with hearts with pressure overload due to aortic constriction. In contrast, Reg receptor mRNA was expressed intensely in damaged ventricles. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed the corresponding pattern of Reg protein secretion into the serum after loading, and circulating levels of the protein after myocardial infarction were higher than those after aortic constriction. In conclusion, our results demonstrate for the first time the presence of the Reg/Reg receptor system in damaged hearts. In view of emerging evidence of Reg for tissue regeneration in a variety of tissues/organs, it is proposed that the damaged heart may be a target for Reg action and that Reg may protect against acute heart stress.


1982 ◽  
Vol 37 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 665-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim R. Sommer

Abstract The sarcoplasmic reticulum in situ is an intricate tubular network that surrounds the contractile material in striated muscle cells. Its topographical relationship to other intracellular components, especially the myofibrils, is rather rigidly mainiained by a cytoskeleton which enmeshes Z line material and sarcoplasmic reticulum and, ultimately, is anchored at the plasmalemma. As a result, the two main components of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the junctional SR and the free SR, retain their typical location in the A band region and in the I band region, respectively. The junc­tional SR, which is thought to be the site for calcium storage and release for contraction, is, thus, always well within one micron of the regulatory proteins associated with the actin filaments. The junctional SR, a synonym for terminal cisterna applying to both skeletal and cardiac muscle, is generally held to be involved in the translation of the action potential into calcium release, mainly because of the close topographic apposition between the junctional SR and the plasmalemma, especially in skeletal muscle. This attractive structure-function correlation is challenged by the observation that in bird cardiac muscle 80% of the junctional SR is spacially far removed from plas­malemma, the site of electrical activity. This anomalous topography is not in conflict with the notion that translation of the action potential into calcium release may be accomplished by a dif­fusible transmitter substance, e.g. calcium. Any hypothesis dealing with this problem must ac­ count for the anatomy of the bird heart.


1990 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
P C Pape ◽  
M Konishi ◽  
S Hollingworth ◽  
S M Baylor

Intact single twitch fibers from frog muscle were studied on an optical bench apparatus after micro-injection with two indicator dyes: phenol red, to monitor a previously described signal (denoted delta pHapp; Hollingworth and Baylor. 1990. J. Gen. Physiol. 96:473-491) possibly reflective of a myoplasmic pH change following action potential stimulation; and fura-2, to monitor the associated change in the myoplasmic free calcium concentration (delta[Ca2+]). Additionally, it was expected that large myoplasmic concentrations of fura-2 (0.5-1.5 mM) might alter delta pHapp, since it was previously found (Baylor and Hollingworth. 1988. J. Physiol. 403:151-192) that the Ca2(+)-buffering effects of large fura-2 concentrations: (a) increase the estimated total concentration of Ca2+ (denoted by delta[CaT]) released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), but (b) reduce and abbreviate delta[Ca2+]. The experiments show that delta pHapp was increased at the larger fura-2 concentrations; moreover, the increase in delta pHapp was approximately in proportion to the increase in delta[CaT]. At all fura-2 concentrations, the time course of delta pHapp, through time to peak, was closely similar to, although probably slightly slower than, that of delta[CaT]. These properties of delta pHapp are consistent with an hypothesis proposed by Meissner and Young (1980. J. Biol. Chem. 255:6814-6819) and Somlyo et al. (1981. J. Cell Biol. 90:577-594) that a proton flux from the myoplasm into the SR supplies a portion of the electrical charge balance required as Ca2+ is released from the SR into the myoplasm. A comparison of the amplitude of delta pHapp with that of delta[CaT] indicates that, in response to a single action potential, 10-15% of the charge balance required for Ca2+ release may be carried by protons.


2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (3) ◽  
pp. H1225-H1236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivar Sjaastad ◽  
Janny Bøkenes ◽  
Fredrik Swift ◽  
J. Andrew Wasserstrom ◽  
Ole M. Sejersted

Attenuated L-type Ca2+ current ( I Ca,L), or current-contraction gain have been proposed to explain impaired cardiac contractility in congestive heart failure (CHF). Six weeks after coronary artery ligation, which induced CHF, left ventricular myocytes from isoflurane-anesthetized rats were current or voltage clamped from −70 mV. In both cases, contraction and contractility were attenuated in CHF cells compared with cells from sham-operated rats when cells were only minimally dialyzed using high-resistance microelectrodes. With patch pipettes, cell dialysis caused attenuation of contractions in sham cells, but not CHF cells. Stepping from −50 mV, the following variables were not different between sham and CHF, respectively: peak I Ca,L (4.5 ± 0.3 vs. 3.8 ± 0.3 pApF−1 at 23°C and 9.4 ± 0.5 vs. 8.4 ± 0.5 pApF−1 at 37°C), the bell-shaped voltage-contraction relationship in Cs+ solutions (fractional shortening, 15.2 ± 1.0% vs. 14.3 ± 0.7%, respectively, at 23°C and 7.5 ± 0.4% vs. 6.7 ± 0.5% at 37°C) and the sigmoidal voltage-contraction relationship in K+ solutions. Caffeine-induced Ca2+ release and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase-to-phospholamban ratio were not different. Thus CHF contractions triggered by I Ca,L were normal, and the contractile deficit was only seen in undialyzed cardiomyocytes stimulated from −70 mV.


2008 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 296-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Allen ◽  
G. D. Lamb ◽  
H. Westerblad

Impaired calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) has been identified as a contributor to fatigue in isolated skeletal muscle fibers. The functional importance of this phenomenon can be quantified by the use of agents, such as caffeine, which can increase SR Ca2+ release during fatigue. A number of possible mechanisms for impaired calcium release have been proposed. These include reduction in the amplitude of the action potential, potentially caused by extracellular K+ accumulation, which may reduce voltage sensor activation but is counteracted by a number of mechanisms in intact animals. Reduced effectiveness of SR Ca2+ channel opening is caused by the fall in intracellular ATP and the rise in Mg2+ concentrations that occur during fatigue. Reduced Ca2+ available for release within the SR can occur if inorganic phosphate enters the SR and precipitates with Ca2+. Further progress requires the development of methods that can identify impaired SR Ca2+ release in intact, blood-perfused muscles and that can distinguish between the various mechanisms proposed.


1998 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Pape ◽  
De-Shien Jong ◽  
W. Knox Chandler

Resting sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca content ([CaSR]R) was varied in cut fibers equilibrated with an internal solution that contained 20 mM EGTA and 0–1.76 mM Ca. SR Ca release and [CaSR]R were measured with the EGTA–phenol red method (Pape et al. 1995. J. Gen. Physiol. 106:259–336). After an action potential, the fractional amount of Ca released from the SR increased from 0.17 to 0.50 when [CaSR]R was reduced from 1,200 to 140 μM. This increase was associated with a prolongation of release (final time constant, from 1–2 to 10–15 ms) and of the action potential (by 1–2 ms). Similar changes in release were observed with brief stimulations to −20 mV in voltage-clamped fibers, in which charge movement (Qcm) could be measured. The peak values of Qcm and the fractional rate of SR Ca release, as well as their ON time courses, were little affected by reducing [CaSR]R from 1,200 to 140 μM. After repolarization, however, the OFF time courses of Qcm and the rate of SR Ca release were slowed by factors of 1.5–1.7 and 6.5, respectively. These and other results suggest that, after action potential stimulation of fibers in normal physiological condition, the increase in myoplasmic free [Ca] that accompanies SR Ca release exerts three negative feedback effects that tend to reduce additional release: (a) the action potential is shortened by current through Ca-activated potassium channels in the surface and/or tubular membranes; (b) the OFF kinetics of Qcm is accelerated; and (c) Ca inactivation of Ca release is increased. Some of these effects of Ca on an SR Ca channel or its voltage sensor appear to be regulated by the value of [Ca] within 22 nm of the mouth of the channel.


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