Summary
Myocytes isolated from guinea pig ventricles were voltage-clamped using patch pipettes in the whole-cell configuration. For proper voltage control fast Na+ current was blocked by TTX or inactivated by an appropriate prepulse. Zero-load cell shortening was monitored by a photoelectric device. The mechanical response to a short depolarizing clamp was mainly a phasic (transient) contraction. Long-lasting depolarizations caused a tonic (sustained) shortening of a cell. Different clamp patterns were used to study the mode of activation of phasic contraction. 1) With a constant Ca2+ preload established by a train of conditioning pulses, the shortening-voltage relation measured with test pulses of varying height was a bell-shaped curve reflecting the slow inward current (ICa)-voltage relation. The test pulse had a striking influence on the first contraction of the following conditioning series, resulting in an S-shaped relation between post-test contraction and test potential. 2) With series of identical clamps of varying height, steady-state contraction was maximal around 40 mV and not in proportion to ICa. In these measurements Ca2+ preload was likely to increase with increasing potential. It is concluded that ICa initiates phasic contraction by inducing a release of Ca2+ from internal stores while replenishment of the stores is largely determined by an electrogenic transsarcolemmal Na+−Ca2+ exchange. The data suggest that Na+−Ca2+ exchange is not only involved in long-term changes of cardiac contractility but also in beat-to-beat regulation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach C, Wiemer J, Preisler R (1985) Isolation of adult ventricular myocytes for electrophysiological experiments. Basic Res Cardiol 80 Suppl 1:162
Antoni H, Jacob R, Kaufmann R (1969) Mechanische Reaktionen des Frosch- und Säugetiermyokards bei Veränderung der Aktionspotential-Dauer durch konstante Gleichstromimpulse. Pflügers Arch 306:33–57
Barcenas-Ruiz L, Wier WG (1987) Voltage dependence of intracellular [Ca2+]i transients in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Circ Res 61:148–154
Beeler GW, Reuter H (1970) The relation between membrane potential, membrane currents and activation of contraction in ventricular myocardial fibres. J Physiol 207:211–229
Caroni P, Carafoli E (1981) The Ca2+-pumping ATPase of heart sarcolemma. Characterization, calmodulin dependence, and partial purification. J Biol Chem 256:3263–3270
Chapman RA (1983) Control of cardiac contractility at the cellular level. Am J Physiol 245:H535-H552
Chapman RA, Coray A, McGuigan JAS (1983) Sodium-calcium exchange in mammalian heart: the maintenance of low intracellular calcium concentration. In: Drake-Holland AJ, Noble MIM (eds) Cardiac metabolism. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, New York, pp 117–149
Fabiato A (1981) Myoplasmic free calcium concentration reached during the twitch of an intact isolated cardiac cell and during calcium-induced release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of a skinned cardiac cell from the adult rat or rabbit ventricle. J Gen Physiol 78:457–497
Fabiato A (1983) Calcium-induced release of calcium from the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum. Am J Physiol 245:C1-C14
Fabiato A (1985) Rapid ionic modifications during the aequorin-detected calcium transient in a skinned canine cardiac Purkinje cell. J Gen Physiol 85:189–246
Fabiato A (1985) Time and calcium dependence of activation and inactivation of calcium-induced release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of a skinned canine cardiac Purkinje cell. J Gen Physiol 85:247–289
Fabiato A (1985) Simulated calcium curren can both cause calcium loading in and trigger calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of a skinned canine cardiac Purkinje cell. J Gen Physiol 85:291–320
Fedida D, Noble D, Shimoni Y, Spindler AJ (1987) Inward current related to contraction in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. J Physiol 385:565–589
Haas HG (1987) Calcium-Natrium-Antagonismus am Myokard: Neue Aspekte eines alten Problems. In: Bromm B, Koepchen HP (eds) Physiologie aktuell. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart New York, pp 47–68
Horackova M, Vassort G (1979) Sodium-calcium exchange in regulation of cardiac contractility. Evidence for an electrogenic, voltage-dependent mechanism. J Gen Physiol 73:403–424
Hume JR, Uehara A (1985) Ionic basis of the different action potential configurations of single guinea pig atrial and ventricular myocytes. J Physiol 368:525–544
Inesi G (1985) Mcchanism of calcium transport. Ann Rev Physiol 47:573–601
Isenberg G, Beresewicz A, Mascher D, Valenzuela F (1985) The two components in the shortening of unloaded ventricular myocytes: Their voltage dependence. Basic Res Cardiol 80 Suppl 1:117–122
Isenberg G, Klöckner U (1982) Calcium currents of isolated bovine ventricular myocytes are fast and of large amplitude. Pflügers Arch 395:30–41
Isenberg G, Klöckner U, Mascher D, Ravens U (1987) Changes in contractility and membrane currents as studied with a single patch-electrode whole-cell clamp technique. In: Noble D, Powell T (eds) Electrophysiology of single cardiac cells. Academic Press, London, pp 25–68
Kimura J, Miyamac S, Noma A (1987) Identification of sodium-calcium exchange current in single ventricular cells of guinea pig. J Physiol 384:199–222
Kootsey JM, Johnson EA (1986) Reconstruction of transport currents during repolarization: Biochemical Basis. Jap Heart J 27, Suppl I:109–126
London B, Krueger JW (1986) Contraction in voltage-clamped, internally perfused single heart cells. J Gen Physiol 88:475–505
Meyer R, Wiemer J, Dembski J, Haas HG (1987) Photoelectric recording of mechanical responses of cardiac myocytes. Pflügers Arch 408:390–394
Mitchell MR, Powell T, Terrar DA, Twist VW (1985) Influence of a change in stimulation rate on action potentials, currents and contractions in rat ventricular cells. J Physiol 364:113–130
Mitchell MR, Powell T, Terrar DA, Twist VW (1987) Calcium-activated inward current and contraction in rat and guinea pig ventricular myocytes. J Physiol 391:545–560
Mitra R, Morad M (1986) Two types of calcium channels in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83:5340–5344
Mullins LJ (1981) Ion transport in heart. Raven Press, New York
New W, Trautwein W (1972) The ionic nature of slow inward current and its relation to contraction. Pflügers Arch 334:24–38
Nilius B, Hess P, Lansman JB, Tsien RW (1985) A novel type of cardiac calcium channel in ventricular cells. Nature 316:443–446
Noble D (1984) The surprising heart: a review of recent progress in cardiac electrophysiology. J Physiol 353:1–50
Pelzer D, Trautwein W (1987) Currents through ionic channels in multicellular cardiac tissue and single heart cells. Experientia 43:1153–1162
Trautwein W, McDonald TF, Tripathi O (1975) Calcium conductance and tension in mammalian ventricular muscle. Pflügers Arch 354:55–74
Tytgat J, Nilius B, Vereecke J, Carmeliet E (1988) The T-type Ca channel in guinea pig ventricular myocytes is insensitive to isoproterenol. Pflügers Arch 411:704–706
Wood EH, Heppner RL, Weidmann S (1969) Inotropic effects of electric currents. I. Positive and negative effects of constant electric currents or current pulses applied during cardiac action potentials. II. Hypotheses: calcium movements, excitation-contraction coupling and inotropic effects. Circ Res 24:409–445
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meyer, R., Haas, H.G. & Wiemer, J. Excitation-contraction coupling in voltage-clamped cardiac myocytes. Basic Res Cardiol 84, 136–148 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01907923
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01907923