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Influence of Infrasound Exposure on the Whole L-type Calcium Currents in Rat Ventricular Myocytes

Cardiovascular Toxicology volume 9, pages 70–77 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the effect of infrasound exposure (5 Hz at 130 dB) on whole-cell L-type Ca2+ currents (WLCC) in rat ventricular myocytes and the underlying mechanism(s) involved. Thirty-two adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to infrasound exposure and control groups. [Ca2+]i, WLCC, mRNA expression of the a1c subunit of L-type Ca2+ channels (LCC), and SERCA2 protein were examined on day 1, 7, and 14 after initiation of infrasound exposure. Fluo-3/AM fluorescence and the laser scanning confocal microscope techniques were used to measure [Ca2+]i in freshly isolated ventricular myocytes. The Ca2+ fluorescence intensity (FI), denoting [Ca2+]i in cardiomyocytes, was significantly elevated in a time-dependent manner in the exposure groups. There was a significant increase in WLCC in the 1-day group and a further significant increase in the 7- and 14-day groups. LCC mRNA expression measured by RT-PCR revealed a significant rise in the 1-day group and a significant additional rise in the 7- and 14-day groups compared with control group. SERCA2 expression was significantly upregulated in the 1-day group followed by an overt decrease in the 7- and 14-day groups. Prolonged exposure of infrasound altered WLCC in rat cardiomyocytes by shifting the steady-state inactivation curves to the right (more depolarized direction) without altering the slope and biophysical properties of I Ca,L. Taken together, our data suggest that changes in [Ca2+]I levels as well as expression of LCC and SERCA2 may contribute to the infrasound exposure-elicited cardiac response.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant: 30870579).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Zhongshan Medical College, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China

    Zhaohui Pei & Guangmei Yan

  2. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Zhiqiang Zhuang

  3. Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Pingxi Xiao

  4. Infrasound Lab of Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    Jingzao Chen & Hanfei Sang

  5. Center for Cardiovascular Research and Alternative Medicine, University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Jun Ren

  6. Department of Clinical Immunology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    Zhenbiao Wu

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  1. Zhaohui Pei
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  2. Zhiqiang Zhuang
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  3. Pingxi Xiao
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  4. Jingzao Chen
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  5. Hanfei Sang
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  6. Jun Ren
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  7. Zhenbiao Wu
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  8. Guangmei Yan
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Correspondence to Guangmei Yan.

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Zhaohui Pei and Zhiqiang Zhuang contributed equally to this work.

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Pei, Z., Zhuang, Z., Xiao, P. et al. Influence of Infrasound Exposure on the Whole L-type Calcium Currents in Rat Ventricular Myocytes. Cardiovasc Toxicol 9, 70–77 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-009-9037-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-009-9037-3

Keywords

  • Infrasound
  • Whole L-type Ca2+ currents
  • L-type Ca2+ channel
  • Sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase
  • Fluorescence intensity