1
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Scardigli M, Pásek M, Santini L, Palandri C, Conti E, Crocini C, Campione M, Loew LM, de Vries AAF, Pijnappels DA, Pavone FS, Poggesi C, Cerbai E, Coppini R, Kohl P, Ferrantini C, Sacconi L. Optogenetic confirmation of transverse-tubular membrane excitability in intact cardiac myocytes. J Physiol 2024; 602:791-808. [PMID: 38348881 DOI: 10.1113/jp285202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
T-tubules (TT) form a complex network of sarcolemmal membrane invaginations, essential for well-co-ordinated excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) and thus homogeneous mechanical activation of cardiomyocytes. ECC is initiated by rapid depolarization of the sarcolemmal membrane. Whether TT membrane depolarization is active (local generation of action potentials; AP) or passive (following depolarization of the outer cell surface sarcolemma; SS) has not been experimentally validated in cardiomyocytes. Based on the assessment of ion flux pathways needed for AP generation, we hypothesize that TT are excitable. We therefore explored TT excitability experimentally, using an all-optical approach to stimulate and record trans-membrane potential changes in TT that were structurally disconnected, and hence electrically insulated, from the SS membrane by transient osmotic shock. Our results establish that cardiomyocyte TT can generate AP. These AP show electrical features that differ substantially from those observed in SS, consistent with differences in the density of ion channels and transporters in the two different membrane domains. We propose that TT-generated AP represent a safety mechanism for TT AP propagation and ECC, which may be particularly relevant in pathophysiological settings where morpho-functional changes reduce the electrical connectivity between SS and TT membranes. KEY POINTS: Cardiomyocytes are characterized by a complex network of membrane invaginations (the T-tubular system) that propagate action potentials to the core of the cell, causing uniform excitation-contraction coupling across the cell. In the present study, we investigated whether the T-tubular system is able to generate action potentials autonomously, rather than following depolarization of the outer cell surface sarcolemma. For this purpose, we developed a fully optical platform to probe and manipulate the electrical dynamics of subcellular membrane domains. Our findings demonstrate that T-tubules are intrinsically excitable, revealing distinct characteristics of self-generated T-tubular action potentials. This active electrical capability would protect cells from voltage drops potentially occurring within the T-tubular network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Scardigli
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Michal Pásek
- Institute of Thermomechanics, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lorenzo Santini
- Department of Neurology, Psychology, Drug Sciences and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Chiara Palandri
- Department of Neurology, Psychology, Drug Sciences and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Emilia Conti
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy - LENS, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudia Crocini
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Max Rubner Center for Cardiovascular Metabolic Renal Research (MRC), Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité (DHZC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marina Campione
- Institute of Neuroscience (IN-CNR) and Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Leslie M Loew
- Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Antoine A F de Vries
- Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Daniël A Pijnappels
- Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Francesco S Pavone
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy - LENS, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Corrado Poggesi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Cerbai
- Department of Neurology, Psychology, Drug Sciences and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy - LENS, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Raffaele Coppini
- Department of Neurology, Psychology, Drug Sciences and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Peter Kohl
- Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center and Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Cecilia Ferrantini
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Leonardo Sacconi
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy - LENS, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center and Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council (IFC-CNR), Florence, Italy
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2
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Lang D, Medvedev RY, Ratajczyk L, Zheng J, Yuan X, Lim E, Han OY, Valdivia HH, Glukhov AV. Region-specific distribution of transversal-axial tubule system organization underlies heterogeneity of calcium dynamics in the right atrium. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2022; 322:H269-H284. [PMID: 34951544 PMCID: PMC8782648 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00381.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The atrial myocardium demonstrates the highly heterogeneous organization of the transversal-axial tubule system (TATS), although its anatomical distribution and region-specific impact on Ca2+ dynamics remain unknown. Here, we developed a novel method for high-resolution confocal imaging of TATS in intact live mouse atrial myocardium and applied a custom-developed MATLAB-based computational algorithm for the automated analysis of TATS integrity. We observed a twofold higher (P < 0.01) TATS density in the right atrial appendage (RAA) than in the intercaval regions (ICR, the anatomical region between the superior vena cava and atrioventricular junction and between the crista terminalis and interatrial septum). Whereas RAA predominantly consisted of well-tubulated myocytes, ICR showed partially tubulated/untubulated cells. Similar TATS distribution was also observed in healthy human atrial myocardium sections. In both mouse atrial preparations and isolated mouse atrial myocytes, we observed a strong anatomical correlation between TATS distribution and Ca2+ transient synchronization and rise-up time. This region-specific difference in Ca2+ transient morphology disappeared after formamide-induced detubulation. ICR myocytes showed a prolonged action potential duration at 80% of repolarization as well as a significantly lower expression of RyR2 and Cav1.2 proteins but similar levels of NCX1 and Cav1.3 compared with RAA tissue. Our findings provide a detailed characterization of the region-specific distribution of TATS in mouse and human atrial myocardium, highlighting the structural foundation for anatomical heterogeneity of Ca2+ dynamics and contractility in the atria. These results could indicate different roles of TATS in Ca2+ signaling at distinct anatomical regions of the atria and provide mechanistic insight into pathological atrial remodeling.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Mouse and human atrial myocardium demonstrate high variability in the organization of the transversal-axial tubule system (TATS), with more organized TATS expressed in the right atrial appendage. TATS distribution governs anatomical heterogeneity of Ca2+ dynamics and thus could contribute to integral atrial contractility, mechanics, and arrhythmogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Lang
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Roman Y Medvedev
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Lucas Ratajczyk
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Jingjing Zheng
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Xiaoyu Yuan
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Evi Lim
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Owen Y Han
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Hector H Valdivia
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Alexey V Glukhov
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
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3
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Hoang-Trong TM, Ullah A, Lederer WJ, Jafri MS. A Stochastic Spatiotemporal Model of Rat Ventricular Myocyte Calcium Dynamics Demonstrated Necessary Features for Calcium Wave Propagation. MEMBRANES 2021; 11:989. [PMID: 34940490 PMCID: PMC8706945 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11120989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Calcium (Ca2+) plays a central role in the excitation and contraction of cardiac myocytes. Experiments have indicated that calcium release is stochastic and regulated locally suggesting the possibility of spatially heterogeneous calcium levels in the cells. This spatial heterogeneity might be important in mediating different signaling pathways. During more than 50 years of computational cell biology, the computational models have been advanced to incorporate more ionic currents, going from deterministic models to stochastic models. While periodic increases in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration drive cardiac contraction, aberrant Ca2+ release can underly cardiac arrhythmia. However, the study of the spatial role of calcium ions has been limited due to the computational expense of using a three-dimensional stochastic computational model. In this paper, we introduce a three-dimensional stochastic computational model for rat ventricular myocytes at the whole-cell level that incorporate detailed calcium dynamics, with (1) non-uniform release site placement, (2) non-uniform membrane ionic currents and membrane buffers, (3) stochastic calcium-leak dynamics and (4) non-junctional or rogue ryanodine receptors. The model simulates spark-induced spark activation and spark-induced Ca2+ wave initiation and propagation that occur under conditions of calcium overload at the closed-cell condition, but not when Ca2+ levels are normal. This is considered important since the presence of Ca2+ waves contribute to the activation of arrhythmogenic currents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuan Minh Hoang-Trong
- School of Systems Biology, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; (T.M.H.-T.); (A.U.)
| | - Aman Ullah
- School of Systems Biology, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; (T.M.H.-T.); (A.U.)
| | - William Jonathan Lederer
- Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA;
| | - Mohsin Saleet Jafri
- School of Systems Biology, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; (T.M.H.-T.); (A.U.)
- Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA;
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4
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Petkova MA, Dobrzynski H. Do human sinoatrial node cells have t-tubules? TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH IN ANATOMY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tria.2021.100131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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5
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Wright PT, Gorelik J, Harding SE. Electrophysiological Remodeling: Cardiac T-Tubules and ß-Adrenoceptors. Cells 2021; 10:cells10092456. [PMID: 34572106 PMCID: PMC8468945 DOI: 10.3390/cells10092456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Beta-adrenoceptors (βAR) are often viewed as archetypal G-protein coupled receptors. Over the past fifteen years, investigations in cardiovascular biology have provided remarkable insights into this receptor family. These studies have shifted pharmacological dogma, from one which centralized the receptor to a new focus on structural micro-domains such as caveolae and t-tubules. Important studies have examined, separately, the structural compartmentation of ion channels and βAR. Despite links being assumed, relatively few studies have specifically examined the direct link between structural remodeling and electrical remodeling with a focus on βAR. In this review, we will examine the nature of receptor and ion channel dysfunction on a substrate of cardiomyocyte microdomain remodeling, as well as the likely ramifications for cardiac electrophysiology. We will then discuss the advances in methodologies in this area with a specific focus on super-resolution microscopy, fluorescent imaging, and new approaches involving microdomain specific, polymer-based agonists. The advent of powerful computational modelling approaches has allowed the science to shift from purely empirical work, and may allow future investigations based on prediction. Issues such as the cross-reactivity of receptors and cellular heterogeneity will also be discussed. Finally, we will speculate as to the potential developments within this field over the next ten years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter T. Wright
- School of Life & Health Sciences, University of Roehampton, Holybourne Avenue, London SW15 4JD, UK;
- Cardiac Section, National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK;
| | - Julia Gorelik
- Cardiac Section, National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK;
| | - Sian E. Harding
- Cardiac Section, National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK;
- Correspondence:
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6
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Hofhuis J, Bersch K, Wagner S, Molina C, Fakuade FE, Iyer LM, Streckfuss-Bömeke K, Toischer K, Zelarayán LC, Voigt N, Nikolaev VO, Maier LS, Klinge L, Thoms S. Dysferlin links excitation-contraction coupling to structure and maintenance of the cardiac transverse-axial tubule system. Europace 2021; 22:1119-1131. [PMID: 32572487 DOI: 10.1093/europace/euaa093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS The multi-C2 domain protein dysferlin localizes to the T-Tubule system of skeletal and heart muscles. In skeletal muscle, dysferlin is known to play a role in membrane repair and in T-tubule biogenesis and maintenance. Dysferlin deficiency manifests as muscular dystrophy of proximal and distal muscles. Cardiomyopathies have been also reported, and some dysferlinopathy mouse models develop cardiac dysfunction under stress. Generally, the role and functional relevance of dysferlin in the heart is not clear. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of dysferlin deficiency on the transverse-axial tubule system (TATS) structure and on Ca2+ homeostasis in the heart. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied dysferlin localization in rat and mouse cardiomyocytes by immunofluorescence microscopy. In dysferlin-deficient ventricular mouse cardiomyocytes, we analysed the TATS by live staining and assessed Ca2+ handling by patch-clamp experiments and measurement of Ca2+ transients and Ca2+ sparks. We found increasing co-localization of dysferlin with the L-type Ca2+-channel during TATS development and show that dysferlin deficiency leads to pathological loss of transversal and increase in longitudinal elements (axialization). We detected reduced L-type Ca2+-current (ICa,L) in cardiomyocytes from dysferlin-deficient mice and increased frequency of spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release events resulting in pro-arrhythmic contractions. Moreover, cardiomyocytes from dysferlin-deficient mice showed an impaired response to β-adrenergic receptor stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Dysferlin is required for TATS biogenesis and maintenance in the heart by controlling the ratio of transversal and axial membrane elements. Absence of dysferlin leads to defects in Ca2+ homeostasis which may contribute to contractile heart dysfunction in dysferlinopathy patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Hofhuis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany
| | - Kristina Bersch
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Wagner
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Cristina Molina
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Institute for Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Funsho E Fakuade
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lavanya M Iyer
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Computational and Systems Biology, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Katrin Streckfuss-Bömeke
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Department of Cardiology and Pneumonology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Karl Toischer
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Department of Cardiology and Pneumonology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Laura C Zelarayán
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Niels Voigt
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Viacheslav O Nikolaev
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Institute for Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lars S Maier
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lars Klinge
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,Kinderarztpraxis Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sven Thoms
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Sites Göttingen and Hamburg, Germany
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Uchida K, Nikouee A, Moench I, Tamkus G, Elghoul Y, Lopatin AN. The mechanism of osmotically induced sealing of cardiac t tubules. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2020; 319:H410-H421. [PMID: 32648820 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00573.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Cardiac t tubules undergo significant remodeling in various pathological and experimental conditions, which can be associated with mechanical or osmotic stress. In particular, it has been shown that removal of hyposmotic stress can lead to sealing of t tubules. However, the mechanisms underlying the sealing process remain essentially unknown. In this study we used dextran trapping assay to demonstrate that in adult mouse cardiomyocytes, t-tubular sealing can also be induced by hyperosmotic challenge and that both hypo- and hyperosmotic sealing display a clear threshold behavior requiring ≈100 mosmol/L minimal stress. Importantly, during both hypo- and hyperosmotic challenges, the sealing of t tubules occurs only during the shrinking phase. Analysis of the time course of t-tubular remodeling following removal of hyposmotic stress shows that t tubules become sealed essentially instantly, well before any significant reduction in cell size can be observed. Overall, the data support the hypothesis that the critical event in the process of t-tubular sealing during osmotic challenges is detachment (peeling) of the membrane from the underlying cytoskeleton due to suprathreshold stress.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study provides new insights into how t-tubular membranes respond to osmotic forces. In particular, the data show that osmotically induced sealing of cardiac t tubules is a threshold phenomenon initiated by detachment of t-tubular membrane from the underlying cytoskeleton. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that final sealing of t tubules is driven by negative hydrostatic intracellular pressure coincident with cell shrinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keita Uchida
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Azadeh Nikouee
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ian Moench
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Greta Tamkus
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Yasmine Elghoul
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Anatoli N Lopatin
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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8
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Ca 2+ Channels Mediate Bidirectional Signaling between Sarcolemma and Sarcoplasmic Reticulum in Muscle Cells. Cells 2019; 9:cells9010055. [PMID: 31878335 PMCID: PMC7016941 DOI: 10.3390/cells9010055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The skeletal muscle and myocardial cells present highly specialized structures; for example, the close interaction between the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and mitochondria—responsible for excitation-metabolism coupling—and the junction that connects the SR with T-tubules, critical for excitation-contraction (EC) coupling. The mechanisms that underlie EC coupling in these two cell types, however, are fundamentally distinct. They involve the differential expression of Ca2+ channel subtypes: CaV1.1 and RyR1 (skeletal), vs. CaV1.2 and RyR2 (cardiac). The CaV channels transform action potentials into elevations of cytosolic Ca2+, by activating RyRs and thus promoting SR Ca2+ release. The high levels of Ca2+, in turn, stimulate not only the contractile machinery but also the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). This forward signaling is reciprocally regulated by the following feedback mechanisms: Ca2+-dependent inactivation (of Ca2+ channels), the recruitment of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity, and oxidative changes in ion channels and transporters. Here, we summarize both well-established concepts and recent advances that have contributed to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in this bidirectional signaling.
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9
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Uchida K, Lopatin AN. Diffusional and Electrical Properties of T-Tubules Are Governed by Their Constrictions and Dilations. Biophys J 2019; 114:437-449. [PMID: 29401441 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.11.3742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cardiac t-tubules (TTs) form a network of complex surface membrane invaginations that is essential for proper excitation-contraction coupling. Although electron and optical microscopy studies provided a wealth of important information about the structure of TTs, assessing their functional properties remains a challenge. In this study, we investigated the diffusional accessibility of TTs in intact isolated adult mouse ventricular myocytes using, to our knowledge, a novel fluorescence-based assay. In this approach, a small part of TTs is first locally filled with fluorescent dextran and then its diffusion out of TTs is monitored after rapid removal of extracellular dextran. In normal cells, diffusion of 3 kDa dextran is characterized by an average time constant of 3.9 ± 1.2 s with the data ranging from 1.8 to 10.5 s. The data are consistent with essentially free diffusion of dextran in TTs although measurable contribution of binding is also evident. TT fluorescence is abolished in cells treated with high concentration of formamide or after hyposmotic stress. Importantly, the assay we use allows for quantitative, repetitive measurements of subtle dynamic changes in TT structure of the same cell that are not possible to observe with other approaches. In particular, dextran diffusion rate decreases two-to-threefold during cell swelling, suggesting significant structural remodeling of TTs. Computer modeling shows that diffusional accessibility and electrical properties of TTs are primarily determined by the constrictions and dilations of individual TTs and that, from a functional perspective, TTs cannot be considered as a network of cylinders of the same average diameter. Constriction/dilation model of cardiac TTs is in a quantitative agreement with previous high-resolution microscopy studies of TT structure and alternative measurements of diffusional and electrical time constants of TTs. The data also show that the apparent electrical length constant of cardiac TTs is likely several-fold smaller than that estimated in earlier studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keita Uchida
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Anatoli N Lopatin
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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10
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Brandenburg S, Pawlowitz J, Fakuade FE, Kownatzki-Danger D, Kohl T, Mitronova GY, Scardigli M, Neef J, Schmidt C, Wiedmann F, Pavone FS, Sacconi L, Kutschka I, Sossalla S, Moser T, Voigt N, Lehnart SE. Axial Tubule Junctions Activate Atrial Ca 2+ Release Across Species. Front Physiol 2018; 9:1227. [PMID: 30349482 PMCID: PMC6187065 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Recently, abundant axial tubule (AT) membrane structures were identified deep inside atrial myocytes (AMs). Upon excitation, ATs rapidly activate intracellular Ca2+ release and sarcomeric contraction through extensive AT junctions, a cell-specific atrial mechanism. While AT junctions with the sarcoplasmic reticulum contain unusually large clusters of ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) Ca2+ release channels in mouse AMs, it remains unclear if similar protein networks and membrane structures exist across species, particularly those relevant for atrial disease modeling. Objective: To examine and quantitatively analyze the architecture of AT membrane structures and associated Ca2+ signaling proteins across species from mouse to human. Methods and Results: We developed superresolution microscopy (nanoscopy) strategies for intact live AMs based on a new custom-made photostable cholesterol dye and immunofluorescence imaging of membraneous structures and membrane proteins in fixed tissue sections from human, porcine, and rodent atria. Consistently, in mouse, rat, and rabbit AMs, intact cell-wide tubule networks continuous with the surface membrane were observed, mainly composed of ATs. Moreover, co-immunofluorescence nanoscopy showed L-type Ca2+ channel clusters adjacent to extensive junctional RyR2 clusters at ATs. However, only junctional RyR2 clusters were highly phosphorylated and may thus prime Ca2+ release at ATs, locally for rapid signal amplification. While the density of the integrated L-type Ca2+ current was similar in human and mouse AMs, the intracellular Ca2+ transient showed quantitative differences. Importantly, local intracellular Ca2+ release from AT junctions occurred through instantaneous action potential propagation via transverse tubules (TTs) from the surface membrane. Hence, sparse TTs were sufficient as electrical conduits for rapid activation of Ca2+ release through ATs. Nanoscopy of atrial tissue sections confirmed abundant ATs as the major network component of AMs, particularly in human atrial tissue sections. Conclusion: AT junctions represent a conserved, cell-specific membrane structure for rapid excitation-contraction coupling throughout a representative spectrum of species including human. Since ATs provide the major excitable membrane network component in AMs, a new model of atrial “super-hub” Ca2+ signaling may apply across biomedically relevant species, opening avenues for future investigations about atrial disease mechanisms and therapeutic targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sören Brandenburg
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jan Pawlowitz
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Funsho E Fakuade
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Kownatzki-Danger
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Kohl
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Gyuzel Y Mitronova
- Department of NanoBiophotonics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marina Scardigli
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy and National Institute of Optics (INO-CNR), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Jakob Neef
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Constanze Schmidt
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Heidelberg Center for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Felix Wiedmann
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Heidelberg Center for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Francesco S Pavone
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy and National Institute of Optics (INO-CNR), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.,Department of Physics, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Leonardo Sacconi
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy and National Institute of Optics (INO-CNR), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Ingo Kutschka
- Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Samuel Sossalla
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Moser
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Niels Voigt
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) partner site Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stephan E Lehnart
- Heart Research Center Göttingen, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) partner site Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,BioMET, The Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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11
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Abstract
Cardiac transverse (t-) tubules carry both electrical excitation and solutes toward the cell center but their ability to transport small molecules is unclear. While fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) can provide an approach to measure local solute movement, extraction of diffusion coefficients is confounded by cell and illumination beam geometries. In this study, we use measured cellular geometry and detailed computer modeling to derive the apparent diffusion coefficient of a 1-kDa solute inside the t-tubular system of rabbit and mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes. This approach shows that diffusion within individual t-tubules is more rapid than previously reported. T-tubule tortuosity, varicosities, and the presence of longitudinal elements combine to substantially reduce the apparent rate of solute movement. In steady state, large (>4 kDa) solutes did not freely fill the t-tubule lumen of both species and <50% of the t-tubule volume was available to solutes >70 kDa. Detailed model fitting of FRAP data suggests that solute diffusion is additionally restricted at the t-tubular entrance and this effect was larger in mouse than in rabbit. The possible structural basis of this effect was investigated using electron microscopy and tomography. Near the cell surface, mouse t-tubules are more tortuous and filled with an electron-dense ground substance, previously identified as glycocalyx and a polyanionic mesh. Solute movement in the t-tubule network of rabbit and mouse appears to be explained by their different geometric properties, which impacts the use of these species for understanding t-tubule function and the consequences of changes associated with t-tubule disease.
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12
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Bryant SM, Kong CHT, Watson JJ, Gadeberg HC, James AF, Cannell MB, Orchard CH. Caveolin 3-dependent loss of t-tubular I Ca during hypertrophy and heart failure in mice. Exp Physiol 2018; 103:652-665. [PMID: 29473235 PMCID: PMC6099270 DOI: 10.1113/ep086731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? Heart failure is associated with redistribution of L-type Ca2+ current (ICa ) away from the t-tubule membrane to the surface membrane of cardiac ventricular myocytes. However, the underlying mechanism and its dependence on severity of pathology (hypertrophy versus failure) are unclear. What is the main finding and its importance? Increasing severity of response to transverse aortic constriction, from hypertrophy to failure, was accompanied by graded loss of t-tubular ICa and loss of regulation of ICa by caveolin 3. Thus, the pathological loss of t-tubular ICa , which contributes to impaired excitation-contraction coupling and thereby cardiac function in vivo, appears to be attributable to loss of caveolin 3-dependent stimulation of t-tubular ICa . ABSTRACT Previous work has shown redistribution of L-type Ca2+ current (ICa ) from the t-tubules to the surface membrane of rat ventricular myocytes after myocardial infarction. However, whether this occurs in all species and in response to other insults, the relationship of this redistribution to the severity of the pathology, and the underlying mechanism, are unknown. We have therefore investigated the response of mouse hearts and myocytes to pressure overload induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Male C57BL/6 mice underwent TAC or equivalent sham operation 8 weeks before use. ICa and Ca2+ transients were measured in isolated myocytes, and expression of caveolin 3 (Cav3), junctophilin 2 (Jph2) and bridging integrator 1 (Bin1) was determined. C3SD peptide was used to disrupt Cav3 binding to its protein partners. Some animals showed cardiac hypertrophy in response to TAC with little evidence of heart failure, whereas others showed greater hypertrophy and pulmonary congestion. These graded changes were accompanied by graded cellular hypertrophy, t-tubule disruption, decreased expression of Jph2 and Cav3, and decreased t-tubular ICa density, with no change at the cell surface, and graded impairment of Ca2+ release at t-tubules. C3SD decreased ICa density in control but not in TAC myocytes. These data suggest that the graded changes in cardiac function and size that occur in response to TAC are paralleled by graded changes in cell structure and function, which will contribute to the impaired function observed in vivo. They also suggest that loss of t-tubular ICa is attributable to loss of Cav3-dependent stimulation of ICa .
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon M Bryant
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Cherrie H T Kong
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Judy J Watson
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Hanne C Gadeberg
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Andrew F James
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Mark B Cannell
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Clive H Orchard
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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13
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Franzini-Armstrong C. The relationship between form and function throughout the history of excitation-contraction coupling. J Gen Physiol 2018; 150:189-210. [PMID: 29317466 PMCID: PMC5806676 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201711889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Franzini-Armstrong reviews the development of the excitation–contraction coupling field over time. The concept of excitation–contraction coupling is almost as old as Journal of General Physiology. It was understood as early as the 1940s that a series of stereotyped events is responsible for the rapid contraction response of muscle fibers to an initial electrical event at the surface. These early developments, now lost in what seems to be the far past for most young investigators, have provided an endless source of experimental approaches. In this Milestone in Physiology, I describe in detail the experiments and concepts that introduced and established the field of excitation–contraction coupling in skeletal muscle. More recent advances are presented in an abbreviated form, as readers are likely to be familiar with recent work in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Franzini-Armstrong
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
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14
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Burton RAB, Rog-Zielinska EA, Corbett AD, Peyronnet R, Bodi I, Fink M, Sheldon J, Hoenger A, Calaghan SC, Bub G, Kohl P. Caveolae in Rabbit Ventricular Myocytes: Distribution and Dynamic Diminution after Cell Isolation. Biophys J 2017; 113:1047-1059. [PMID: 28877488 PMCID: PMC5653872 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2016] [Revised: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Caveolae are signal transduction centers, yet their subcellular distribution and preservation in cardiac myocytes after cell isolation are not well documented. Here, we quantify caveolae located within 100 nm of the outer cell surface membrane in rabbit single-ventricular cardiomyocytes over 8 h post-isolation and relate this to the presence of caveolae in intact tissue. Hearts from New Zealand white rabbits were either chemically fixed by coronary perfusion or enzymatically digested to isolate ventricular myocytes, which were subsequently fixed at 0, 3, and 8 h post-isolation. In live cells, the patch-clamp technique was used to measure whole-cell plasma membrane capacitance, and in fixed cells, caveolae were quantified by transmission electron microscopy. Changes in cell-surface topology were assessed using scanning electron microscopy. In fixed ventricular myocardium, dual-axis electron tomography was used for three-dimensional reconstruction and analysis of caveolae in situ. The presence and distribution of surface-sarcolemmal caveolae in freshly isolated cells matches that of intact myocardium. With time, the number of surface-sarcolemmal caveolae decreases in isolated cardiomyocytes. This is associated with a gradual increase in whole-cell membrane capacitance. Concurrently, there is a significant increase in area, diameter, and circularity of sub-sarcolemmal mitochondria, indicative of swelling. In addition, electron tomography data from intact heart illustrate the regular presence of caveolae not only at the surface sarcolemma, but also on transverse-tubular membranes in ventricular myocardium. Thus, caveolae are dynamic structures, present both at surface-sarcolemmal and transverse-tubular membranes. After cell isolation, the number of surface-sarcolemmal caveolae decreases significantly within a time frame relevant for single-cell research. The concurrent increase in cell capacitance suggests that membrane incorporation of surface-sarcolemmal caveolae underlies this, but internalization and/or micro-vesicle loss to the extracellular space may also contribute. Given that much of the research into cardiac caveolae-dependent signaling utilizes isolated cells, and since caveolae-dependent pathways matter for a wide range of other study targets, analysis of isolated cell data should take the time post-isolation into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A B Burton
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Eva A Rog-Zielinska
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg-Bad Krozingen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | | | - Rémi Peyronnet
- Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg-Bad Krozingen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ilona Bodi
- Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg-Bad Krozingen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Martin Fink
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Judith Sheldon
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Hoenger
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Sarah C Calaghan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Gil Bub
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Kohl
- Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University Heart Center Freiburg-Bad Krozingen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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15
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Yue X, Zhang R, Kim B, Ma A, Philipson KD, Goldhaber JI. Heterogeneity of transverse-axial tubule system in mouse atria: Remodeling in atrial-specific Na +-Ca 2+ exchanger knockout mice. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2017; 108:50-60. [PMID: 28529049 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2017.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Revised: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Transverse-axial tubules (TATs) are commonly assumed to be sparse or absent in atrial myocytes from small animals. Atrial myocytes from rats, cats and rabbits lack TATs, which results in a characteristic "V"-shaped Ca release pattern in confocal line-scan recordings due to the delayed rise of Ca in the center of the cell. To examine TAT expression in isolated mouse atrial myocytes, we loaded them with the membrane dye Di-4-ANEPPS to label TATs. We found that >80% of atrial myocytes had identifiable TATs. Atria from male mice had a higher TAT density than female mice, and TAT density correlated with cell width. Using the fluorescent Ca indicator Fluo-4-AM and confocal imaging, we found that wild type (WT) mouse atrial myocytes generate near-synchronous Ca transients, in contrast to the "V"-shaped pattern typically reported in other small animals such as rat. In atrial-specific Na-Ca exchanger (NCX) knockout (KO) mice, which develop sinus node dysfunction and atrial hypertrophy with dilation, we found a substantial loss of atrial TATs in isolated atrial myocytes. There was a greater loss of transverse tubules compared to axial tubules, resulting in a dominance of axial tubules. Consistent with the overall loss of TATs, NCX KO atrial myocytes displayed a "V"-shaped Ca transient with slower and reduced central (CT) Ca release and uptake in comparison to subsarcolemmal (SS) Ca release. We compared chemically detubulated (DT) WT cells to KO, and found similar slowing of CT Ca release and uptake. However, SS Ca transients in the WT DT cells had faster uptake kinetics than KO cells, consistent with the presence of NCX and normal sarcolemmal Ca efflux in the WT DT cells. We conclude that the remodeling of NCX KO atrial myocytes is accompanied by a loss of TATs leading to abnormal Ca release and uptake that could impact atrial contractility and rhythm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Yue
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277 West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Division of Applied Cell Biology and Physiology, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Rui Zhang
- Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Division of Applied Cell Biology and Physiology, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Brian Kim
- Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Division of Applied Cell Biology and Physiology, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Aiqun Ma
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277 West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases of Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiology of Shaanxi Province, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China.
| | - Kenneth D Philipson
- Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 650 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Joshua I Goldhaber
- Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Division of Applied Cell Biology and Physiology, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
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16
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Crocini C, Ferrantini C, Coppini R, Sacconi L. Electrical defects of the transverse-axial tubular system in cardiac diseases. J Physiol 2017; 595:3815-3822. [PMID: 27981580 PMCID: PMC5471422 DOI: 10.1113/jp273042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Electrical excitability is an essential feature of cardiomyocytes and the homogenous propagation of the action potential is guaranteed by a complex network of membrane invaginations called the transverse-axial tubular system (TATS). TATS structural remodelling is a hallmark of cardiac diseases and we demonstrated that this can be accompanied by electrical defects at single T-tubular level. Using a random-access multi-photon (RAMP) microscope, we found that pathological T-tubules can fail to conduct action potentials, which delays local Ca2+ release. Although the underlying causes for T-tubular electrical failure are still unknown, our findings suggest that they are likely to be related to local ultrastructural alterations. Here, we first review the experimental approach that allowed us to observe and dissect the consequences of TATS electrical dysfunction and then propose two different strategies to unveil the reasons for T-tubular electrical failures. The first strategy consists in a correlative approach, in which the failing T-tubule identified with the RAMP microscope is then imaged with electron microscopy. The second approach exploits the diffusion of molecules within TATS to gain insights into the local TATS structure, even without a thorough reconstruction of the tubular network. Although challenging, the local electrical failure occurring at single T-tubules is a fundamental question that needs to be addressed and could provide novel insights in cardiac pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Crocini
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.,National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, 50125, Florence, Italy
| | - Cecilia Ferrantini
- Division of Physiology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Raffaele Coppini
- Division of Pharmacology, Department 'NeuroFarBa', University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy
| | - Leonardo Sacconi
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.,National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, 50125, Florence, Italy
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17
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Abstract
Cardiac arrhythmias can follow disruption of the normal cellular electrophysiological processes underlying excitable activity and their tissue propagation as coherent wavefronts from the primary sinoatrial node pacemaker, through the atria, conducting structures and ventricular myocardium. These physiological events are driven by interacting, voltage-dependent, processes of activation, inactivation, and recovery in the ion channels present in cardiomyocyte membranes. Generation and conduction of these events are further modulated by intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, and metabolic and structural change. This review describes experimental studies on murine models for known clinical arrhythmic conditions in which these mechanisms were modified by genetic, physiological, or pharmacological manipulation. These exemplars yielded molecular, physiological, and structural phenotypes often directly translatable to their corresponding clinical conditions, which could be investigated at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ, and whole animal levels. Arrhythmogenesis could be explored during normal pacing activity, regular stimulation, following imposed extra-stimuli, or during progressively incremented steady pacing frequencies. Arrhythmic substrate was identified with temporal and spatial functional heterogeneities predisposing to reentrant excitation phenomena. These could arise from abnormalities in cardiac pacing function, tissue electrical connectivity, and cellular excitation and recovery. Triggering events during or following recovery from action potential excitation could thereby lead to sustained arrhythmia. These surface membrane processes were modified by alterations in cellular Ca2+ homeostasis and energetics, as well as cellular and tissue structural change. Study of murine systems thus offers major insights into both our understanding of normal cardiac activity and its propagation, and their relationship to mechanisms generating clinical arrhythmias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L-H Huang
- Physiological Laboratory and the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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18
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Bennett PM, Ehler E, Wilson AJ. Sarcoplasmic reticulum is an intermediary of mitochondrial and myofibrillar growth at the intercalated disc. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 2016; 37:55-69. [PMID: 27329158 PMCID: PMC5010836 DOI: 10.1007/s10974-016-9444-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 05/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In cardiomyocytes columns of intermyofibrillar mitochondria run up to the intercalated disc (ID); half are collinear with those in the neighbouring cell, suggesting coordinated addition of sarcomeres and mitochondria both within and between cells during cardiomyocyte growth. Recent evidence for an association between sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and mitochondria indicates that the SR may be an intermediary in this coordinated behaviour. For this reason we have investigated the arrangement of SR and t tubules with respect to mitochondria and myofibrils, particularly at the ID. In the body of the cardiomyocyte the mitochondrial columns are frequently intersected by transverse tubules. In addition, we find that a majority of axial tubules are sandwiched between mitochondria and myofibril. No tubules are found at the ID. SR coats mitochondrial columns and fibrils throughout their length and reaches towards the peaks of the ID membrane where it attaches in the form of junctional (j)SR. These peripheral ID couplings are often situated between mitochondria and ID membrane, suggesting an SR connection between the two. In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) the mitochondria are somewhat disordered and clumped. In a mouse model for DCM, the muscle LIM protein KO, we find that there is a lack of mitochondria near the ID, suggesting the uncoupling of the myofibril/mitochondria organisation during growth. SR still coats the fibrils and reaches the ID folds in a jSR coupling. Unlike in control tissue, however, loops and long fingers of ID membrane penetrate into the proximal sarcomere suggesting a possible intermediary state in cardiomyocyte growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline M Bennett
- Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK.
| | - Elisabeth Ehler
- Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Amanda J Wilson
- Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK.,Department of Life Sciences, Sir Ernst Chain Building, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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19
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Hoang-Trong TM, Ullah A, Jafri MS. Calcium Sparks in the Heart: Dynamics and Regulation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 6:203-214. [PMID: 27212876 DOI: 10.2147/rrb.s61495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Calcium (Ca2+) plays a central role in the contraction of the heart. It is the bi-directional link between electrical excitation of the heart and contraction. Electrical excitation initiates Ca2+influx across the sarcolemma and T-tubular membrane that triggered calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Ca2+sparks are the elementary events of calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of Ca2+sparks is essential for understanding the function of the heart. To this end, numerous experimental and computational studies have focused on this topic, exploring the mechanisms of calcium spark initiation, termination, and regulation and what role these play in normal and patho-physiology. The proper understanding of Ca2+ spark regulation and dynamics serves as the foundation for our insights into a multitude of pathological conditions may develop that can be the result of structural and/or functional changes at the cellular or subcellular level. Computational modeling of Ca2+ spark dynamics has proven to be a useful tool to understand Ca2+ spark dynamics. This review addresses our current understanding of Ca2+ sparks and how synchronized SR Ca2+ release, in which Ca2+ sparks is a major pathway, is linked to the different cardiac diseases, especially arrhythmias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuan M Hoang-Trong
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
| | - Aman Ullah
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
| | - M Saleet Jafri
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030; Biomedical Engineering and Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 20201
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20
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Sulkin MS, Yang F, Holzem KM, Van Leer B, Bugge C, Laughner JI, Green K, Efimov IR. Nanoscale three-dimensional imaging of the human myocyte. J Struct Biol 2014; 188:55-60. [PMID: 25160725 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2014.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2014] [Revised: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 08/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The ventricular human myocyte is spatially organized for optimal ATP and Ca(2+) delivery to sarcomeric myosin and ionic pumps during every excitation-contraction cycle. Comprehension of three-dimensional geometry of the tightly packed ultrastructure has been derived from discontinuous two-dimensional images, but has never been precisely reconstructed or analyzed in human myocardium. Using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope, we created nanoscale resolution serial images to quantify the three-dimensional ultrastructure of a human left ventricular myocyte. Transverse tubules (t-tubule), lipid droplets, A-bands, and mitochondria occupy 1.8, 1.9, 10.8, and 27.9% of the myocyte volume, respectively. The complex t-tubule system has a small tortuosity (1.04±0.01), and is composed of long transverse segments with diameters of 317±24nm and short branches. Our data indicates that lipid droplets located well beneath the sarcolemma are proximal to t-tubules, where 59% (13 of 22) of lipid droplet centroids are within 0.50μm of a t-tubule. This spatial association could have an important implication in the development and treatment of heart failure because it connects two independently known pathophysiological alterations, a substrate switch from fatty acids to glucose and t-tubular derangement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew S Sulkin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Fei Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Katherine M Holzem
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | | | - Jacob I Laughner
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Karen Green
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Igor R Efimov
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA.
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21
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Nanoscale distribution of ryanodine receptors and caveolin-3 in mouse ventricular myocytes: dilation of t-tubules near junctions. Biophys J 2014; 104:L22-4. [PMID: 23746531 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2013.02.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2012] [Revised: 02/23/2013] [Accepted: 02/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We conducted super-resolution light microscopy (LM) imaging of the distribution of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and caveolin-3 (CAV3) in mouse ventricular myocytes. Quantitative analysis of data at the surface sarcolemma showed that 4.8% of RyR labeling colocalized with CAV3 whereas 3.5% of CAV3 was in areas with RyR labeling. These values increased to 9.2 and 9.0%, respectively, in the interior of myocytes where CAV3 was widely expressed in the t-system but reduced in regions associated with junctional couplings. Electron microscopic (EM) tomography independently showed only few couplings with caveolae and little evidence for caveolar shapes on the t-system. Unexpectedly, both super-resolution LM and three-dimensional EM data (including serial block-face scanning EM) revealed significant increases in local t-system diameters in many regions associated with junctions. We suggest that this regional specialization helps reduce ionic accumulation and depletion in t-system lumen during excitation-contraction coupling to ensure effective local Ca²⁺ release. Our data demonstrate that super-resolution LM and volume EM techniques complementarily enhance information on subcellular structure at the nanoscale.
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22
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Ferrantini C, Crocini C, Coppini R, Vanzi F, Tesi C, Cerbai E, Poggesi C, Pavone FS, Sacconi L. The transverse-axial tubular system of cardiomyocytes. Cell Mol Life Sci 2013; 70:4695-710. [PMID: 23846763 PMCID: PMC11113601 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-013-1410-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2013] [Revised: 06/03/2013] [Accepted: 06/13/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
A characteristic histological feature of striated muscle cells is the presence of deep invaginations of the plasma membrane (sarcolemma), most commonly referred to as T-tubules or the transverse-axial tubular system (TATS). TATS mediates the rapid spread of the electrical signal (action potential) to the cell core triggering Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, ultimately inducing myofilament contraction (excitation-contraction coupling). T-tubules, first described in vertebrate skeletal muscle cells, have also been recognized for a long time in mammalian cardiac ventricular myocytes, with a structure and a function that in recent years have been shown to be far more complex and pivotal for cardiac function than initially thought. Renewed interest in T-tubule function stems from the loss and disorganization of T-tubules found in a number of pathological conditions including human heart failure (HF) and dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathies, as well as in animal models of HF, chronic ischemia and atrial fibrillation. Disease-related remodeling of the TATS leads to asynchronous and inhomogeneous Ca(2+)-release, due to the presence of orphan ryanodine receptors that have lost their coupling with the dihydropyridine receptors and are either not activated or activated with a delay. Here, we review the physiology of the TATS, focusing first on the relationship between function and structure, and then describing T-tubular remodeling and its reversal in disease settings and following effective therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Ferrantini
- Division of Physiology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Centre of Molecular Medicine (C.I.M.M.B.A.), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - C. Crocini
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - R. Coppini
- Centre of Molecular Medicine (C.I.M.M.B.A.), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Division of Pharmacology, Department “NeuroFarBa”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - F. Vanzi
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - C. Tesi
- Division of Physiology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Centre of Molecular Medicine (C.I.M.M.B.A.), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - E. Cerbai
- Centre of Molecular Medicine (C.I.M.M.B.A.), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Division of Pharmacology, Department “NeuroFarBa”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - C. Poggesi
- Division of Physiology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Centre of Molecular Medicine (C.I.M.M.B.A.), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - F. S. Pavone
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- National Institute of Optics (INO), National Research Council (CNR), Florence, Italy
| | - L. Sacconi
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- National Institute of Optics (INO), National Research Council (CNR), Florence, Italy
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Wang P, Tang M, Gao L, Luo H, Wang G, Ma X, Duan Y. Roles of I(f) and intracellular Ca2+ release in spontaneous activity of ventricular cardiomyocytes during murine embryonic development. J Cell Biochem 2013; 114:1852-62. [PMID: 23463619 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.24527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2012] [Accepted: 02/21/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, the contribution of I(f), an important pacemaker current, and intracellular Ca(2+) release (ICR) from sarcoplasmic reticulum to pacemaking and arrhythmia has been intensively studied. However, their functional roles in embryonic heart remain uncertain. Using patch clamp, Ca(2+) imaging, and RT-PCR, we found that I(f) regulated the firing rate in early and late stage embryonic ventricular cells, as ivabradine (30 µM), a specific blocker of I(f), slowed down action potential (AP) frequency. This inhibitory effect was even stronger in late stage cells, though I(f) was down-regulated. In contrast to I(f), ICR was found to be indispensable for the occurrence of APs in ventricular cells of different stages, because abolishment of ICR with ryanodine and 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), specific blockers of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs), completely abolished APs. In addition, we noticed that RyR- and IP3R-mediated ICR coexisted in early-stage ventricular cells and RyRs functionally dominated. While at late stage RyRs, but not IP3Rs, mediated ICR. In both early and late stage ventricular cells, Na-Ca exchanger current (I(Na/Ca)) mediated ICR-triggered depolarization of membrane potential and resulted in the initiation of APs. We also observed that different from I(f), which presented as the substantial component of the earlier diastolic depolarization current, application of ryanodine, and/or 2-APB slowed the late phase of diastolic depolarization. Thus, we conclude that in murine embryonic ventricular cells I(f) regulates firing rate, while RyRs and IP3Rs (early stage) or RyRs (late stage)-mediated ICR determines the occurrence of APs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wang
- Department of Physiology, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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24
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Morphogenesis of T-tubules in heart cells: the role of junctophilin-2. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2013; 56:647-52. [PMID: 23749380 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-013-4490-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Accepted: 04/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The T-tubule (TT) system forms the structural basis for excitation-contraction coupling in heart and muscle cells. The morphogenesis of the TT system is a key step in the maturation of heart cells because it does not exist in neonatal cardiomyocytes. In the present study, we quantified the morphological changes in TTs during heart cell maturation and investigated the role of junctophilin-2 (JP2), a protein known to anchor the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) to TT, in changes to TT morphological parameters. Analysis of confocal images showed that the transverse elements of TTs increased, while longitudinal elements decreased during the maturation of TTs. Fourier transform analysis showed that the power of ∼2 μm spatial components increased with cardiomyocytes maturation. These changes were preceded by increased expression of JP2, and were reversed by JP2 knockdown. These findings indicate that JP2 is required for the morphogenesis of TTs during heart development.
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25
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Trafford AW, Clarke JD, Richards MA, Eisner DA, Dibb KM. Calcium signalling microdomains and the t-tubular system in atrial mycoytes: potential roles in cardiac disease and arrhythmias. Cardiovasc Res 2013; 98:192-203. [PMID: 23386275 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvt018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The atria contribute 25% to ventricular stroke volume and are the site of the commonest cardiac arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AF). The initiation of contraction in the atria is similar to that in the ventricle involving a systolic rise of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). There are, however, substantial inter-species differences in the way systolic Ca(2+) is regulated in atrial cells. These differences are a consequence of a well-developed and functionally relevant transverse (t)-tubule network in the atria of large mammals, including humans, and its virtual absence in smaller laboratory species such as the rat. Where T-tubules are absent, the systolic Ca(2+) transient results from a 'fire-diffuse-fire' sequential recruitment of Ca(2+) release sites from the cell edge to the centre and hence marked spatiotemporal heterogeneity of systolic Ca(2+). Conversely, the well-developed T-tubule network in large mammals ensures a near synchronous rise of [Ca(2+)](i). In addition to synchronizing the systolic rise of [Ca(2+)](i), the presence of T-tubules in the atria of large mammals, by virtue of localization of the L-type Ca(2+) channels and Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger antiporters on the T-tubules, may serve to, respectively, accelerate changes in the amplitude of the systolic Ca(2+) transient during inotropic manoeuvres and lower diastolic [Ca(2+)](i). On the other hand, the presence of T-tubules and hence wider cellular distribution of the Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger may predispose the atria of large mammals to Ca(2+)-dependent delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs); this may be a determining factor in why the atria of large mammals spontaneously develop and maintain AF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Trafford
- Unit of Cardiac Physiology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University of Manchester, 3.23 Core Technology Facility, 46 Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
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Abstract
Ca(2+) waves were probably first observed in the early 1940s. Since then Ca(2+) waves have captured the attention of an eclectic mixture of mathematicians, neuroscientists, muscle physiologists, developmental biologists, and clinical cardiologists. This review discusses the current state of mathematical models of Ca(2+) waves, the normal physiological functions Ca(2+) waves might serve in cardiac cells, as well as how the spatial arrangement of Ca(2+) release channels shape Ca(2+) waves, and we introduce the idea of Ca(2+) phase waves that might provide a useful framework for understanding triggered arrhythmias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leighton T Izu
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, Davis, USA.
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27
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Dibb KM, Clarke JD, Eisner DA, Richards MA, Trafford AW. A functional role for transverse (t-) tubules in the atria. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013; 58:84-91. [PMID: 23147188 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2012.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2012] [Accepted: 11/01/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian ventricular myocytes are characterised by the presence of an extensive transverse (t-) tubule network which is responsible for the synchronous rise of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) during systole. Disruption to the ventricular t-tubule network occurs in various cardiac pathologies and leads to heterogeneous changes of [Ca(2+)]i which are thought to contribute to the reduced contractility and increased susceptibility to arrhythmias of the diseased ventricle. Here we review evidence that, despite the long-held dogma of atrial cells having no or very few t-tubules, there is indeed an extensive and functionally significant t-tubule network present in atrial myocytes of large mammals including human. Moreover, the atrial t-tubule network is highly plastic in nature and undergoes far more extensive remodelling in heart disease than is the case in the ventricle with profound consequences for the resulting systolic Ca(2+) transient. In addition to considering the functional role of the t-tubule network in the healthy and diseased atria we also provide an overview of recent data concerning the putative factors controlling the formation of t-tubules and conclude by posing some important questions that currently remain to be addressed and whether or not targeting t-tubules offers potential novel therapeutic possibilities for heart disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine M Dibb
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, 3.08 Core Technology Facility, 46 Grafton Street, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
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28
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Jayasinghe I, Crossman D, Soeller C, Cannell M. Comparison of the organization of T-tubules, sarcoplasmic reticulum and ryanodine receptors in rat and human ventricular myocardium. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2013; 39:469-76. [PMID: 21790719 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1681.2011.05578.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
1. It is apparent from the literature that there are significant differences in excitation-contraction coupling between species, particularly in the density of calcium transporting proteins in the t-system and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) release channels. Unfortunately, there is a lack of information as to how the principal structures that link electrical excitation to the activation of calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) are different between human and animal models (particularly rat). 2. Comparison of wheat germ agglutinin and caveolin-3 labelling revealed a non-uniform distribution of surface membrane glycosylation in the rat, rabbit and human, and that the rat t-system appeared more complex in geometry than the latter species. Analysis of the t-system skeleton showed that the t-system was highly branched in the rat compared with that of the human (0.8 ± 0.08 and 0.2 ± 0.07 branch points per μm(2) , respectively; P < 0.001). 3. We also compared the distribution of contractile machinery, sodium-calcium exchange, SR and ryanodine receptors (RyR) in rat and human. F-Actin and RyR labelling was used to estimate the area of contractile apparatus supplied by each RyR cluster. In the rat, each RyR cluster supplied an average cross-sectional area of contractile machinery of 0.36 ± 0.03μm(2) compared with 0.49 ± 0.04 μm(2) in human (P = 0.048). Sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2a) labelling showed that the SR formed a tight network of loops surrounding contractile fibrils that were denser than the t-tubule network, but otherwise appeared similar in both species. 4. In general, the results show a higher density in structures involved in CICR in the rat compared with human.
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Affiliation(s)
- Id Jayasinghe
- Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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29
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Kline CF, Mohler PJ. Evolving form to fit function: cardiomyocyte intercalated disc and transverse-tubule membranes. CURRENT TOPICS IN MEMBRANES 2013; 72:121-58. [PMID: 24210429 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417027-8.00004-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The vertebrate cardiac myocyte has evolved a highly organized cellular membrane architecture and cell-cell contacts in order to effectively transmit precisely timed and homogeneous depolarizing waves without failure (>2 billion times/human life span). Two unique specialized membrane domains, the intercalated disc and the transverse tubule (T-tubule), function to ensure the rapid and coordinated propagation of the action potential throughout the heart. Based on their critical roles in structure, signaling, and electric inter- and intracellular communication, it is not surprising that dysfunction in these membrane structures is associated with aberrant vertebrate physiology, resulting in potentially fatal congenital and acquired disease. This chapter will review the fundamental components of cardiomyocyte intercalated disc and transverse-tubule membranes with a focus on linking dysfunction in these membranes with human cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal F Kline
- The Dorothy M. Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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30
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Das T, Hoshijima M. Adding a new dimension to cardiac nano-architecture using electron microscopy: coupling membrane excitation to calcium signaling. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2012. [PMID: 23201225 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2012.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Advances in microscopic imaging technologies and associated computational methods now allow descriptions of cellular anatomy to go beyond 2-dimensions, revealing new micro-domain dynamics at unprecedented resolutions. In cardiomyocytes, electron microscopy (EM) first described junctional membrane complexes between the sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum over a half-century ago. Since then, 3-dimensional EM technologies such as electron tomography have become successful in determining the realistic nano-geometry of membrane junctions (dyads and peripheral junctions) and associated structures such as transverse tubules (T-tubules, aka. T-system). Concomitantly, super-resolution light microscopy has gone beyond the diffraction-limit to determine the distribution of molecules, such as ryanodine receptors, with 10(-8) meter (10nm) order accuracy. This review provides the current structural perspective and functional interpretation of membrane junction complexes, which are the central machinery controlling cardiac excitation-contraction coupling via calcium signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapaswini Das
- The Center for Research in Biological Systems, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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31
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McNary TG, Spitzer KW, Holloway H, Bridge JHB, Kohl P, Sachse FB. Mechanical modulation of the transverse tubular system of ventricular cardiomyocytes. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2012; 110:218-25. [PMID: 22884710 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2012.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2012] [Accepted: 07/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In most mammalian cardiomyocytes, the transverse tubular system (t-system) is a major site for electrical signaling and excitation-contraction coupling. The t-system consists of membrane invaginations, which are decorated with various proteins involved in excitation-contraction coupling and mechano-electric feedback. Remodeling of the t-system has been reported for cells in culture and various types of heart disease. In this paper, we provide insights into effects of mechanical strain on the t-system in rabbit left ventricular myocytes. Based on fluorescent labeling, three-dimensional scanning confocal microscopy, and digital image analysis, we studied living and fixed isolated cells in different strain conditions. We extracted geometric features of transverse tubules (t-tubules) and characterized their arrangement with respect to the Z-disk. In addition, we studied the t-system in cells from hearts fixed either at zero left ventricular pressure (slack), at 30 mmHg (volume overload), or during lithium-induced contracture, using transmission electron microscopy. Two-dimensional image analysis was used to extract features of t-tubule cross-sections. Our analyses of confocal microscopic images showed that contracture at the cellular level causes deformation of the t-system, increasing the length and volume of t-tubules, and altering their cross-sectional shape. TEM data reconfirmed the presence of mechanically induced changes in t-tubular cross sections. In summary, our studies suggest that passive longitudinal stretching and active contraction of ventricular cardiomyocytes affect the geometry of t-tubules. This confirms that mechanical changes at cellular levels could promote alterations in partial volumes that would support a convection-assisted mode of exchange between the t-system content and extracellular space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G McNary
- Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute, University of Utah, 95 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-5000, USA.
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32
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Yu Z, Yao G, Hoshijima M, Michailova A, Holst M. Multiscale modeling of calcium dynamics in ventricular myocytes with realistic transverse tubules. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2011; 58:2947-51. [PMID: 21632291 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2011.2158316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Spatial-temporal Ca(2+) dynamics due to Ca(2+) release, buffering, and reuptaking plays a central role in studying excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in both normal and diseased cardiac myocytes. In this paper, we employ two numerical methods, namely, the meshless method and the finite element method, to model such Ca(2+) behaviors by solving a nonlinear system of reaction-diffusion partial differential equations at two scales. In particular, a subcellular model containing several realistic transverse tubules (or t-tubules) is investigated and assumed to reside at different locations relative to the cell membrane. To this end, the Ca(2+) concentration calculated from the whole-cell modeling is adopted as part of the boundary constraint in the subcellular model. The preliminary simulations show that Ca(2+) concentration changes in ventricular myocytes are mainly influenced by calcium release from t-tubules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeyun Yu
- Department of Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA.
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33
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Escobar M, Cardenas C, Colavita K, Petrenko NB, Franzini-Armstrong C. Structural evidence for perinuclear calcium microdomains in cardiac myocytes. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2010; 50:451-9. [PMID: 21147122 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2010.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2010] [Revised: 11/24/2010] [Accepted: 11/29/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
At each heartbeat, cardiac myocytes are activated by a cytoplasmic Ca(2+) transient in great part due to Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum via ryanodine receptors (RyRs) clustered within calcium release units (peripheral couplings/dyads). A Ca(2+) transient also occurs in the nucleoplasm, following the cytoplasmic transient with some delay. Under conditions where the InsP3 production is stimulated, these Ca(2+) transients are regulated actively, presumably by an additional release of Ca(2+) via InsP3 receptors (InsP3Rs). This raises the question whether InsP3Rs are appropriately located for this effect and whether sources of InsP3 and Ca(2+) are available for their activation. We have defined the structural basis for InsP3R activity at the nucleus, using immunolabeling for confocal microscopy and freeze-drying/shadowing, T tubule "staining" and thin sectioning for electron microscopy. By these means we establish the presence of InsP3R at the outer nuclear envelope and show a close spatial relationship between the nuclear envelope, T tubules (a likely source of InsP3) and dyads (the known source of Ca(2+)). The frequency, distribution and distance from the nucleus of T tubules and dyads appropriately establish local perinuclear Ca(2+) microdomains in cardiac myocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matias Escobar
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6058, USA
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34
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Franzini-Armstrong C. RyRs: Their Disposition, Frequency, and Relationships with Other Proteins of Calcium Release Units. CURRENT TOPICS IN MEMBRANES 2010; 66:3-26. [PMID: 22353474 DOI: 10.1016/s1063-5823(10)66001-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
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35
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Korhonen T, Rapila R, Ronkainen VP, Koivumäki JT, Tavi P. Local Ca2+ releases enable rapid heart rates in developing cardiomyocytes. J Physiol 2010; 588:1407-17. [PMID: 20211983 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2009.185173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to generate homogeneous intracellular Ca(2+) oscillations at high frequency is the basis of the rhythmic contractions of mammalian cardiac myocytes. While the specific mechanisms and structures enabling homogeneous high-frequency Ca(2+) signals in adult cardiomyocytes are well characterized, it is not known how these kind of Ca(2+) signals are produced in developing cardiomyocytes. Here we investigated the mechanisms reducing spatial and temporal heterogeneity of cytosolic Ca(2+) signals in mouse embryonic ventricular cardiomyocytes. We show that in developing cardiomyocytes the propagating Ca(2+) signals are amplified in cytosol by local Ca(2+) releases. Local releases are based on regular 3-D sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) structures containing SR Ca(2+) uptake ATPases (SERCA) and Ca(2+) release channels (ryanodine receptors, RyRs) at regular intervals throughout the cytosol. By evoking [Ca(2+)](i)-induced Ca(2+) sparks, the local release sites promote a 3-fold increase in the cytosolic Ca(2+) propagation speed. We further demonstrate by mathematical modelling that without these local release sites the developing cardiomyocytes lose their ability to generate homogeneous global Ca(2+) signals at a sufficiently high frequency. The mechanism described here is robust and indispensable for normal mammalian cardiomyocyte function from the first heartbeats during the early embryonic phase till terminal differentiation after birth. These results suggest that local cytosolic Ca(2+) releases are indispensable for normal cardiomyocyte development and function of developing heart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Topi Korhonen
- University of Eastern Finland, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
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36
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Ohler A, Weisser-Thomas J, Piacentino V, Houser SR, Tomaselli GF, O'Rourke B. Two-photon laser scanning microscopy of the transverse-axial tubule system in ventricular cardiomyocytes from failing and non-failing human hearts. Cardiol Res Pract 2010; 2009:802373. [PMID: 20224636 PMCID: PMC2833295 DOI: 10.4061/2009/802373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2009] [Accepted: 11/17/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective. The transverse-axial tubule system (TATS) of cardiomyocytes allows a spatially coordinated conversion of electrical excitation into an intracellular Ca(2+) signal and consequently contraction. Previous reports have indicated alterations of structure and/or volume of the TATS in cardiac hypertrophy and failure, suggesting a contribution to the impairment of excitation contraction coupling. To test whether structural alterations are present in human heart failure, the TATS was visualized in myocytes from failing and non-failing human hearts. Methods and Results. In freshly isolated myocytes, the plasmalemmal membranes were labeled with Di-8-ANEPPS and imaged using two-photon excitation at 780 nm. Optical sections were taken every 300 nm through the cells. After deconvolution, the TATS was determined within the 3D data sets, revealing no significant difference in normalized surface area or volume. To rule out possible inhomogeneity in the arrangement of the TATS, Euclidian distance maps were plotted for every section, allowing to measure the closest distance between any cytosolic and any membrane point. There was a trend towards greater spacing in cells from failing hearts, without statistical significance. Conclusion. Only small changes, but no significant changes in the geometrical dimensions of the TATS were observed in cardiomyocytes from failing compared to non-failing human myocardium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Ohler
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Cardiobiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jutta Weisser-Thomas
- Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
- Department of Cardiology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| | - Valentino Piacentino
- Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
- Department of Medicine, University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA
| | - Steven R. Houser
- Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA
| | - Gordon F. Tomaselli
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Cardiobiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Brian O'Rourke
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Cardiobiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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Jayasinghe I, Cannell MB, Soeller C. Organization of ryanodine receptors, transverse tubules, and sodium-calcium exchanger in rat myocytes. Biophys J 2009; 97:2664-73. [PMID: 19917219 PMCID: PMC2776253 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2009.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2009] [Revised: 08/12/2009] [Accepted: 08/13/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Confocal and total internal reflection fluorescence imaging was used to examine the distribution of caveolin-3, sodium-calcium exchange (NCX) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in rat ventricular myocytes. Transverse and longitudinal optical sectioning shows that NCX is distributed widely along the transverse and longitudinal tubular system (t-system). The NCX labeling consisted of both punctate and distributed components, which partially colocalize with RyRs (27%). Surface membrane labeling showed a similar pattern but the fraction of RyR clusters containing NCX label was decreased and no nonpunctate labeling was observed. Sixteen percent of RyRs were not colocalized with the t-system and 1.6% of RyRs were found on longitudinal elements of the t-system. The surface distribution of RyR labeling was not generally consistent with circular patches of RyRs. This suggests that previous estimates for the number of RyRs in a junction (based on circular close-packed arrays) need to be revised. The observed distribution of caveolin-3 labeling was consistent with its exclusion from RyR clusters. Distance maps for all colocalization pairs were calculated to give the distance between centroids of punctate labeling and edges for distributed components. The possible roles for punctate NCX labeling are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izzy Jayasinghe
- Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Mark B. Cannell
- Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Christian Soeller
- Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Hayashi T, Martone ME, Yu Z, Thor A, Doi M, Holst MJ, Ellisman MH, Hoshijima M. Three-dimensional electron microscopy reveals new details of membrane systems for Ca2+ signaling in the heart. J Cell Sci 2009; 122:1005-13. [PMID: 19295127 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.028175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 198] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In the current study, the three-dimensional (3D) topologies of dyadic clefts and associated membrane organelles were mapped in mouse ventricular myocardium using electron tomography. The morphological details and the distribution of membrane systems, including transverse tubules (T-tubules), junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and vicinal mitochondria, were determined and presumed to be crucial for controlling cardiac Ca(2+) dynamics. The geometric complexity of T-tubules that varied in diameter with frequent branching was clarified. Dyadic clefts were intricately shaped and remarkably small (average 4.39x10(5) nm(3), median 2.81x10(5) nm(3)). Although a dyadic cleft of average size could hold maximum 43 ryanodine receptor (RyR) tetramers, more than one-third of clefts were smaller than the size that is able to package as many as 15 RyR tetramers. The dyadic clefts were also adjacent to one another (average end-to-end distance to the nearest dyadic cleft, 19.9 nm) and were distributed irregularly along T-tubule branches. Electron-dense structures that linked membrane organelles were frequently observed between mitochondrial outer membranes and SR or T-tubules. We, thus, propose that the topology of dyadic clefts and the neighboring cellular micro-architecture are the major determinants of the local control of Ca(2+) in the heart, including the establishment of the quantal nature of SR Ca(2+) releases (e.g. Ca(2+) sparks).
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeharu Hayashi
- The Center for Research in Biological Systems, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Balijepalli RC, Kamp TJ. Caveolae, ion channels and cardiac arrhythmias. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2009; 98:149-60. [PMID: 19351512 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2009.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Caveolae are specialized membrane microdomains enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids which are present in multiple cell types including cardiomyocytes. Along with the essential scaffolding protein caveolin-3, a number of different ion channels and transporters have been localized to caveolae in cardiac myocytes including L-type Ca2+ channels (Ca(v)1.2), Na+ channels (Na(v)1.5), pacemaker channels (HCN4), Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX1) and others. Closely associated with these channels are specific macromolecular signaling complexes that provide highly localized regulation of the channels. Mutations in the caveolin-3 gene (CAV3) have been linked with the congenital long QT syndrome (LQT9), and mutations in caveolar-localized ion channels may contribute to other inherited arrhythmias. Changes in the caveolar microdomain in acquired heart disease may also lead to dysregulation and dysfunction of ion channels, altering the risk of arrhythmias in conditions such as heart failure. This review highlights the existing evidence identifying and characterizing ion channels localized to caveolae in cardiomyocytes and their role in arrhythmogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi C Balijepalli
- Department of Medicine, Cellular and Molecular Arrhythmia Research Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53792, USA
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Soeller C, Jayasinghe ID, Li P, Holden AV, Cannell MB. Three-dimensional high-resolution imaging of cardiac proteins to construct models of intracellular Ca2+ signalling in rat ventricular myocytes. Exp Physiol 2009; 94:496-508. [PMID: 19139064 DOI: 10.1113/expphysiol.2008.043976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Quantitative understanding of the Ca(2+) handling in cardiac ventricular myocytes requires accurate knowledge of cardiac ultrastructure and protein distribution. We have therefore developed high-resolution imaging and analysis approaches to measure the three-dimensional distribution of immunolabelled proteins with confocal microscopy. Labelling of single rat cardiac myocytes with an antibody to the Z-line marker alpha-actinin revealed a complex architecture of sarcomere misalignment across single cells. Double immunolabelling was used to relate the Z-line structure to the distribution of ryanodine receptors (RyRs, the intracellular Ca(2+) release channels) and the transverse tubular system. Both RyR and transverse tubular system distributions exhibited frequent dislocations from the simple planar geometry generally assumed in existing mathematical models. To investigate potential effects of these irregularities on Ca(2+) dynamics, we determined the three-dimensional distribution of RyR clusters within an extended section of a single rat ventricular myocyte to construct a model of stochastic Ca(2+) dynamics with a measured Ca(2+) release unit (CRU) distribution. Calculations with this model were compared with a second model in which all CRUs were placed on flat planes. The model with a realistic CRU distribution supported Ca(2+) waves that spread axially along the cell at velocities of approximately 50 mum s(-1). By contrast, in the model with planar CRU distribution the axial wave spread was slowed roughly twofold and wave propagation often nearly faltered. These results demonstrate that spatial features of the CRU distribution on multiple length scales may significantly affect intracellular Ca(2+) dynamics and must be captured in detailed mechanistic models to achieve quantitative as well as qualitative insight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Soeller
- Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand.
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Jaleel N, Nakayama H, Chen X, Kubo H, MacDonnell S, Zhang H, Berretta R, Robbins J, Cribbs L, Molkentin JD, Houser SR. Ca2+ influx through T- and L-type Ca2+ channels have different effects on myocyte contractility and induce unique cardiac phenotypes. Circ Res 2008; 103:1109-19. [PMID: 18832749 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.108.185611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
T-type Ca(2+) channels (TTCCs) are expressed in the developing heart, are not present in the adult ventricle, and are reexpressed in cardiac diseases involving cardiac dysfunction and premature, arrhythmogenic death. The goal of this study was to determine the functional role of increased Ca(2+) influx through reexpressed TTCCs in the adult heart. A mouse line with cardiac-specific, conditional expression of the alpha1G-TTCC was used to increase Ca(2+) influx through TTCCs. alpha1G hearts had mild increases in contractility but no cardiac histopathology or premature death. This contrasts with the pathological phenotype of a previously studied mouse with increased Ca(2+) influx through the L-type Ca(2+) channel (LTCC) secondary to overexpression of its beta2a subunit. Although alpha1G and beta2a myocytes had similar increases in Ca(2+) influx, alpha1G myocytes had smaller increases in contraction magnitude, and, unlike beta2a myocytes, there were no increases in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) loading. Ca(2+) influx through TTCCs also did not induce normal sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) release. alpha1G myocytes had changes in LTCC, SERCA2a, and phospholamban abundance, which appear to be adaptations that help maintain Ca(2+) homeostasis. Immunostaining suggested that the majority of alpha1G-TTCCs were on the surface membrane. Osmotic shock, which selectively eliminates T-tubules, induced a greater reduction in L- versus TTCC currents. These studies suggest that T- and LTCCs are in different portions of the sarcolemma (surface membrane versus T-tubules) and that Ca(2+) influx through these channels induce different effects on myocyte contractility and lead to distinct cardiac phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naser Jaleel
- Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa., USA
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42
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T-tubule formation in cardiacmyocytes: two possible mechanisms? J Muscle Res Cell Motil 2007; 28:231-41. [PMID: 17940841 DOI: 10.1007/s10974-007-9121-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2007] [Accepted: 09/20/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
We have followed the differentiation of transverse (T) tubules and of the associations between sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and either the plasmalemma (peripheral couplings) or the T tubules (dyads) in postnatal rat ventricular myocytes using electron microscopy. Dyads and peripheral couplings are collectively called Ca(2+) Release Units (CRUs) because they are the sites at which Ca(2+) is released from the SR. Profiles of T tubules, caveolae and dyads are mostly at the cell edge in early postnatal days and are found with increased frequency in the cell interior during the first two postnatal weeks. Using ferritin to trace continuity of T tubules lumen with the extracellular space, we find that some of T tubules (between approximately 6 and 25%), either singly or within dyads, lack ferritin in their lumen. The percentage of tubules that do not contain ferritin decreases slightly during postnatal differentiation and is not very different at the cells' edges and interior. We propose that T tubules form as invaginations of the plasmalemma that penetrate inward driven by accrual of membrane lipids and specific proteins. This occurs by a dual mechanism: either by the independent flow of SR and T tubule proteins into the two separate membranes or by the fusion of preformed vesicle tandems into the dyads. Most of the CRUs (approximately 86%) are constituted by peripheral couplings and ferritin containing dyads, thus constituting CRUs in which Ca(2+ )release from the SR is initiated by a membrane depolarization. In the remaining CRUs, activation of Ca(2+) release must be dependent on some other mechanisms.
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Pásek M, Simurda J, Orchard CH, Christé G. A model of the guinea-pig ventricular cardiac myocyte incorporating a transverse-axial tubular system. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2007; 96:258-80. [PMID: 17888503 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2007.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
A model of the guinea-pig cardiac ventricular myocyte has been developed that includes a representation of the transverse-axial tubular system (TATS), including heterogeneous distribution of ion flux pathways between the surface and tubular membranes. The model reproduces frequency-dependent changes of action potential shape and intracellular ion concentrations and can replicate experimental data showing ion diffusion between the tubular lumen and external solution in guinea-pig myocytes. The model is stable at rest and during activity and returns to rested state after perturbation. Theoretical analysis and model simulations show that, due to tight electrical coupling, tubular and surface membranes behave as a homogeneous whole during voltage and current clamp (maximum difference 0.9 mV at peak tubular INa of -38 nA). However, during action potentials, restricted diffusion and ionic currents in TATS cause depletion of tubular Ca2+ and accumulation of tubular K+ (up to -19.8% and +3.4%, respectively, of bulk extracellular values, at 6 Hz). These changes, in turn, decrease ion fluxes across the TATS membrane and decrease sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ load. Thus, the TATS plays a potentially important role in modulating the function of guinea-pig ventricular myocyte in physiological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Pásek
- Institute of Thermomechanics, Czech Academy of Science-branch Brno, Czech Republic
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44
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Abstract
The transverse tubules of mammalian cardiac ventricular myocytes are invaginations of the surface membrane. Recent data have revealed that their structure and function are more complex than previously believed. Here, we review current knowledge about their role in cardiac function, focusing on Ca2+ signaling and changes observed in pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Brette
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United kingdom.
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45
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Ratajczak P, Oliviéro P, Marotte F, Kolar F, Ostadal B, Samuel JL. Expression and localization of caveolins during postnatal development in rat heart: implication of thyroid hormone. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2005; 99:244-51. [PMID: 15718400 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01292.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Caveolins modulate signaling pathways involved in cardiac development. Caveolin-1 exists in two isoforms: the beta-isoform derivates from an alternative translational start site that creates a protein truncated by 31 amino acids, mainly expressed in endothelial cells, whereas caveolin-3 is present in muscle cells. Our aim was to define caveolin distribution and expression during cardiac postnatal development using immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Caveolin-3 sarcolemmal labeling appeared as dotted lines from days 1 to 5 and as continuous lines after 14 days of age. Caveolin-3 expression, low at birth, increased (4-fold) to reach a maximum (P < 0.05) by day 5 and then decreased to stabilize in adults. Total caveolin-1 and its alpha-isoform were codistributed at birth in endothelial and smooth muscle cells; afterward, only the caveolin-1alpha labeling became limited to endothelium. Quantitative analysis indicated a similar temporal pattern of both total caveolin-1 and caveolin-1alpha expression, suggesting that caveolin-1alpha and -1beta are coregulated; the caveolin-1alpha levels increased fourfold by day 5 to reach a maximum by day 14 (P < 0.05). Tyrosine-14-caveolin-1 phosphorylation, low at birth, increased suddenly around day 14 (8-fold vs. day 1) and returning afterward to basal level. Because the T3/T4 level is maximal by day 14, caveolin-1 expression/phosphorylation profiles were analyzed in hypothyroid heart. The levels of caveolin-1alpha and consequently tyrosine-14-caveolin-1 phosphorylation, but not that of caveolin-3, decreased (50%) in hypothyroid 14-day-old rats. Our data demonstrate that, during postnatal cardiac growth, 1) caveolins are distinctly regulated, and 2) thyroid hormones are involved in caveolin-1alpha expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Ratajczak
- CRCIL U689, IFR139, Hôpital Lariboisière, 41 Boulevard de la Chapelle, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France
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46
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Abstract
The transverse tubules (t-tubules) of mammalian cardiac ventricular myocytes are invaginations of the surface membrane. Recent studies have suggested that the structure and function of the t-tubules are more complex than previously believed; in particular, many of the proteins involved in cellular Ca2+ cycling appear to be concentrated at the t-tubule. Thus, the t-tubules are an important determinant of cardiac cell function, especially as the main site of excitation-contraction coupling, ensuring spatially and temporally synchronous Ca2+ release throughout the cell. Changes in t-tubule structure and protein expression occur during development and in heart failure, so that changes in the t-tubules may contribute to the functional changes observed in these conditions. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of recent studies of t-tubule structure and function in cardiac myocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Brette
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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47
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Kirk MM, Izu LT, Chen-Izu Y, McCulle SL, Wier WG, Balke CW, Shorofsky SR. Role of the transverse-axial tubule system in generating calcium sparks and calcium transients in rat atrial myocytes. J Physiol 2003; 547:441-51. [PMID: 12562899 PMCID: PMC2342655 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2002.034355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2002] [Accepted: 11/27/2002] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiac atrial cells lack a regular system of transverse tubules like that in cardiac ventricular cells. Nevertheless, many atrial cells do possess an irregular internal transverse-axial tubular system (TATS). To investigate the possible role of the TATS in excitation-contraction coupling in atrial myocytes, we visualized the TATS (labelled with the fluorescent indicator, Di-8-ANEPPS) simultaneously with Ca2+ transients and/or Ca2+ sparks (fluo-4). In confocal transverse linescan images of field-stimulated cells, whole-cell Ca2+ transients had two morphologies: 'U-shaped' transients and irregular or 'W-shaped' transients with a varying number of points of origin of the Ca2+ transient. About half (54 %, n =289 cells, 13 animals) of the cells had a TATS. Cells with TATS had a larger mean diameter (13.2 +/- 2.8 microm) than cells without TATS (11.7 +/- 2.0 microm) and were more common in the left atrium (n = 206 cells; left atrium: 76 with TATS, 30 without TATS; right atrium: 42 with TATS, 58 without TATS). Simultaneous measurement of Ca2+ sparks and sarcolemmal structures showed that cells without TATS had U-shaped transients that started at the cell periphery, and cells with TATS had W-shaped transients that began simultaneously at the cell periphery and the TATS. Most (82 out of 102 from 31 cells) 'spontaneous' (non-depolarized) Ca2+ sparks occurred within 1 microm of a sarcolemmal structure (cell periphery or TATS), and 33 % occurred within 1 pixel (0.125 microm). We conclude that the presence of a sarcolemmal membrane either at the cell periphery or in the TATS in close apposition to the sarcoplasmic reticulum is required for the initiation of an evoked Ca2+ transient and for spontaneous Ca2+ sparks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malcolm M Kirk
- Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201-1541, USA
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Clark RB, Tremblay A, Melnyk P, Allen BG, Giles WR, Fiset C. T-tubule localization of the inward-rectifier K(+) channel in mouse ventricular myocytes: a role in K(+) accumulation. J Physiol 2001; 537:979-92. [PMID: 11744770 PMCID: PMC2278989 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.2001.00979.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
1. The properties of the slow inward 'tail currents' (I(tail)) that followed depolarizing steps in voltage-clamped, isolated mouse ventricular myocytes were examined. Depolarizing steps that produced large outward K(+) currents in these myocytes were followed by a slowly decaying inward I(tail) on repolarization to the holding potential. These currents were produced only by depolarizations: inwardly rectifying K(+) currents, I(K1), produced by steps to potentials negative to the holding potential, were not followed by I(tail). 2. For depolarizations of equal duration, the magnitude of I(tail) increased as the magnitude of outward current at the end of the depolarizing step increased. The apparent reversal potential of I(tail) was dependent upon the duration of the depolarizing step, and the reversal potential shifted to more depolarized potentials as the duration of the depolarization was increased. 3. Removal of external Na(+) and Ca(2+) had no significant effect on the magnitude or time course of I(tail). BaCl(2) (0.25 mM), which had no effect on the magnitude of outward currents, abolished I(tail) and I(K1) simultaneously. 4. Accordingly, I(tail) in mouse ventricular myocytes probably results from K(+) accumulation in a restricted extracellular space such as the transverse tubule system (t-tubules). The efflux of K(+) into the t-tubules during outward currents produced by depolarization shifts the K(+) Nernst potential (E(K)) from its 'resting' value (close to -80 mV) to more depolarized potentials. This suggests that I(tail) is produced by I(K1) in the t-tubules and is inward because of the transiently elevated K(+) concentration and depolarized value of E(K) in the t-tubules. 5. Additional evidence for the localization of I(K1) channels in the t-tubules was provided by confocal microscopy using a specific antibody against Kir2.1 in mouse ventricular myocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- R B Clark
- Department of Physiology, University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
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Franzini-Armstrong C, Protasi F, Ramesh V. Shape, size, and distribution of Ca(2+) release units and couplons in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Biophys J 1999; 77:1528-39. [PMID: 10465763 PMCID: PMC1300440 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3495(99)77000-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 442] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Excitation contraction (e-c) coupling in skeletal and cardiac muscles involves an interaction between specialized junctional domains of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and of exterior membranes (either surface membrane or transverse (T) tubules). This interaction occurs at special structures named calcium release units (CRUs). CRUs contain two proteins essential to e-c coupling: dihydropyridine receptors (DHPRs), L-type Ca(2+) channels of exterior membranes; and ryanodine receptors (RyRs), the Ca(2+) release channels of the SR. Special CRUs in cardiac muscle are constituted by SR domains bearing RyRs that are not associated with exterior membranes (the corbular and extended junctional SR or EjSR). Functional groupings of RyRs and DHPRs within calcium release units have been named couplons, and the term is also loosely applied to the EjSR of cardiac muscle. Knowledge of the structure, geometry, and disposition of couplons is essential to understand the mechanism of Ca(2+) release during muscle activation. This paper presents a compilation of quantitative data on couplons in a variety of skeletal and cardiac muscles, which is useful in modeling calcium release events, both macroscopic and microscopic ("sparks").
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Affiliation(s)
- C Franzini-Armstrong
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
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50
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Gallitelli MF, Schultz M, Isenberg G, Rudolf F. Twitch-potentiation increases calcium in peripheral more than in central mitochondria of guinea-pig ventricular myocytes. J Physiol 1999; 518 ( Pt 2):433-47. [PMID: 10381590 PMCID: PMC2269425 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1999.0433p.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
1. The mitochondrial total calcium content ([Ca]mt) was studied with electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) in isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes in order to answer the question of whether electrical stimulation increases [Ca]mt in subsarcolemmal and central mitochondria to a different extent. 2. In unstimulated myocytes subsarcolemmal [Ca]mt was (mean +/- s.e.m.) 535 +/- 229 micromol (kg dry weight (DW))-1 and central [Ca]mt was 513 +/- 162 micromol (kg DW)-1. These values do not differ and correspond to approximately 180 micromol calcium per litre of mitochondria or 180 microM. 3. Contractions were potentiated to an optimum by stimulation with trains of 12 paired stimuli. After potentiation with 12 paired action potentials, cells were shock-frozen 120 ms after the start of the first action potential of the 13th pair. Subsarcolemmal [Ca]mt was 1.3 +/- 0.4 mmol (kg DW)-1 (433 microM) and central [Ca]mt was 227 +/- 104 micromol (kg DW)-1 (76 microM). The difference was significant. 4. After potentiation with 12 paired voltage-clamp pulses, cells were shock-frozen 120 ms after the start of the first pulse of the 13th pair. Subsarcolemmal [Ca]mt was 2.2 +/- 1.0 mmol (kg DW)-1 (733 microM) and central [Ca]mt was 630 +/- 180 micromol (kg DW)-1 (210 microM). After removal of extracellular K+, five paired voltage-clamp pulses increased subsarcolemmal [Ca]mt to 2.1 +/- 0.8 mmol (kg DW)-1 (700 microM), which was significantly higher than the central [Ca]mt of 389 +/- 88 micromol (kg DW) -1 or 130 microM. 5. In unstimulated cells, [Na] and [K] in subsarcolemmal and central mitochondria were not different. In potentiated myocytes, subsarcolemmal [Na]mt was 236 +/- 20 mmol (kg DW)-1 or 79 mM, which is significantly higher than the central [Na]mt of 50 +/- 5 mmol (kg DW)-1 or 16 mM. 6. The differences in [Ca]mt and [Na]mt are attributed to subsarcolemmal cytosolic microdomains of elevated [Ca2+] and [Na+] generated during contractile potentiation by transmembrane Ca2+ and Na+ fluxes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Gallitelli
- Julius-Bernstein-Institute of Physiology, University of Halle, Magdeburger Strasse 6, D-06097 Halle/Saale, Germany.
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