© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
Editorials |
Calcium Waves
Physiological Relevance in Cardiac Function
From the Department of Pharmacology (P.A.B.), Columbia University, New York, NY; and the Departments of Medicine, Physiology, and Biophysics (B.D.S., H.E.D.J.t.K.), University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Correspondence to Dr Penelope A. Boyden, Department of Pharmacology, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, 630 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032.
Key Words: Ca2+ waves • Cai transients • arrhythmias
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Introduction |
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Modulation of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) constitutes a fundamental mechanism of signal transduction in excitable cells. Generally, this phenomenon is triggered by an excitation process of the external membrane and subsequently leads to activation of functional proteins specific to the cell type in which the increase of [Ca2+]i has occurred. However, in addition to the normal excitation-activation coupling providing Ca2+ influx, fluctuations in [Ca2+]i can occur spontaneously, without external electrical or hormonal stimulation. A spontaneous increase in Ca2+concentration can occur at a single focus or multiple foci within a cell and can lead to propagation of an elevation of [Ca2+]i throughout the cytosol in a wave-like pattern. Although these Ca2+ waves have been observed widely in both excitable and inexcitable cells,1 their role in the cardiac cell function remains unclear.
In the last 2 decades, a substantial body of literature documenting
Ca2+ waves in cardiac tissues has been created.
Studies on waves in cardiac cells provided fundamental information
about the role of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in
excitation-contraction coupling.2 Local contractions were
reported in cells with disrupted sarcolemma,2 clearly
demonstrating that Ca2+ waves were not related to
depolarization of the membrane. Interest in cardiac
Ca2+ waves was further stimulated by a study that
suggested a role for them in the generation of abnormal, nondriven
electrical activity of the heart.3 Initially,
Ca2+ waves in cardiac muscle were assessed
indirectly from observations of local sarcomere contraction and waves
of propagating sarcomere shortening,4 5 and direct
evidence
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