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A Terzic

Publications and source records attributed to A Terzic.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Protective action of 17beta-estradiol in cardiac cells: implications for hyperkalemic cardioplegia.

BACKGROUND: Hyperkalemic cardioplegic solutions effectively arrest the heart, but may also induce intracellular Ca2+ loading and cellular hypercontracture, which could contribute to ventricular dysfunction associated with global surgical ischemia. Recently, it has been proposed that 17beta-estradiol may possess protective properties in the ischemic myocardium. The purpose of the present study was to examine the action of 17beta-estradiol on cardiac cells exposed to hyperkalemic stress. METHODS: Single ventricular cardiomyocytes, a preparation devoid of vascular and neuronal elements, were isolated from guinea pig hearts, loaded with a Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent probe, and imaged by digital epifluorescent microscopy. The emitted fluorescence of the probe, a measure of intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and cell length were simultaneously recorded during hyperkalemic challenge, in the absence or presence of 17beta-estradiol. RESULTS: In control cardiomyocytes, the cytosolic concentration of Ca2+ was 138+/-11 nmol/L and cell length 93+/-11 microm. Exposure to high K+ (+16 mmol/L KCl) significantly increased cytosolic Ca2+ to 2,191+/-87 nmol/L (p < 0.001), and produced cell shortening (length at 39+/-5 microm; p < 0.001). 17beta-Estradiol (10 micromol/L) acutely prevented high K+ to induce either intracellular Ca2+ loading (144+/-13 nmol/L, p < 0.001) or hypercontracture (91+/-10 microm, p < 0.001). Tamoxifen (10 micromol/L), an antiestrogen, abolished the protective effect of 17beta-estradiol. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that 17beta-estradiol prevents hyperkalemia-induced Ca2+ loading and hypercontracture through a direct and tamoxifen-sensitive action in cardiomyocytes. This study raises the possibility that 17beta-estradiol should be considered as a cardioprotective adjunct toward a safer hyperkalemic cardioplegia.

Animals↗

The sulfonylurea controversy: more questions from the heart.

Myocardial ischemia and infarction are associated with substantially increased morbidity and mortality among patients with diabetes mellitus. Although many factors contribute to the increased morbidity and mortality, in patients with non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes mellitus, one contributor may be the use of sulfonylurea drugs, the most widely used oral hypoglycemic agents. Such a possibility, which first arose over a 25 years ago when it was observed that patients taking sulfonylurea drugs had increased cardiovascular mortality, has recently resurfaced after the discovery that sulfonylureas act by inhibiting adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium channels. In the pancreas, inhibition of ATP-sensitive potassium channels induces release of insulin; but in the heart, inhibition of these channels prevents ischemic preconditioning, an endogenous cardioprotective mechanism that protects the heart from lethal injury. This review outlines the current understanding of the molecular and cellular pharmacodynamics of sulfonylurea drugs and discusses the potential clinical consequences of inhibition of ATP-sensitive potassium channels in the heart of diabetic patients with cardiac disease in whom the use of sulfonylureas may be harmful.

Animals↗

Ligand-insensitive state of cardiac ATP-sensitive K+ channels. Basis for channel opening.

The mechanism by which ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels open in the presence of inhibitory concentrations of ATP remains unknown. Herein, using a four-state kinetic model, we found that the nucleotide diphosphate UDP directed cardiac KATP channels to operate within intraburst transitions. These transitions are not targeted by ATP, nor the structurally unrelated sulfonylurea glyburide, which inhibit channel opening by acting on interburst transitions. Therefore, the channel remained insensitive to ATP and glyburide in the presence of UDP. "Rundown" of channel activity decreased the efficacy with which UDP could direct and maintain the channel to operate within intraburst transitions. Under this condition, the channel was sensitive to inhibition by ATP and glyburide despite the presence of UDP. This behavior of the KATP channel could be accounted for by an allosteric model of ligand-channel interaction. Thus, the response of cardiac KATP channels towards inhibitory ligands is determined by the relative lifetime the channel spends in a ligand-sensitive versus -insensitive state. Interconversion between these two conformational states represents a novel basis for KATP channel opening in the presence of inhibitory concentrations of ATP in a cardiac cell.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Phosphotransfer reactions in the regulation of ATP-sensitive K+ channels.

ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channels are nucleotide-gated channels that couple the metabolic status of a cell with membrane excitability and regulate a number of cellular functions, including hormone secretion and cardioprotection. Although intracellular ATP is the endogenous inhibitor of K(ATP) channels and ADP serves as the channel activator, it is still a matter of debate whether changes in the intracellular concentrations of ATP, ADP, and/or in the ATP/ADP ratio could account for the transition from the ATP-liganded to the ADP-liganded channel state. Here, we overview evidence for the role of cellular phosphotransfer cascades in the regulation of K(ATP) channels. The microenvironment of the K(ATP) channel harbors several phosphotransfer enzymes, including adenylate, creatine, and pyruvate kinases, as well as other glycolytic enzymes that are able to transfer phosphoryls between ATP and ADP in the absence of major changes in cytosolic levels of adenine nucleotides. These phosphotransfer reactions are governed by the metabolic status of a cell, and their phosphotransfer rate closely correlates with K(ATP) channel activity. Adenylate kinase catalysis accelerates the transition from ATP to ADP, leading to K(ATP) channel opening, while phosphotransfers driven by creatine and pyruvate kinases promote ADP to ATP transition and channel closure. Thus, through delivery and removal of adenine nucleotides at the channel site, phosphotransfer reactions could regulate ATP/ADP balance in the immediate vicinity of the channel and thereby the probability of K(ATP) channel opening. In this way, phosphotransfer reactions could provide a transduction mechanism coupling cellular metabolic signals with K(ATP) channel-associated functions.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Evidence for direct physical association between a K+ channel (Kir6.2) and an ATP-binding cassette protein (SUR1) which affects cellular distribution and kinetic behavior of an ATP-sensitive K+ channel.

Structurally unique among ion channels, ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels are essential in coupling cellular metabolism with membrane excitability, and their activity can be reconstituted by coexpression of an inwardly rectifying K+ channel, Kir6.2, with an ATP-binding cassette protein, SUR1. To determine if constitutive channel subunits form a physical complex, we developed antibodies to specifically label and immunoprecipitate Kir6.2. From a mixture of Kir6.2 and SUR1 in vitro-translated proteins, and from COS cells transfected with both channel subunits, the Kir6.2-specific antibody coimmunoprecipitated 38- and 140-kDa proteins corresponding to Kir6.2 and SUR1, respectively. Since previous reports suggest that the carboxy-truncated Kir6.2 can form a channel independent of SUR, we deleted 114 nucleotides from the carboxy terminus of the Kir6.2 open reading frame (Kir6.2deltaC37). Kir6.2deltaC37 still coimmunoprecipitated with SUR1, suggesting that the distal carboxy terminus of Kir6.2 is unnecessary for subunit association. Confocal microscopic images of COS cells transfected with Kir6.2 or Kir6.2deltaC37 and labeled with fluorescent antibodies revealed unique honeycomb patterns unlike the diffuse immunostaining observed when cells were cotransfected with Kir6.2-SUR1 or Kir6.2deltaC37-SUR1. Membrane patches excised from COS cells cotransfected with Kir6.2-SUR1 or Kir6.2deltaC37-SUR1 exhibited single-channel activity characteristic of pancreatic KATP channels. Kir6.2deltaC37 alone formed functional channels with single-channel conductance and intraburst kinetic properties similar to those of Kir6.2-SUR1 or Kir6.2deltaC37-SUR1 but with reduced burst duration. This study provides direct evidence that an inwardly rectifying K+ channel and an ATP-binding cassette protein physically associate, which affects the cellular distribution and kinetic behavior of a KATP channel.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

Mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ channels modulate cardiac mitochondrial function.

Discovered in the cardiac sarcolemma, ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels have more recently also been identified within the inner mitochondrial membrane. Yet the consequences of mitochondrial KATP channel activation on mitochondrial function remain partially documented. Therefore, we isolated mitochondria from rat hearts and used K+ channel openers to examine the effect of mitochondrial KATP channel opening on mitochondrial membrane potential, respiration, ATP generation, Ca2+ transport, and matrix volume. From a mitochondrial membrane potential of -180 +/- 15 mV, K+ channel openers, pinacidil (100 microM), cromakalim (25 microM), and levcromakalim (20 microM), induced membrane depolarization by 10 +/- 7, 25 +/- 9, and 24 +/- 10 mV, respectively. This effect was abolished by removal of extramitochondrial K+ or application of a KATP channel blocker. K+ channel opener-induced membrane depolarization was associated with an increase in the rate of mitochondrial respiration and a decrease in the rate of mitochondrial ATP synthesis. Furthermore, treatment with a K+ channel opener released Ca2+ from mitochondria preloaded with Ca2+, an effect also dependent on extramitochondrial K+ concentration and sensitive to KATP channel blockade. In addition, K+ channel openers, cromakalim and pinacidil, increased matrix volume and released mitochondrial proteins, cytochrome c and adenylate kinase. Thus, in isolated cardiac mitochondria, KATP channel openers depolarized the membrane, accelerated respiration, slowed ATP production, released accumulated Ca2+, produced swelling, and stimulated efflux of intermembrane proteins. These observations provide direct evidence for a role of mitochondrial KATP channels in regulating functions vital for the cardiac mitochondria.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Acquired resistance of a mammalian cell line to hypoxia-reoxygenation through cotransfection of Kir6.2 and SUR1 clones.

Reoxygenation after transient hypoxia is a common clinical condition that often causes greater tissue damage than persistent hypoxia itself. This warrants the development of a means to protect cells against hypoxia-reoxygenation injury. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels have been proposed to play an essential role in the mechanisms of endogenous cellular protection. Thus far, however, KATP channel proteins have not been exploited to generate an injury-resistant cellular phenotype by delivering KATP channel genes into injury-prone cells. A first step in this direction is the evaluation of the outcome of transferring genes encoding KATP channels into a KATP channel-deficient cell type exposed to metabolic stress. Untransfected COS-7 monkey kidney cells, which natively lack KATP channels, were found to be vulnerable to hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, which induced cytosolic Ca2+ loading, as measured by digital epifluorescent imaging. COS-7 cells cotransfected with KATP channel genes, Kir6.2 and SUR1, gained resistance to hypoxia-reoxygenation. This acquired resistance was abolished by glyburide, the KATP channel antagonist. We have previously shown that Kir6.2 and SUR1 physically associate to form a functional KATP channel, not reconstituted by either of the subunits alone. Transfection with individual channel subunits, Kir6.2 or SUR1, failed to produce resistance to hypoxia-reoxygenation induced Ca2+ loading. This is a first demonstration that transfer of KATP channel subunits can generate an injury-resistant cellular phenotype. The findings from this study may, thus, provide a framework for future therapeutic strategies based on gene delivery of KATP channel subunits in cells and tissues vulnerable to hypoxia-reoxygenation insults.

Animals↗

Cardiac hypertrophy determines digitalis action on intracellular Ca2+ in human myocardium.

Ventricular hypertrophy alters transporters associated with digitalis action, but the outcome of digitalis treatment on intracellular cations in the hypertrophied human myocardium remains unknown. Using double-barreled Ca2+-selective microelectrodes, we simultaneously measured Ca2+ activity and membrane potential in myocardial samples from patients without and with ventricular hypertrophy, prior to and following exposure to strophanthidin, a prototype digitalis. We found that ventricular hypertrophy is associated with greater strophanthidin-induced increase in diastolic Ca2+ levels compared to that observed in the absence of hypertrophy. Furthermore, in hypertrophied myocardium the magnitude of the increase in Ca2+ induced by strophanthidin was inversely related to increase in myocardial mass. Thus, the extent of ventricular hypertrophy determines digitalis action on intracellular Ca2+ within the human myocardium.

Adult↗

Burst kinetics of co-expressed Kir6.2/SUR1 clones: comparison of recombinant with native ATP-sensitive K+ channel behavior.

Co-expression of clones encoding Kir6.2, a K+ inward rectifier, and SUR1, a sulfonylurea receptor, reconstitutes elementary features of ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels. However, the precise kinetic properties of Kir6.2/SUR1 clones remain unknown. Herein, intraburst kinetics of Kir6.2/SUR1 channel activity, heterologously co-expressed in COS cells, displayed mean closed times from 0.7 +/- 0.1 to 0.4 +/- 0.03 msec, and from 0.4 +/- 0.1 to 2.0 +/- 0.2 msec, and mean open times from 1.9 +/- 0.4 to 4.5 +/- 0.8 msec, and from 12.1 +/- 2.4 to 5.0 +/- 0.2 msec between -100 and -20 mV, and +20 to +80 mV, respectively. Burst duration for Kir6.2/SUR1 activity was 17. 9 +/- 1.8 msec with 5.6 +/- 1.5 closings per burst. Burst kinetics of the Kir6.2/SUR1 activity could be fitted by a four-state kinetic model defining transitions between one open and three closed states with forward and backward rate constants of 1905 +/- 77 and 322 +/- 27 sec-1 for intraburst, 61.8 +/- 6.6 and 23.9 +/- 5.8 sec-1 for interburst, 12.4 +/- 6.0 and 13.6 +/- 2.9 sec-1 for intercluster events, respectively. Intraburst kinetic properties of Kir6.2/SUR1 clones were essentially indistinguishable from pancreatic or cardiac KATP channel phenotypes, indicating that intraburst kinetics per se were insufficient to classify recombinant Kir6.2/SUR1 amongst native KATP channels. Yet, burst kinetic behavior of Kir6.2/SUR1 although similar to pancreatic, was different from that of cardiac KATP channels. Thus, expression of Kir6.2/SUR1 proteins away from the pancreatic micro-environment, confers the burst kinetic identity of pancreatic, but not cardiac KATP channels. This study reports the kinetic properties of Kir6.2/SUR1 clones which could serve in the further characterization of novel KATP channel clones.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

Intracellular diadenosine polyphosphates: a novel family of inhibitory ligands of the ATP-sensitive K+ channel.

Intracellular diadenosine polyphosphates (Ap(n)A) are signal molecules that alert the cell under stress conditions. Herein, we review evidence that has recently identified a novel target for Ap(n)A, namely the ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channel. These channels are abundant in pancreatic beta-cells and cardiac myocytes where they are essential in coupling the cellular metabolic state with membrane excitability. The potency and efficacy of Ap(n)A to inhibit K(ATP) channel activity were first described in cardiac K(ATP) channels, and appear similar to those of intracellular ATP, the primary ligand of K(ATP) channels. Also, the inhibitory ligand action of Ap(n)A is dependent upon the operative condition of K(ATP) channels and the presence of nucleotide diphosphates. In addition to a direct antagonism of channel opening, an indirect effect of Ap(n)A on K(ATP) channel activity has been associated with inhibition of adenylate kinase, a catalytic system believed essential for the regulation of channel opening. At present, the precise role for Ap(n)A-induced K(ATP) channel inhibition remains to be established. Yet, it is known that, under glucose challenge of pancreatic beta-cells, intracellular concentrations of Ap(n)A do increase to micromolar levels necessary to block K(ATP) channels, leading to insulin secretion. Thus, the Ap(n)A-mediated K(ATP) channel gating represents a previously unrecognized pathway of channel regulation.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Opening of cardiac sarcolemmal KATP channels by dinitrophenol separate from metabolic inhibition.

Opening of ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels by the uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation, 2,4 dinitrophenol (DNP), has been assumed to be secondary to metabolic inhibition and reduced intracellular ATP levels. Herein, we present data which show that DNP (200 microM) can induce opening of cardiac KATP channels, under whole-cell and inside-out conditions, despite millimolar concentrations of ATP (1-2. 5 mm). DNP-induced currents had a single channel conductance (71 pS), inward rectification, reversal potential, and intraburst kinetic properties (open time constant, tauopen: 4.8 msec; fast closed time constant, tauclosed(f): 0.33 msec) characteristic of KATP channels suggesting that DNP did not affect the pore region of the channel, but may have altered the functional coupling of the ATP-dependent channel gating. A DNP analogue, with the pH-titrable hydroxyl replaced by a methyl group, could not open KATP channels. The pH-dependence of the effect of DNP on channel opening under whole-cell, cell-attached, and inside-out conditions suggested that transfer of protonated DNP across the sarcolemma is essential for activation of KATP channels in the presence of ATP. We conclude that the use of DNP for metabolic stress-induced KATP channel opening should be reevaluated.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Interruption of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin-induced guanylyl cyclase signaling and associated chloride current in human intestinal cells by 2-chloroadenosine.

Diarrhea induced by Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) is mediated by a receptor guanylyl cyclase cascade. The present study establishes that an intracellular nucleotide-dependent pathway disrupts toxin-induced cyclic GMP (cGMP) production and the associated chloride (Cl-) flux that underlie intestinal secretion. Incubation of Caco 2 human intestinal epithelial cells with the nucleoside analog 2-chloroadenosine (2ClAdo) resulted in a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of toxin-induced cGMP production. Inhibition of cGMP production correlated with the metabolic conversion of 2ClAdo to 2-chloroadenosine triphosphate. The effect of 2ClAdo did not reflect activation of adenosine receptors, inhibition of adenosine deaminase, or modification of the binding or distribution of STa receptors. Guanylyl cyclase activity in membranes prepared from 2ClAdo-treated cells was inhibited, in contrast to membranes from cells not exposed to 2ClAdo, demonstrating that inhibition of guanylyl cyclase C (GCC) was mediated by a noncompetitive mechanism. Treatment of Caco 2 cells with 2ClAdo also prevented STa-induced Cl- current. Application of 8-bromo-cGMP, the cell-permeant analog of cGMP, to 2ClAdo-treated cells reconstituted the Cl- current, demonstrating that inhibition of Cl- flux reflected selective disruption of ligand stimulation of GCC rather than the chloride channel itself. Thus, the components required for adenine nucleotide inhibition of GCC signaling are present in intact mammalian cells, establishing the utility of this pathway to elucidate the mechanisms regulating ST-dependent guanylyl cyclase signaling and intestinal fluid homeostasis. In addition, these data suggest that the adenine nucleotide inhibitory pathway may be a novel target to develop antisecretory therapy for enterotoxigenic diarrhea.

2-Chloroadenosine↗

Use of the MTT assay in adult ventricular cardiomyocytes to assess viability: effects of adenosine and potassium on cellular survival.

This study used the colorimetric MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide)] assay to assess cell viability in isolated quiescent adult guinea-pig ventricular myocytes exposed to different insults or cardioprotective conditions, including adenosine and hyperkalemic-cardioplegia. Optical density (OD), reflecting intracellular reduction of MTT into formazan pigment formation, was a function of the number of viable cells (coefficient of linear correlation approximately 0.99), with MTT reduction preferentially carried out by rod-shaped cardiomyocytes (absorbance at 1.009 +/- 0.013 and 0.006 +/- 0.001 OD units for populations containing 50 and 0% of rod-shaped cells). Following prolonged mechanical (pressure of 1 lb/min for 40 min), chemical (10% DMSO or ethanol) or hypoxic injury (N2-saturated solution), the MTT reductase activity reflected reduction in the number of viable cells by 87%, >50%, and 77%, respectively. In cardiomyocytes exposed to a 40 min hypoxia (with CO2), the MTT reductase activity was 0.056 +/- 0.009 in the absence, and 0.074 +/- 0.008 OD units in the presence of adenosine (1 mM), i.e. adenosine reduced the number of non-viable cells. Also, the MTT assay revealed that the effect of potassium-containing solutions (16 and 32 mM K+) on cellular viability may depend on the extent of insult imposed on cardiomyocytes; i.e. a approximately 24% and 49% increase under mild hypoxia (0.03% CO2), or an 18% decrease in cell viability under severe hypoxia (N2) in pre-injured cells. Thus, the MTT assay used to assess viability of isolated adult cardiomyocytes revealed a direct cytoprotective effect of adenosine and hyperkalemic-cardioplegia by promoting cell survival under certain conditions in vitro.

Adenosine↗

Adenosine prevents hyperkalemia-induced calcium loading in cardiac cells: relevance for cardioplegia.

BACKGROUND: Hyperkalemic cardioplegic solutions effectively arrest the heart but also induce membrane depolarization, which could lead to intracellular Ca2+ loading and contribute to ventricular dysfunction associated with cardiac operations. Adenosine, which possesses cardioprotective properties, has been proposed as an adjunct to conventional cardioplegic solutions. However, it is not known whether adenosine supplementation enables cardiac cells to withstand hyperkalemia-induced Ca2+ loading. METHODS: Single ventricular cardiomyocytes were isolated from guinea pig hearts, loaded with a Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorescent probe, and imaged by digital epifluorescent microscopy. The emitted fluorescence of the probe, a measure of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration, was recorded from single myocytes during hyperkalemic challenges in the absence and the presence of adenosine to assess the protective effectiveness of this agent. RESULTS: Hyperkalemic solutions induced intracellular Ca2+ loading (estimated intracellular Ca2+ concentration, 88 +/- 5 nmol/L before and 1,825 +/- 112 nmol/L after addition of 16 mmol/L KCl). Adenosine (1 mmol/L) prevented K(+)-induced Ca2+ loading (intracellular Ca2+ concentration, 86 +/- 6 nmol/L before and 85 +/- 8 nmol/L after exposure to K+). Whereas glyburide (3 mumol/L), an antagonist of adenosine triphosphate-sensitive K+ channels, had no effect, staurosporine (200 nmol/L) and chelerythrine (5 mumol/L), two inhibitors of protein kinase C, did abolish the action of adenosine. CONCLUSIONS: Adenosine prevents hyperkalemia-induced Ca2+ loading in cardiomyocytes. This effect is due to a direct action on ventricular cells, as the preparation employed was free from atrial, neuronal, and vascular elements, and appears to be mediated through a protein kinase C-dependent mechanism. The property of adenosine to prevent hyperkalemia-induced Ca2+ loading may contribute to the cytoprotective efficacy of this agent as an adjunct to conventional hyperkalemic cardioplegic solutions.

Adenosine↗

Reversal of the ATP-liganded state of ATP-sensitive K+ channels by adenylate kinase activity.

The mechanism that promotes transition from the ATP- to the ADP-liganded state of ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels and consequent channel opening in a cytosolic environment of high ATP concentration has yet to be understood. A mechanism examined here that could reverse the ATP-inhibited state is based on the action of adenylate kinase to catalyze phosphoryl transfer between ATP and AMP, resulting in transformation of ATP into ADP. In membrane patches excised from guinea pig cardiomyocytes, AMP alone did not affect channel behavior but increased the open probability of ATP-inhibited KATP channels. This required MgCl2 and a hydrolyzable form of ATP and was prevented by P1,P5-di-adenosine-5'-pentaphosphate, an inhibitor of adenylate kinase. The single channel amplitude and kinetics of channel openings induced by the ADP-generating substrates of adenylate kinase, AMP and MgATP, were indistinguishable from the biophysical properties of the KATP channel exhibited after addition of MgADP. In whole cell voltage-clamped cardiomyocytes, introduction of exogenous adenylate kinase along with millimolar MgATP and AMP induced a K+ current that was suppressed by a sulfonylurea blocker of KATP channels. Enriched sarcolemmal membrane preparations were found to possess ATP.AMP phosphotransferase activity with properties attributable to an extramitochondrial isoform of adenylate kinase. These results indicate that adenylate kinase is a naturally occurring component of sarcolemmal membranes that could provide dynamic governance of KATP channel opening through its phosphoryl transfer catalytic action in the microenvironment of the channel.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Dual effect of glyburide, an antagonist of KATP channels, on metabolic inhibition-induced Ca2+ loading in cardiomyocytes.

Whether sulfonylurea therapy, which blocks ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels, impedes endogenous cardioprotective mechanisms during cellular metabolic impairment remains controversial. Therefore, the effect of glyburide, a prototype sulphonylurea drug, on cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and KATP channel activity, was measured in 2-4-dinitrophenol-treated guinea-pig cardiomyocytes, using epifluorescent digital-imaging and cell-attached patch-clamp electrophysiology. Dinitrophenol (200 microM), which uncouples oxidative phosphorylation, induced opening of KATP channels and Ca2+ loading. Glyburide (6 microM) which reduced the opening of KATP channels, aggravated Ca2+ loading only when applied to dinitrophenol-pretreated myocytes but not when applied with dinitrophenol treatment. We conclude that a blocker of KATP channels has differential effects upon dinitrophenol-induced intracellular Ca2+ loading, which appear to depend upon the stage of metabolic insult.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗

Actin microfilament disrupters enhance K(ATP) channel opening in patches from guinea-pig cardiomyocytes.

1. To determine whether actin filament networks are associated with the regulation of ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channel activity, single channel currents were measured in the inside-out configuration, and cytoskeletal disrupters applied to the internal side of patches excised from guinea-pig ventricular myocytes. 2. Treatment of patches with DNase I (10-200 micrograms ml(-1)), which forms complexes with G-actin and prevents actin filament formation, antagonized the ATP-induced inhibition of K(ATP) channels. 3. In the absence of ATP, DNase I did not increase K(ATP) channel activity. 4. When denatured by boiling or co-incubated with purified actin subunits (200 mu g ml(-1)), DNase I(100 mu g ml(-1)) did not antagonize the ATP-induced inhibition of K(ATP) channels. 5. The DNase I-induced decrease in the sensitivity of K(ATP) channels towards ATP-induced inhibition was partially restored by addition of purified actin subunits (200 micrograms ml(-1)). 6. Cytochalasin B (10 microM), another actin filament disrupter, but neither taxol nor nocodazole (30-100 microM), two antimicrotubule agents, enhanced K(ATP) channel activity in the presence of ATP. 7. Hence, actin filament disrupters can attenuate the ATP-dependent inhibitory gating of K(ATP) channels. This suggests that subsarcolemmal actin filament networks may be associated with the regulation of cardiac K(ATP) channels.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

Cytosolic Ca2+ domain-dependent protective action of adenosine in cardiomyocytes.

Recently, in beating cardiac cells heterogeneous spatiotemporal patterns in cytosolic Ca2+ distribution have been visualized, and associated with cell contraction. In non-beating cardiomyocytes, spatial heterogeneity of intracellular Ca2+ distribution has also been observed, yet its functional implication in resting cardiac cells is not known. Herein, distinct domains of lower versus higher concentrations of cytosolic Ca2+ (0.17 and 0.37 microM, respectively) were observed using epifluorescent digital imaging in single, non-beating, fluo-3-loaded cardiomyocytes. Extracellular K+ (16 mM) induced a uniform increase of cytosolic Ca2+, despite the initial presence of distinct domains of cytosolic Ca2+ (from 0.17 to 1.82 microM in domains with lower, and from 0.37 to 2.03 microM in domains with higher Ca2+ concentration, respectively). In contrast, adenosine (1 mM) prevented exracellular K+ to induce cytosolic Ca2+ loading selectively within domains with lower (from 0.17 to 0.18 microM), but not in domains with higher (from 0.37 to 1.4 microM) basal Ca2+ concentration. Thus, the response of a cardiomyocyte to the protective action of adenosine is heterogeneous within a resting single cell. The domain-distinct cytoprotective action of adenosine appears to be set by the basal Ca2+ concentration within a cytosolic domain.

Adenosine↗