title: Implication of the nucleus in excitation contraction coupling of heart cells.
abstract: In the present study, Fluo-3 Ca2+ measurement and confocal microscopy techniques were used in order to localize cytosolic []c and nuclear []n free Ca2+ distribution in resting and spontaneously contracting single heart cells from 10-day-old chick embryos. In resting single cells, the concentration of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm was lower than that in the nucleus. Increasing cytosolic free Ca2+ from 100-1600 nM gradually increased [Ca2+]n with a maximum capacity near 1200 nM. Results from Fura-2 microfluorometry and Fluo-3 confocal microscopy suggest a potential cross talk between the increase of cytosolic free Ca2+ and the uptake and release of Ca2+ by the nucleus during spontaneous contraction of single myocytes. Calcium waves in spontaneously contracting cells were found to spread from one cell to the next with the nucleus acting as a fluorescent beacon in which Ca2+ levels remained elevated for several milliseconds even after cytosolic Ca2+ had returned to near basal values. These results strongly suggest that the nucleus plays a negative and positive feedback role in controlling cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration during excitation-contraction coupling in heart cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bkaily
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gros-Louis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jaalouk
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pothier
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013997:Time Factors; D014966:Xanthenes
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D014966:Xanthenes; C059715:Fluo-3; D002118:Calcium