title: Microscopic heat pulses induce contraction of cardiomyocytes without calcium transients.
abstract: It was recently demonstrated that laser irradiation can control the beating of cardiomyocytes and hearts, however, the precise mechanism remains to be clarified. Among the effects induced by laser irradiation on biological tissues, temperature change is one possible effect which can alter physiological functions. Therefore, we investigated the mechanism by which heat pulses, produced by infra-red laser light under an optical microscope, induce contractions of cardiomyocytes. Here we show that microscopic heat pulses induce contraction of rat adult cardiomyocytes. The temperature increase, ΔT, required for inducing contraction of cardiomyocytes was dependent upon the ambient temperature; that is, ΔT at physiological temperature was lower than that at room temperature. Ca(2+) transients, which are usually coupled to contraction, were not detected. We confirmed that the contractions of skinned cardiomyocytes were induced by the heat pulses even in free Ca(2+) solution. This heat pulse-induced Ca(2+)-decoupled contraction technique has the potential to stimulate heart and skeletal muscles in a manner different from the conventional electrical stimulations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: Akari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Seine A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shintani
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serizawa
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Madoka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Shin'ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishiwata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006358:Hot Temperature; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium