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. 1960 Jul 1;43(6):1193–1206. doi: 10.1085/jgp.43.6.1193

Increase of Labeled Calcium Uptake in Heart Muscle during Potassium Lack Contracture

Lyell J Thomas Jr 1
PMCID: PMC2195060  PMID: 13838003

Abstract

Analyses of ashed muscle tissue show that the uptake of Ca45 by isolated frog heart ventricles from normal Ringer's solution containing 1 mM Ca reaches a maximum value in about 30 minutes of perfusion which is not exceeded after 3 hours of perfusion. The average amount of this labeled Ca taken up from normal Ringer's is 0.7 mM/kg. wet weight of muscle. In contrast to this, the amount of labeled Ca taken up by ventricles perfused with K-free Ringer's increases at a linear rate over a 60 minute period to twice the normal value coinciding with the gradual development of contracture and coinciding with a cellular K loss and Na gain of about 30 mM/kg. How much of the extra labeled Ca taken up from K-free Ringer's represents a net gain in cellular Ca content is not known. However, evidence has been obtained that some of this labeled Ca enters an intracellular compartment. EDTA in K-free Ringer's solution causes relaxation of ventricles in contracture and also renders the muscle fibers indiscriminately permeable. This indicates that a combination of Ca with sensitive intracellular sites is probably the cause of the K lack contracture.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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