Figure 4.

Effect of AEA on Ca²⁺ currents mediated by L-type Ca²⁺ channels in rat ventricular myocytes. (A) AEA inhibits L-type Ca²⁺ currents recorded using whole-cell voltage-clamp mode of patch-clamp technique. Current traces recorded before (control) and after 10 min application of 1 μM AEA. I_Ca were recorded during 300 ms voltage pulses to +10 mV from a holding potential of −50 mV. (B) Averages of the maximal currents of VGCCs presented as a function of time in the presence of vehicle and 1 μM AEA; n = 5 cells. Application time for the agents is shown as a horizontal bar. (C) Representative recordings of I_Ca in response to the depicted pulse protocol under control conditions and after application of 1μM AEA. (D) Normalized and averaged I–V relationships of control I_Ca and I_Ca in the presence of 10 μM AEA determined by applying a series of step depolarizing pulses from −70 to +70 mV in 10 mV increments for a duration of 300 ms. Data shown are means ± SEM; n = 5–7 cells.