FIGURE 1.

Klotho deficiency impairs systolic Ca²⁺ release and induces contractile dysfunction. (A) Appearance of 7‐week‐old wild‐type (+/+) mouse and its Klotho‐hypomorphic (kl/kl) littermate. (B) Line‐scan images and fluorescence profiles of cardiomyocytes under 2‐Hz field stimulation. (C and D) Mean values of peak (F/F ₀) (C) and time of decay (Tau) (D) of electrically evoked Ca²⁺ transients in +/+ (n = 50 cells/N = 5 mice) and kl/kl samples(n = 49 cells/N = 5 mice). (E) Cell shortening profiles of cardiomyocytes. (F) Percentage of cell contraction of +/+ (n = 50 cells/N = 5 mice) and kl/kl (n = 49 cells/N = 5 mice). Data are shown as mean ± SEM. ^* P < 0.05, significantly different from +/+ mice