Why the study?
Quail cardiomyocytes have a high Ca2+ efflux capacity, but Ca2+ decreases measured with Fura-2 were slower than expected from cell relaxation behavior.
The study confirms that quail cardiomyocytes have a higher calcium removal capacity than rat cardiomyocytes, utilizing the faster-responding Fura-4F indicator.
Quail-rat Ca2+ handling differences warrant caution extrapolating to humans; extends comparative models but leaves open translational relevance.
High cardiac pump function in mammals and birds requires the elaborate control of calcium (Ca2+) concentrations in cardiomyocytes (CMs). Previously, we reported that avian quail CMs have a higher capacity for Ca2+ efflux than mammalian rats, but the decrease in Ca2+ concentration estimated using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fura-2 was slower than that expected from the observation of cell relaxation behavior. In this study, we examined changes in Ca2+ concentration in quail and rat CMs using Fura-4F, which allows for more rapid tracking of changes in Ca2+ concentrations than Fura-2. The results demonstrated that, compared to Fura-2, Fura-4F showed a narrower dynamic range but a more rapid response to changes in Ca2+ concentration. Furthermore, Fura-4F showed that the Ca2+ concentration in quail CMs decreased significantly faster than that in rat CMs after electrical stimulation. These results are qualitatively consistent with our previous study using Fura-2 and therefore reinforce the conclusion that the Ca2+ removal capacity of quail CMs is higher than that of rat CMs.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Ogura et al. (2023) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: