Key result
Thapsigargin yields ~71% higher NCX-mediated Ca2+ flux estimates than caffeine in rat ventricular myocytes.
Why the study?
Caffeine application to inhibit sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase for estimating Na+-Ca2+ exchanger contribution to ventricular relaxation may cause membrane potential changes, compromising reliability.
Population
20 isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes
Comparison
Electrically evoked twitch after SR-A inhibition with thapsigargin vs caffeine application
Design
Preclinical experimental study
Authors
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Thapsigargin may offer an alternative NCX estimation method in isolated rat myocytes; leaves open validation in intact preparations.
Absolute Event Rate: 12% vs 7%
Thapsigargin with electrically evoked twitch is proposed as a reliable alternative to caffeine for estimating NCX contribution to ventricular myocyte relaxation.
Bassani et al. (2003) studied this question. Thapsigargin (TG-TW) vs. Caffeine application (Cf-NT) was evaluated on NCX-mediated integrated Ca2+ flux. In isolated rat ventricular myocytes, NCX-mediated integrated Ca2+ flux was significantly higher when estimated using thapsigargin (12 M) compared to caffeine application (7 M).
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