Effects of spontaneous myocardial oscillation on cardiac function: direct observation of the epicardial fluorescence image in calcium overloaded isolated hamster hearts

Abstract

Calcium overload induces spontaneous cyclic calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, leading to spontaneous myocardial oscillation. This study was designed to elucidate (1) the effect of the myocardial oscillation on changes in ventricular performance and (2) how these changes relate to the strength of the diastolic spontaneous myocardial oscillation and the spatial extent--that is, in how extensive an area of the epicardium it occurred.the isovolumic pressure of the left ventricle and epicardial fura 2 fluorescence in isolated hamster hearts were simultaneously observed at various calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]o). Endothelial cells and pericytes of the capillaries, preferentially stained by fura 2, were passively oscillated by surrounding myocytes during diastole at concentrations greater than 1 mmol/l of [Ca2+]o. The strength of the myocardial oscillation was evaluated as the root mean square (RMS) of fluctuation in the distance between endothelial cells or pericytes. The spatial extent of the myocardial oscillation was estimated as the appearance rate, defined as the ratio of the number of microscopic fields showing the capillary oscillation, to the total number of examined fields.Up to 4 mmol/l of [Ca2+]o, developed pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise significantly increased in a manner dependent on [Ca2+]o, but a further increase in [Ca2+]o significantly decreased these parameters. In the presence of ryanodine (2.5 mumol/l), developed pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise monotonously increased in a manner dependent on [Ca2+]o. Although the oscillation was never observed at 1 mmol/l of [Ca2+]o (appearance rate = 0%), it occurred in some of the microscopic fields at 2 and 4 mmol/l (appearance rate = 19.5 and 56.3%, respectively) and occurred in all microscopic fields at concentrations greater than 4 mmol/l (appearance rate = 100%). Ryanodine, which completely eliminated the capillary oscillation, inhibited the increase of both RMS and end-diastolic pressure by an increase in [Ca2+]o.Our data suggest that the myocardial oscillation impairs systolic and diastolic function in intact ventricle, and that these effects are associated with the spatial extent and the strength of the myocardial oscillation.