Effect of ablation of phospholamban on dynamics of cardiac myocyte contraction and intracellular calcium under basal conditions and during [beta]-adreneric stimulation. Wolska, Beata M., Miroslav O. Stojanovic, Weisheng Luo, Evangelia G. Kranias, and R. John Solaro. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60612 and Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267
APStracts 3:0056C, 1996.
We compared mechanical activity and Ca2+ transients of ventricular myocytes isolated from wild-type and phospholamban (PLB)-deficient mouse hearts in control conditions and during [beta]-adrenergic stimulation. Compared to wild-type controls, cells isolated from PLB -deficient mouse hearts showed: i) a 2-fold increase in extent of cell shortening, ii) a 3-fold increase in maximal shortening velocity, and iii) a 3.4-fold increase in maximal relengthening velocity. PLB -deficient myocytes also demonstrated significant increases in the peak amplitude of the fura-2 fluorescence ratio and the rates of rising and falling phases of the Ca2+ transient. The fura-2 diastolic ratios were similar in both groups, suggesting no change in Cai2+ during diastole. In PLB-deficient myocytes, 0.05 [mu]M isoproterenol induced an increase in the twitch amplitude by 152 +/- 11 % (n=6) compared to 290 +/- 31 % (n=6) in wild-type cells. Maximal shortening velocity was increased by 183 +/- 10 % (n=6) in PLB-deficient myocytes, compared to 398 +/- 62 % (n=6) in wild-type cells. The isoproterenol induced increase in maximum relengthening velocity was increased by 168 +/- 8 % (n=6) in PLB-deficient cells compared to 445 +/- 71 % (n=6) in wild-type myocytes. In both groups these changes in contractile parameters were accompanied by changes in the Ca2+ transient. Our results indicate that phosphorylation of sites other than PLB may play an important role in regulation of contraction/relaxation dynamics of heart cells responding to [beta] -adrenergic stimulation.

Received 20 October 1995; accepted in final form 5 February 1996.
APS Manuscript Number C639-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Cell Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 14 February 96