Time-dependent increase in Ca2+ influx in rabbit abdominal aorta: role of Na-Ca exchange

Exposure of the rabbit abdominal aorta to the combination of high K+ and norepinephrine resulted in a time-dependent increase in the rate of 45Ca influx and 45Ca and 22Na content over that observed after stimulation with either K+ or norepinephrine alone. The increase in 45Ca influx, but not the increase in 22Na content, was extracellular Ca2+ (Cao2+) dependent. This time-dependent increase in 45Ca influx was prevented by incubating the tissue in Na(+)-free medium. Nifedipine inhibited both the initial depolarization-induced 45Ca influx and time-dependent increase in 45Ca influx and 22Na content. The effect of nifedipine on time-dependent fluxes was prevented by ouabain. Phorbol dibutyrate mimicked the effects of norepinephrine on 22Na retention and 45Ca fluxes. The effects of phorbol dibutyrate and norepinephrine were not additive. It is concluded that, in rabbit abdominal aorta, norepinephrine plus K+ causes 22Na retention (possibly through inhibition of the sodium pump) and a Cao(2+)- and intracellular Na+ (Nai+)-dependent increase in 45Ca influx. This latter effect is possibly the result of increased Nai(+)-Cao2+ exchange.

Effect of phorbol esters on contractile state and calcium flux in cultured chick heart cells

Phorbol esters are potent tumor promoters that have been widely used in studies of transmembrane signaling because of their ability to activate protein kinase C. To study the effect of phorbol esters (and indirectly, the role of protein kinase C) on cardiac muscle contractility, we examined the effects of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) on contractile state, transmembrane 45Ca fluxes, and cytosolic free Ca concentration ([Ca]i) using spontaneously contracting cultured chick ventricular cells. PMA produced a concentration- and time-dependent decrease in the amplitude of cell motion [half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 130 nM] with maximal effect (54 +/- 5% of control) observed at 1 microM. PMA (1 microM) reduced 45Ca uptake rate by 16 +/- 4% (P less than 0.05) and the size of the rapidly exchangeable Ca pool by 11 +/- 2% (P less than 0.05) but did not alter the 45Ca efflux rate. In fura-2-loaded cells, PMA produced a decrease in [Ca]i from 96 +/- 7 to 72 +/- 5 nM (mean +/- SE; P less than 0.05) with a time course similar to that of alteration in contractile amplitude. PMA had no effect on cellular Na content. Phorbol didecanoate (1 microM), a phorbol diester that does not activate protein kinase C, produced no significant changes in contractile amplitude, 45Ca fluxes, or [Ca]i. These results indicate that PMA influences transsarcolemmal Ca uptake, and thus the excitation-contraction process, and suggest that protein kinase C may modulate myocardial Ca homeostasis and contractile state.