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Postmyocardial infarction (MI) rat myocytes demonstrated depressed Na+/Ca2+exchange (NCX1) activity, altered contractility, and intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) transients. We investigated whether NCX1 downregulation in normal myocytes resulted in contractility changes observed in MI myocytes. Myocytes infected with adenovirus expressing antisense (AS) oligonucleotides to NCX1 had 30% less NCX1 at 3 days and 66% less NCX1 at 6 days. The half-time of relaxation from caffeine-induced contracture was twice as long in ASNCX1 myocytes. Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase abundance, SR Ca2+uptake, resting membrane potential, action potential amplitude and duration, L-type Ca2+ current density and cell size were not affected by ASNCX1 treatment. At extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o) of 5 mM, ASNCX1 myocytes had significantly lower contraction and [Ca2+]i transient amplitudes and SR Ca2+ contents than control myocytes. At 0.6 mM [Ca2+]o, contraction and [Ca2+]i transient amplitudes and SR Ca2+ contents were significantly higher in ASNCX1 myocytes. At 1.8 mM [Ca2+]o, contraction and [Ca2+]i transient amplitudes were not different between control and ASNCX1 myocytes. This pattern of contractile and [Ca2+]i transient abnormalities in ASNCX1 myocytes mimics that observed in rat MI myocytes. We conclude that downregulation of NCX1 in adult rat myocytes resulted in decreases in both Ca2+ influx and efflux during a twitch. We suggest that depressed NCX1 activity may partly account for the contractile abnormalities after MI.

The functional consequences of overexpression of rat heart Na+/Ca2+exchanger (NCX1) were investigated in adult rat myocytes in primary culture. When maintained under continued electrical field stimulation conditions, cultured adult rat myocytes retained normal contractile function compared with freshly isolated myocytes for at least 48 h. Infection of myocytes by adenovirus expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) resulted in >95% infection as ascertained by GFP fluorescence, but contraction amplitude at 6-, 24-, and 48-h postinfection was not affected. When they were examined 48 h after infection, myocytes infected by adenovirus expressing both GFP and NCX1 had similar cell sizes but exhibited significantly altered contraction amplitudes and intracellular Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]i) transients, and lower resting and diastolic [Ca2+]iwhen compared with myocytes infected by the adenovirus expressing GFP alone. The effects of NCX1 overexpression on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+content depended on extracellular Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]o), with a decrease at low [Ca2+]oand an increase at high [Ca2+]o.The half-times for [Ca2+]itransient decline were similar, suggesting little to no changes in SR Ca2+-ATPase activity. Western blots demonstrated a significant ( P ≤ 0.02) threefold increase in NCX1 but no changes in SR Ca2+-ATPase and calsequestrin abundance in myocytes 48 h after infection by adenovirus expressing both GFP and NCX1 compared with those infected by adenovirus expressing GFP alone. We conclude that overexpression of NCX1 in adult rat myocytes incubated at high [Ca2+]oresulted in enhanced Ca2+influx via reverse NCX1 function, as evidenced by greater SR Ca2+content, larger twitch, and [Ca2+]itransient amplitudes. Forward NCX1 function was also increased, as indicated by lower resting and diastolic [Ca2+]i.