Contraction and intracellular Ca2+, Na+, and H+ during acidosis in rat ventricular myocytes

We have investigated the effect of a CO2-induced (respiratory) acidosis on contraction and on intracellular Ca2+, Na+, and pH (measured using the fluorescent dyes fura-2, sodium-binding benzofuran isophthalate, and 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein, respectively) in ventricular myocytes isolated from rat hearts. Initial exposure to acidosis led to a rapid decrease in intracellular pH that was accompanied by an abrupt decline in contractility. There were no consistent changes of intracellular Na+ or Ca2+ during this period. The rapid decline of contractility was followed by a slower partial recovery, which was accompanied by increases in intracellular Na+, systolic and diastolic Ca2+, and an increase in the Ca2+ content of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (estimated using caffeine). Intracellular pH did not change during this slow recovery. The slow rise of intracellular Na+ and the recovery of the twitch were blocked by the Na(+)-H+ exchange inhibitor amiloride. The sarcoplasmic reticulum inhibitor ryanodine blocked the recovery of the twitch but had no effect on the rise of intracellular Na+ induced during acidosis. It is concluded that a major cause of the initial decline of the twitch during acidosis is a decrease in the response of the contractile proteins to Ca2+ due to the decrease of intracellular pH. The subsequent slow recovery of the twitch is due to the decrease of intracellular pH activating the Na(+)-H+ exchange mechanism. This elevates intracellular Na+ and presumably, via the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange mechanism, intracellular Ca2+. This in turn may lead to increased Ca2+ loading of, and hence release from, the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and it is this that underlies the partial recovery of contraction during acidosis in this preparation.