Calcium signaling in diabetic cardiomyocytes
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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Assessment of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Reserve and Intracellular Diastolic Calcium Removal in Isolated Ventricular Cardiomyocytes
Published on: September 18, 2017
Laetitia Pereira1, Gema Ruiz-Hurtado2, Angélica Rueda3
1Department of Pharmacology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Insights
Diabetic cardiomyopathy affects the heart in diabetes patients, causing dysfunction. This study explores calcium (Ca2+) signaling alterations in male and female type 2 diabetic mice to advance research.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death in diabetic patients.
- Diabetic cardiomyopathy, characterized by myocardial structural and functional abnormalities, affects both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- Calcium (Ca2+) signaling is crucial for cardiac function, and its alteration is implicated in diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of altered Ca2+ fluxes in diabetes.
- To present new data on differential Ca2+ handling in male and female type 2 diabetic mice.
- To stimulate further research into sex-specific mechanisms of diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on Ca2+ fluxes in diabetes.
- Experimental investigation of Ca2+ handling in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes.
- Comparative analysis of Ca2+ handling in male and female diabetic mice.
Main Results:
- Diabetes mellitus significantly impacts cardiac function, leading to diabetic cardiomyopathy.
- Alterations in Ca2+ signaling play a critical role in the development of diastolic and systolic dysfunction in diabetic hearts.
- Preliminary data suggest potential sex-specific differences in Ca2+ handling in type 2 diabetes.
Conclusions:
- Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a significant complication of diabetes mellitus, driven by complex molecular mechanisms.
- Understanding Ca2+ signaling pathways is essential for developing targeted therapies for diabetic heart disease.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate sex-specific mechanisms and therapeutic targets in diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Abstract:
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common medical conditions. It is associated to medical complications in numerous organs and tissues, of which the heart is one of the most important and most prevalent organs affected by this disease. In fact, cardiovascular complications are the most common cause of death among diabetic patients. At the end of the 19th century, the weakness of the heart in diabetes was noted as part of the general muscular weakness that exists in that disease. However, it was only in the eighties that diabetic cardiomyopathy was recognized, which comprises structural and functional abnormalities in the myocardium in diabetic patients even in the absence of coronary artery disease or hypertension. This disorder has been associated with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and is characterized by early-onset diastolic dysfunction and late-onset systolic dysfunction, in which alteration in Ca(2+) signaling is of major importance, since it controls not only contraction, but also excitability (and therefore is involved in rhythmic disorder), enzymatic activity, and gene transcription. Here we attempt to give a brief overview of Ca(2+) fluxes alteration reported on diabetes, and provide some new data on differential modulation of Ca(2+) handling alteration in males and females type 2 diabetic mice to promote further research. Due to space limitations, we apologize for those authors whose important work is not cited.
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