Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells
Published on: July 16, 2013
Delayed afterdepolarization-induced triggered activity in cardiac purkinje cells mediated through cytosolic calcium
Chirag Shah1, Sohel Jiwani2, Bijay Limbu2
1School of Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia.
Abstract:
Cardiac Purkinje cells (PCs) are more susceptible to action potential abnormalities as compared to ventricular myocytes (VMs), which could be associated with their distinct intracellular calcium handling. We developed a detailed biophysical model of a mouse cardiac PC, which importantly reproduces the experimentally observed biphasic cytosolic calcium waves. The model includes a stochastic gating formulation for the opening and closing of ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels, simulated with a Monte Carlo method, to accurately reproduce cytosolic calcium wave propagation and the effects of spontaneous calcium release events. Simulations predict that during an action potential, smaller cytosolic calcium wavelets propagated from the sarcolemma towards the center of the cell and initiated larger magnitude cell-wide calcium waves via a calcium-induced-calcium release mechanism. In the presence of RyR mutations, frequent spontaneous calcium leaks from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) initiated calcium waves, which upon reaching the cell periphery produced delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs) via sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX) and T-type calcium (ICaT ) channel activation. In the presence of isoproterenol-mediated effects, DADs induced triggered activity by reactivation of fast sodium channels. Based on our model, we found that the activation of either L-type calcium channels (ICaL ), ICaT , sodium-potassium exchanger (INaK ) or NCX is sufficient for occurrence of triggered activity; however, a partial blockade of ICaT or INaK is essential for its successful termination. Our modeling study highlights valuable insights into the mechanisms of DAD-induced triggered activity mediated via cytosolic calcium waves in cardiac PCs and may elucidate the increased arrhythmogeneity in PCs.
More Related Videos
09:36Dual-Dye Optical Mapping of Hearts from RyR2R2474S Knock-In Mice of Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia
Published on: December 22, 2023
10:53Isolation of Human Atrial Myocytes for Simultaneous Measurements of Ca2+ Transients and Membrane Currents
Published on: July 3, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Cardiac Action Potential
The cardiac action potential process involves a series of phases characterized by the movement of ions across the cardiac cell membranes, leading to the depolarization and repolarization of the cardiac myocytes.
Ionic Basis of Cardiac Action Potentials
Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory...
Electrophysiology of Normal Cardiac Rhythm
Action Potential: Phases of Stimulation
Resting Phase:
In this phase, the cell's membrane is at its resting potential, typically around -70 millivolts (mV) for neurons. Inside the cell, there is a higher concentration of potassium ions (K+) and a lower concentration of sodium ions (Na+). Voltage-gated sodium channels are closed, and...
Specialized Characteristics of Cardiac Muscles
Cardiac muscle cells are smaller than skeletal muscles, averaging 10–20 mm in diameter and 50–100 mm in length. However, they have large energy demands for continuous contraction and relaxation. This energy is almost exclusively derived from aerobic metabolism of energy...