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Updated: Nov 21, 2025

Simultaneous Isolation and Culture of Atrial Myocytes, Ventricular Myocytes, and Non-Myocytes from an Adult Mouse Heart
Published on: June 14, 2020
Differing effects of estrogen deficiency on the contractile function of atrial and ventricular myocardium
Anastasia Khokhlova1, Tatiana Myachina1, Xenia Butova1
1Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pervomajskaya 106, 620049, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Abstract:
Estrogen deficiency has a significant influence on the excitation-contraction coupling in the ventricular myocardium but its impact on the atrial contractile function has not been studied. We have compared the effects of estrogen deficiency on the contractility and cytosolic Ca2+ transient of single cardiomyocytes isolated from the left atrium (LA) and the left ventricle (LV) of rats subjected to ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery (Sham). The characteristics of actin-myosin interaction were studied in an in vitro motility assay. We found that OVX decreased the contractility of LV single cardiomyocytes but increased that of LA myocytes. The disturbance of ventricular mechanical function may be explained by the acceleration of Ca2+ transient and reduced Ca2+ sensitivity of the actin-myosin interaction. The augmentation of LA contractility may be explained by accelerated cross-bridge kinetics and increased end-diastolic sarcomere length, which may lead to elevated tension in atrial cells due to the Frank-Starling mechanism.
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