Abstract
In cardiac myocytes, the physiological increase of intracellular calcium, the [Ca(2+)]i transient, elicited during excitation-contraction coupling typically reaches a peak amplitude of up to 1 µm, from a resting value of ∼100 nm, within 50-100 msec, depending on the species. Various conditions will affect the amplitude and rise time of the [Ca(2+)]i transient and, depending on the nature of the Ca(2+) signals under study, a variety of different probes are available for monitoring changes in intracellular Ca(2+). In this protocol, we focus on Fluo-3, which exists in the cytosol in its salt form K5Fluo-3. This form is practically nonfluorescent in the absence of Ca(2+), but the fluorescence increases dramatically on Ca(2+) binding. Although Fluo-3 is a single excitation-emission dye, it has a number of advantages for investigators, including an ideal dissociation constant (Kd) value and high quantum yield, meaning that it can be used at low concentrations that introduce minimal buffering. Here, we describe the basic setup and methodology for recording the global cytosolic [Ca(2+)]i transient with this probe during simultaneous patch-clamp and whole-cell recording of membrane voltage or of ionic currents under voltage clamp.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 392-397 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Cold Spring Harbor protocols |
Volume | 2015 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2015 |
Keywords
- Aniline Compounds/metabolism
- Animals
- Calcium/metabolism
- Calibration
- Coloring Agents/metabolism
- Cytological Techniques/methods
- Electrophysiological Phenomena
- Fluorescence
- Intracellular Space/metabolism
- Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism
- Patch-Clamp Techniques
- Xanthenes/metabolism