• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한기계학회 2007년도 춘계학술대회B
• /
• pp.2947-2950
• /
• 2007

A 3D human ventricular model is proposed to simulate an integrative analysis of heart physiology and blood hemodynamics. This consists of the models of electrophysiology of human cells, electric wave propagation of tissue, heart solid mechanics, and 3D blood hemodynamics. The 3D geometry of human heart is discretized to a finite element mesh for the simulation of electric wave propagation and mechanics of heart. In cellular level, excitations by action potential are simulated using the existing human model. Then the contraction mechanics of a whole cell is incorporated to the excitation model. The excitation propagation to ventricular cells are transiently computed in the 3D cardiac tissue using a mono-domain method of electric wave propagation in cardiac tissue. Blood hemodynamics in heart is also considered and incorporated with muscle contraction. We use a PISO type finite element method to simulate the blood hemodynmaics in the human ventricular model.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제20권1호
• /
• pp.51-56
• /
• 2005

Excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) proteins in the human heart were characterized using human atrial tissues from different age groups. The samples were classified into one infant group (Group A: 0.2-7 years old) and three adult groups (Group B: 21-30; Group C: 41-49; Group D: 60-66). Whole homogenates (WH) of atrial tissues were assayed for ligand binding, $^{45}Ca^{2+}$ uptake and content of ECC proteins by Western blotting. Equilibrium [$^3H$]ryanodine binding to characterize the ryanodine receptor (RyR) of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) showed that the maximal [$^3H$]ryanodine binding ($B_{max}$) to RyR was similar in all the age groups, but the dissociation constant ($k_d$) of ryanodine was higher in the infant group than the adult groups. Oxalate-supported $^{45}Ca^{2+}$ uptake into the SR, a function of the SR SERCA2a activity, was lower in the infant group than in the adult groups. Similarly, [$^3H$]PN200-110 binding, an index of dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) density, was lower in the infant group. Expression of calsequestrin and triadin assessed by Western blotting was similar in the infant and adult groups, but junctin expression was considerably higher in the adult groups. These differences in key ECC proteins could underlie the different $Ca^{2+}$ handling properties and contractility of infant hearts.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한기계학회 2007년도 춘계학술대회B
• /
• pp.2941-2946
• /
• 2007

A model of the cardiovascular system coupling cell, hemodynamics and autonomic nervecontrol function is proposed for analyzing heart mechanics. We developed a comprehensive cardiovascular model with multi-physics and multi-scale characteristics that simulates the physiological events from membrane excitation of a cardiac cell to contraction of the human heart and systemic blood circulation and ultimately to autonomic nerve control. Using this model, we delineatedthe cellular mechanism of heart contractility mediated by nerve control function. To verify the integrated method, we simulated a 10% hemorrhage, which involves cardiac cell mechanics, circulatory hemodynamics, and nerve control function. The computed and experimental results were compared. Using this methodology, the state of cardiac contractility, influenced by diverse properties such as the afterload and nerve control systems, is easily assessed in an integrated manner.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
• /
• 제18권1호
• /
• pp.37-50
• /
• 1984

The effects of $Ca^{++}$ and its antagonists (verapamil and $La^{+++}$) upon the spontaneous contraction and the contracture induced by 60 mM K-Tyrode solution were studied in the isolated uterine muscle. Longitudinal muscle strips were prepared from the rat uteri at estrous stage. All experiments were performed in tris-buffered Tyrode solution which was aerated with 100% $O_2$ and kept at 35^{\circ}$. The results obtained were as follows: 1) In the uterine strips contracting spontaneously, both the amplitude of peak tension and the area of contraction curve increased dose-dependently in the range of $0.5${\sim}8$ mM $Ca^{++}$. The frequency of contraction increased as the concentration of $Ca^{++}$ increased up to 2 mM, but above this concentration the frequency decreased. In $Ca^{++}-free$ media, however, contraction did not develop. In the contracture induced by 60 mM K-Tyrode solution, the developed tension increased dose-dependently as the concentration of external $Ca^{++}$ increased to 8 mM. In the absence of external $Ca^{++}$ K-contracture appeared, but it was not sustained. 2) The spontaneous contraction of rat uterus was suppressed by verapamil in proportion to an increase of its concentration and totally abolished at the concentration of $3{\times}10^{-4}\;g/l$, but the spontaneous contraction re-appeared by addition of $Ca^{++}$. The amplitude of peak tension recovered completely but the recovery of frequency was incomplete. K-contracture decreased in a dose-dependent manner after the treatment with verapamil and totally disappeared at its concentration of $3{\times}10^{-4}\;g/l$. Even in this case contracture developed again by extra $Ca^{++}$. 3) The spontaneous contractile activity was inhibited by $La^{+++}$. At the concentration of $10^{-4}$M $La^{+++}$, fibrillation appeared. In the strip inhibited by $10^{-5}M\;La^{+++}$, contractility recovered completely by extra $Ca^{++}$ while in the $10^{-4}M\;La^{+++}$ treated preparation, the rhythmic spontaneous contraction did not develop even at the concentration of 16 mM $Ca^{++}$. After the initial transient depression of contracture tension by $10^{-3}M$ of $La^{+++}$, the strip stowed considerably large size of contracture, hardly influenced by external $Ca^{++}$ or verapamil. The results obtained in this experiment suggest that in the rat uterine muscle there would be some competitive actions between $Ca^{++}$ and its antagonists. It is speculated that $Ca^{++}$ plays an important role in the conduction of excitation, and $La^{+++}$ influences upon cellular $Ca^{++}$ mobilization and re-uptake process as well as transmembrane $Ca^{++}$ transport in a K-depolarized state.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제26권3호
• /
• pp.265-269
• /
• 2008

Calumenin, a multiple EF-hand $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein is located in the SR of mammalian heart, but the functional role of the protein in the heart is unknown. In the present study, an adenovirus gene transfer system was employed for neonatal rat heart to examine the effects of calumenin over-expression (Calu-OE) on $Ca^{2+}$ transients. Calu-OE (8 folds) did not alter the expression levels of DHPR, RyR2, NCX, SERCA2, CSQ and PLN. However, Calu-OE affected several parameters of $Ca^{2+}$ transients. Among them, prolongation of time to 50% baseline ($T_{50}$) was the most outstanding change in electrically-evoked $Ca^{2+}$ transients. The higher $T_{50}$ was due to an inhibition of SERCA2-mediated $Ca^{2+}$ uptake into SR, as tested by oxalate-supported $Ca^{2+}$ uptake. Furthermore, co-IP study showed a direct interaction between calumenin and SERCA2. Taken together, calumenin in the cardiac SR may play an important role in the regulation of $Ca^{2+}$ uptake during the EC coupling process.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제39권2호
• /
• pp.149-155
• /
• 2016

In the heart, excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling is mediated by $Ca^{2+}$ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through the interactions of proteins forming the $Ca^{2+}$ release unit (CRU). Among them, calsequestrin (CSQ) and histidine-rich $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein (HRC) are known to bind the charged luminal region of triadin (TRN) and thus directly or indirectly regulate ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) activity. However, the mechanisms of CSQ and HRC mediated regulation of RyR2 activity through TRN have remained unclear. We first examined the minimal KEKE motif of TRN involved in the interactions with CSQ2, HRC and RyR2 using TRN deletion mutants and in vitro binding assays. The results showed that CSQ2, HRC and RyR2 share the same KEKE motif region on the distal part of TRN (aa 202-231). Second, in vitro binding assays were conducted to examine the $Ca^{2+}$ dependence of protein-protein interactions (PPI). The results showed that TRN-HRC interaction had a bell-shaped $Ca^{2+}$ dependence, which peaked at pCa4, whereas TRN-CSQ2 or TRN-RyR2 interaction did not show such $Ca^{2+}$ dependence pattern. Third, competitive binding was conducted to examine whether CSQ2, HRC, or RyR2 affects the TRN-HRC or TRN-CSQ2 binding at pCa4. Among them, only CSQ2 or RyR2 competitively inhibited TRN-HRC binding, suggesting that HRC can confer functional refractoriness to CRU, which could be beneficial for reloading of $Ca^{2+}$ into SR at intermediate $Ca^{2+}$ concentrations.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• 제3권3호
• /
• pp.329-337
• /
• 1999

Thyroid hormone-induced cellular dysfunctions may be associated with changes in the intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. The ryanodine receptor, a $Ca^{2+}$ release channel of the SR, is responsible for the rapid release of $Ca^{2+}$ that activates cardiac muscle contraction. In the excitation-contaction coupling cascade, activation of ryanodine receptors is initiated by the activity of sarcolemmal $Ca^{2+}$ channels, the dihydropyridine receptors. In hyperthyroidism left ventricular contractility and relaxation velocity were increased, whereas these parameters were decreased in hypothyroidism. The mechanisms for these changes have been suggested to include alterations in the expression and/or activity levels of various proteins. In the present study, quantitative changes of ryanodine receptors and the dihydropyridine receptors, and the functional consequences of these changes in various thyroid states were investigated. In hyperthyroid hearts, $[^3H]ryanodine$ binding and ryanodine receptor mRNA levels were increased, but protein levels of ryanodine were not changed significantly. However, the above parameters were markedly decreased in hypothyroid hearts. In case of dihydropyridine receptor, there were a significant increase in the mRNA and protein levels, and [3H]nitrendipine binding, whereas no changes were observed in these parameters of hypothyroid hearts. Our findings indicate that hyperthyroidism is associated with increases in ryanodine receptor and dihydropyridine receptor expression levels, which is well correlated with the ryanodine and dihydropyridine binding. Whereas opposite changes occur in ryanodine receptor of the hypothyroid hearts.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제22권3호
• /
• pp.328-335
• /
• 2006

Imperatoxin A ($IpTx_a$), a 3.7 kDa peptide from the African scorpion Pandinus imperator, is an agonist of the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RyR1). In order to study the structure of the toxin and its effect on RyR1, $IpTx_a$ cDNA was PCR-amplified using 3 pairs of primers, and the toxin was expressed in E. coli. The toxin was further purified by chromatography, and various point mutants in which basic amino acids were substituted by alanine were prepared by site-directed mutagenesis. Studies of single channel properties by the planar lipid bilayer method showed that the recombinant $IpTx_a$ was identical to the synthetic $IpTx_a$ with respect to high-performance liquid chromatography mobility, amino acid composition and specific effects on RyR1. Mutations of certain basic amino acids ($Lys^{19}$, $Arg^{23}$, and $Arg^{33}$) dramatically reduced the capacity of the peptide to activate RyRs. A subconductance state predominated when $Lys^8$ was substituted with alanine. These results suggest that some basic amino acid residues in $IpTx_a$ are important for activation of RyR1, and that $Lys^8$ plays an important role in regulating the gating mode of RyR1.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• 제51권4호
• /
• pp.289-294
• /
• 2009

본 연구는 한우 inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor type1(IP3R1) 유전자를 대상으로 SNP를 발굴하고, 도체형질과의 관련성 분석을 위하여 수행하였다. PCR 및 염기서열 결정법을 통해 IP3R1 유전자내 3개의 SNP를 발굴하였고, 이중 intron 29에 위치하는 SNP의 경우 미 보고된 신규 SNP로 확인되었다. 발굴된 3개의 SNP를 대상으로 표현형 기록치를 보유한 후대검정우 583두에 대하여 유전자형 분석 및 관련성 분석을 수행하였다. 분석결과 3개의 SNP 중 g.1428617A>G SNP가 생시체중(P<0.05) 및 도체중(P<0.01)과 유의적인 상관관계가 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과는 추후 한우 개량을 위한 유전자 마커로 활용이 가능할 것으로 판단된다.