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Cardiac fibroblasts regulate myocardial development via mechanical, chemical, and electrical interactions with associated cardiomyocytes. The goal of this study was to identify and characterize voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels in neonatal rat ventricular fibroblasts. With the use of the whole cell arrangement of the patch-clamp technique, three types of voltage-gated, outward K+ currents were measured in the cultured fibroblasts. The majority of cells expressed a transient outward K+ current ( Ito) that activated at potentials positive to −40 mV and partially inactivated during depolarizing voltage steps. Ito was inhibited by the antiarrhythmic agent flecainide (100 μM) and BaCl2 (1 mM) but was unaffected by 4-aminopyridine (4-AP; 0.5 and 1 mM). A smaller number of cells expressed one of two types of kinetically distinct, delayed-rectifier K+ currents [ IK fast ( IKf) and IK slow ( IKs)] that were strongly blocked by 4-AP. Application of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, to stimulate protein kinase C (PKC), inhibited Ito but had no effect on IKf and IKs. Immunoblot analysis revealed the presence of Kv1.4, Kv1.2, Kv1.5, and Kv2.1 α-subunits but not Kv4.2 or Kv1.6 α-subunits in the fibroblasts. Finally, pretreatment of the cells with 4-AP inhibited angiotensin II-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Thus neonatal cardiac fibroblasts express at least three different Kv channels that may contribute to electrical/chemical signaling in these cells.

The volume-sensitive chloride current ( ICl,swell) is found in the mammalian myocardium and is activated by osmotic swelling. The goal of this study was to examine the importance of the tyrosine kinases focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Src kinase in cardiac ICl,swellregulation. Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were cultured on collagen membranes and infected with adenovirus expressing β-galactosidase (AdLacZ), FAK, or FAK-related nonkinase. FAK-related nonkinase (FRNK) is an endogenous cardiac protein, which functions as an inhibitor of FAK. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings demonstrated that osmotic swelling was associated with the activation of an outward rectifying current in uninfected and AdLacZ-infected cells. Consistent with the properties of ICl,swell, this current displayed a reversal potential close to the equilibrium potential for Cl−; was inhibited by the Cl−channel blockers 4,4′-dinitrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid, 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid, and tamoxifen; and was eliminated in hypertonic solution. In addition to activating ICl,swell, hypotonic swelling enhanced the tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple cardiac proteins including those in the range of 68–70 and 120–130 kDa. Pretreatment of the cells with the drug 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-( t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine, an inhibitor of FAK and Src, diminished swelling-induced phosphorylation of these proteins but paradoxically increased ICl,swell. Furthermore, overexpression of FRNK but not FAK caused a twofold augmentation in ICl,swelland increased the rate of current activation. Thus the tyrosine kinases FAK and Src contribute to the regulation of ICl,swell.

The goal of this study was to determine whether the protein kinase A (PKA) responsiveness of the cardiac L-type Ca2+ current ( ICa) is affected during transient increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from 3- to 4-day-old neonatal rats and cultured on aligned collagen thin gels. When measured in 1 or 2 mM Ca2+ external solution, the aligned myocytes displayed a large ICa that was weakly regulated (20% increase) during stimulation of PKA by 2 μM forskolin. In contrast, application of forskolin caused a 100% increase in ICa when the external Ca2+ concentration was reduced to 0.5 mM or replaced with Ba2+. This Ca2+-dependent inhibition was also observed when the cells were treated with 1 μM isoproterenol, 100 μM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, or 500 μM 8-bromo-cAMP. The responsiveness of ICa to PKA was restored during intracellular dialysis with a calmodulin (CaM) inhibitory peptide but not during treatment with inhibitors of protein kinase C, Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase, or calcineurin. Adenoviral-mediated expression of a CaM molecule with mutations in all four Ca2+-binding sites also increased the PKA sensitivity of ICa. Finally, adult mouse ventricular myocytes displayed a greater response to forskolin and cAMP in external Ba2+. Thus Ca2+ entering the myocyte through the voltage-gated Ca2+ channel regulates the PKA responsiveness of ICa.