Simultaneous optical mapping of transmembrane potential and intracellular calcium in myocyte cultures

Simultaneous Mapping of V-m and Ca-i(2+) Introduction: Fast spatially resolved measurements of transmembrane potential (V-m) and intracellular calcium (Ca-i(2+)) are important for studying mechanisms of arrhythmias and defibrillation, The goals of this work were (1) to develop an optical technique for simultaneous multisite optical recordings of V-m and Ca-i(2+) and (2) to determine the relationship between V-m and Ca-i(2+) during normal impulse propagation in myocyte cultures. Methods and Results: Monolayers of neonatal rat myocytes were stained with fluorescent dye RH-237 (V-m) and Fluo-3AM (Ca-i(2+)). Both dyes were excited at the same wavelength range. The emitted fluorescence was optically separated into components corresponding to changes in V-m and Ca-i(2+) and measured using two 16 x 16 photodiode arrays at a spatial resolution of up to 27.5 mu m per diode and sampling rate of 2.5 kHz. The optical setup was adjusted so that there was no optical cross-talk between the two types of measurements, which was validated in experiments involving staining with either RH-237 or Fluo-3. The amplitude of Fluo-3 signals rapidly decreased during experiments due to dye leakage. Dye leakage was substantially reduced by application of 1 mM probenecid, a blocker of organic anion transport, which had no effect on action potential duration and only minor effect on conduction velocity. In double-stained preparations, during regular pacing Ca-i(2+) transients had a rise time of 14.2 +/- 2 msec, and they followed V-m upstrokes with a delay of 5.3 +/- 1 msec (n = 9), Durations of V-m and Ca-i(2+) transients determined at 50% level of signal recovery were 54.6 +/- 10 msec and 136 +/- 8 msec, respectively, Application of 2 mu M nifedipine reduced the amplitude and duration of Ca-i(2+) transients without significantly affecting conduction velocity. Conclusion: The results demonstrate feasibility of simultaneous optical recordings of V-m and Ca-i(2+) transients with high spatial and temporal resolution.