Diastolic dysfunction and abnormality of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in single uremic cardiac myocytes

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in patients with end-stage renal disease, possibly due to a specific ‘uremic cardiomyopathy’. This study investigated the function of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in single cardiac myocytes from a model of early renal impairment. Mild uremia was induced by partial (5/6) nephrectomy in male Wistar rats. After 4 weeks, ventricular myocytes were isolated, loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator indo-1, and contractile function and calcium transients recorded following electrical pacing at 0.2 Hz. Relaxation from rapid cooling contractures (RCCs) was also studied. Cells from uremic animals (U) were hypertrophied compared with controls (C), with a significant increase in width (14%; P<0.02) and cross-sectional area (13%; P<0.03). There was a significant increase in diastolic intracellular Ca2+ ratio in the uremic cells (C, 0.33±0.00 vs U, 0.37±0.02; P<0.02), although the amount of calcium released per twitch was similar. Uremic cells were slower to relax following RCCs, however when Na+/Ca2+ exchange was inhibited using a Na+-free/Ca2+-free solution, this difference was abolished. Under these conditions, there was little difference in the relaxation rate of control cells, indicating that the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger plays only a minor role in relaxation in normal rat myocytes. However in uremia, the data indicate that the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger actively interfered with relaxation, possibly by working in reverse rather than forward mode. These results indicate that myocyte relaxation and Ca2+ handling are abnormal in early uremia and may provide further evidence for the existence of a specific ‘uremic cardiomyopathy’.