Calcium dependent magnesium uptake in myocardium.

ABSTRACT

The frog myocardium maintains magnesium content at a steady state level when stimulated at 0.4Hz while being perfused with Ringer's solution containing 1 x 10(-3) M Ca2+ and 5 x 10(-7) M magnesium. When calcium is removed 43% of tissue magnesium is lost within 30 seconds or 12 beats. Restoration of calcium to the perfusion solution causes reaccumulation of magnesium from a solution containing 5 x 10(-7) M magnesium. The reaccumulation of magnesium indicates a highly selective transport system for magnesium which is dependent upon the presence of calcium. Calcium appears to reduce the leak of magnesium from the myocardium and enhances the transport of magnesium into the myocardial cell. Intracellular magnesium is a necessary cofactor for hundreds of enzymes, and is essential for protein synthesis and as an extracellular divalent cation helps to stabilize excitable membranes in conjunction with calcium. The concentration of ionized magnesium in the sarcoplasm of myocardial muscle has an average value of 1.45 mM +/- 1.37 (standard deviation), N = 19) with a range of 0.5 to 3.6 mM (1). The heart with its numerous mitochondria and high enzymatic activity is vulnerable to myocardial damage due to magnesium loss. The isolated frog ventricle conserves intracellular magnesium when perfused with Ringer's solution containing no added magnesium and maintains function for hours. The ability to conserve magnesium suggests a low permeability of the sarcolemma to magnesium and an extremely efficient inward transport system. Removal of calcium as well as magnesium from the perfusion solution causes a rapid loss of tension in the electrically driven frog ventricle (0.4) Hz.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)