Rob F Wiegerinck, Anca Cojoc, Carlo M Zeidenweber, Guoliang Ding, Ming Shen, Ronald W Joyner, Janet D Fernandez, Kirk R Kanter, Paul M Kirshbom, Brian E Kogon, Mary B Wagner
Understanding developmental changes in contractility is critical to improving therapies for young cardiac patients. Isometric developed force was measured in human ventricular muscle strips from two age groups: newborns (<2 wk) and infants (3-14 mo) undergoing repair for congenital heart defects. Muscle strips were paced at several cycle lengths (CLs) to determine the force frequency response (FFR). Changes in Na/Ca exchanger (NCX), sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase (SERCA), and phospholamban (PLB) were characterized...
April 2009: Pediatric Research