Calcium sensitivity and myosin light chain pattern of atrial and ventricular skinned cardiac fibers from patients with various kinds of cardiac disease.

In the present study, the Ca2(+)-sensitivity and myosin light chain patterns of skinned fibers of right atrium and left papillary muscles of 27 patients suffering from mitral valve disease (MVD, moderate heart failure), ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM, severe heart failure), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM, severe heart failure), and coronary heart disease (CHD, no heart failure, no atrial hypertrophy) were investigated. Myosin light chains of both chemically skinned and intact samples were studied by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). Ca2(+)-sensitivity of ventricular fibers was about 0.14 pCa-units higher than that of atrial fibers in all groups except dilated cardiomyopathy where this difference was markedly diminished (only 0.06 pCa-units). Generally, Ca2(+)-sensitivity of skinned ventricular fibers was the same among the different heart diseases. Skinned atrial fibers from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, however, were significantly (about 0.08 pCa-units) more sensitive for Ca2+ than those of the other groups (coronary heart disease, mitral valve disease or ischemic cardiomyopathy) which showed similar Ca2(+)-tension relationships. Ventricle-specific P-light chain forms could be observed in atrial samples from patients of all groups, whereas no atrium-specific light chain forms were detectable in any ventricular sample. It is concluded that there is no difference in Ca2(+)-sensitivity of the ventricular contractile elements of the human heart in different heart diseases. In atrial myocardium, there is an increased Ca2(+)-sensitivity of skinned fibers from hearts with dilated cardiomyopathy which is probably related to an elevation of right atrial pressure.