Ca current facilitation during postrest recovery depends on Ca entry

Whole cell Ca current (ICa) recovery after periods of rest was examined in voltage-clamped rabbit ventricular myocytes with Na and K currents suppressed. To evaluate rest-dependent changes in ICa independent of the effects of sarcoplasmic reticular (SR) Ca release, the intracellular Ca ([Ca]i) transients were usually buffered by ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (10 mM) in the patch pipette. When voltage-clamp pulses were resumed (at 0.5 Hz) after a period of rest, several pulses were required to reattain steady-state peak ICa levels. From depolarized holding potentials between -40 and -50 mV, peak ICa of the first pulse was large and gradually decayed to steady-state levels (negative ICa staircase). This potentiation of postrest ICa was mediated by increased recovery from inactivation of Ca channels during the rest period. In contrast, with more negative holding potentials (-70 to -90 mV), the initial postrest ICa was relatively small (rest depression) and facilitation of ICa was then observed for subsequent pulses (positive ICa staircase). This ICa facilitation was mediated by a progressive decrease in the ICa inactivation rate. Depression of the initial postrest ICa required 10-15 s of rest to fully develop and became relatively constant for longer rest intervals (30-300 s). Postrest ICa depression (i.e., subsequent ICa facilitation) was abolished by replacement of extracellular Ca ([Ca]o) with either Ba or Sr. Thus ICa facilitation depends on Ca entry. Increasing [Ca]o increased postrest ICa facilitation and reducing [Ca]o had an opposite effect. When ICa was altered by changing step potential, maximal ICa facilitation occurred when ICa was maximal. Thus ICa facilitation can be graded by the amount of Ca entry. As ICa facilitation was not altered by ryanodine, this response is not likely to be due to SR Ca release. However, increasing [Ca]i buffering by using 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid in the pipette abolished the ICa staircase. Our results indicate that Ca entry can facilitate subsequent ICa, presumably through actions occurring near the sarcolemma. These local changes in [Ca]i lead to a progressive slowing in the rate of ICa inactivation.