Deciphering ryanodine receptor array operation in cardiac myocytes

Abstract

Elemental calcium signals from RYR arrays operating in cardiac myocytes have been extensively characterized with ever-improving optical methods and other innovative techniques. However, the exact nature of elemental calcium signals in terms of RYR gating in situ remains an enigma. Here, we synthesize insights gleaned from recent developments in single-channel resolution of cardiac RYR organization and in visualization of calcium release events that are much smaller than calcium sparks. This synthesis leads to the proposal of a conceptual framework that promises to unify diverse observations in sparkology. © 2010 Xie et al.