Introduction The relaxivity of an MR contrast agent (CA) parameterizes how efficiently a CA alters neighboring water proton longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation times. A priori knowledge of a CA relaxivity can be used in conjunction with preand post-contrast T1-weighted scans and native T1 values to determine the concentration of CA in a sample. CA relaxivity in solution can be read...

The effects of various divalent cations in the external solution upon the Ca spike of the barnacle muscle fiber membrane were studied using intracellular recording and polarizing techniques. Analysis of the maximum rate of rise of the spike potential indicates that different species of divalent cations bind the same membrane sites competitively with different dissociation constants. The oversho...

López, José R., Nancy Linares, Isaac N. Pessah, and Paul D. Allen. Enhanced response to caffeine and 4-chloro-m-cresol in malignant hyperthermia-susceptible muscle is related in part to chronically elevated resting [Ca ]i. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 288: C606– C612, 2005. First published November 10, 2004; doi:10.1152/ajpcell. 00297.2004.—Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal pharma...

We show that poliovirus (PV) infection induces an increase in cytosolic calcium (Ca(2+)) concentration in neuroblastoma IMR5 cells, at least partly through Ca(2+) release from the endoplasmic reticulum lumen via the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP(3)R) and ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels. This leads to Ca(2+) accumulation in mitochondria through the mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter and...

N-N-Dimethylformamide was determined every hour during the eight hours of the work shift in the alveolar air of eight workers employed in an artificial leather factory and in the breathing zone of the eight workers. The alveolar ventilation of each worker was measured for 10 minutes during the work shift. Alveolar dimethylformamide concentration (Ca) was correlated with the environmental concen...

Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) undergoes Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent autophosphorylation of threonine-286/287 (Thr(286/287)). Extremely high concentration of CaMKII in the postsynaptic spine indicates that increase in the Ca(2+) concentration in the spine induced by synaptic activation results in Thr(286/287) autophosphorylation of this enzyme. It has recently been shown...

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal pharmacogenetic syndrome caused by exposure to halogenated volatile anesthetics and/or depolarizing muscle relaxants. We have measured intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) using double-barreled, Ca(2+)-selective microelectrodes in myoballs prepared from skeletal muscle of MH-susceptible (MHS) and MH-nonsusceptible (MHN) swine. Resti...