Is sodium evenly or unevenly distributed in the subsarcolemmal space? Intracellular sodium is an important regulator of cardiac contractility and plays a role in cardiac arrythmias. Therefore, understanding how and why sodium may be differentially distributed in the subsarcolemmal space is critically important. Associate Editor Mario Delmar (New York University) interviews lead author Jonas Skogestad (University of Oslo) and content expert Sand Despa (University of Kentucky) about the novel studies by Skogestad et al. Using both patch-clamping and mathematical modeling, Skogestad and co-authors challenge the current paradigm by suggesting that subsarcolemmal sodium may exist in not just one, but rather many, compartments. The authors found that, after activating the sodium channel for a short amount of time, the sodium released into the subsarcolemmal space did not affect Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) activity. Did the same hold true for longer activation times, and what does this indicate about the possible interaction between the sodium pump and sodium channels? Listen now.

 

Jonas Skogestad, Glenn Terje Lines, William E. Louch, Ole M. Sejersted, Ivar Sjaastad, and Jan Magnus Aronsen Evidence for heterogeneous subsarcolemmal Na+ levels in rat ventricular myocytes Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published January 18, 2019. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00637.2018