Caffeine-induced Ca2+ sparks in mouse ventricular myocytes

Ca2+ sparks are spatially localized intracellular Ca2+ release events that were first described in 1993. Sparks have been ascribed to sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channel (ryanodine receptor, RyR) opening induced by Ca2+ influx via L-type Ca2+ channels or by spontaneous RyR openings and have been thought to reflect Ca2+ release from a cluster of RyR. Here we describe a pharmacological approach to study sparks by exposing ventricular myocytes to caffeine with a rapid solution-switcher device. Sparks under these conditions have properties similar to naturally occurring sparks in terms of size and intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+](i)) amplitude. However, after the diffusion of caffeine, sparks first appear close to the cell surface membrane before coalescing to produce a whole cell transient. Our results support the idea that a whole cell [Ca2+]; transient consists of the summation of sparks and that Ca2+ sparks consist of the opening of a cluster of RyR and confirm that characteristics of the cluster rather than the L-type Ca2+ channel-RyR relation determine spark properties.