Simultaneous monitoring of cellular depolarization and contraction: a new method to investigate excitability and contractility in isolated smooth muscle cells

摘要

Several techniques have been designed to monitor the mechanical activity of isolated muscle cells or to measure the force of cellular contraction. Thus contraction parameters have been recorded from cardiac cells by use of flexible carbon fibers attached to the cell membrane and video analysis (3) or with a system based on quantifying the light transmitted through optic fibers displaced by cellular contraction (15, 19). In addition, force measurements were performed directly in gastric and vascular myocytes by attaching these cells to ultrasensitive force transducers (8, 21).