Studies on the subcellular localization of electrolytes in normal and infarcted canine myocardium. With special reference to calcium ion.

1. Alterations in subcellular distribution of electrolytes were studied with particular emphasis on Ca++ in normal and ischemic myocardium produced by ligating the coronary artery in the dog, by means of the histochemical method using potassium pyroantimonate. 2. In the normal myocardium, the antimonate precipitates were observed most abundantly in TC of SR and on N-line within sarcomeric I-band, but found scarcely in mitochondria, M-line, Z-line, intercalated disc or T-system. 3. In the infarcted myocardium, the precipitates were strikingly increased in both number and size in disrupted mitochondria, while they were markedly decreased in swollen TC with the progress of ischemia. 4. Most of the precipitates in TC and on N-line were removed by chelation with EGTA but a few larger precipitates were consistently found mainly on N-line. And the presence of Ca++ in the antimonate precipitates was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis.