Background: Intracellular sodium ([Na+]i) kinetics are involved in cardiac diseases including ischemia, heart failure, and hypertrophy. Because [Na+]i plays a crucial role in modulating the electrical and contractile activity in the heart, quantifying [Na+]i is of great interest. Using fluorescent microscopy with sodium-binding benzofuran isophthalate (SBFI) is the most commonly used method for measuring [Na+]i. However, one limitation associated with this technique is that the test cannot simultaneously evaluate the effects of several types or various concentrations of compounds on [Na+]i. Moreover, there are few reports on the long-term effects of compounds on [Na+]i in cultured cells, although rapid changes in [Na+]i during a period of seconds or several minutes have been widely discussed.
Findings: We established a novel technique for quantifying [Na+]i in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes attached to a 96-well plate using a microplate reader in combination with SBFI and probenecid. We showed that probenecid is indispensable for the accurate measurement because it prevents dye leakage from the cells. We further confirmed the reliability of this system by quantifying the effects of ouabain, which is known to transiently alter [Na+]i. To illustrate the utility of the new method, we also examined the chronic effects of aldosterone on [Na+]i in cultured cardiomyocytes.
Conclusions: Our technique can rapidly measure [Na+]i with accuracy and sensitivity comparable to the traditional microscopy based method. The results demonstrated that this 96-well plate based measurement has merits, especially for screening test of compounds regulating [Na+]i, and is useful to elucidate the mechanisms and consequences of altered [Na+]i handling in cardiomyocytes.