Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rapila R
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2553387 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
The Journal of general physiology 20080915 4
In the mammalian embryo, the primitive tubular heart starts beating during the first trimester of gestation. These early heartbeats originate from calcium-induced contractions of the developing heart muscle cells. To explain the initiation of this activity, two ideas have been presented. One hypothesis supports the role of spontaneously activated voltage-gated calcium channels, whereas the other emphasizes the role of Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores initiating spontaneous intracellular ...[more]