Chemically mediated cell-to-cell contractile activation in isolated frog atrial cardiac cells

Summary A dying single frog atrial cardiac cell liberates an unknown substance which diffuses away from the dying cell and activates contractile activity in other isolated intact single cardiac cells within the vicinity of the dying cell.This investigation was supported by US Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health Grant HL 18943 and a Kansas Heart Association Grant-In-Aid.We wish to thank Dr Alan Chapman of the Department of Anatomy for doing the scanning electron microscopy of the cardiac cells.