Abstract:  Objective To investigate the role of connexin 43-formed hemichannels in cell volume regulation induced by
simulated ischemia/reperfusion (SI/R). Methods Mouse cardiomyocytes isolated on a Langendorff apparatus with enzyme
solution were aliquoted into control, SI/R and SI/R +octanol groups. Calcein-AM was used to stain the cells and the cell volume
was measured with confocal microscope by stack scanning. Trypan blue was used to measure the cell viability after the
treatments. Results Calcein-AM staining and cofocal microscopy yielded stable and reproducible results for cell volume
measurement. Mouse cardiomyocytes subjected to simulated SI/R showed obvious cell swelling as compared with the control
cells［(126±6)% vs 100%, P<0.05］, and octanol preconditioning significantly attenuated the cell swelling［(113±6)%, P<0.05］.
SI/R caused a significant reduction of the cell viability compared to the control cells［(19±2)% vs (45±3)%, P<0.01］, and octanol
preconditioning obviously reduced the viability of the cells with SI/R challenge［(31 ± 2)% , P<0.01]］. Conclusion Connexin
43-formed hemichannels are involved in the regulation of cardiomyocyte volumes induced by SI/R challenge, and octanol can
alleviate the cell swelling to enhance the viability of the cardiomyocytes following SI/R.