Age-related increase of early afterdepolarization in calsequestrin-2 knock-in mouse cardiomycyte

Objective To characterize early afterdepolarizations （EADs） caused triggered activity （TA） among calsequestrin-2 （CASQ2） knock-in （CASQ2 KI） mice and its relationship with aging. Methods Electrophysiological properties of ventricular myocytes from 3- month （mo, young）, 9-mo （adult-l） and 12-too （adult-2） in wild-type （WT） and CASQ2 KI mice were investigated with patch-clamp technique. Results The incidences of EADs and TA in CASQ2 KI cardiomyocytes increased with increasing age. In contrast, WT mice cardiomyocytes showed no significant change in matched-age groups. Compared with that in 3-mo CASQ2 KI mice, the 50% repolarization of action potential （APD50） showed prolongation in both 9-mo and 12-mo ones （9.2±0.9 ms of 9-mo and 10.3 ± 1.2 ms of 12- mo vs. 5.6± 0.3 ms of 3-mo）, while the 90 % repolarization of action potential （APD90） was similar among 3 age groups. Compared with 3-mo mice, the 9-mo and 12-mo CASQ2 KI mice showed markedly reduced transient outward potassium current （Ito） densities but increased L-type calcium current （ICa-L） densities. Conlcusion This study suggested that events of EADs and TA in CASQ2 KI mice increased with increasing age, It might be associated partly with the augment of cellular calcium concentration and the prolongation of APD50 induced by decrease of Ito and increase of ICa-L in adult CASQ2 KI mice

Experimental Study of the Effect of Autonomic Nervous System on the Transmural Dispersion of Ventricular Repolarization under Acute Myocardial Ischemia in Vivo

The effect of the autonomic nerves on the transmural dispersion of ventricular repolarization(TDR)under acute myocardial ischemia in intact canine was investigated.Using the monophasic action potential(MAP)recording technique,MAPs of the epicardium(Epi),midmyocardium(Mid)and endocardium(Endo)were recorded simultaneously by specially designed plunge-needle electrodes at the left ventricular free wall under acute myocardial ischemia in 12 open-chest dogs.MAPD 90 and TDR among three myocardial layers as well as the incidence of the early afterdepolarization(EAD)before autonomic nervous stimulation and during autonomic nervous stimulation were compared.It was found that 10 min after acute myocardial ischemia,TDR was increased from 55±8 ms to 86±15 ms during sympathetic stimulation(P<0.01).The TDR(53±9 ms)during parasympathetic stimulation was not significantly different from that of the control(55±8 ms)(P>0.05).The EAD was elicited in the Mid of 2 dogs(16%)10 min after acute myocardial ischemia,but the EAD were elicited in the Mid of 7 dogs(58%)during sympathetic stimulation(P<0.01).It was concluded that:(1)Sympathetic stimulation can increase the transmural dispersion of repolari-zation and induce early afterdepolarizations in the Mid under acute myocardial ischemia,which provide the opportunity for the ventricular arrhythmia developing;(2)Parasympathetic stimulation has no significant effect on the transmural dispersion of repolarization under myocardial ischemia.

Effect of Autonomic Nervous System on the Transmural Dispersion of Ventricular Repolarization in Intact Canine

The effect of the autonomic nerves on the transmural dispersion of ventricular repolarization in intact canine was investigated. By using the monophasic action potential (MAP) recording technique, monophasic action potentials (MAPs) of the epicardium (Epi), midmyocardium (Mid) and endocardium (Endo) were recorded simultaneously by specially designed plunge needle electrodes at the left ventricular free wall in 12 open chest dogs. MAPD 90 and transmural dispersion of repolarization among three myocardial layers as well as the incidence of the EAD before autonomic nervous stimulation and during autonomic nervous stimulation were compared. The results showed that the MAPD 90 of Epi, Mid and Endo before autonomic nervous stimulation were 278±11 ms, 316±16 ms and 270±12 ms respectively, the MAPD 90 of Mid was significantly longer than that of Epi or Endo ( P <0.01). MAPD 90 of Epi, Mid and Endo were shortened by 19±4 ms, 45±6 ms, 18±3 ms respectively during sympathetic stimulation. Compared with that of the control, the transmural dispersion of repolarization during sympathetic stimulation was shortened from 44±4 ms to 15±3 ms ( P <0.01), but early afterdepolarizations were elicited in the Mid of 5 dogs (41 %) during sympathetic stimulation. Parasympathetic stimulation did not significantly affect the MAPD 90 in the three layers. It is concluded that there is the transmural dispersion of ventricular repolarization in intact canine. Sympathetic stimulation can reduce transmural dispersion of repolarization, but it can produce early afterdepolarizations in the Mid. Parasympathetic stimulation does not significantly affect the transmural dispersion of ventricular repolarization.

Effect of Calcium-Channel Antagonist on Repolarization Heterogeneity of Ventricular Myocardium in an in Vitro Rabbit Model of Long QT Syndrome

Intracellular Ca2＋ and Ca2＋-dependent signaling molecule play an essential role in the genesis of long-QT （LQT） syndrome-related ventricular arrhythmias. The effect of calcium-channel antagonist verapamil on repolarization heterogeneity of ventricular myocardium was assessed in an in vitro rabbit model of LQT syndrome. By using the monophasic action potential （MAP） recording technique, MAPs of epicardium, mid-myocardium and endocardium were simultaneously recorded by specially designed plunge-needle electrodes across the left ventricular free wall in rabbit hearts purfused by Langendorff method with standard Tyrode＇s solution. Bradycardia was induced by com- plete ablation of atrioventricular node. A catheter was introduced into the right ventricle to pace at the cycle lengths （CLs） of 1500, 1000, and 500 ms, successively. Quinidine （2 μmol/L） prolonged QT interval and ventricular MAP duration （MAPD）, and increased transmural dispersion of repolarization （TDR） in a reverse rate-dependent fashion in isolated rabbit heart. No polymorphic ventricular tachycardias were induced under this condition. The effective free therapeutic plasma concentrations of verapamil （0.01--0.05μmol/L） used in this experiment had no effect on quinidine-induced changes of QT interval, MAPD and TDR. This study demonstrated that, in this model of LQT syndrome, blockade of calcium-channel with verapmil had no effect on quinidine-induced changes of repolatiation heterogeneity of ventricular myocardium.

L-type calcium current in right ventricular outflow tract myocytes of rabbit heart

The mechanism of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia originating from the right ventricular outflow tract （RVOT） is not clear. Many clinical reports have suggested a mechanism of triggered activity. However, there are few studies investigating this be- cause of the technical difficulties associated with examining this theory. The L-type calcium current （/Ca-L）, an important in- ward current of the action potential （AP）, plays an important role in arrhythmogenesis. The aim of this study was to explore differences in the APs of right ventricular （RV） and RVOT cardiomyocytes, and differences in electrophysiological character- istics of the ICa-L in these myocytes. Rabbit RVOT and RV myocytes were isolated and their AP and Ic,-L were investigated us- ing the patch-clamp technique. RVOT cardiomyocytes had a wider range of AP duration （APD） than RV cardiomyocytes, with some markedly prolonged APDs and markedly shortened APDs. The markedly shortened APDs in RVOT myocytes were abolished by treatment with 4-AP, an inhibitor of the transient outward potassium current, but the markedly prolonged APDs remained, with some myocytes with a long AP plateau not repolarizing to resting potential. In addition, early afterdepolariza- tion （EAD） and second plateau responses were seen in RVOT myocytes but not in RV myocytes. RVOT myocytes had a high- er current density for/Ca-L than RV myocytes （RVOT （13.16±0.87） pA pF-1, RV （8.59±1.97） pA pF-1; P〈0.05）. The ICa-L and the prolonged APD were reduced, and the EAD and second plateau response disappeared, after treatment with nifedipine （10 μmol L^-1）, which blocks the Ica-L. In conclusion, there was a wider range of APDs in RVOT myocytes than in RV myocytes, which is one of the basic factors involved in arrhythmogenesis. The higher current density for ICa-L is one of the factors causing prolongation of the APD in RVOT myocytes. The combination of EAD with prolonged APD may be one of the mechanisms of RVOT-VT generation.