Heterogeneous three-dimensional anatomical and electrophysiological model of human atria

Author(s):  
Gunnar Seemann ◽  
Christine Höper ◽  
Frank B Sachse ◽  
Olaf Dössel ◽  
Arun V Holden ◽  
...  

Investigating the mechanisms underlying the genesis and conduction of electrical excitation in the atria at physiological and pathological states is of great importance. To provide knowledge concerning the mechanisms of excitation, we constructed a biophysical detailed and anatomically accurate computer model of human atria that incorporates both structural and electrophysiological heterogeneities. The three-dimensional geometry was extracted from the visible female dataset. The sinoatrial node (SAN) and atrium, including crista terminalis (CT), pectinate muscles (PM), appendages (APG) and Bachmann's bundle (BB) were segmented in this work. Fibre orientation in CT, PM and BB was set to local longitudinal direction. Descriptions for all used cell types were based on modifications of the Courtemanche et al . model of a human atrial cell. Maximum conductances of , and were modified for PM, CT, APG and atrioventricular ring to reproduce measured action potentials (AP). Pacemaker activity in the human SAN was reproduced by removing , but including , , and gradients of channel conductances as described in previous studies for heterogeneous rabbit SAN. Anisotropic conduction was computed with a monodomain model using the finite element method. The transversal to longitudinal ratio of conductivity for PM, CT and BB was 1 : 9. Atrial working myocardium (AWM) was set to be isotropic. Simulation of atrial electrophysiology showed initiation of APs in the SAN centre. The excitation spread afterwards to the periphery near to the region of the CT and preferentially towards the atrioventricular region. The excitation extends over the right atrium along PM. Both CT and PM activated the right AWM. Earliest activation of the left atrium was through BB and excitation spread over to the APG. The conduction velocities were 0.6 m s −1 for AWM, 1.2 m s −1 for CT, 1.6 m s −1 for PM and 1.1 m s −1 for BB at a rate of 63 bpm. The simulations revealed that bundles form dominant pathways for atrial conduction. The preferential conduction towards CT and along PM is comparable with clinical mapping. Repolarization is more homogeneous than excitation due to the heterogeneous distribution of electrophysiological properties and hence the action potential duration.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongdong Deng ◽  
Peifeng Jiao ◽  
Xuesong Ye ◽  
Ling Xia

Many heart anatomy models have been developed to study the electrophysiological properties of the human heart. However, none of them includes the geometry of the whole human heart. In this study, an anatomically detailed mathematical model of the human heart was firstly reconstructed from the computed tomography images. In the reconstructed model, the atria consisted of atrial muscles, sinoatrial node, crista terminalis, pectinate muscles, Bachmann’s bundle, intercaval bundles, and limbus of the fossa ovalis. The atrioventricular junction included the atrioventricular node and atrioventricular ring, and the ventricles had ventricular muscles, His bundle, bundle branches, and Purkinje network. The epicardial and endocardial myofiber orientations of the ventricles and one layer of atrial myofiber orientation were then measured. They were calculated using linear interpolation technique and minimum distance algorithm, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first anatomically-detailed human heart model with corresponding experimentally measured fibers orientation. In addition, the whole heart excitation propagation was simulated using a monodomain model. The simulated normal activation sequence agreed well with the published experimental findings.


Author(s):  
Samuel R Kuo ◽  
Natalia A Trayanova

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is believed to be perpetuated by recirculating spiral waves. Atrial structures are often characterized with action potentials of varying morphologies; however, the role of the structure-dependent atrial electrophysiological heterogeneity in spiral wave behaviour is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of action potential morphology heterogeneity associated with the major atrial structures in spiral wave maintenance. The present study also focuses on how this effect is further modulated by the presence of the inherent periodicity in atrial structure. The goals of the study are achieved through the simulation of electrical behaviour in a two-dimensional atrial tissue model that incorporates the representation of action potentials in various structurally distinct regions in the right atrium. Periodic boundary conditions are then imposed to form a cylinder (quasi three-dimensional), thus allowing exploration of the additional effect of structure periodicity on spiral wave behaviour. Transmembrane potential maps and phase singularity traces are analysed to determine effects on spiral wave behaviour. Results demonstrate that the prolonged refractoriness of the crista terminalis (CT) affects the pattern of spiral wave reentry, while the variation in action potential morphology of the other structures does not. The CT anchors the spiral waves, preventing them from drifting away. Spiral wave dynamics is altered when the ends of the sheet are spliced together to form a cylinder. The main effect of the continuous surface is the generation of secondary spiral waves which influences the primary rotors. The interaction of the primary and secondary spiral waves decreased as cylinder diameter increased.


1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (3) ◽  
pp. H877-H887 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. I. Bromberg ◽  
D. E. Hand ◽  
R. B. Schuessler ◽  
J. P. Boineau

Activation sequence maps derived during normal sinus rhythm from extracellular potentials in the canine right atrium exhibit widely separated sites of origin. The objectives of this study were to characterize the distribution of pacemakers within the right atrium and to determine the relationship of pacemaker action potentials to sites of earliest surface activation as well as to local extracellular electrograms. The right atria of six adult mongrel dogs were rapidly excised under deep pentobarbital sodium anesthesia and perfused with 95% O2-5% CO2 Krebs-Henseleit solution. Action potentials from the epicardial surface were recorded throughout the region bounded by the crista terminalis laterally and the atrial septum medially. Simultaneously, unipolar extracellular electrograms were recorded from 250 endocardial sites. The earliest pacemakers preceded the earliest electrogram by 63 +/- 34 ms; the latest pacemakers followed the earliest electrogram by 71 +/- 40 ms. Primary negativity in the extracellular electro gram did not predict the site of the earliest or dominant pace maker and in some cases was associated with the latest pace makers. We conclude that primary negativity and/or the sites of earliest activation reflect the point at which the impulse engages atrial myocardium, not the site of earliest pacemaker activity. As such, early extracellular activation appears to represent sites of exit from a relatively insulated sinus node.


2020 ◽  
Vol 127 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Y Medvedev ◽  
Lucas Ratajczyk ◽  
Frank C Deguire ◽  
Alexander R Vasquez ◽  
Di Lang ◽  
...  

Background: In cardiac myocytes, efficient and synchronous excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) occurs through a specialized network of membrane invaginations called transverse-axial tubule system (TATS). In contrast to an extensive TATS in ventricular myocytes, atrial cells show a significantly heterogeneous organization of TATS, varying from a ventricular-like organized TATS to absent/irregular TATS. However, anatomical distribution of atrial TATS and its functional significance remains unknown. We hypothesized that atrial myocytes with a different TATS organization have a specific anatomical location within the atria that determines their impact on atrial ECC and contraction. Methods and Results: In order to avoid the potential bias associated with cell isolation, we applied a mosaic imaging protocol at the whole-mount isolated mouse atrial preparation stained with a membrane dye RH-237. We developed an algorithm that can automatically remove the outer membrane and analyze TATS organization. This analysis showed that myocytes located within the inter-caval region (ICR, i.e., between the superior and inferior vena cava and between the crista terminalis in atrioventricular junction) have a lower TATS organization than cells located within the right atrial appendage (RAA): 0.21±0.01 A.U. vs. 0.50±0.02 A.U. in ICR vs. RAA, respectively, P<0.01. Fluorescent optical mapping of Ca 2+ transients from isolated mouse atrial preparations revealed that ICR region has a longer Ca 2+ transient rise up time compared to RAA (7.8±0.3 ms vs. 6.3±0.3 ms, P<0.01). Moreover, a similar region-specific TATS organization was found in human non-failing (donor) atrial tissue samples. The analysis of TATS density in specimens selected from ICR and RAA regions of the human hearts (n=4) showed a significantly lower density of TATS in ICR compared to RAA region (5.8±0.2% vs. 10.6±0.4%, P<0.01). Conclusion: Our findings show a region-specific structural and functional differences of myocytes from RAA and ICR regions of mouse and human heart that could represent a general organization of the mammalian atria. It may have important implications into establishment of different functional roles of cells with a specific TATS structure in atrial physiology and pathology.


Author(s):  
Waykin Nopanitaya ◽  
Joe W. Grisham ◽  
Johnny L. Carson

An interesting feature of the goldfish liver is the morphology of the hepatic plate, which is always formed by a two-cell layer of hepatocytes. Hepatic plates of the goldfish liver contain an infrequently seen second type of cell, in the centers of plates between two hepatocytes. A TEH study by Yamamoto (1) demonstrated ultrastructural differences between hepatocytes and centrally located cells in hepatic plates; the latter were classified as ductule cells of the biliary system. None of the previous studies clearly showed a three-dimensional organization of the two cell types described. In the present investigation we utilize SEM to elucidate the arrangement of hepatocytes and bile ductular cells in intralobular plates of goldfish liver.Livers from young goldfish (Carassius auratus), about 6-10 cm, fed commercial fish food were used for this study. Hepatic samples were fixed in 4% buffered paraformaldehyde, cut into pieces, fractured, osmicated, CPD, mounted Au-Pd coated, and viewed by SEM at 17-20 kV. Our observations were confined to the ultrastructure of biliary passages within intralobular plates, ductule cells, and hepatocytes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Termini ◽  
Enrique Boccardo

In vitro culture of primary or established cell lines is one of the leading techniques in many areas of basic biological research. The use of pure or highly enriched cultures of specific cell types obtained from different tissues and genetics backgrounds has greatly contributed to our current understanding of normal and pathological cellular processes. Cells in culture are easily propagated generating an almost endless source of material for experimentation. Besides, they can be manipulated to achieve gene silencing, gene overexpression and genome editing turning possible the dissection of specific gene functions and signaling pathways. However, monolayer and suspension cultures of cells do not reproduce the cell type diversity, cell-cell contacts, cell-matrix interactions and differentiation pathways typical of the three-dimensional environment of tissues and organs from where they were originated. Therefore, different experimental animal models have been developed and applied to address these and other complex issues in vivo. However, these systems are costly and time consuming. Most importantly the use of animals in scientific research poses moral and ethical concerns facing a steadily increasing opposition from different sectors of the society. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of alternative in vitro experimental models that accurately reproduce the events observed in vivo to reduce the use of animals. Organotypic cultures combine the flexibility of traditional culture systems with the possibility of culturing different cell types in a 3D environment that reproduces both the structure and the physiology of the parental organ. Here we present a summarized description of the use of epithelial organotypic for the study of skin physiology, human papillomavirus biology and associated tumorigenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Enomoto ◽  
Kazuhiko Yamada ◽  
Daiki Kato ◽  
Shusuke Yagi ◽  
Hitomi Wake ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bochdalek hernia is a common congenital diaphragmatic defect that usually manifests with cardiopulmonary insufficiency in neonates. It is very rare in adults, and symptomatic cases are mostly left-sided. Diaphragmatic defects generally warrant immediate surgical intervention to reduce the risk of incarceration or strangulation of the displaced viscera. Case presentation A 47-year-old woman presented with dyspnea on exertion. Computed tomography revealed that a large part of the intestinal loop with superior mesenteric vessels and the right kidney were displaced into the right thoracic cavity. Preoperative three-dimensional (3D) simulation software visualized detailed anatomy of displaced viscera and the precise location and size of the diaphragmatic defect. She underwent elective surgery after concomitant pulmonary hypertension was stabilized preoperatively. The laparotomic approach was adopted. Malformation of the liver and the presence of intestinal malrotation were confirmed during the operation. The distal part of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, and right kidney were reduced into the abdominal cavity consecutively. A large-sized oval defect was closed with monofilament polypropylene mesh. No complications occurred postoperatively. Conclusion Symptomatic right-sided Bochdalek hernia in adults is exceedingly rare and is frequently accompanied by various visceral anomalies. Accurate diagnosis and appropriate surgical repair are crucial to prevent possible incarceration or strangulation. The preoperative 3D simulation provided comprehensive information on anatomy and concomitant anomalies and helped surgeons plan the operation meticulously and perform procedures safely.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Cezary Grochowski ◽  
Kamil Jonak ◽  
Marcin Maciejewski ◽  
Andrzej Stępniewski ◽  
Mansur Rahnama-Hezavah

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the volumetry of the hippocampus in the Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) of blind patients. Methods: A total of 25 patients with LHON were randomly included into the study from the national health database. A total of 15 patients were selected according to the inclusion criteria. The submillimeter segmentation of the hippocampus was based on three-dimensional spoiled gradient recalled acquisition in steady state (3D-SPGR) BRAVO 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that compared to healthy controls (HC), LHON subjects had multiple significant differences only in the right hippocampus, including a significantly higher volume of hippocampal tail (p = 0.009), subiculum body (p = 0.018), CA1 body (p = 0.002), hippocampal fissure (p = 0.046), molecular layer hippocampus (HP) body (p = 0.014), CA3 body (p = 0.006), Granule Cell (GC) and Molecular Layer (ML) of the Dentate Gyrus (DG)–GC ML DG body (p = 0.003), CA4 body (p = 0.001), whole hippocampal body (p = 0.018), and the whole hippocampus volume (p = 0.023). Discussion: The ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging allowed hippocampus quality visualization and analysis, serving as a powerful in vivo diagnostic tool in the diagnostic process and LHON disease course assessment. The study confirmed previous reports regarding volumetry of hippocampus in blind individuals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document