scholarly journals Acute Optogenetic Modulation of Cardiac Twitch Dynamics Explored Through Modeling

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasser Aboelkassem ◽  
Stuart G. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Relaxation ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
Cellular Membrane ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Cardiac Action Potential ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Twitch Force ◽  
Cardiac Action ◽  
Two Hybrid ◽  
Meaningful Stimulus

Optogenetic approaches allow cellular membrane potentials to be perturbed by light. When applied to muscle cells, mechanical events can be controlled through a process that could be termed “optomechanics.” Besides functioning as an optical on/off switch, we hypothesized that optomechanical control could include the ability to manipulate the strength and duration of contraction events. To explore this possibility, we constructed an electromechanical model of the human ventricular cardiomyocyte while adding a representation of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), a light-activated channel commonly used in optogenetics. Two hybrid stimulus protocols were developed that combined light-based stimuli with traditional electrical current (all-or-none) excitation. The first protocol involved delivery of a subthreshold optical stimulus followed 50–90 ms later by an electrical stimulus. The result was a graded inhibition of peak cellular twitch force in concert with a prolongation of the intracellular Ca2+ transient. The second protocol was comprised of an electrical stimulus followed by a long light pulse (250–350 ms) that acted to prolong the cardiac action potential (AP). This created a pulse duration-dependent prolongation of the intracellular Ca2+ transient that in turn altered the rate of muscle relaxation without changing peak twitch force. These results illustrate the feasibility of acute, optomechanical manipulation of cardiomyocyte contraction and suggest that this approach could be used to probe the dynamic behavior of the cardiac sarcomere without altering its intrinsic properties. Other experimentally meaningful stimulus protocols could be designed by making use of the optomechanical cardiomyocyte model presented here.

scholarly journals Stochastic pacing reveals the propensity to cardiac action potential alternans and uncovers its underlying dynamics

2016 ◽  
Vol 594 (9) ◽  
pp. 2537-2553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Prudat ◽  
Roshni V. Madhvani ◽  
Marina Angelini ◽  
Nils P. Borgstom ◽  
Alan Garfinkel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Cardiac Action Potential ◽  
Cardiac Action

scholarly journals Dynamics of the late Na+ current during cardiac action potential and its contribution to afterdepolarizations

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balazs Horvath ◽  
Tamas Banyasz ◽  
Zhong Jian ◽  
Bence Hegyi ◽  
Kornel Kistamas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Cardiac Action Potential ◽  
Na Current ◽  
Cardiac Action

scholarly journals Upgraded molecular models of the human KCNQ1 potassium channel

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Kuenze ◽  
Amanda M. Duran ◽  
Hope Woods ◽  
Kathryn R. Brewer ◽  
Eli Fritz McDonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Voltage Sensor ◽  
Cardiac Action Potential ◽  
Molecular Models ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Voltage Sensing ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
Cardiac Action ◽  
Electrical Impulses ◽  
Voltage Sensing Domain ◽  
Pore Domain

AbstractThe voltage-gated potassium channel KCNQ1 (KV7.1) assembles with the KCNE1 accessory protein to generate the slow delayed rectifier current, IKS, which is critical for membrane repolarization as part of the cardiac action potential. Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in KCNQ1 are the most common cause of congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS), type 1 LQTS, an inherited genetic predisposition to cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. A detailed structural understanding of KCNQ1 is needed to elucidate the molecular basis for KCNQ1 LOF in disease and to enable structure-guided design of new anti-arrhythmic drugs. In this work, advanced structural models of human KCNQ1 in the resting/closed and activated/open states were developed by Rosetta homology modeling guided by newly available experimentally-based templates: X. leavis KCNQ1 and resting voltage sensor structures. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the models’ capability to describe experimentally established channel properties including state-dependent voltage sensor gating charge interactions and pore conformations, PIP2 binding sites, and voltage sensor – pore domain interactions were validated. Rosetta energy calculations were applied to assess the models’ utility in interpreting mutation-evoked KCNQ1 dysfunction by predicting the change in protein thermodynamic stability for 50 characterized KCNQ1 variants with mutations located in the voltage-sensing domain. Energetic destabilization was successfully predicted for folding-defective KCNQ1 LOF mutants whereas wild type-like mutants had no significant energetic frustrations, which supports growing evidence that mutation-induced protein destabilization is an especially common cause of KCNQ1 dysfunction. The new KCNQ1 Rosetta models provide helpful tools in the study of the structural mechanisms of KCNQ1 function and can be used to generate structure-based hypotheses to explain KCNQ1 dysfunction.Author SummaryCardiac rhythm is maintained by synchronized electrical impulses conducted throughout the heart. The potassium ion channel KCNQ1 is important for the repolarization phase of the cardiac action potential that underlies these electrical impulses. Heritable mutations in KCNQ1 can lead to channel loss-of-function (LOF) and predisposition to a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia. Knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of KCNQ1 is important to understand how mutations lead to LOF and to support structurally-guided design of new anti-arrhythmic drugs. In this work, we present the development and validation of molecular models of human KCNQ1 inferred by homology from the structure of frog KCNQ1. Models were developed for the open channel state in which potassium ions can pass through the channel and the closed state in which the channel is not conductive. Using molecular dynamics simulations, interactions in the voltage-sensing and pore domain of KCNQ1 and with the membrane lipid PIP2 were analyzed. Energy calculations for KCNQ1 mutations in the voltage-sensing domain reveled that most of the mutations that lead to LOF cause energetic destabilization of the KCNQ1 protein. The results support both the utility of the new models and growing evidence that mutation-induced protein destabilization is a common cause of KCNQ1 dysfunction.

scholarly journals Ceramide modulates HERG potassium channel gating by translocation into lipid rafts

2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (1) ◽  
pp. C74-C86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sindura B. Ganapathi ◽  
Todd E. Fox ◽  
Mark Kester ◽  
Keith S. Elmslie
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Channels ◽  
Action Potential ◽  
Lipid Rafts ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Cardiac Action Potential ◽  
Cholesterol Depletion ◽  
Cardiac Action ◽  
Herg Channels ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Action Potential Repolarization

Human ether-à-go-go-related gene (HERG) potassium channels play an important role in cardiac action potential repolarization, and HERG dysfunction can cause cardiac arrhythmias. However, recent evidence suggests a role for HERG in the proliferation and progression of multiple types of cancers, making it an attractive target for cancer therapy. Ceramide is an important second messenger of the sphingolipid family, which due to its proapoptotic properties has shown promising results in animal models as an anticancer agent . Yet the acute effects of ceramide on HERG potassium channels are not known. In the present study we examined the effects of cell-permeable C6-ceramide on HERG potassium channels stably expressed in HEK-293 cells. C6-ceramide (10 μM) reversibly inhibited HERG channel current (IHERG) by 36 ± 5%. Kinetically, ceramide induced a significant hyperpolarizing shift in the current-voltage relationship (Δ V1/2 = −8 ± 0.5 mV) and increased the deactivation rate (43 ± 3% for τfast and 51 ± 3% for τslow). Mechanistically, ceramide recruited HERG channels within caveolin-enriched lipid rafts. Cholesterol depletion and repletion experiments and mathematical modeling studies confirmed that inhibition and gating effects are mediated by separate mechanisms. The ceramide-induced hyperpolarizing gating shift (raft mediated) could offset the impact of inhibition (raft independent) during cardiac action potential repolarization, so together they may nullify any negative impact on cardiac rhythm. Our results provide new insights into the effects of C6-ceramide on HERG channels and suggest that C6-ceramide can be a promising therapeutic for cancers that overexpress HERG.

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