Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling

Cardiac arrhythmias significantly contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The rabbit heart serves as an accepted model system for studying cardiac cell excitation and arrhythmogenicity. Accordingly, primary cultures of adult rabbit ventricular cardiomyocytes serve as a preferable model...

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Main Authors: Anatoli Y. Kabakov, Elif Sengun, Yichun Lu, Karim Roder, Peter Bronk, Brett Baggett, Nilüfer N. Turan, Karni S. Moshal, Gideon Koren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Physiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.672360/full
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author Anatoli Y. Kabakov
Elif Sengun
Elif Sengun
Yichun Lu
Karim Roder
Peter Bronk
Brett Baggett
Nilüfer N. Turan
Karni S. Moshal
Gideon Koren
author_facet Anatoli Y. Kabakov
Elif Sengun
Elif Sengun
Yichun Lu
Karim Roder
Peter Bronk
Brett Baggett
Nilüfer N. Turan
Karni S. Moshal
Gideon Koren
author_sort Anatoli Y. Kabakov
collection DOAJ
description Cardiac arrhythmias significantly contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The rabbit heart serves as an accepted model system for studying cardiac cell excitation and arrhythmogenicity. Accordingly, primary cultures of adult rabbit ventricular cardiomyocytes serve as a preferable model to study molecular mechanisms of human cardiac excitation. However, the use of adult rabbit cardiomyocytes is often regarded as excessively costly. Therefore, we developed and characterized a novel low-cost rabbit cardiomyocyte model, namely, 3-week-old ventricular cardiomyocytes (3wRbCMs). Ventricular myocytes were isolated from whole ventricles of 3-week-old New Zealand White rabbits of both sexes by standard enzymatic techniques. Using wheat germ agglutinin, we found a clear T-tubule structure in acutely isolated 3wRbCMs. Cells were adenovirally infected (multiplicity of infection of 10) to express Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and cultured for 48 h. The cells showed action potential duration (APD90 = 253 ± 24 ms) and calcium transients similar to adult rabbit cardiomyocytes. Freshly isolated and 48-h-old-cultured cells expressed critical ion channel proteins: calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C (Cavα1c), sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 5 (Nav1.5), potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily D member 3 (Kv4.3), and subfamily A member 4 (Kv1.4), and also subfamily H member 2 (RERG. Kv11.1), KvLQT1 (K7.1) protein and inward-rectifier potassium channel (Kir2.1). The cells displayed an appropriate electrophysiological phenotype, including fast sodium current (INa), transient outward potassium current (Ito), L-type calcium channel peak current (ICa,L), rapid and slow components of the delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr and IKs), and inward rectifier (IK1). Although expression of the channel proteins and some currents decreased during the 48 h of culturing, we conclude that 3wRbCMs are a new, low-cost alternative to the adult-rabbit-cardiomyocytes system, which allows the investigation of molecular mechanisms of cardiac excitation on morphological, biochemical, genetic, physiological, and biophysical levels.
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spelling doaj.art-0c8d88d075894b5998ad6056eb8832422023-02-21T16:33:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2021-11-011210.3389/fphys.2021.672360672360Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC CouplingAnatoli Y. Kabakov0Elif Sengun1Elif Sengun2Yichun Lu3Karim Roder4Peter Bronk5Brett Baggett6Nilüfer N. Turan7Karni S. Moshal8Gideon Koren9Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Pharmacology, Institute of Graduate Studies in Health Sciences, Istanbul University, Istanbul, TürkiyeDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesCardiac arrhythmias significantly contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The rabbit heart serves as an accepted model system for studying cardiac cell excitation and arrhythmogenicity. Accordingly, primary cultures of adult rabbit ventricular cardiomyocytes serve as a preferable model to study molecular mechanisms of human cardiac excitation. However, the use of adult rabbit cardiomyocytes is often regarded as excessively costly. Therefore, we developed and characterized a novel low-cost rabbit cardiomyocyte model, namely, 3-week-old ventricular cardiomyocytes (3wRbCMs). Ventricular myocytes were isolated from whole ventricles of 3-week-old New Zealand White rabbits of both sexes by standard enzymatic techniques. Using wheat germ agglutinin, we found a clear T-tubule structure in acutely isolated 3wRbCMs. Cells were adenovirally infected (multiplicity of infection of 10) to express Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and cultured for 48 h. The cells showed action potential duration (APD90 = 253 ± 24 ms) and calcium transients similar to adult rabbit cardiomyocytes. Freshly isolated and 48-h-old-cultured cells expressed critical ion channel proteins: calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C (Cavα1c), sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 5 (Nav1.5), potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily D member 3 (Kv4.3), and subfamily A member 4 (Kv1.4), and also subfamily H member 2 (RERG. Kv11.1), KvLQT1 (K7.1) protein and inward-rectifier potassium channel (Kir2.1). The cells displayed an appropriate electrophysiological phenotype, including fast sodium current (INa), transient outward potassium current (Ito), L-type calcium channel peak current (ICa,L), rapid and slow components of the delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr and IKs), and inward rectifier (IK1). Although expression of the channel proteins and some currents decreased during the 48 h of culturing, we conclude that 3wRbCMs are a new, low-cost alternative to the adult-rabbit-cardiomyocytes system, which allows the investigation of molecular mechanisms of cardiac excitation on morphological, biochemical, genetic, physiological, and biophysical levels.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.672360/fullcardiac ventricular myocytesculturedrabbitEC couplingpatch clampcardiac excitation
spellingShingle Anatoli Y. Kabakov
Elif Sengun
Elif Sengun
Yichun Lu
Karim Roder
Peter Bronk
Brett Baggett
Nilüfer N. Turan
Karni S. Moshal
Gideon Koren
Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling
Frontiers in Physiology
cardiac ventricular myocytes
cultured
rabbit
EC coupling
patch clamp
cardiac excitation
title Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling
title_full Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling
title_fullStr Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling
title_full_unstemmed Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling
title_short Three-Week-Old Rabbit Ventricular Cardiomyocytes as a Novel System to Study Cardiac Excitation and EC Coupling
title_sort three week old rabbit ventricular cardiomyocytes as a novel system to study cardiac excitation and ec coupling
topic cardiac ventricular myocytes
cultured
rabbit
EC coupling
patch clamp
cardiac excitation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.672360/full
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