目的 通过建立大鼠急性低氧运动模型,观察大鼠单个心室肌细胞瞬时外向钾电流(Ito)的改变,在细胞水平探究模拟高原低氧条件下力竭运动对心脏电生理的影响.方法 将40只健康雄性清洁级SD大鼠随机分为低氧运动组、低氧安静组、常氧运动组和常氧安静组,每组10只.利用小动物低压氧舱和常氧状态下进行力竭运动试验.取出各组大鼠心脏,利用灌流酶解法分离大鼠单个心室肌细胞,采用全细胞膜片钳技术记录大鼠单个心室肌细胞的瞬时外向钾电流.采用SPSS 20.0统计软件进行数据处理,多组间比较采用ANOVA方差分析,组间两两比较采用SNK-q检验.结果 与常氧安静组比较,+40 mV时,低氧运动组的Ito电流密度显著降低,且低于低氧安静组及常氧运动组,此效应呈现电压依赖性.门控机制研究显示,低氧运动时大鼠心肌细胞Ito稳态激活曲线失活向超极化方向移动,而稳态失活曲线则向去极化方向移动,二者综合效应使Ito电流显著降低.结论 急性低氧运动可通过改变钾通道稳态激活与稳态失活过程,降低大鼠心室肌细胞Ito,这可能是急性低氧运动导致心律失常的主要原因之一.

Anti-depressant treatment has been found to be associated with the development of Brugada syndrome (BrS) through poorly defined mechanisms. Herein, this study aimed to explore the molecular basis for amitriptyline-induced BrS. The effects of long-term treatments of amitriptyline on Nav1.5 were investigated using neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. The electrophysiological properties, expression and distribution of Nav1.5 were studied using the patch clamp, Western blot and confocal laser microscopy assays. Interactions between Nav1.5 and its interacting proteins, including ankyrin-G and dystrophin, were evaluated by co-immunoprecipitation. A larger decrease in the peak INa occurred after long-term treatments to amitriptyline (56.64%) than after acute exposure to amitriptyline (28%). Slow recovery from inactivation of Nav1.5 was observed after acute or long-term treatments to amitriptyline. The expression of Nav1.5 on the cell membrane showed a larger decrease by long-term treatments to amitriptyline than by acute exposure to amitriptyline. After long-term treatments to amitriptyline, we observed reduced Nav1.5 proteins on the cell membrane and the disrupted co-localization of Nav1.5 and ankyrin-G or dystrophin. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments further testified that the combination of Nav1.5 and ankyrin-G or dystrophin was severely weakened after long-term treatments to amitriptyline, implying the failed interaction between Nav1.5 and ankyrin-G or dystrophin. Our data suggest that the long-term effect of amitriptyline serves as an important contribution to BrS induced by amitriptyline. The mechanisms of BrS induced by amitriptyline were related to Nav1.5 trafficking and could be explained by the disrupted interaction of ankyrin-G, dystrophin and Nav1.5.

Objective To observe the effect of stress on the rapid component of delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr) in rat cardiomyocytes. Methods Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (10 each): control group (Ctrl), exhaustive group (ES), noise group (WN) and composite group (ES+WN). Stress animal models were prepared as follows: Rats in ES group were undergoing exhaustive swimming as the stress factor, in WN group undergoing white noise and in ES+WN group undergoing exhaustive swimming + white noise as the stress factor. Langendorff device was used to reversely perfuse collagenase for isolating the rat's ventricular myocytes. The effect of stress on IKr current and gating mechanism of single ventricular myocyte was recorded by whole-cell patch clamp technique. Results Compared with the Ctrl group, the tail current density of IKr (IKr,tail) of ventricular myocytes increased significantly in ES group and WN group (P<0.01). The IKr,tail current density of the ventricular myocytes in ES+WN group was significantly higher than that in ES group and WN group (P<0.01), and the effect was voltage dependent. Gating mechanism revealed that the half inactivation voltage of IKr,tail (V1/2,inact) can be shifted to the right in ES group, WN group and ES+WN group when compared with the Ctrl group, and the recovery time constant shortened after inactivation (P<0.01). However, the steady-state activation, fast inactivation constant and voltage dependence of IKr,tail were not statistically significant in ES group, WN group and ES+WN group when compared with the Ctrl group. Conclusion Stress increases the IKr current in rat cardiomyocytes, suggesting it be one of the electrophysiological bases of stress-induced arrhythmia.

OBJECTIVE:Allocryptopine (ALL) is an effective alkaloid of Corydalis decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. Papaveraceae and has proved to be anti-arrhythmic. The purpose of our study is to investigate the effects of ALL on transmural repolarizing ionic ingredients of outward potassium current (I to) and slow delayed rectifier potassium current (I Ks).METHODS:The monophasic action potential (MAP) technique was used to record the MAP duration of the epicardium (Epi), myocardium (M) and endocardium (Endo) of the rabbit heart and the whole cell patch clamp was used to record I to and I Ks in cardiomyocytes of Epi, M and Endo layers that were isolated from rabbit ventricles.RESULTS:The effects of ALL on MAP of Epi, M and Endo layers were disequilibrium. ALL could effectively reduce the transmural dispersion of repolarization (TDR) in rabbit transmural ventricular wall. ALL decreased the current densities of I to and I Ks in a voltage and concentration dependent way and narrowed the repolarizing differences among three layers. The analysis of gating kinetics showed ALL accelerated the channel activation of I to in M layers and partly inhibit the channel openings of I to in Epi, M and Endo cells. On the other hand, ALL mainly slowed channel deactivation of I Ks channel in Epi and Endo layers without affecting its activation.CONCLUSIONS:Our study gives partially explanation about the mechanisms of transmural inhibition of I to and I Ks channels by ALL in rabbit myocardium. These findings provide novel perspective regarding the anti-arrhythmogenesis application of ALL in clinical settings.

Objective To investigate the effects of sodium tanshinoneⅡA sulfonate (STS) on rapidly activating component of delayed rectifier K current (IKr) in sinoatrial node cells (SNCs) from neonatal rats. Methods The SNCs were isolated and cultured from the sinus node tissues derived from neonatal rats (<24 hours old) by enzymatic dispersion with differential attachment as well as 5’-bromodeoxyufidine (5-BrdU). IKr currents in the STS treated cells were measured by whole-cell configuration with patch-clamp technique. Results The frequency of SNCs beat was significantly increased by 30μmol/L STS, from (157.2±10.3) to (268.1±12.6) times/min. This dose of STS induced the current densities of IKr,tail increased from (54.6±4.7) to (86.3±8.3) pA/pF (n=10, P<0.01). IKr,tail was excited by 1 to 100μmol/L STS in a dose-dependent fashion, with a half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of (29.3±1.02)μmol/L and Hill coefficient of 1.05. Investigation of gating mechanism showed that the effect was associated with the increase of STS concentration enhancing the steady-state activation and the recovery of inactivation of IKr,tail currents in SNCs, but hade little effect on the steady-state inactivation of IKr. Conclusion STS improves the densities of IKr, and then shortens repolarization duration and enhances pulse frequency of SNCs.

This study was designed to test the allitridum (All) activity in correction of sodium current decrease caused by SCN5A-F1473S mutation in HEK293 cells. The result may provide a theoretical basis for screening of new drugs in the treatment of Brugada syndrome. We transferred SCN5A-F1473S channel plasmids into HEK293 cells in a transient transfection. All was administrated acutely and chronically using extracellular irrigation flow and co-culture model. The concentration of All was 30 μmol·L(-1). We used whole cell patch clamp technique in voltage clamp mode to record current and gating kinetics. In order to explore the rescue function of All on decreased sodium peak current, we used confocal microscopy and Western blot to detect the expression of channel proteins in the cell membrane. We found a significant increase in sodium peak current of the 30 μmol·L(-1) All HEK293 cells (269.8 ± 16.6 pA/pF, P < 0.01), almost closed to the current density of the control group（298.2 ± 17.5 p A/p F, P < 0.01）. All allowed the steady-state inactivation of the channel to move toward a more positive direction (V(1/2, inact) returns to -79.5 ± 2.4 mV, P < 0.01). It also slowed the intermediate state inactivation of the channel (inactivation prolongated to 598.1 ± 22.6 ms, P < 0.01). Meanwhile, All increased distribution and expression of the channel protein in the cell membrane (compared to F1473S, P < 0.01). All caused an increase of current in SCN5A-F1473S mutation cells. We consider that the main mechanism may be related to the reduced channel inactivation by the drug with an improvement of the migration barrier of the mutational channel.

OBJECTIVE:To study the effect of allitridum on the transient outward potassium current (Ito) of ventricular myocytes in heart failure (HF).METHODS:The dual enzymatic method was used to separate single ventricular myocytes from Sprague Dawley rats. Patch-clamping was used to record Ito and analyze the effect of allitridum on the current.RESULTS:The Ito current had a significant decrease in the HF group, compared with the control group. The density of Ito in the HF group was increased after treatment of allitridum (30 µmol/L). The peak current densities of Ito were enhanced in the HF group from 6.01 ± 0.30 pA/pF to 8.41 ± 0.54 pA/pF (P < 0.01) at +50 mV after treatment with allitridum (30 µmol/L). We also determined the effect of allitridum on the gating mechanism of the Ito in the HF group.CONCLUSIONS:We found that allitridum increased the Ito by accelerating the activation of channels and shortened the time constants of inactivation, and allitridum decreased the remodeling of Ito in ventricular myocytes of rats with HF.

Recent studies have shown that the mitochondrial DNA mutations are involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Our previous study identified mitochondrial tRNA(Ile) A4263G mutation in a large Chinese Han family with maternally-inherited hypertension. This mutation may contribute to mitochondrial Ca(2+) cycling dysfuntion, but the mechanism is unclear. Lymphoblastoid cell lines were derived from hypertensive and normotensive individuals, either with or without tRNA(Ile) A4263G mutation. The mitochondrial calcium ([Ca(2+)]m) in cells from hypertensive subjects with the tRNA(Ile) A4263G mutation, was lower than in cells from normotension or hypertension without mutation, or normotension with mutation (P<0.05). Meanwhile, cytosolic calcium ([Ca(2+)]c) in hypertensive with mutation cells was higher than another three groups. After exposure to caffeine, which could increase the [Ca(2+)]c by activating ryanodine receptor on endoplasmic reticulum, [Ca(2+)]c/[Ca(2+)]m increased higher than in hypertensive with mutation cells from another three groups. Moreover, MCU expression was decreased in hypertensive with mutation cells compared with in another three groups (P<0.05). [Ca(2+)]c increased and [Ca(2+)]m decreased after treatment with Ru360 (an inhibitor of MCU) or an siRNA against MCU. In this study we found decreased MCU expression in hypertensive with mutation cells contributed to dysregulated Ca(2+) uptake into the mitochondria, and cytoplasmic Ca(2+) overload. This abnormality might be involved in the underlying mechanisms of maternally inherited hypertension in subjects carrying the mitochondrial tRNA(Ile) A4263G mutation.

Mitochondrial transfer RNA (tRNA) mutation with high-salt stimulation can cause high blood pressure. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we examined the potential molecular mechanisms of cardiac damage caused by mitochondrial tRNA mutation with high-salt stimulation in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Unanesthetized, 44-wk-old, male, SHR were divided into four groups: SHR, SHR with high-salt stimulation for 8 wk (SHR + NaCl), SHR carrying tRNA mutations (SHR + M), and SHR + M with high-salt stimulation for 8 wk (SHR + M + NaCl). Healthy Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as controls. Left ventricular mass and interventricular septum were highest in the SHR + M + NaCl group ( P < 0.05), while ejection fraction was lowest in the SHR + M + NaCl group ( P < 0.05). Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed myocardial cell hypertrophy with interstitial fibrosis and localized inflammatory cell infiltration, in the hypertensive groups, particularly in the SHR + M + NaCl group. Electron microscopy showed different degrees of mitochondrial cavitation in heart tissue of the hypertensive groups, which was highest in the SHR + M + NaCl group. In hypertensive animals, levels of reactive oxygen species were highest in the SHR + M + NaCl group ( P < 0.05). Expression of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and the apoptosis regulator Bax were highest in the SHR + M + NaCl group ( P < 0.05), which also showed evidence of VDAC and Bax colocalization ( P < 0.05). Overall, these data suggest that mitochondrial tRNA mutation with high-salt stimulation can aggravate cardiac damage, potentially because of increased expression and interaction between Bax and VDAC and increased reactive oxygen species formation and initiation of apoptosis.

Ischemia reperfusion injury is known to impaire cardiac function in ischemic heart diseases (IHD). Allocryptopine is a botanical alkaloid extracted from Corydalis decumbens (Thunb) Pers Papaveraceae. Lately great attention has been paid to its anti-arrhythmic effects. We hypothesized that

Objective . To investigate the effect of α -allocryptopine (ALL) on delayed afterdepolarization (DAD) incidence and triggered activity (TA) in mice administered isoproterenol (ISO). Methods . Mouse ventricular myocytes were isolated. And the cellular electrophysiological properties of ventricular myocytes were investigated. Results . We found that the incidences of DADs and TA in mouse myocytes were increased by ISO treatment. In sharp contrast, triggered arrhythmia events were rarely observed in myocytes with 10 μ M ALL treatment. Transient inward current (Iti) was reduced significantly with ALL treatment, which contributed to DAD-related triggered arrhythmia. Compared to Iso-treated group, the L-type calcium current (ICa,L) densities were decreased after exposure to ALL, along with slower activation, quicker inactivation, and longer time constant of recovery from inactivation kinetics. Conclusion . There is less triggered arrhythmia events in ventricular myocytes treated with ALL. This effect may be associated with the inhibition ofItiandICa,L.