title: Microscopic conduction in cultured strands of neonatal rat heart cells measured with voltage-sensitive dyes.
abstract: Microscopic discontinuities in electrical activation were assessed in synthetic strands of neonatal rat myocytes cultured on a growth-directing matrix. An optical method using voltage-sensitive dye (RH-237) and a photodiode technique was used for recordings of membrane potential changes with subcellular resolution. Spatial resolution of the method (diameter of measurement area, 5.5 microns; interdiode distance, 30 microns) allowed for simultaneous measurements of cytoplasmic conduction time within a single cell and junctional conduction time across the cell border. In one-dimensional cell chains, where cells were juxtaposed by end-to-end connections but devoid of lateral connections, propagation of the excitation wave was strongly nonuniform: cytoplasmic conduction time was 38 +/- 30 (mean +/- SD) microseconds (n = 37), whereas junctional conduction time was 118 +/- 40 microseconds (n = 27, P < .0001). A mean delay introduced by a single junction was 80 microseconds, or 51% of conduction time. In two-dimensional strands consisting of several cells in width, which exhibited lateral as well as end-to-end connections, inhomogeneity of conduction was smaller: the cytoplasmic and junctional conduction times were 57 +/- 30 (n = 46) and 89 +/- 40 (n = 48) microseconds, respectively (P < .0001); mean junctional conduction delay was 32 microseconds (22% of conduction time). Mathematical modeling suggested that the averaging effect of lateral connections is caused by lateral convergence of local excitatory current beyond and lateral divergence before end-to-end connections. Our results demonstrate that the current flow through lateral cell-to-cell connections smooth the excitation wave front during longitudinal conduction in myocardial tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Bern Switzerland.
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Fast
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kléber
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000502:physiology*; D011726:Pyridinium Compounds; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D011726:Pyridinium Compounds; C048153:4-(6-(4-dibutylaminophenyl)-1,3,5-hexatrienyl)-1-(4'-sulfobutyl)pyridinium