Mechano-electric feedback in the fish heart.
BACKGROUND
Mechanoelectric feedback (MEF) describes the modulation of electrical activity by mechanical activity. This may occur via the activation of mechanosensitive ion channels (MSCs). MEF has not previously been investigated in fish ventricular tissue even though fish can greatly increase ventricular end diastolic volume during exercise which should therefore provide a powerful mechanical stimulus for MEF.


RESULTS
When the ventricles of extrinsically paced, isolated working trout hearts were dilated by increasing afterload, monophasic action potential (MAP) duration was significantly shortened at 25% repolarisation, unaltered at 50% repolarisation and significantly lengthened at 90% repolarisation. This observation is consistent with the activation of cationic non-selective MSCs (MSC(NS)s). We then cloned the trout ortholog of TRPC1, a candidate MSC(NS) and confirmed its presence in the trout heart.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results have validated the use of MAP technology for the fish heart and suggest that, in common with amphibians and mammals, MEF operates in fish ventricular myocardium, possibly via the activation of mechanosensitive TRPC1 ion channels.
Patrick
Simon M
SM
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, England. simon.patrick@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
White
Ed
E
Shiels
Holly A
HA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004562:Electrocardiography; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017686:Oncorhynchus mykiss / Q000502:physiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
D050052:TRPC Cation Channels; C096351:transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily C, member 1