Optogenetic control of heart muscle in vitro and in vivo.
Electrical stimulation is the standard technique for exploring electrical behavior of heart muscle, but this approach has considerable technical limitations. Here we report expression of the light-activated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 for light-induced stimulation of heart muscle in vitro and in mice. This method enabled precise localized stimulation and constant prolonged depolarization of cardiomyocytes and cardiac tissue resulting in alterations of pacemaking, Ca(2+) homeostasis, electrical coupling and arrhythmogenic spontaneous extrabeats.
Bruegmann
Tobias
T
Institute of Physiology I, Life and Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Malan
Daniela
D
Hesse
Michael
M
Beiert
Thomas
T
Fuegemann
Christopher J
CJ
Fleischmann
Bernd K
BK
Sasse
Philipp
P
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D000075402:Channelrhodopsins; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004562:Electrocardiography; D051379:Mice; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology*; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial
D000075402:Channelrhodopsins; D002118:Calcium