Electrotonic coupling of excitable and nonexcitable cells in the heart revealed by optogenetics.

Quinn TA., Camelliti P., Rog-Zielinska EA., Siedlecka U., Poggioli T., O'Toole ET., Knöpfel T., Kohl P.

Electrophysiological studies of excitable organs usually focus on action potential (AP)-generating cells, whereas nonexcitable cells are generally considered as barriers to electrical conduction. Whether nonexcitable cells may modulate excitable cell function or even contribute to AP conduction via direct electrotonic coupling to AP-generating cells is unresolved in the heart: such coupling is present in vitro, but conclusive evidence in situ is lacking. We used genetically encoded voltage-sensitive fluorescent protein 2.3 (VSFP2.3) to monitor transmembrane potential in either myocytes or nonmyocytes of murine hearts. We confirm that VSFP2.3 allows measurement of cell type-specific electrical activity. We show that VSFP2.3, expressed solely in nonmyocytes, can report cardiomyocyte AP-like signals at the border of healed cryoinjuries. Using EM-based tomographic reconstruction, we further discovered tunneling nanotube connections between myocytes and nonmyocytes in cardiac scar border tissue. Our results provide direct electrophysiological evidence of heterocellular electrotonic coupling in native myocardium and identify tunneling nanotubes as a possible substrate for electrical cell coupling that may be in addition to previously discovered connexins at sites of myocyte-nonmyocyte contact in the heart. These findings call for reevaluation of cardiac nonmyocyte roles in electrical connectivity of the heterocellular heart.

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1611184114

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2016-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

113

Pages

14852 - 14857

Total pages

5

Keywords

cardiac, electrophysiology, fibroblast, genetically-encoded voltage indicator, heterocellular coupling, Action Potentials, Animals, Bacterial Proteins, Cell Communication, Cell Count, Cell Membrane, Connexins, Electric Conductivity, Female, Fibroblasts, Gap Junctions, Heart, Heart Conduction System, Luminescent Proteins, Male, Membrane Potentials, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Muscle Cells, Myocardium, Myocytes, Cardiac, Optogenetics

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