Background-Antiarrhythmic management of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a major clinical challenge. Mechanismbased approaches to AF therapy are sought to increase effectiveness and to provide individualized patient care. K 2P 3.1 (TASK-1 [tandem of P domains in a weak inward-rectifying K + channel-related acid-sensitive K + channel-1]) 2-poredomain K + (K 2P ) channels have been implicated in action potential regulation in animal models. However, their role in the pathophysiology and treatment of paroxysmal and chronic patients with AF is unknown. Methods and Results-Right and left atrial tissue was obtained from patients with paroxysmal or chronic AF and from control subjects in sinus rhythm. Ion channel expression was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Membrane currents and action potentials were recorded using voltage-and current-clamp techniques. K 2P 3.1 subunits exhibited predominantly atrial expression, and atrial K 2P 3.1 transcript levels were highest among functional K 2P channels. K 2P 3.1 mRNA and protein levels were increased in chronic AF. Enhancement of corresponding currents in the right atrium resulted in shortened action potential duration at 90% of repolarization (APD 90 ) compared with patients in sinus rhythm. In contrast, K 2P 3.1 expression was not significantly affected in subjects with paroxysmal AF. Pharmacological K 2P 3.1 inhibition prolonged APD 90 in atrial myocytes from patients with chronic AF to values observed among control subjects in sinus rhythm. Conclusions-Enhancement of atrium-selective K 2P 3.1 currents contributes to APD shortening in patients with chronic AF, and K 2P 3.1 channel inhibition reverses AF-related APD shortening. These results highlight the potential of K 2P 3.1 as a novel drug target for mechanism-based AF therapy.

Abstract-The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the novel poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor PJ34 (N-(6-oxo-5,6-dihydro-phenanthridin-2-yl)-N,N-dimethylacetamide) on myocardial and endothelial function after hypothermic ischemia and reperfusion in a heterotopic rat heart transplantation model. After a 1-hour ischemic preservation, reperfusion was started either after application of placebo or PJ34 (3 mg/kg). The assessment of left ventricular pressure-volume relations, total coronary blood flow, endothelial function, myocardial high energy phosphates, and histological analysis were performed at 1 and 24 hours of reperfusion. After 1 hour, myocardial contractility and relaxation, coronary blood flow, and endothelial function were significantly improved and myocardial high energy phosphate content was preserved in the PJ34-treated animals. Improved transplant function was also seen with treatment with another, structurally different PARP inhibitor, 5-aminoisoquinoline. The PARP inhibitors did not affect baseline cardiac function. Immunohistological staining confirmed that PJ34 prevented the activation of PARP in the transplanted hearts. The activation of P-selectin and ICAM-1 was significantly elevated in the vehicle-treated heart transplantation group. Thus, pharmacological PARP inhibition reduces reperfusion injury after heart transplantation due to prevention of energy depletion and downregulation of adhesion molecules and exerts a beneficial effect against reperfusion-induced graft coronary endothelial dysfunction. (Circ Res. 2002;90:100-106.)Key Words: transplantation Ⅲ reperfusion injury Ⅲ PARP inhibition Ⅲ endothelial function Ⅲ rat I schemia/reperfusion injury is a common condition during cardiac surgery. Myocardial performance within the first hours after the surgical procedure determines the patient's state not only during the postoperative period but also in the long-term outcome, especially after heart transplantation when an extended time of ischemia is followed by reperfusion. Most studies about the effects of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion focus on myocardial injury and the recovery of contractile function. It is now appreciated that the survival of the heart as a whole depends in part on the ability of the microcirculation to deliver and distribute blood flow adequately during reperfusion. Recent studies show the importance of protecting the microvasculature to attenuate reperfusion injury. 1 Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies concentrate on management modalities that prevent both myocardial and endothelial injury during reperfusion.Ischemia/reperfusion injury initiates a pathophysiological cascade including an inflammatory response with liberation of cytokines and free radicals. A recently discovered mechanism of cell injury, the poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) pathway (see Sims et al 2 and Schraufstter et al 3 ;overview in Szabó 4 ) is involved in the pathogenesis of various forms of ischemia/reperfusion injury. In 1997, Thiemermann et al 5 and Zing...