Probing the Electrophysiology of the Developing Heart

Abstract

Many diseases that result in dysfunction and dysmorphology of the heart originate in the embryo. However, the embryonic heart presents a challenging subject for study: especially challenging is its electrophysiology. Electrophysiological maturation of the embryonic heart without disturbing its physiological function requires the creation and deployment of novel technologies along with the use of classical techniques on a range of animal models. Each tool has its strengths and limitations and has contributed to making key discoveries to expand our understanding of cardiac development. Further progress in understanding the mechanisms that regulate the normal and abnormal development of the electrophysiology of the heart requires integration of this functional information with the more extensively elucidated structural and molecular changes.

Volumetric optical mapping in early embryonic hearts using light-sheet microscopy

“…Furthermore, optical sectioning reduces the number of fluorophores imaged by each camera pixel thus reducing the fluorescence signal. The newly available voltage-sensitive dye, FluoVolt, provides a more than 5 fold increase in SNR when compared to Di-4-ANEPPS [8]. Here, our light-sheet imaging system provided sufficient SNR (Fig.…”

“…Optical mapping (OM) is the leading technology used for investigating embryonic and adult cardiac electrophysiology [6][7][8]. OM uses a fast camera to image hearts that are stained with voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye [8,9].…”

“…OM uses a fast camera to image hearts that are stained with voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye [8,9]. Motion of the hearts is usually fully suppressed using excitation-contraction (EC) uncouplers.…”

“…With acquired action potential traces, parameters such as activation time, action potential duration and conduction velocity can be computed. With these features, OM has enabled many contributions to the understanding of both embryonic and adult cardiac electrophysiology [7][8][9]. Genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) are alternatives to voltage-sensitive dyes to target specific cell types and reduce phototoxicity [10].…”

Intracellular Recording of Cardiomyocytes by Integrated Electrical Signal Recording and Electrical Pulse Regulating System

“…In order to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, pathologists have carried out more in-depth research on the working mechanism of the heart. Since the electrophysiological activity of the heart helps to understand the working mechanism, it has been extensively studied ( Watanabe et al, 2016 ). The biological models established for the electrophysiological research include living animals and cells ( Yeo et al, 2017 ).…”