Cardiac fibroblast paracrine factors alter impulse conduction and ion channel expression of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

The pathological proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) in response to heart injury results in fibrosis, which correlates with arrhythmia generation and heart failure. Here we systematically examined the effect of fibroblast-derived paracrine factors on electrical propagation in cardiomyocytes.

Methods and results

Neonatal rat cardiac monolayers were exposed for 24 h to media conditioned by CFs. Optical mapping, sharp microelectrode recordings, quantitative RT-PCR, and immunostaining were used to assess the changes in the propagation and shape of the action potential and underlying changes in gene and protein expression. The fibroblast paracrine factors produced a 52% reduction in cardiac conduction velocity, a 217% prolongation of action potential duration, a 64% d

SUBMITTER: Pedrotty DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2725777 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature