Melanocyte-like cells in the heart and pulmonary veins contribute to atrial arrhythmia triggers.

ABSTRACT: Atrial fibrillation is the most common clinical cardiac arrhythmia. It is often initiated by ectopic beats arising from the pulmonary veins and atrium, but the source and mechanism of these beats remains unclear. The melanin synthesis enzyme dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) is involved in intracellular calcium and reactive species regulation in melanocytes. Given that dysregulation of intracellular calcium and reactive species has been described in patients with atrial fibrillation, we investigated the role of DCT in this process. Here, we characterize a unique DCT-expressing cell population within murine and human hearts that populated the pulmonary veins, atria, and atrioventricular canal. Expression profiling demonstrated that this population expressed adrenergic and muscarinic receptors an

SUBMITTER: Levin MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2769175 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature