Acute slowing of cardiac conduction in response to myofibroblast coupling to cardiomyocytes through N-cadherin.

ABSTRACT: The electrophysiological consequences of cardiomyocyte and myofibroblast interactions remain unclear, and the contribution of mechanical coupling between these two cell types is still poorly understood. In this study, we examined the time course and mechanisms by which addition of myofibroblasts activated by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) influence the conduction velocity (CV) of neonatal rat ventricular cell monolayers. We observed that myofibroblasts affected CV within 30 min of contact and that these effects were temporally correlated with membrane deformation of cardiomyocytes by the myofibroblasts. Expression of dominant negative RhoA in the myofibroblasts impaired both myofibroblast contraction and myofibroblast-induced slowing of cardiac conduction, whereas overexpression o

SUBMITTER: Thompson SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3993970 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature