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Li QH, Xia YX, Xu SX, Song Z, Pan JT, Panfilov AV, Zhang H. Control of spiral waves in optogenetically modified cardiac tissue by periodic optical stimulation. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:044210. [PMID: 35590553 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.044210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Resonant drift of nonlinear spiral waves occurs in various types of excitable media under periodic stimulation. Recently a novel methodology of optogenetics has emerged, which allows to affect excitability of cardiac cells and tissues by optical stimuli. In this paper we study if resonant drift of spiral waves in the heart can be induced by a homogeneous weak periodic optical stimulation of cardiac tissue. We use a two-variable and a detailed model of cardiac tissue and add description of depolarizing and hyperpolarizing optogenetic ionic currents. We show that weak periodic optical stimulation at a frequency equal to the natural rotation frequency of the spiral wave induces resonant drift for both depolarizing and hyperpolarizing optogenetic currents. We quantify these effects and study how the speed of the drift and its direction depend on the initial conditions. We also derive analytical formulas based on the response function theory which correctly predict the drift velocity and its trajectory. We conclude that optogenetic methodology can be used for control of spiral waves in cardiac tissue and discuss its possible applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Hao Li
- Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
- Department of Mathematics and Theories, Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518066, China
| | - Yuan-Xun Xia
- Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Shu-Xiao Xu
- Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Zhen Song
- Department of Mathematics and Theories, Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518066, China
| | - Jun-Ting Pan
- Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China
| | - Alexander V Panfilov
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium
- Laboratory of Computational Biology and Medicine, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg 620002, Russia
- World-Class Research Center "Digital biodesign and personalized healthcare," Sechenov University, Moscow 119146, Russia
| | - Hong Zhang
- Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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Gruber A, Edri O, Huber I, Arbel G, Gepstein A, Shiti A, Shaheen N, Chorna S, Landesberg M, Gepstein L. Optogenetic modulation of cardiac action potential properties may prevent arrhythmogenesis in short and long QT syndromes. JCI Insight 2021; 6:e147470. [PMID: 34100384 PMCID: PMC8262308 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.147470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormal action potential (AP) properties, as occurs in long or short QT syndromes (LQTS and SQTS, respectively), can cause life-threatening arrhythmias. Optogenetics strategies, utilizing light-sensitive proteins, have emerged as experimental platforms for cardiac pacing, resynchronization, and defibrillation. We tested the hypothesis that similar optogenetic tools can modulate the cardiomyocyte's AP properties, as a potentially novel antiarrhythmic strategy. Healthy control and LQTS/SQTS patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) were transduced to express the light-sensitive cationic channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) or the anionic-selective opsin, ACR2. Detailed patch-clamp, confocal-microscopy, and optical mapping studies evaluated the ability of spatiotemporally defined optogenetic protocols to modulate AP properties and prevent arrhythmogenesis in the hiPSC-CMs cell/tissue models. Depending on illumination timing, light-induced ChR2 activation induced robust prolongation or mild shortening of AP duration (APD), while ACR2 activation allowed effective APD shortening. Fine-tuning these approaches allowed for the normalization of pathological AP properties and suppression of arrhythmogenicity in the LQTS/SQTS hiPSC-CM cellular models. We next established a SQTS-hiPSC-CMs-based tissue model of reentrant-arrhythmias using optogenetic cross-field stimulation. An APD-modulating optogenetic protocol was then designed to dynamically prolong APD of the propagating wavefront, completely preventing arrhythmogenesis in this model. This work highlights the potential of optogenetics in studying repolarization abnormalities and in developing novel antiarrhythmic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Gruber
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Oded Edri
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Irit Huber
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Gil Arbel
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Amira Gepstein
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Assad Shiti
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Naim Shaheen
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Snizhana Chorna
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Michal Landesberg
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Lior Gepstein
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel.,Cardiology Department, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
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Abstract
The electromechanical function of the heart involves complex, coordinated activity over time and space. Life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias arise from asynchrony in these space-time events; therefore, therapies for prevention and treatment require fundamental understanding and the ability to visualize, perturb and control cardiac activity. Optogenetics combines optical and molecular biology (genetic) approaches for light-enabled sensing and actuation of electrical activity with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution and parallelism. The year 2020 marks a decade of developments in cardiac optogenetics since this technology was adopted from neuroscience and applied to the heart. In this Review, we appraise a decade of advances that define near-term (immediate) translation based on all-optical electrophysiology, including high-throughput screening, cardiotoxicity testing and personalized medicine assays, and long-term (aspirational) prospects for clinical translation of cardiac optogenetics, including new optical therapies for rhythm control. The main translational opportunities and challenges for optogenetics to be fully embraced in cardiology are also discussed.
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Cardiac Optogenetics in Atrial Fibrillation: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 2020:8814092. [PMID: 33195698 PMCID: PMC7641281 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8814092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Although rarely life-threatening on short term, atrial fibrillation leads to increased mortality and decreased quality of life through its complications, including heart failure and stroke. Recent studies highlight the benefits of maintaining sinus rhythm. However, pharmacological long-term rhythm control strategies may be shadowed by associated proarrhythmic effects. At the same time, electrical cardioversion is limited to hospitals, while catheter ablation therapy, although effective, is invasive and is dedicated to specific patients, usually with low amounts of atrial fibrosis (preferably Utah I-II). Cardiac optogenetics allows influencing the heart's electrical activity by applying specific wavelength light pulses to previously engineered cardiomyocytes into expressing microbial derived light-sensitive proteins called opsins. The resulting ion influx may give rise to either hyperpolarizing or depolarizing currents, thus offering a therapeutic potential in cardiac electrophysiology, including pacing, resynchronization, and arrhythmia termination. Optogenetic atrial fibrillation cardioversion might be achieved by inducing a conduction block or filling of the excitable gap. The authors agree that transmural opsin expression and appropriate illumination with an exposure time longer than the arrhythmia cycle length are necessary to achieve successful arrhythmia termination. However, the efficiency and safety of biological cardioversion in humans remain to be seen, as well as side effects such as immune reactions and loss of opsin expression. The possibility of delivering pain-free shocks with out-of-hospital biological cardioversion is tempting; however, there are several issues that need to be addressed first: applicability and safety in humans, long-term behaviour, anticoagulation requirements, and fibrosis interactions.
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Men J, Li A, Jerwick J, Li Z, Tanzi RE, Zhou C. Non-invasive red-light optogenetic control of Drosophila cardiac function. Commun Biol 2020; 3:336. [PMID: 32601302 PMCID: PMC7324573 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-1065-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Drosophila is a powerful genetic model system for cardiovascular studies. Recently, optogenetic pacing tools have been developed to control Drosophila heart rhythm noninvasively with blue light, which has a limited penetration depth. Here we developed both a red-light sensitive opsin expressing Drosophila system and an integrated red-light stimulation and optical coherence microscopy (OCM) imaging system. We demonstrated noninvasive control of Drosophila cardiac rhythms using a single light source, including simulated tachycardia in ReaChR-expressing flies and bradycardia and cardiac arrest in halorhodopsin (NpHR)-expressing flies at multiple developmental stages. By using red excitation light, we were able to pace flies at higher efficiency and with lower power than with equivalent blue light excitation systems. The recovery dynamics after red-light stimulation of NpHR flies were observed and quantified. The combination of red-light stimulation, OCM imaging, and transgenic Drosophila systems provides a promising and easily manipulated research platform for noninvasive cardiac optogenetic studies. Men et al. develop an optogenetic pacing tool to control Drosophila heart rhythm noninvasively with red light. Using optical coherence microscopy imaging, they demonstrate effective light-induced tachypacing, bradypacing, and restorable cardiac arrest in transgenic fly models. This study provides a user-friendly research platform for noninvasive cardiac optogenetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Men
- Department of Bioengineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63105, USA
| | - Airong Li
- Genetics and Aging Research Unit, McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Jason Jerwick
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63105, USA.,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA
| | - Zilong Li
- Genetics and Aging Research Unit, McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Rudolph E Tanzi
- Genetics and Aging Research Unit, McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Chao Zhou
- Department of Bioengineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63105, USA. .,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA.
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Joshi J, Rubart M, Zhu W. Optogenetics: Background, Methodological Advances and Potential Applications for Cardiovascular Research and Medicine. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 7:466. [PMID: 32064254 PMCID: PMC7000355 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Optogenetics is an elegant approach of precisely controlling and monitoring the biological functions of a cell, group of cells, tissues, or organs with high temporal and spatial resolution by using optical system and genetic engineering technologies. The field evolved with the need to precisely control neurons and decipher neural circuity and has made great accomplishments in neuroscience. It also evolved in cardiovascular research almost a decade ago and has made considerable progress in both in vitro and in vivo animal studies. Thus, this review is written with an objective to provide information on the evolution, background, methodical advances, and potential scope of the field for cardiovascular research and medicine. We begin with a review of literatures on optogenetic proteins related to their origin, structure, types, mechanism of action, methods to improve their performance, and the delivery vehicles and methods to express such proteins on target cells and tissues for cardiovascular research. Next, we reviewed historical and recent literatures to demonstrate the scope of optogenetics for cardiovascular research and regenerative medicine and examined that cardiac optogenetics is vital in mimicking heart diseases, understanding the mechanisms of disease progression and also in introducing novel therapies to treat cardiac abnormalities, such as arrhythmias. We also reviewed optogenetics as promising tools in providing high-throughput data for cardiotoxicity screening in drug development and also in deciphering dynamic roles of signaling moieties in cell signaling. Finally, we put forth considerations on the need of scaling up of the optogenetic system, clinically relevant in vivo and in silico models, light attenuation issues, and concerns over the level, immune reactions, toxicity, and ectopic expression with opsin expression. Detailed investigations on such considerations would accelerate the translation of cardiac optogenetics from present in vitro and in vivo animal studies to clinical therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyotsna Joshi
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Michael Rubart
- Department of Pediatrics, Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Wuqiang Zhu
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
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