McNary TG, Sohn K, Taccardi B, Sachse FB. Experimental and computational studies of strain-conduction velocity relationships in cardiac tissue.
PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2008;
97:383-400. [PMID:
18406453 DOI:
10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2008.02.023]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Velocity of electrical conduction in cardiac tissue is a function of mechanical strain. Although strain-modulated velocity is a well established finding in experimental cardiology, its underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this work, we summarized potential factors contributing to strain-velocity relationships and reviewed related experimental and computational studies. We presented results from our experimental studies on rabbit papillary muscle, which supported a biphasic relationship of strain and velocity under uni-axial straining conditions. In the low strain range, the strain-velocity relationship was positive. Conduction velocity peaked with 0.59 m/s at 100% strain corresponding to maximal force development. In the high strain range, the relationship was negative. Conduction was reversibly blocked at 118+/-1.8% strain. Reversible block occurred also in the presence of streptomycin. Furthermore, our studies revealed a moderate hysteresis of conduction velocity, which was reduced by streptomycin. We reconstructed several features of the strain-velocity relationship in a computational study with a myocyte strand. The modeling included strain-modulation of intracellular conductivity and stretch-activated cation non-selective ion channels. The computational study supported our hypotheses, that the positive strain-velocity relationship at low strain is caused by strain-modulation of intracellular conductivity and the negative relationship at high strain results from activity of stretch-activated channels. Conduction block was not reconstructed in our computational studies. We concluded this work by sketching a hypothesis for strain-modulation of conduction and conduction block in papillary muscle. We suggest that this hypothesis can also explain uni-axially measured strain-conduction velocity relationships in other types of cardiac tissue, but apparently necessitates adjustments to reconstruct pressure or volume related changes of velocity in atria and ventricles.
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