1
|
Oh Y, Abid R, Dababneh S, Bakr M, Aslani T, Cook DP, Vanderhyden BC, Park JG, Munshi NV, Hui CC, Kim KH. Transcriptional regulation of the postnatal cardiac conduction system heterogeneity. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6550. [PMID: 39095365 PMCID: PMC11297185 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50849-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The cardiac conduction system (CCS) is a network of specialized cardiomyocytes that coordinates electrical impulse generation and propagation for synchronized heart contractions. Although the components of the CCS, including the sinoatrial node, atrioventricular node, His bundle, bundle branches, and Purkinje fibers, were anatomically discovered more than 100 years ago, their molecular constituents and regulatory mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate the transcriptomic landscape of the postnatal mouse CCS at a single-cell resolution with spatial information. Integration of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics uncover region-specific markers and zonation patterns of expression. Network inference shows heterogeneous gene regulatory networks across the CCS. Notably, region-specific gene regulation is recapitulated in vitro using neonatal mouse atrial and ventricular myocytes overexpressing CCS-specific transcription factors, Tbx3 and/or Irx3. This finding is supported by ATAC-seq of different CCS regions, Tbx3 ChIP-seq, and Irx motifs. Overall, this study provides comprehensive molecular profiles of the postnatal CCS and elucidates gene regulatory mechanisms contributing to its heterogeneity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yena Oh
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Rimshah Abid
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Saif Dababneh
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Marwan Bakr
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Termeh Aslani
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - David P Cook
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Barbara C Vanderhyden
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Jin G Park
- Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Nikhil V Munshi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
- McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
- Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Chi-Chung Hui
- Program in Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Kyoung-Han Kim
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chapski DJ, Vondriska TM. Unwind to the beat: chromatin and cardiac conduction. J Clin Invest 2023; 133:165663. [PMID: 36719369 PMCID: PMC9888370 DOI: 10.1172/jci165663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
How chromatin accessibility and structure endow highly specialized cells with their unique phenotypes is an area of intense investigation. In the mammalian heart, an exclusive subset of cardiac cells comprise the conduction system. Many molecular components of this system are well studied and genetic variation in some of the components induces abnormal cardiac conduction. However, genetic risk for cardiac arrhythmias in human populations also occurs in noncoding regions. A study by Bhattacharyya, Kollipara, et al. in this issue of the JCI examines how chromatin accessibility and structure may explain the mechanisms by which noncoding variants increase susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmias. We discuss the implications of these findings for cell type-specific gene regulation and highlight potential therapeutic strategies to engineer locus-specific epigenomic remodeling in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas M. Vondriska
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine,,Department of Medicine, and,Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|