Mechano-electric feedback in the fish heart

Electric catfish hearts are not intrinsically immune to electric shocks

High voltage electric shocks cause life threatening cardiac injuries such as sudden cardiac standstill or severe myocardial injury. Here, we analysed the physiology of the heart of the strongly electric catfish (Malapterurus beninensis) that stuns prey with high-voltage shocks but is immune to its own, as well as external, high-voltage shocks. Neither a detailed analysis of the electrocardiogram nor the structure of the heart indicated a specialized cardiac conduction system. Using a suitable perfusion system, we discovered that, despite its immunity in vivo, the explanted heart of electric catfish can readily be activated by external electrical currents and is equally sensitive to electric shock-induced arrhythmias as similar-sized goldfish hearts. The surprise thus is that the electric catfish has a vulnerable heart that requires to be protected by highly efficient but presently unknown means.

Stretch-excitation correlation in the toad heart

The activation sequence of the ventricular myocardium in ectotherms is a matter of debate. We studied the correlation between the ventricular activation sequence and the pattern of local stretches in 13 toads (Bufo bufo). Epicardial potential mapping was done with a 56-lead sock array. Activation times were determined as dV/dt (min) in each lead. Initial epicardial foci of activation were found on the left side of the ventricular base, whereas regions on the apex and the right side of the base demonstrated late activation. Video recordings (50 frames s-1) showed that the median presystolic stretch in left-side ventricular regions was greater than that in right-side regions [4.70% (interquartile range 3.25-8.85%) versus 1.45% (interquartile range 0.38-3.05%), P=0.028, respectively]. Intracardiac bolus injection elicited ventricular activation with a similar sequence and duration. Thus, ventricular areas of earliest activation were associated with greater presystolic stretch, implying the existence of a stretch-excitation relationship in ectotherm hearts.

Electrical excitability of roach (Rutilus rutilus) ventricular myocytes: effects of extracellular K+, temperature, and pacing frequency

Exercise, capture, and handling stress in fish can elevate extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o) with potential impact on heart function in a temperature- and frequency-dependent manner. To this end, the effects of [K+]o on the excitability of ventricular myocytes of winter-acclimatized roach ( Rutilus rutilus) (4 ± 0.5°C) were examined at different test temperatures and varying pacing rates. Frequencies corresponding to in vivo heart rates at 4°C (0.37 Hz), 14°C (1.16 Hz), and 24°C (1.96 Hz) had no significant effect on the excitability of ventricular myocytes. Acute increase of temperature from 4 to 14°C did not affect excitability, but a further rise to 24 markedly decreased excitability: stimulus current and critical depolarization needed to elicit an action potential (AP) were ~25 and 14% higher, respectively, at 24°C than at 4°C and 14°C ( P < 0.05). This depression could be due to temperature-related mismatch between inward Na+ and outward K+ currents. In contrast, an increase of [K+]o from 3 to 5.4 or 8 mM at 24°C reduced the stimulus current needed to trigger AP. However, other aspects of excitability were strongly depressed by high [K+]o: maximum rate of AP upstroke and AP duration were drastically (89 and 50%, respectively) reduced at 8 mM [K+]o in comparison with 3 mM ( P < 0.05). As an extreme case, some myocytes completely failed to elicit all-or-none AP at 8 mM [K+]o at 24°C. Also, amplitude and overshoot of AP were reduced by elevation of [K+]o ( P < 0.05). Although high [K+]o antagonizes the negative effects of high temperature on excitation threshold, the precipitous depression of the rate of AP upstroke and complete loss of excitability in some myocytes suggest that the combination of high temperature and high [K+]o will severely impair ventricular excitability in roach.

Sperm in hot water: direct and indirect thermal challenges interact to impact on brown trout sperm quality

Climate change alters the thermal habitat of aquatic species on a global scale, generating novel environmental challenges during all life stages, including reproduction. Changes in water temperature profoundly influence the performance of ectothermic aquatic organisms. This is an especially crucial issue for migratory fish, because they traverse multiple environments in order to reproduce. In externally fertilizing migratory fish, gametes are affected by water temperature indirectly, within the reproductive organ in which they are produced during migration, as well as directly, upon release into the surrounding medium at the spawning grounds. Both direct (after release) and indirect (during production) thermal impacts on gamete quality have been investigated, but never in conjunction. Here, we assessed the cumulative influence of temperature on brown trout, Salmo trutta, sperm quality during sperm production (male acclimation temperature) as well as upon release (sperm activation water temperature) on two consecutive dates during the brown trout spawning season. Early in the season, warm acclimation of males reduced their fertilization probability (lower sperm velocity) when compared with cold-acclimated males, especially when the activation water temperature was also increased beyond the thermal optimum (resulting in a lower proportion of motile sperm with lower velocity). Later in the season, sperm quality was unaffected by acclimation temperature and thermal sensitivity of sperm was reduced. These results give novel insights into the complex impacts of climate change on fish sperm, with implications for the reproduction and management of hatchery and wild trout populations in future climate scenarios.

Effects of transient receptor potential canonical 1 (TRPC1) on the mechanical stretch-induced expression of airway remodeling-associated factors in human bronchial epithelioid cells

Research has shown that mechanical stress stimulation can cause airway remodeling. We investigate the effects of mechanical stretch on the expression of the airway remodeling-associated factors interleukin-13 (IL-13) and matrix metalloprotein-9 (MMP-9) and signaling pathways in human bronchial epithelioid (16HBE) cells under mechanical stretch. A Flexcell FX-4000 Tension System with a flexible substrate was applied to stretch 16HBE cells at a 15% elongation amplitude and 1Hz frequency, with stretching for 0.5h, 1h, 1.5h and 2h. The experimental group with higher IL-13, MMP-9, and TRPC1 expression and higher Ca²⁺ levels was selected for performing intervention experiment. These cells were pretreated with the transient receptor potential canonical 1 (TRPC1) channel antagonist SKF96365 and TRPC1-specific siRNA, and then mechanical stretch was applied. Our results provided evidences that mechanical pressure significantly increased IL-13, MMP-9, and TRPC1 protein and mRNA expression levels and intracellular Ca²⁺ fluorescence intensity at 4 time points compared with the control group. The peak IL-13, MMP-9, and TRPC1 expression levels were observed at 0.5h after exposure to mechanical pressure. IL-13 and MMP-9 expression levels and Ca²⁺ fluorescence intensity in the stretch+SKF96365 group and in the stretch+TRPC1 siRNA group were significantly lower than those were in the mechanical stretch group. By incubating the cells with the intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, the expression of IL-13 and MMP9 was significantly decreased, and the expression level of TRPC1 remained unchanged. These observations suggest that mechanical stretch may induce an influx of Ca²⁺ and up-regulation of IL-13 and MMP-9 expression in 16HBE cells via activation of TRPC1.

Cold acclimation increases cardiac myofilament function and ventricular pressure generation in trout

Reducing temperature below the optimum of most vertebrate hearts impairs contractility and reduces organ function. However, a number of fish species, including the rainbow trout, can seasonally acclimate to low temperature. Such ability requires modification of physiological systems to compensate for the thermodynamic effects of temperature on biological processes. The current study tested the hypothesis that rainbow trout compensate for the direct effect of cold temperature by increasing cardiac contractility during cold acclimation. We examined cardiac contractility, following thermal acclimation (4, 11 and 17°C), by measuring the Ca(2+) sensitivity of force generation by chemically skinned cardiac trabeculae as well as ventricular pressure generation using a modified Langendorff preparation. We demonstrate, for the first time, that the Ca(2+) sensitivity of force generation was significantly higher in cardiac trabeculae from 4°C-acclimated trout compared with those acclimated to 11 or 17°C, and that this functional change occurred in parallel with a decrease in the level of cardiac troponin T phosphorylation. In addition, we show that the magnitude and rate of ventricular pressure generation was greater in hearts from trout acclimated to 4°C compared with those from animals acclimated to 11 or 17°C. Taken together, these results suggest that enhanced myofilament function, caused by modification of existing contractile proteins, is at least partially responsible for the observed increase in pressure generation after acclimation to 4°C. In addition, by examining the phenotypic plasticity of a comparative model we have identified a strategy, used in vivo, by which the force-generating capacity of cardiac muscle can be increased.

Influence of mechanical stress on fibroblast-myocyte interactions in mammalian heart

Cardiac fibroblasts are an essential component of cardiac tissue. These cells not only produce the extracellular matrix, but also are electrically and mechanically coupled with cardiomyocytes. In this way, fibroblasts can influence the electrical activity of cardiomyocytes. Cardiac fibroblasts cannot generate action potentials, but their membrane potential is controlled by mechanical stretch or compression of the surrounding myocardium which in turn affects their interaction with myocytes and the way myocytes respond to mechanical stress. This review discusses the electrical properties of cardiac fibroblasts, the present evidence of fibroblast-myocyte coupling and the way in which these cells respond to mechanical stress. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Myocyte-Fibroblast Signalling in Myocardium."

Mechano-regulation of the beating heart at the cellular level--mechanosensitive channels in normal and diseased heart

The heart as a contractile hollow organ finely tunes mechanical parameters such as stroke volume, stroke pressure and cardiac output according to filling volumes, filling pressures via intrinsic and neuronal routes. At the cellular level, cardiomyocytes in beating hearts are exposed to large mechanical stress during successive heart beats. Although the mechanisms of excitation-contraction coupling are well established in mammalian heart cells, the putative contribution of mechanosensitive channels to Ca²⁺ homeostasis, Ca²⁺ signaling and force generation has been primarily investigated in relation to heart disease states. For instance, transient receptor potential channels (TRPs) are up-regulated in animal models of congestive heart failure or hypertension models and seem to play a vital role in pathological Ca²⁺ overload to cardiomyocytes, thus aggravating the pathology of disease at the cellular level. Apart from that, the contribution of mechanosensitive channels (MsC) in the normal beating heart to the downstream force activation cascade has not been addressed. We present an overview of the current literature and concepts of mechanosensitive channel involvement in failing hearts and cardiomyopathies and novel data showing a likely contribution of Ca²⁺ influx via mechanosensitive channels in beating normal cardiomyocytes during systolic shortening.

The effect of adrenaline on the temperature dependency of cardiac action potentials in pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Using sharp electrode impalement, action potentials recorded from atrial and ventricular tissue of pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha generally decreased in duration with increasing test temperature (6, 10, 16 and 20° C). Stimulation of the tissue using 500 nM adrenaline had no significant effect on the duration of the atrial action potential at any test temperature but lengthened the ventricular action potential by ~17%.

Rainbow trout myocardium does not exhibit a slow inotropic response to stretch

Mammalian myocardial studies reveal a biphasic increase in the force of contraction due to stretch. The first rapid response, known as the Frank-Starling response, occurs within one heartbeat of stretch. A second positive inotropic response occurs over the minutes following the initial stretch and is known as the slow force response (SFR). The SFR has been observed in mammalian isolated whole hearts, muscle preparations and individual myocytes. We present the first direct study into the SFR in the heart of a non-mammalian vertebrate, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). We stretched ventricular trabecular muscle preparations from 88% to 98% of their optimal length and individual ventricular myocytes by 7% of their slack sarcomere length (SL). Stretch caused an immediate increase in force in both preparations, indicative of the Frank-Starling response. However, we found no significant effect of prolonged stretch on the force of contraction in either the ventricular trabecular preparations or the single myocytes. This indicates that rainbow trout ventricular myocardium does not exhibit a SFR and that, in contrast to mammals, the piscine Frank-Starling response may not be associated with the SFR. We speculate that this is due to the fish myocardium modulating cardiac output via changes in stroke volume to a larger extent than heart rate.

The effect of stimulation frequency on the transmural ventricular monophasic action potential in yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares

Monophasic action potentials (MAPs) were recorded from the spongy and compact layers of the yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares ventricle as stimulation frequency was increased. MAP duration decreased with increase in stimulation frequency in both the spongy and compact myocardial layers, but no significant difference in MAP duration was observed between the layers.